[R129 SL] Soft Top and Roll Bar Indicator Lights On - Soft TopControl Unit
seitle
seitle at whidbey.com
Wed Apr 8 18:48:04 EDT 2009
I second Peter! Often just connector corrosion and poor solder connections
are the problem. Dealers and many mechanics will just throw part at the
problem. I get lazy and sometimes use bad judgment myself. The other day I
replaced the auxiliary water pump that provides heat during idle. The lowest
price was just under US$200. After I replaced the pump, I took the removed
unit to the bench and took it apart. The pump impeller is driven by a
magnetic coupling from the motor. The motor did not seem to be openable
without destruction. It did however roll off the bench and drop to the
floor. I reconnected it to a 12 Volt source and it ran and never stopped in
24 hours of test. I now have a spare I will never need again.
Spring is finally coming to the Pacific Northwest! But I think NZ would be
the ideal place to go between January and March! I want to consider this
next year.
Rolf Seitle
300E, 320SL
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter S" <joyce.pm at xtra.co.nz>
To: "SL Mailing List" <r129list at mbcoupes.com>; "Deneal S"
<deneals at sbcglobal.net>; "Rolfe" <seitle at whidbey.com>;
<jimc at windwireless.net>; <mercedes at mercedesmailinglist.com>;
<simssj at gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2009 3:02 PM
Subject: Re: [R129 SL] Soft Top and Roll Bar Indicator Lights On - Soft
TopControl Unit
> Hi Jody,
>
> With electrical and electronic failures, the mileage has very little to do
> with the failures! In fact in the older circuit configurations of the
> electronic 'goodies', corrosion/corrosion oxidisation, and capacitors
> 'drying out' are the main causes of failures.
>
> I actually pull apart the electronics and try to fix them. Many of the
> older parts have discreet components (transistors, resistors, some mini
> chips etc) so I have fixed most of the parts myself (unless the vehicle is
> under a limited warranty). At the moment, I am repairing a 'flasher
> unit'
> for my 1983, W123 . While I have some spare parts for most of my Merc's,
> I
> like to find out the reason for failures, hence the inquisitiveness. The
> Flasher unit has a dud transistor and a dud capacitor - just have to
> replace
> them and the parts cost me about 20 cents 15 years ago. A replacement
> flasher is about NZ$300.
>
> If you have a circuit board out at all (or the auto electrician has it
> out!), spray the circuit board with CRC Zone 240. This is good stuff and
> limits corrosion. Note also that corrosion also occurs on plugs and
> sockets, so these also need to be maintained. True also for your fuse
> connections.
>
> I have repaired 2 x central lock controllers - reasons for failure - 'dry
> joints' (poor soldering by the manufacturer). Cars had travelled less than
> 35,000 miles!!!! MB contract out all this stuff and Bosch do a fair bit
> of
> manufacturing for MB.
>
> Note also that window switches fail as well. There are only about 7 parts
> in each these switches, I have accumulated a lot of old ones, so I fix
> these
> for people if I have the exact bits - and if they are club members! Easy
> to
> repair and saves a heap of $$.
>
> So Jody, sometimes mileage has little to do with electrical and electronic
> failures as atmosphere takes it's never ending toll on metallic parts.
>
> Well, getting colder in good old New Zealand as we are now in Autumn. 21
> degrees C, 2 days ago and now it is 8 degrees C. Nearly time to put on a
> jersey!!! Easter Thursday here, so a full weekend is planned with Easter
> Services and car/ motorcycle events.
>
> Have a good one wherever you are in the world.
>
> Regards, Peter S.
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jody Techlin" <starfishsailor at mail.com>
> To: "Deneal S" <deneals at sbcglobal.net>; "Rolfe" <seitle at whidbey.com>; "SL
> LIST" <r129list at mbcoupes.com>; <jimc at windwireless.net>;
> <mercedes at mercedesmailinglist.com>; <simssj at gmail.com>
> Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 9:23 AM
> Subject: [R129 SL] Soft Top and Roll Bar Indicator Lights On - Soft
> TopControl Unit
>
>
>> Hello All,
>> The mechanic called this afternoon with the reason why my 1996 SL320's
>> roll bar light and soft top activation button light are lighted. In my
>> case itr is the soft top control unit which has failed. This just so
>> happend to coincide with when I had the car detailed but the detailer had
>> nothing to do with the units failure. The trusted shop I use shopped for
>> the part, if we purchase the replacement part from the MB dealer network
>> it is $2100; if purchasing a remanufactured unit with the same 1 year
>> unlimited mileage warrenty the price is $925 so needless to say we are
>> using the remanufactured unit. I am surprised the original unit failed
>> with so few miles on the car but age is age I guess. I would like to
>> thank
>> the many people (Daneal, Jim, Rolfe, SJS and others) for their assistance
>> and advice. I was hoping the problem would be much less costly but I
>> guess
>> that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. Thanks again one and all.
>> Best regards,
>> Jody
>> 1996 SL320, 29k
>> Punta Gorda, FL
>>
>>
>> --
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>>
>> The MB Coupes Website!
>> R129 SL Mailing List
>
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