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Exclamation mark

51K views 16 replies 5 participants last post by  mike-evans 
#1 ·
As title, 108 cdi, exclamation mark light on the dash has began to illuminate recently. I have extinguished it by turning the van off then back on. But tonight, that wont cure it...

I do believe its brakes related and Ive recently changed all 4 sets of pads. My front passenger side pad has a sensor on it, the old pads had a hole for the sensor pin to fit into, new ones dont so Ive just slotted the sensor onto the top of the pad......

Questions:
- If I remove the sensor completely by unplugging it, will the light go out permenantly? If not, whats the best option?

-When the light is on, will that activate limp mode?

Cheers
 
#2 ·
As far as I know, if you are referring to the yellow triangle with exclamation mark in the centre of the speedo, this is Traction Control related................

If there is no other lights on with it (i.e ABS or EBV) then it is most likely the T/C switch on the dash or associated wiring, turning T/C off without you pressing the switch.

It is said on here that the pad wear indicators which you refer to will initiate limp mode, although I'm yet to come across this / try it out.

Sorry if this sounds negative but I am a bit uncertain of a lot of information I have seen on here...................
Recently I've done a major overhaul of my V Class, including new Engine and loads of other jobs.
I have found a lot of stuff I've read to be downright wrong, so I now like to prove things myself wherever possible.

HTH

Dave
 
#4 ·
in your photo (I know you know some of them) the lit lights are glowplug (if lit when driving, you have 2 or more duff glowplugs) next the handbrake is on, the right hand one is foot brake fault

footbrake fault is thin pads if sensors fitted, duff switch, low fluid, poor hydraulic pressure (if hydraulic switch fitted) or defective wiring

it should also have gone into limp mode.... it should go into limp if ANY sensor on the safety of the vehicle operates

you can disconnect the pad sensors.... but wiring faults, after work is done, are common

I cut mine at the suspension leg, then separated the wires (2 wires) folded one back on itself and taped the whole of it

folding one back ensures that they cannot short circuit.

some time later, I put a socket on the 2 wires and made a plug/socket patch lead to the pads...

the wires break quite commonly

malcolm
 
#5 ·
Cheers Malcolm :thumbsup:

Only the exclamation light I have an issue with..... fluid level is good, all 4 sets of pads are new, so none are worn. Handbrake is poor though, so I need to remove the rear drums and replace shoes if necesarry, if not Ill adjust them up...

Im thinking the light is lit due to the recent pad change, so Ill do as you done and cut the wire at the suspension leg and seperate the wires!! :)
 
#6 · (Edited)
Hi,

Yes agree with Malc, I thought you meant it was the other yellow triangle (!) light ;)

Only thing is regarding all safety sensors and limp mode..............

I have recently bought the latest Snap On Solus, which gets into all the ECU's and I found yesterday that my ABS was not working, LH front wheel sensor............But the van is definitely not in limp mode ;)

I have suspected for a while that the slimy dishonest, know nothing "car dealer" knob, that I bought my V Class from had somehow disabled a lot of the warning lights on my dash cluster, as half of them didn't come on when switching on the Ignition, but until I had finished all the major mechanical jobs, I had left sorting out all the little electrical gremlins.............

When I tried the clock set from the Van I broke up yesterday, the ABS, Traction and EBV light was staying on, so I Code read it and found the duff N/S/F sensor code.
Probably took the wanker longer to mess with the dash warning lights than it would have done to change the ABS Sensor LOLOLOL
It took me 10 minutes yesterday to remove both the front sensors from the scrap Van ;)

I am going to change the sensor in a while and put the Van clock set in it for good, as the mileages are pretty near the same, and all of the warning lamps work !!

Then hopefully I'll just have the SRS light to sort out.............

This has only come on since I fitted a Double Front Passenger Seat, and is just showing a "passenger seat occupancy sensor" code, so before next MOT I'll just need to by the little Emulator thingy to plug in under the seat ;)

After that I might get to sort out the drivers door wiring, thus fixing the electric mirror and central locking gremlins :)

HTH

Cheers Dave
 
#7 ·
STOP

do NOT remove drum (parking) brakes

FIRST do the pad sensors.... I'd do all 4..... make sure when you cut the wires that one is folded back and well taped so that they can't short

THEN
chances are the switch on the handbrake lever is dodgy... THAT is all the light on the dash indicates... there are NO sensors on the handbrake shoes... the switch is UNDER the handbrake lever, on the OUTSIDE of the seatbox with a connector INSIDE the seatbox.

the switch wires, connector and switch itself brake easily..... OR the switch has dislodged and is not being operated (unlikely)

the cover on the handbrake pulls off sideways

if you want to remove the handbrake.... its the 2 13mm head screws... remove and you can get at the whole mechanism... be careful not to damage the operating cable...(do NOT lubricate the cable ONLY the top mechanism)

malcolm
 
#12 ·
STOP

do NOT remove drum (parking) brakes

malcolm
I love the dramatic STOP !! Malcolm.

