SL55 AMG, SL63 AMG, SL65 AMG (R230) 2002 - 2011 (2003 US for SL55 and 2004 for the SL65)

SL55/63/65/R230 AMG: Softclose boot fail

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Old Jun 5, 2016 | 11:53 AM
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Softclose boot fail

All ok until today,no noise/hissing or reaction when I close the boot,any idea.Thanks
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Old Jun 5, 2016 | 12:18 PM
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needs a trunk latch. the air diaphragm is leaking. replace trunk latch and clear codes or unplug the pse pump to reset instead.
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Old Jun 5, 2016 | 05:12 PM
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Thanks.
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Old Jun 5, 2016 | 05:13 PM
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2003 SL55 AMG, 1989 348 Challenge, 1987 Testarossa, 1992 F40, 1989 Mondial t cab, 2001 X5 4.4 Sport
Originally Posted by Rocman8
needs a trunk latch. the air diaphragm is leaking. replace trunk latch and clear codes or unplug the pse pump to reset instead.
Where is the pse pump?
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Old Jun 5, 2016 | 05:50 PM
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Left of spare tire underneath the hardtop hydraulic pump. It's wrapped in foam.
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Old Jun 6, 2016 | 09:26 AM
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It also could be the 'air' motor in the lid of the trunk that failed. They are notorious for developing cracks that allow leaks. I have a repaired one that I'll sell (I bought a replacement when mine failed, but it had small leaks, so I repaired it and the OE one in my trunk, re-installed my OE one 3 years ago and the soft close works perfectly). Send me a PM or e-mail if interested in a repaired one that is guaranteed to have no leaks.
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Old Jun 6, 2016 | 11:52 PM
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can also reset by disconnecting and reconnecting accessory battery. theres a big write up on here somewhere covering what goes wrong with the soft close.
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Old Jun 7, 2016 | 12:54 AM
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Thought I would post here...

...because "soft close" is great for the search function. Related to SL502 (great name BTW) but a bit different. Just don't want to hijack! My brother is a mechanic and he has my car to put in new doors sills and a bi-xenon bulb, but here is what mine is doing. If the hard top roof is up, the soft close will not work on my trunk. The roof will not go back down because the trunk is still "open" according to the switch on the drivers side door. Now he resets it and then lowers the top. When the top is down, the soft close for the trunk works. He wants to look into this deeper but has anyone else had this issue?

Cheers!

Shaun
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Old Jun 7, 2016 | 02:24 PM
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Originally Posted by PoCoAMG
...because "soft close" is great for the search function. Related to SL502 (great name BTW) but a bit different. Just don't want to hijack! My brother is a mechanic and he has my car to put in new doors sills and a bi-xenon bulb, but here is what mine is doing. If the hard top roof is up, the soft close will not work on my trunk. The roof will not go back down because the trunk is still "open" according to the switch on the drivers side door. Now he resets it and then lowers the top. When the top is down, the soft close for the trunk works. He wants to look into this deeper but has anyone else had this issue?

Cheers!

Shaun
Just a possibility - research the flap repair - here:

https://mbworld.org/forums/sl55-amg-...y-fix-diy.html

Sounds like The cover flap(s) are loose. With the top down, the flap(s) are secure in their position and the switch see this and works. When the top is up, the flaps hang (inside the trunk) and the switch is "open" causing the error.

A couple of other links for you...

https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...-will-not.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...w-fix-diy.html

Thanks to NikleinR6 and egwu for the write-up and links

Last edited by Nor Cal SL55; Jun 8, 2016 at 01:12 PM.
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Old Jun 7, 2016 | 04:47 PM
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Hey Thanks NorCal!

Here are pics of the flaps on my SL. The one on the Driver's side is totally broken or shifted from the original. I will look into this and get back to the board. Thanks so much. Cheers!

Shaun



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Old Jun 8, 2016 | 12:40 PM
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Originally Posted by coldhammer
can also reset by disconnecting and reconnecting accessory battery. theres a big write up on here somewhere covering what goes wrong with the soft close.
no need to disconnect the battery.

just pull fuse F71 (see 20 amp fuse in attached pic) in the rear SAM (storage cubby behind passenger seat) and then re-install ... this will reset the central locking system.

On my 2003 SL55, this soft-close issue only comes up once in awhile, so I made a replacement circuit (plugs-in in place of F71) that feeds the power through a remote 20 amp fuse (see second pic) and the normally closed side of a relay (and I merely push the button to reset the central locking system). One of these days I will look for the leak ...

Cheers,
Chris
Attached Thumbnails Softclose boot fail-20150809_185820.jpg   Softclose boot fail-20160524_193500.jpg  
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Old Jun 13, 2016 | 10:35 PM
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Originally Posted by latemodel21
no need to disconnect the battery.

just pull fuse F71 (see 20 amp fuse in attached pic) in the rear SAM (storage cubby behind passenger seat) and then re-install ... this will reset the central locking system.

On my 2003 SL55, this soft-close issue only comes up once in awhile, so I made a replacement circuit (plugs-in in place of F71) that feeds the power through a remote 20 amp fuse (see second pic) and the normally closed side of a relay (and I merely push the button to reset the central locking system). One of these days I will look for the leak ...

Cheers,
Chris
thats a great idea. i only have to reset mine occasionally as well. where did you get the remote fuse setup?
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Old Jun 13, 2016 | 10:46 PM
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Originally Posted by coldhammer
thats a great idea. i only have to reset mine occasionally as well. where did you get the remote fuse setup?
I built it using generic components ... It's pretty simple. PM me your email address if you want more info. At some point, I could probably post a parts list and schematic.

Cheers,
Chris





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Old Jun 14, 2016 | 05:20 PM
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you can also rest it with a STAR tool if you have one
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Old Jun 14, 2016 | 05:57 PM
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I did the fuse F71 trick again,and this time the softclose is still working
Ok,I know it must be a leak,can I fix it with glue to seal the lock operator?
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Old Jun 14, 2016 | 07:29 PM
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Follow Up...

Hey fellow MB soft close loose your mind peeps

So my brother fixed the flap (you can see it was pretty off line)and it's still not working (or partially working). With the roof up, the soft close does not work. When the roof is down, the soft close does work. I will follow up with my brother and give him the car again to find the leak. I sure like that circuit Chris made to make the process simple to reset. Nice work! Will keep everyone posted....

Shaun
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Old Jun 21, 2016 | 02:22 AM
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I just threw together a crude drawing of the soft close reset harness I made for my 2003 sl55.

feel free to ask for clarifications

Cheers,
Chris
Attached Thumbnails Softclose boot fail-soft-close.jpg  
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Old Jun 22, 2016 | 04:58 AM
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Great setup Chris, thanks
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Old Jun 23, 2016 | 01:38 PM
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Guys,
I haven't see this fix anywhere so I thought I would post my experience.
I got this 04 S430 3 yrs ago and I didn't know anything about soft close until I ran into the info in this forum.
After pulling 20A fuse, rear passenger doors would stay working but front driver and front passenger door would only worked a few times.
I pulled the pump in the trunk but couldn't find anything wrong with it. I keep pulling 20A fuse once a while and finally got tired of pulling the fuse.
Last month, I gave some white lithium grease to the unit and both front doors have been working since then. Not sure how long this will last but I thought I would share. There are video on pulling the panels and it's very easy. I applied the grease without pulling the door actuator. See included pic with white lithium grease.
Anyone out there tried this method?
Attached Thumbnails Softclose boot fail-photo454.jpg   Softclose boot fail-photo629.jpg  
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