[RichDiesel]

I saw this ad for a 2002 CL500

"can’t crank car on
Does not run
Will need towed
Unknown Mechamic issue"

My kind of car! I have always loved this coupé style (along with the C126 and C123) Asking price was not realistic so I go to look at it anyway (was quite a ways away, but hey... you know how it is) and the woman tells me it was having starting issues, then wouldn't start, some mechanic fooled with it but gave up, so it has been sitting in the driveway (actually was in the street then the city said it was going to get towed so somehow she moved it to the driveway) for awhile. Slammed too. I had pulled the big fuses and some other stuff off a W220 S430 so had that stuff along if I needed it, figuring something electrical might be the problem.

I fooled around with it for awhile, put some jumpers on the points in the footwell and it tried to crank but starter would click but not engage. At least that was encouraging. I was finally able to get in the trunk to check the battery situation (was totally dead, imagine that). I brought a good battery with me so put some jumpers on it, and it wanted crank but not enough juice. So I hooked up a battery charger and let it sit a little bit, then put it on the start setting, and the thing fired up! Ran great even after sitting for some months, moved a bit under its own power! So I achieved what the mech couldn't. I actually think the battery was going bad or draining or something, I know these cars (and others) are very sensitive to battery voltage and charge, so will have to chase that down. It did restart fine though after I let it run a bit and charge the battery.

But there were all kinds of electrical issues, the dash, the radio, the windows had a mind of their own, other stuff too would work then wouldn't. I think the headlights worked though, weird. Looked like the "mechanic" had been in the car in the footwell, in the trunk, who knows where else, there was loose stuff all over, even the top of the center console above the radio was not fitted back properly. Who knows. I didn't think the ABC had pumped up but then noticed the right side pumped up fine but the left side was still slammed. Plenty of clean fluid in the reservoir. I guess I'll have to deal with that, but at least the system seems to be working (more or less). Might be a solenoid in the distribution block or maybe just the electrical gremlins. The woman said she had something in the suspension system fixed a year or so ago, was leaking fluid.

Oh, and did I mention it sat out in a hailstorm so the front and rear glass is cracked and it has some divots in the top sheet metal, no other damage to the body. Other than that... but black/black and the interior is in pretty good shape (but needs a good cleaning) so there's that and I think she (her college son drove it) spent some $$ on maintenance, tires were decent, engine bay was clean, so that is helpful...

I wasn't able to get it alive for my scanner to see it, probably the electrical issues or a fuse somewhere, probably would not have told me much anyway with a bad battery.

So we struck a deal, pretty cheap, she was glad that someone who wasn't a scrapper was going to buy it. If nothing else it will be a fun beater with a little sorting, good battery first thing then see if something is draining it. I have 04E500 and 05ML500 so I know that engine is solid and quite entertaining. I'm going to pick it up in a week or two, it's not going anywhere!

Oh -- would W220 windshield fit this car? I have not looked at parts at all for it and don't know much about these models but it seems like it shares a lot with the W220 but maybe it is all different body-wise. I have a W220 parts car. I'm sure the rear glass is specific to this car. And the front fenders are plastic?

 

[cdk4219]

Probably aluminum fenders, doubt the 220 glass will fit, and look for bad grounds

 

[calgary]

Probably aluminum fenders, doubt the 220 glass will fit, and look for bad grounds

No, not aluminum front fenders. Mercedes describe it as: Thermoplastic material (polyamide blend) Cracking is very common of these fenders. I think the factory overtightened a certain nut, since the cracks appear to be almost always at the same spot.

 

[cdk4219]

Well learn something new every day. Wouldn’t guess Mercedes would use plastic on that’s parts. At least they didn’t get hail damage.

 

[RichDiesel]

No, not aluminum front fenders. Mercedes describe it as: Thermoplastic material (polyamide blend) Cracking is very common of these fenders. I think the factory overtightened a certain nut, since the cracks appear to be almost always at the same spot.

Thanks for that info. Yeah I could see what looked like some kind of plastic where the slammed front tire had rubbed it, and when I was checking it out it was kinda flimsy and didn’t feel or sound like metal. Weird, didn’t know MB did that.

 

[RichDiesel]

Probably aluminum fenders, doubt the 220 glass will fit, and look for bad grounds

Yeah I’ll have to chase around grounds and fuses and whatever else I can get at.

