Replaced airmatic compressor and car stalls

Hello. Aux battery will not cause your compressor issue. Your issue lies with the cheap airmatic compressor, so return that, and get yourself a brand name, OEM, a MUST - speaking from experience. If you start your car enough times and it shuts off, you will burn out your fuse box and will need to get a new one. Again, speaking from experience. That fuse box has an internal metal wire on the outer diameter of the box and it will burn out from the load. Get MB OEM or Arnott, fcpeuro.com has both, and I bought the Arnott with the valve block. Lifetime warranty on parts. GL.

Richard888 said:

So I followed your suggestion and bought a arnott from FCP. In your case, just swapping the compressor fixed the stalling issue? I tried my old compressor and although it didn't stall before, now even the original compressor stalls the engine. Again, the fuse box and all the fuses look perfect.

Appreciate your help.

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Hello. Good decision on the Arnott. Make sure to also buy the valve box, by Arnott, for the air lines. Let me take a guess, it starts, runs for about 2/3 seconds and dies? That is indicative of what I mentioned earlier - your fuse box is shot. The Chinese compressor/fuse overloaded your fuse box and the box did what it was supposed to, it protected the system. Speaking from experience as the same thing happened to me.

There are three screws holding it in place, then disconnect all the bottom connectors, then you'll see a part number. Use that to search on eBay for a replacement. Used boxes work fine and you'll get a 30/90 day warranty. Following the part number there's going to be another series of numbers - it's like a version designation - make sure it supercedes the one you're replacing. Once the replacement arrives, installation is the reverse of what you did earlier.

You could try to run the engine, to verify, by removing the compressor fuse, but it'll just stall.

GL.

Richard888 said:

Yes, I have a new air filter already. Just to confirm, were taking about the fuse box that holds the 2 orange fuses and the green relay, correct? The underside of my box does not have that colored strip shown in your picture. I'll post when I get home...

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Hello. It's the fuse box that holds the compressor relay. It won't be on the underside of the fuse box, but inside, and if you want to you can try to take it apart, then do so. If your welding skills are good then you might be able to salvage your fuse box, but you won't know what else fried on the board. Either way, post what you got and we'll go from there. GL.

Richard888 said:

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Hello. Thanks for the pics. Box looks good. Internally and externally. Which is really good because it's still intact. Wait for the replacement compressor to arrive and it will arrive with it's own black compressor relay. It will not be green. When you reconnect everything, make sure the battery is disconnected, for obvious reasons. At that point, at the end, reconnect the battery, and cycle the car and let it start. The rest should be automatic. Clean and spray a little WD40 onto your level sensors, on to the arms. FYI, if your ordered the valve box for the airlines, DON'T replace the original brass fittings at the end of the lines. The original should be still good. Don't over tighten, just enough.

In my case, it was the box that failed and I had to replace the compressor, valve box, and front struts on the vehicle. GL.

Richard888 said:

How did y'all find a replacement fuse box? None of the used ones I found on ebay are a direct replacement for my vehicle. Looks the same from the top, but the pins are configured a little different here and there on the bottom.

Is this the original Mercedes part I'm looking for? View attachment 2796304

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Hello. Do a search by part# and then try searching by make and model, engine type... People that post may omit some details here and there, but in your case, you want to make sure all pins are connected. Don't just leave a pin here and a pin there - I'm joking of course ...

Try this website, www.car-part.com, you can search by a few different parameters and it should help you out. GL.

Richard888 said:

Just an update I ordered a new arnott air compressor through FCP Euro. I also found an OEM fuse box from Mercedes-Benz brand new at $225. I put everything together and the bags filled with air finally. Then I test drove the car and after about a hundred yards I heard a loud pop in my right rear so I'm assuming the airbag blew. And by now I'm so frustrated I'm just going to bring the car to the dealer and have them fix it. Lol. And then I'm going to sell it and buy a new pickup truck. I really do appreciate everyone's help especially Pete!

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Hello. Frustration is just a bonus 😉 for owning a MB, and the work that goes into it. Find a local Indy shop and you'll save a dollar or two. Then, decide if you want to sell the car.

Honestly, change both bags in the rear and you'll be good to go for a while. Don't let one airbag ruin your outlook on life - jk, lololol - there's brighter days ahead, for sure. If you got too much money and just want to throw it away at the dealership, then you can make a one time donation payment of $99.95 to 'Pete's Hookers & Blow' fund... Lmfao 🤣...

Joking aside, you're welcome, and GL.

Happy Holidays!