Anyway, just my car...... my dash lights were also covered when i bought it. the abs was cut from the clocks. various lights actually had the black front part cut off and swapped. Turns out the paso seat sensor is faulty. but not a limp mode problem. Moot since turbo blew anyway. I thought the exc mark would mean the h/b switch was not working properly. certainly i'd be checking that before anything else. The other thing is none of my brake pads have senors on. i just left the wires hanging and it shows no faults. I did as a side note buy cheap pads for the car test last time, Pagio r somehing, and the brakes were rubbish. A huge chamfer on them, i reckon a third of contact at first use. as for handbrake shoes i removed and cleaned and rubbed with sandpaper. i adjusted as per instructed here (Mal) and passed by miles. 2 clicks always
 
#10 ·
Hi Malcolm,

Reads Codes, gets live data and resets codes on all 638's..............

Engine ECU
Airbag / SRS ECU
Automatic Transmission ECU
Traction Control / EBV / ABS ECU
Service Interval Reset

And something else I can't remember now was listed !!

Well I changed the ABS sensor, still showing faulty, and no N/S/F wheel speed showing when on live data :(
So it must have a broken wire between the wheel sensor and the controller !!
Wish I'd known while I had the Engine out lol, would have been a lot easier to do ;)

Mike,

Regards the H/B Shoes, did mine when I first got it, not too bad a job, remember to slacken the cable adjustment right off first, and once you've got it all fixed and set up, last job is re adjust it for 3 to 4 clicks ;)

Handbrakes are never that good when inside disc, just make sure to buy a fitting kit as well as shoes, cos the springs usually go rotten by the time you get in there for maintenance ;)

Cheers for now,

Dave
 
#11 ·
a long time ago I put recommissioning as an integral part of getting a used vehicle although it must seem excessive to most....

new brakes all around and discs if needed (usually are) rod ends replacement and bearings unless you know they are recent.... check tyres, make sure fuses are correct values (normally changed for indicating fuses), all new bulbs, replace filters, oils and coolant... scrub out washer bottle and fill with "proper" fluid (soap and detergent form black mould) add water / mould additive to fuel.

as I said, many would say its too much but reliability and predictability is paramount when ill / disabled as if it goes wrong it can take a lot of time to work on.... plus of course if you get all the bits and do it at once, it takes a much shorter time.

I ask about the solus because so many bits of kit fail on a 638 because of mb's weird approach.

when I had a sensor problem, it was a duff sensor on one wheel (heat the surrounding steel up before trying to remove it (I pushed it out with a bearing puller onto the frame and a large nut with backing disc of hardwood on the sensor)

on the other wheel the slotted ring on the hub was missing (it's quite common)... should be obvious but isn't

You should have the ABS warning light permanently on... it should extinguish in 1 to 2 seconds if ok... but note it only checks static faults not sensor rings.

malcolm
 
#14 ·
seeing that the original post is on warning lamps etc... and I took it off piste.... I am bringing it back with info on getting the instruments back where they ought to be.

It is mentioned that the warning logos have been cut up and re-arranged.. this worries me...

MB have a standard layout for switches and warnings THEY DO NOT VARY... indeed the later instrument clusters use LEDs and cannot be moved as they are on the pcb.

anyway... here's the standard switch layout (note its LHD) plus warning light layout plus fuse box info..... there is a variation on fuse boxes but generally this applies (I did it to unravel my traveliner where NOTHING is in the right place).... MBs method is <fixed position for everything> and if that lamp / switch / fuse isn't used on this vehicle < Just leave it out > and leave a hole or blacked out lamp.

Also included are what the warning lights do or mean

malcolm
 

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#15 · (Edited)
Solus Ultra is very good Malcolm, but it is £2400.00, I use it a lot in my business, so got the VAT Back, and it pays for itself, I charge 35.00 a go to read, reset etc customers cars.

My ABS rings are in place, I am pretty sure it is the sensor wiring, although I am going to spin the O/S front wheel with live data up, to see if the wheel speed is registering...............
Just to make sure when the machine says left front it means left sat in drivers seat, and not looking from the front....................

I have come across other German cars which have caused left and right confusion, as the codes are stored in the ECUs and the translation from German to English in scanners sometimes gets bastardized :)

The muppets who disabled the warning lights on mine just un soldered the led's from T/C, ABS and a few others, thus rendering the clock set useless now I am fixing the faults...................

Thankfully the Clock Set from the Salvage Van works perfectly in mine, with one anomaly, it is the same part number, but it will not display the outside temperature, the old set did !!

Probably needs MB Star to "Enable" this function ??

Funny thing is, I'm sure the Scrap Van had O/Side Temp sensor behind bumper when I stripped it, but maybe I'm imagining that, have done a lot of work since then ;)

Cheers Dave
 
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