 

[RichDiesel]

I picked up the car 2 weeks ago finally after the seller got a replacement title. Battery was dead (I had disconnected it when I left after looking at it and agreeing to buy it) so I hooked up one I had brought. Started right up after sitting for a coupla months! And all 4 corners pumped up! I drove it up onto the trailer and hauled it home. Should have disconnected the battery as the alarm kept going off as I was driving. (That was fun…)

Got home and started sorting it out, first found a loose power connector in the footwell, tightened that up and things came alive! Found a few bad and missing fuses, replaced those and most everything else came alive, including the vacuum/air pump to work trunk and locks. Still getting an ABC warning but as I ran the car more and got fluid circulating the suspension is working fine even with the warning. Fault code suggests a bad sensor in RF which sometimes likes to drop down.

Got plates a coupla days ago and now driving the car. Was surprisingly easy to get it sorted considering I was expecting the car to be a basket case. Still have a coupla small issues to sort out but overall the car is running fine, AC blows cold. I’m loving it! Gonna change oil and transmission and differential fluids soon.

Did a “paint correction” and it looks really good (aside from the hail dimples). Polished the headlights and got them looking almost new. Interior was mostly clean but a good cleaning and carpet shampoo has it looking nice inside.

I think these are staggered wheels off an 06CL600?

I’m happy with the car and excited to drive it.

 

[tim687]

That's a great car! Congratulations on your purchase!

Did you perform the mandatory checks on the ABC system? Fluid level, fluid color, filter color, checking all flexible hoses for leaks.
I will warn you for any previous owners that didn't take care of the ABC system properly.
I'm sorry to say so but if the owner didn't leave the wheels straight, the owner is likely to not have taken care of the ABC system.

I would suggest that you'd read yourself up on the ABC system before anything else, if the system messes up, your bank account will get messed up
And there are a few mandatory to knows about the system and the system messing up, that each owner should know, whether you are going to do everything yourself or not

 

[RichDiesel]

Thanks! The PO said she had in a shop "not that long ago" (and she only owned it for like 2yr so it couldn't have been too long) to do something with the ABC, she couldn't remember what, but the fluid was full and looked very clean so I think that is good. The right side sags after sitting awhile, sometimes, but pumps right up when I start it and hit the "rise" button, then put it back to normal and it is fine. It's probably the seals in the valve blocks, I will tend to those at some point, or maybe something with the RF strut but it works OK. When I first looked at it all 4 corners were slammed, I got it started and the left side pumped up OK but right was still slammed. Went to pick it up a few weeks later, started it and all 4 corners pumped right up fine so that was a good sign. It has been better since I have been driving it so that is good too, getting the fluid circulating I guess. No leaks.

My 95SL600 has a very similar system (probably basically the same best I can tell) so I have some familiarity with it. Just put new rear accumulators on the SL (that was fun!) and will tend to some other aspects on that car. I'll go through the valve blocks soon but it is working OK when driving (and I love how it holds the car level in turns) so no problem there. I know the system can be problematic but it is fairly simple though some of the components can be spendy.

I changed the oil/filter a coupla days ago, will do transmission and diff soon.

The only annoyance at this point is that one of the rear headrests will not drop down with the button, I guess it must be a vac solenoid issue in that side. I'll dig into that at some point. And the window squirter didn't work yesterday, not sure if it has fluid or maybe the pump is bad or fuse is blown. Everything else is working though and I have been driving it everyday, I love it.

Oh, and first fillup got 19mpg with some spirited driving in those miles!

That's a great car! Congratulations on your purchase!

Did you perform the mandatory checks on the ABC system? Fluid level, fluid color, filter color, checking all flexible hoses for leaks.
I will warn you for any previous owners that didn't take care of the ABC system properly.
I'm sorry to say so but if the owner didn't leave the wheels straight, the owner is likely to not have taken care of the ABC system.

I would suggest that you'd read yourself up on the ABC system before anything else, if the system messes up, your bank account will get messed up
And there are a few mandatory to knows about the system and the system messing up, that each owner should know, whether you are going to do everything yourself or not

 

[tim687]

You seem to be the best owner that this car will ever get.

ABC is very sophisticated, but in the basics, it's just another hydraulic system as it should be treated like.

 

[IOCERLY]

You seem to be the best owner that this car will ever get.

ABC is very sophisticated, but in the basics, it's just another hydraulic system as it should be treated like.

I'm glad you got a good one. I bought a 2002 CL500 salvage(not my best move ever) but I got it now. had a short fire under pass side dash.Battery id of course dead.Blade key won't work in trunk.So...is there any way to mechanically open trunk before I have to drill it out. I did get a FULL set of all the harnesses off of a 2002 CL 500 if I ever get that far with it.

 

[RichDiesel]

Check the fuse for the pump, under the seat. Mine wasn’t working, new fuse (actually it was missing) got it working.

If that doesn’t work you can take off the fascia behind the license plate, then take out the screws holding the lock in. You can get it loose in there and fiddle with the linkage to pop the release.

