2001 CLK Convertible Roof Malfunction - Help!

[mikejb]

Hi all,

I bought a 2001 CLK 230K convertible around a month ago and had a bit of a problem yesterday. I have had the roof down 3 times since I bought it, but when I went to drop it yesterday, it got stuck! I had a laptop case in the boot underneath the compartment the roof folds into, but there was at least 6 inches of clearance. I got as far as the rear window part of the roof lifting up and the metal tonneau coming out from under it, then it stopped and wouldnt move either way. I couldnt open the boot with the switch on the centre console, the emergency key in my fob or the button on the remote and I had to manually push the metal tonneau back down and fold the roof back into place on top of it. It wouldn't click fully back into place at the rear and had a gap of about 3 inches between the roof and the top of the boot.

I called Mercedes assist out to have a look at it but they couldnt fix it. They recommended I take it into a dealer as soon as possible. The roof is currently fully clipped in place above the windscreen and particlly in place above the boot (I cant manually lift it off the boot anymore but theres a gap of 1cm or so. I had to drive it home and did about 60mph on the motorway without any problems (thankfully)!

I was told by a friend that this sounds like a reset job using a computer at the Mercedes garage, does this sound right? Also, do you think its safe to drive it? The central locking and alarm are working properly but the switch on the centre console to open/close the roof is flashing red all the time when the ignition is on and it makes a warning sound for the first 30 secs or so of driving.

Your help would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Mike

[mikejb]

Bit of progress made, ive managed to manually lock the roof in place now. When i unclip the roof at the windscreen the windows drop and everything seems fine, the switch flashes red as well, but the roof doesnt go down. Does it sound like an electrical fault?

[Kingdom]

Sorry, this is not going to be much help, but this is a complex piece of machinery and I suspect only Merc will be able to tell you what the problem is. Hopefully it is not an expensive problem - let us know how you get on.

[markmullen]

I've had that once before on a CLK I'd sold, it was a sensor malfunction telling the roof mechanism that there was something in its path when there wasn't, our service guys put it on the diagnostic, cleared the fault and it was fine.

[pmac]

I've got a 2001 430 cab, and had exactly the same problem - local Merc dealer diagnosed a broken hydraulic roof pump and wanted £1800 to fix it!

On investigation, I think that getting one from a Merc breakers is possible, but haven't sourced anyone to fit it yet.

Haven't bothered thinking about it over the winter, but recent sunshine has got me thinking again.

Has anyone else had to replace this pump? Also interested to hear if anyone else had the system reset as above - if so might look to get a 2nd opinion on mine before I spend (what will still be) big money.

[mikejb]

Thanks for the info guys. Ive spoken to a couple of specialist MB guarages near Manchester and theyve both said it sounds like a job for a reset. They think its caused by one of the many micro switches getting out of sync which would halt the roof as im seeing. Hoping to get my car into one of them in the next couple of days so will let you know. I'll also get a couple of photos of it up when the sun shines, just had some 19" Mandrus wheels fit, looks superb!

[mikejb]

Hi all,

Ive had my problem sorted out by a local specialist, very happy with the job and the price, £320 for the roof, new brake pads and wheels balanced, not bad at all.

Here's a pic of it near where the work was done:

[Kingdom]

So you frequent here too Mikey....