I have a 2004 E320 CDI Avantgarde A Estate with Airmatic / hydro pneumatic suspension front and rear. VIN WDB2112262A519255

Following a service last year a "Visit workshop" warning appeared.

Diagnostics showed an Error 5210.
Y51 (Left front axle damping valve unit) Y51y2 (Left front solenoid valve 2): OPEN CIRCUIT.
I was told I needed a new strut at the eye watering cost of £842+vat+labour!

The car showed no physical symptoms of anything wrong so I continued to use it. In the mean time I purchased a remanufactured strut part number 2113205513.

Recently the suspension dropped both sides all round and a red warning appears "STOP CAR TOO LOW" so booked it in to replace the front left strut my C service was also due.

The outcome was that the new strut was the wrong one. I needed part number 2113206113 so the old strut went back on and a new air suspension compressor was fitted as the old one was worn out apparently. Warning message current and stored still.

The original front left strut appears fine except the error message. The next day the drivers side has dropped. It goes fully up sometimes and to low most of the time. "STOP CAR TO LOW"
The mechanic says there is no sign of a leak, not detected by the computer anyway, there does not appear to be any fault with the block. Only fault detected on N/S front left.

Do I need 2 front struts at a cost of over £2000?

Or is there another answer? cpu wiring?

Grateful for any advice or comments.

P.S. I HAVE A NEW MANUFACTURED UNUSED FRONT LEFT AIR SUSPENSION STRUT PART NUMBER 2113205513 FOR SALE GOING CHEAPLY IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED.

 

"Open Circuit" means the solenoid has a broken coil or one of the two wires leading to the shock is broken or the connector is bad.


Open circuit just means there is a break somewhere between the actuating circuit and the activated device. Multimeter is your friend. Look for dangling wires that, because of multiple up-and-down or side-to-side movements could have suffered metal fatigue (the wire is bending multiple times until it breaks). Clean the connectors as a loose or corroded connector can cause an open circuit.


FWIW, try spraying soapy water on any and all joints in the system. This allowed me to find a leak on the rear suspension.


Check for a leak at the Y36/6 Central Pressure Reservoir Valve. I doubt this is the issue but check anyway. You'll have to pull the fender liner to check it. Follow the link.


http://www.mercedestechstore.com/pdf...2007-31-02.pdf


Odds are it is a broken wire or bad connector. Secondary is a bad solenoid (they go bad but not that often). I lean towards one of the previous as the diagnostic system is telling you there is an open circuit. You just have to find the break which could be hidden under insulation. You may need to test for continuity from end to end while moving/pulling/pushing the wires/connectors to see if the resistance suddenly jumps to infinity.

Tertiary is an air leak (this would show as "car too low" message in diagnostic system).


A pressure sensor such as those used to troubleshoot propane systems would work. Disconnect the air line from the shock absorber (damper to Brits), connect to the pressure sensor, apply 12 volts directly to the two-wire connector on the shock for solenoid y2, use floor jack to raise/lower axle. See if pressure raises/lowers with axle raise/lowering. Remove 12 volts, repeat test. One of them should be different from the other. If both tests' results are the same, I would bet it was a bad solenoid in the shock and replace the shock. If tests have different results, my bet is on a broken/intermittent wire or bad connector.


FWIW, it took me three months to track down an intermittent connection on a headrest circuit. Sometimes worked, sometimes didn't. But...as soon as I disassembled it, I saw a cold solder joint. Very distinctive appearance. Joint could could be moved with only minimal pressure resulting in intermittent contact. 15 seconds with a soldering iron and problem solved. But...it took me three months to find that one cold solder joint.

Hope this helps you out.

 

Thank you Bbirdwell a very helpful reply and useful link. I will certainly test connections and wires before buying another replacement strut.

When the replacement strut part 2113205513 was fitted it was taken off because the star diagnostic error code was 5206.
Y51 (left front axle damping valve unit) Short circuit between ground lead Y51y1 (Left front solenoid valve 1) and ground lead Y51y2 (Left front solenoid valve 2)

Similar error to original strut. Does this give any indication that the wiring may be at fault? or simply wrong part.

