Hi

i have a 2003 sl500 converted and build by Lorinser. Model is called K50 and its a car fitted with bodykit, wheels and compressor from Lorinser when new in 2003.

Anyway i have some problems with the ABC system. The red light drive carfully show up on the car. And the car have been jumping up and down sometimes. As if it sends shook waves to the suspension making it jump up and down.

i replaced front and rear big accumulators (same type front/read) and filled up the oil level to correct level, and it seemed to fix the problem when i tested. Car worked fine. But when everything was good and i tought problem was fixed red light with drive carfull show up again. And i could not adjust the dampers. If i turn of car and start it again and push button fast i get no warning but then the car rocks like a boat on the ocean as it sends oil to different struts. And then red light come on again.

i was maby thinking about replacing the small accumulator in the front. The one accumulator for the pulsasion dampener.

have anyone any tips? Car is level, no leaks. But still red warning and car is rocking if i get the system working even if car is standing still.

might pulsation dempener solve this issue? Or maby a resett by the obd port

photo for attention

 

Valve block(s) leakage is your problem. You need to overhaul your valve block(s).

 

It sounds like it is going into a limp mode of some sort. That can be a plunger sensor, low pump pressure, something like that. You really need to read the ABC codes as the first step in trouble shooting.

 

but if it would have been the valve block it should be sagging on one of the wheels. Also no oil near it. Tank level is good.

today i started the var and everything worked like normal, so this problem comes and goes

 

Yeah must be something strange, tried normal obd reader but guess only star diagnostic will work.

i heard a little whiising sound from the location the valve actuator is located in the front left wheel arches when car was running.

i dont know if the pulsating damper(accumulator on the valve actuator) might be a problem giving me these strange fails on the car.

 

I have the R230 also. There will be no leaks externally , The valve block will be bypassing fluid internally . They need to be removed and rebuilt. The kits with O-rings and seals are sold online. E auction site is where I got them. There is a front and rear valve block pretty straight forward to remove and rebuild. These become damaged from not flushing fluid regularly , I believe it is every 40,000 miles.

 

I'm one of the seller's of the valve rebuild kits and, as much as I would like to sell you a couple, I don't think that is your primary issue. I would recommend getting a Benz specific scanner like a Foxwell or Launch. They do 90% of what I do with STAR and are quicker and easier to use. It will save you lots of $$ over time.

 

If you look at the diagram, there is only one way for the fluid to go in and out of the struts and that's the only way for the struts to go up and down. Next item is the valve blocks. If seals/o-rings in valve blocks are not totally seated, it will leak in and out of the struts. Items 4, 14 & 53 may push fluid back into the struts which may cause struts to raised after engine shut down in some cases.
My guess is you just replaced those Nitrogen bottles. Debris may be flown into valve blocks and causes minor leakage (not totally seal which can cause suspensions to goes up n down).
At this point, easy n cheapest way is to cycle the suspensions up n down with center console buttons to push debris out of the valve blocks and back to the main tank.
As you said, system seems normal at some point....may be cycle it more to clear up the debris within the system.

 

Thank you guys for the feedback, i have read all replies.

So today i tested the ABC system again after the car has been sitting for some time. Level is okay on the oil. Car raised normal up and down, but after some try i notice the car lift uneven on the front and rear axel.
As if the car push one side of the car up before the other on the same axle. Same when i lowered the car. After that i got ABC warning light again in red. (deive carfully)

This must mean the valve block, front or rear must be opening different. Could this also be a result of the accumulator on the rear valve block is bad? I replaced the rear big one, but not the one sitting on the block.(see example photo of rear valve block accumulator)

Might this result in this issue?

Valve block accumulator rear

Also i noticed a wheesing sound from the front left wheel arch. Where the pulsation accumulator is located. This might be a bad pulsation accumulator tank on the valve block front? Anyone that notice this wheesing sound, like a snake in the wheel arche. That might be a bad tank there? I replaced the big one in the front, but since r230 has two in front left wheel arch and two in rear left wheel arche. I did just replace the biggest as they seem to go out first. Not the two that sits on the valve block front/rear.


This is the front accumulator that i think make the wheesing sound


I will add a video of the sound i took today.

 

Neither the return accumulator nor the pulsation dampener will cause the behavior you are seeing. Scan it or just start replacing parts at random.

 

I will scan it at official MB workshop, but good to try solve the problems myself before taking it to a shop. If i replace some parts its good to change them as i dont know if they ever have been replaced as for the big accumulators as they tend to fail. I think the problem is probably the valve actuator gaskets as one said before here. I guess they will find it with MB star diagnostic.

 

If you are going to own an R230, my advice is to buy at least a low cost Benz specific scanner like a Foxwell or Launch. If it is a valve, Mercedes will probably be around $5k to replace it. Rebuilding will be $50 for the kit and your labor, maybe another $100-200 if you have bad valves. When it is giving you red warnings, it is throwing codes. The dealer is an extremely expensive option and, quite frankly, most really aren't very good at repairing these older cars.