I'm glad you got a good one. I bought a 2002 CL500 salvage(not my best move ever) but I got it now. had a short fire under pass side dash.Battery id of course dead.Blade key won't work in trunk.So...is there any way to mechanically open trunk before I have to drill it out. I did get a FULL set of all the harnesses off of a 2002 CL 500 if I ever get that far with it.

 

[tim687]

How about the key? You can use that to open the trunk, hut you need some vice grips to do so

 

[RichDiesel]

How about the key? You can use that to open the trunk, hut you need some vice grips to do so

When I got my car someone had taken out the lock screws and I guess was trying to get it open that way. I got it open with the key (turn left and push up) but had to hold the lock so I could push it up since it was not screwed in. That worked. I put it back together and it was easier. When I got the fuse in for the pump it now will open with the door switch or the fob. If it still won’t open with those, either the pump is bad or the air thingie on the release is not working.

 

[tim687]

Well, I hope that the key method is still working for you, as the pump is located in the trunk.

 

[RichDiesel]

Well, I hope that the key method is still working for you, as the pump is located in the trunk.

It should work, if not you can still open it after a bit of jiggling by taking out the screws and pushing the whole thing up and getting at the latch release. Not fun but doable.

 

[ARiK CL500]

Change the ABC acumulators if you're going to keep the ABC. Don't wait for them to fail. otherwise, scrap the ABC and go to coils and springs. Good luck!

 

[IOCERLY]

I got the trunk open. Found the fuse box at the bottom with cut wires. So lt is much worse than I thought. Of course there is no power. The fire was under pass side up under dash .So I have a non - functioning mess.But the battery from is not very old.

 

[RichDiesel]

Update on the car. I fooled around with it shortly after I got it, found the power connection at the block under the passenger footwell was loose. Cleaned the bolt and tightened it, joy with power! Started in on the fuses, found 3 missing from their slots (and 2 of the fuses were there in the front box), the vac/air pump fuse was missing, Replaced all of those and that fixed the car! Free fixes! And this after the woman I bought it from had spent $100s at her "mechanic" trying to get it sorted out. The right side still sags after awhile but when I hit the lift switch if pumps right up and the suspension works fine. I guess new o-rings in the valve blocks at some point...

I detailed the paint with the clay bar, 2 buffing stages, then polish/wax and aside from the hail dings it looks really great. I've put about 6000 miles on the car since I got it sorted and it runs fine. I did have one dead battery incident, I think the vac/air pump might have stuck on at some point as the fuse was also blown, but I charged up the battery and put in a new fuse and all has been good since.

The door closers don't work, I can hear them hissing though. Have not got into the doors yet, low priority job but at some point I'll check that out. And one trunk spring broke, go figure. I don't even know how that happens. The CL springs are smaller than the S so I will have to look for one.

The radio amplifier died at some point, it still comes on but some of the settings are kinda funky. It started making crackling noises then nothing. Bah. I pulled another one out of a S430 that might be the same, I don't know if it works or not but will give that a try at some point.

The car is a joy to drive, very fast, very comfortable, and just eats the miles on the road. And 24mpg running 75-80mph! Can't complain about that!

And now for my next CL venture, a CL600 with the catastrophic oil cooler leak... car has about 74k miles, looks brand new inside, body is very nice too. Car was slammed from sitting for awhile when I got there to look at it, started it up, hit the suspension switch and it popped right up. So it runs and everything works, but is blowing oil like the Exxon Valdez. It is throwing one code for a right camshaft hall sensor which I presume is something kinda simple, I'll check on that when I start tearing the engine apart to fix the oil cooler. I'm picking it up in a coupla weeks.

 

[tim687]

The door closers don't work, I can hear them hissing though. Have not got into the doors yet, low priority job but at some point I'll check that out. And one trunk spring broke, go figure. I don't even know how that happens.

You've got to be careful with this, the PSE (pneumatic system equipment) pump is very easy destroyed like this. It will try to account for the air getting lost due to the leak, thus burning itself down in the process.

And now for my next CL venture, a CL600 with the catastrophic oil cooler leak... car has about 74k miles, looks brand new inside, body is very nice too. Car was slammed from sitting for awhile when I got there to look at it, started it up, hit the suspension switch and it popped right up. So it runs and everything works, but is blowing oil like the Exxon Valdez. It is throwing one code for a right camshaft hall sensor which I presume is something kinda simple, I'll check on that when I start tearing the engine apart to fix the oil cooler. I'm picking it up in a coupla weeks.

She looks fine man!
Would you mind sharing a video of the oil splashing due to the oil cooler? There is nothing on the internet of how the oil moves, only that it moves