 

FWIW, I'd pull the connector from the strut and run the diagnostic test. If the same result "Short circuit between ground lead Y51y1 (Left front solenoid valve 1) and ground lead Y51y2 (Left front solenoid valve 2)" appears, this suggests the problem is in the wiring harness and not the strut. When running the test with the connector is pulled from the solenoid, you should also get the error code for an open circuit.


One should also be able to jumper in the new strut without mounting it and run the diagnostic test again. If the problem disappears, it was the old strut. If it remains, it is definitely in the harness or circuit board.

I am *not* an expert on Mercedes but I'm learning as fast as I can. These circuits seem to be "ground activated" (for want of a better word) much like saturated fuel injectors. Power is always applied to the solenoid and the solenoid is activated by a bi-polar junction transistor or field-effect transistor completing the circuit to ground. If the two grounds are shorted together (as in the wiring harness or on a circuit board or inside the strut), whenever one transistor activates its designated solenoid, the other solenoid activates due to its ground wire being shorted to the other circuit.

On the bright side, this means one only needs to trace the ground side of the circuit from the solenoid to the activating device and not the fused power side to the strut.


Hope this helps. Electrical schematics are few and far between but I'm searching and I recommend you keep searching.

 

I thought I would post a conclusion to my strut problems.
Rather than buy two new struts I found a company that collected the original and re manufactured them airdominance.co.uk. with 2 year unlimited mileage guarantee.
They managed to repair drivers side but sold me a re manufactured one for passenger side for £483 including collection and return which I thought pretty reasonable.
After the stuts were fitted it still showed a fault! so the aux battery was replaced and CPU was re polarized. Bingo fault cleared and all worked as they should.

This might be useful for UK based people with similar problem.

 

Hi There,


I am ready this tread with great interest. I had a RF strut failure on my 1999 S320. I got a "Service Exchange" one which worked/works well except I get "Airmatic - Visit Workshop" I had a STAR report done and it came up with.
Code: C1323-032 - Fault in component Y52y2 (right front solenoid valve-2) in Assembly Y52 (Right front Axle damping valve unit) - Current/stored.


It does not say open circuit, which it should s but when say when there is a wiring problem. I disconnect the plugs on top and bottom and switched on the "Shock Switch" on the dash I get not voltage (Except mV) from the contacts.


A. hat should be the voltage reading or will it only give a pulse to open/close the damper if the circuit first is completed.
B. I also read a statement by one of the contributor's saying something about a "Fuse supply". Where is that fuse (number)


The Remanufacturers simply said to me to bring it back to them so they will give me another one. I am afraid that this actually will not solve the problem but I do not know how to test further.


kindly you guys input on the all.

 

I have the error:
- 5206 left front damping valve unit short circuit between ground lead y51y1 left front solenoid valve 1 and ground lead y51y2 left front solenoid valve 2

I have replaced all air shocks all 4 corners.
Valve block replaced as well.
I've checked for wire chafing in the front left wheel well, none found.
I've replaced the aux battery with new.
I've use an autel maxidas ds708 to clear the code several times and it always comes back.
NO other airmatic codes.
No airmatic leaking (a miracle!).
The shock itself works, but i think it might be stuck in the elevated position.

Matthew
2004 e500 wagon 4 matic

 

yet another update.
Battery went dead, so i trickle charged it overnight. I was going to disconnect both batteries to try to clear the code, but i think this was effective enough.
Unplugged shock at x1 connector in wheel well. Read the codes....only y51 y1 and y2 "open circuit" fault code showed up, so nothing wrong with the wiring harness on the car?
My theory being that if it was the wiring harness on the car, the 5206 grounding fault code would show up again as well with the shock unplugged.
Cleared both y51 open circuit codes, plugged shock back in, 5206 did not return (although i haven't put it on the ground yet).

I'll set it on the ground today and see if the 5206 code returns. If the code returns, it must be internal to the shock and I have a bad shock.
I've tested for continuity on all wires, and tested resistance as well. everything is within spec.

I ****ing hate this shock.

Matthew
2004 e500 wagon 4 matic