SL 55 AMG R230 - ABC Fault

[bonnim]

Hi guys,

I have an issue with my car and was wondering if anyone else had come across it and had any ideas if I could start and drive my car without having it towed.

I have kept my car garged for a while and left on trickle charge. I would usually start the car every few weeks but on this occassion it has been a lot longer than this, perhaps a couple of months.

Anyway I went to start the car today and when I turned the ignition the dashboard went red and said ABC car too low. I checked the car and sure enough the rear of the car seems to be lower than the front. I can not get the start at all, I tried disconnecting the batteries hoping it would reset itself but that has not done anything.

I would be surprised if the struts are damaged as they were replaced along with the pump about 10,000 miles ago - but of course this could be the culprit. I can not see any leaking fluid anywhere but admittedly I do not have very good access given the car is low. There could be a leak but I doubt it.

Also, I find it hard to believe that 2 struts would both fail at exactly the same time? Could be, but I think it is unlikely... I think the error message mentioned ESP as well, could it be an electrical issue?

Does anyone have any ideas as to what it could be and how I could fix it? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks all

[DKL]

Only optionally is to get a obd reader on it, try and clear it and see what happens. I have no idea if a generic reader will do or if you will have to get someone with a STAR system.

[Tommie38]

Worth getting one of the Mercedes specific readers. iCarsoft 980 is good but double check it can do ABC faults. I think the MBII is its bigger brother.

Will pay for itself the first or second time you use it and will help get quotes/plan for the work that is actually required.

[d.sloan]

I think you may have two issues. The ABC suspension can drop if unused for a long period of time and, as I understand it, this does not necessarily mean there is a major problem or an external leak. Often the ABC fluid is dirty and this can prevent the valves from seating well. It is good practice to flush the ABC fluid periodically and replace the filter in the ABC reservoir. Mercedes brought out a finer filter, presumably for good reason! Ordinarily, provided there is no obvious leak and your fluid is at the correct level, I would suggest you start the car, engage D or R and let the car creep very slowly a couple of feet when often the suspension will raise to normal and the ABC warning will disappear. Regarding the ESP warning, try turning steering from lock to lock a couple of times with the engine running.
Regarding its failure to start, is your trickle charger wired to the auxiliary battery in the boot? If so, have you checked the condition and charge of the starter battery under the bonnet? I am not certain, but I do not think that the starter battery is charged by a trickle charger attached to the auxiliary battery in the boot.
Good luck
Dave

[swisstoni]

Sounds like battery issues to me too.
All sorts of random error messages can be generated.
Very odd to get 2 fairly serious error messages all at once.

[Monkeylegend]

d.sloan said:

Regarding its failure to start, is your trickle charger wired to the auxiliary battery in the boot? If so, have you checked the condition and charge of the starter battery under the bonnet? I am not certain, but I do not think that the starter battery is charged by a trickle charger attached to the auxiliary battery in the boot.
Good luck
Dave

I was advised by a very good Indy to connect the trickle charger to the auxiliary battery and this would keep the starter battery charged. It has worked ok for the last four years, however charging the starter battery will not keep the auxiliary battery topped up.

I have a 350 so not sure if this is any different, but I suspect not.

[bonnim]

Thanks for all of the messages!! Very helpful.

Flat starter battery makes sense (I did not suspect it at first because it was fully charged and I would have thought it would have stayed with some juice for longer than 8 weeks or so).

I am currently charging it so as soon as it is fully charged I will try again and update you all.

Thanks!!

[d.sloan]

The original starter battery on my SL55 failed at 15 years old with absolutely no warning. Went out one morning and totally dead, had been on a long run the day before. Hopefully your starting issue is just battery related and then you can move on to the other issues.

[d.sloan]

Monkeylegend said:

d.sloan said:

Regarding its failure to start, is your trickle charger wired to the auxiliary battery in the boot? If so, have you checked the condition and charge of the starter battery under the bonnet? I am not certain, but I do not think that the starter battery is charged by a trickle charger attached to the auxiliary battery in the boot.
Good luck
Dave

I was advised by a very good Indy to connect the trickle charger to the auxiliary battery and this would keep the starter battery charged. It has worked ok for the last four years, however charging the starter battery will not keep the auxiliary battery topped up.

I have a 350 so not sure if this is any different, but I suspect not.

This is interesting because I was told the opposite!

I have just checked the resting voltages across both my aux and starter batteries, connected my charger to aux battery and there is an increse of a couple of volts to 14.5 across the aux battery which indicates charging as expected. There is no change at all in the resting voltage of the starter battery which indicates that it is not charging this way, at least at the moment.

My car is 2002 and I understand that the starter battery only starts the car and when the engine is running the split charging system always charges the starter battery first for obvious reasons.

I wonder if there has been a change in the charging system during the R230 production run. Is your car a late model 350 by any chance?

[Monkeylegend]

d.sloan said:

Monkeylegend said:

d.sloan said:

Regarding its failure to start, is your trickle charger wired to the auxiliary battery in the boot? If so, have you checked the condition and charge of the starter battery under the bonnet? I am not certain, but I do not think that the starter battery is charged by a trickle charger attached to the auxiliary battery in the boot.
Good luck
Dave

I was advised by a very good Indy to connect the trickle charger to the auxiliary battery and this would keep the starter battery charged. It has worked ok for the last four years, however charging the starter battery will not keep the auxiliary battery topped up.

I have a 350 so not sure if this is any different, but I suspect not.

This is interesting because I was told the opposite!

I have just checked the resting voltages across both my aux and starter batteries, connected my charger to aux battery and there is an increse of a couple of volts to 14.5 across the aux battery which indicates charging as expected. There is no change at all in the resting voltage of the starter battery which indicates that it is not charging this way, at least at the moment.

My car is 2002 and I understand that the starter battery only starts the car and when the engine is running the split charging system always charges the starter battery first for obvious reasons.

I wonder if there has been a change in the charging system during the R230 production run. Is your car a late model 350 by any chance?

I have been charging my SL this way for 4 1/2 years now and it spends most of it's time on charge. The starter battery is always fully charged along with the auxiliary battery.

When I was initially putting the charger on the starter battery that was maintaining a full charge but the auxiliary battery would be low and the warning message re consumables currently not available would show.

The indy I use, who is very well respected, told me the system is designed to charge both through the auxiliary battery and so far this has always been the case on mine.