 

i have a carsoft scanner multibrand and that will only read some codes. Do you have any sugestion on a good foxwell scanner?

as for if its the valve i will fix it by myself, i know Mb are to expensive when i know more about this system then most mecanic today. If i dont get to read codes i will have them just read the codes to check what the cause is.

but let me know if you have a good foxwell tips

 

I have the Launch Creader Elite Benz which is about $130 on Amazon. They also have a 2.0 version, which I think is the same function with a larger screen for around $160. I will let the Foxwell guys comment on the best option there. I know the NT530 was popular, but there might be something newer.

 

It is really not that expensive to get the SD XENTRY setup on DH-Gate or Ali with software and a Dell 630. When you looking at a $5,000 dealer bill. I believe only Xentry can reprogram the strut heights after replacing an ABC strut. I have done this on my R230 and my W216 ABC systems. Sometimes doing the rodeo in Xentry then flushing system and adding the new style 3micron filter as opposed to the older 10 micron filter will dislodge contaminants from valve blocks. This will only work if something is stuck in valve block upsetting an O ring. If the O rings are shot you have to rebuild the valve blocks. I did this on my R230.

 

And dealers won't repair, only replace. The newer valve blocks are not repairable, only the older ones, such as from 2003. I went through that with my 2004 back in the day. The O-ring kits are well worth the money if you have the original style valve block.

 

I have tried most Mercedes-specific scanners. I own the Autel MaxiDAS DS808, BlueDriver, iCarsoft MB II and iCarsoft MB V3.0, LAUNCH Creader Elite BENZ (versions 1.0 and 2.0), and XENTRY from @BenzNinja . While all those 3rd party scanners are good for scanning, I have learned that you can hose up your car if not careful. XENTRY from BenzNinja is the only one I will use for any serious diagnostics, mainly because BenzNinja provides the latest version and it is incredibly stable. XENTRY also has step-by-step troubleshooting and testing procedures when you find a problem. I confess that I don't leave home without one of my pocket scanners just in case something pops up when I'm away from home, but for serious troubleshooting and diagnosis I go with XENTRY. (For the R230 the XENTRY equivalent is DAS, which BenzNinja also provides.)

 

Not sure which years are rebuildable, but I did my 2005 R230 valve blocks worked out great. Someone on here sells the O ring kits.

 

I sell the kits, they work for all ABC1 blocks. In the US, that is 2003-2006. The 2003's usually have the shrink fit teflon backing rings which are usually in good shape and should be retained. 2004-2006 usually have black nitrile backing rings which are usually in bad shape and should be replaced. My standard kit has all of the o-rings, clips, and assembly lube. The deluxe kit adds in teflon split backing rings. On rare occasion, you might have a revised ABC2 style block on an ABC1 car. Mercedes quit making the old style blocks and has a retrofit kit with the new block and adapters to convert it. If it has 4 individual valves, it is an ABC1 block. If it has two double valves, it is ABC2. The o-rings in the kits are for the seal of the block to the housing. You can still have bad internal seals on the valves, but most of the time the kit will fix the issue.

 

So i have ordered a diagnostic tool, i went between the foxwell nt510 elite, nt710 and i50 pro. I went for the i50 pro as that can read abc fault and is a better option and it takes many different brands, not just mb. The most expensive one but then i can use it on all cars like Maserati, Bmw, Lamborghini and typical all brands.

havent recived it yet but it should show me the code and abc error. It might be a sensor or anything, but after i have read the code i will find out.

I see the wheel on front left is one finger lower then the other three wheels. Might be front valve block

 

I had one strut lower than the other 3 wheels. I raised it with a simple adjustment in SD Xentry. Now everything is balanced all 4 wheel well opening heights are good.

 

Okay so today i recived the foxwell i50 pro. Bought it from aliexpress and it works great. Lifetime update and lots of brands. I would highly Recommend that scanner. Takes on every brand needed. Also it takes lots of faults not just basic scanner tool.

anyway i got this code in the photo, so this sensor does anybody know the partnumber for this one?


This is the code, code C1122 fault in component B24/4 (Right front body acceleration sensor).

found it in a example from a cls. So seems maby this sensor is bad as to hight issue i have and drive carfully warning. Will swap it and see if it cleared.

 

The should clear the drive carefully message, but I don't think it will solve the level issue. I would swap the two front level sensors and rescan. The acceleration sensors are pretty reliable, so wiring might be the more likely fault. Given how quick they are to swap, I would start there.

If you a code free and still have the level issues, run the 'move to calibrated position' actuation. This should take all four corners to the vicinity of -4mm height +/- a few mm. Once it is stable, measure wheel well height. If they are not the same, especially side to side, you have a calibration issue.

 

Okay now i swapped the sensors for the front, cleared codes and it seemd okay at first. But now it shows m24/3 so the sensor is bad. Problem followed with the sensor over to the other side.

this must mean the part is bad