Parts Catalog Accessories Catalog How To Articles Tech Forums
Call Pelican Parts at 888-280-7799
Shopping Cart Cart | Project List | Order Status | Help



Go Back   PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum > Mercedes-Benz Tech Information and Support > Mercedes-Benz SL Discussion Forum

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 05-17-2003, 09:16 AM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Posts: 45
Talking 560SL Convertable Top won't go DOWN !!! Bad Microprocessor?

1986 560SL... convertable top won't go down automatically -- I hold the red button on the console -- get this, the trunk doesn't even open! I've had the car into the dealer 7 times and they've replaced all 11 microprocessors and changed the hydraulic fluid... it's really burning me up.

Then all of the sudden, after ten minutes, it will work! Sometimes, if it's really cool, it won't work, sometimes when it's really hot it won't work... I can't stand sitting in the parking lot at work in the morning when it has started to rain and I can't get the top to go up !!!

Ok, I'm just joshing -- I've been reading all the posts here and on other boards about the Vario roof on the SLK. I find it a tad scary... the thought of driving around in a car whose prime feature can give up the ghost so... er... easily.

I have a good friend who has an SLK 320 and I've been able to cream him in informal stoplight drag races -- but he wins hands down in the TOP UP or TOP DOWN races. So far, he hasn't had any VARIO problems...
My 560SL is seventeen years old. I have the occasional problem removing the hard top with the center post snagging and I'll have to eventually replace the soft top -- but I've never been unable to put the soft top up or down: what a concept.

My question:

What is a retractable hard top going to be like to live with on a seventeen year old car... or for that matter what will a 129's automatic soft top be like to live with when it's twenty-five years old? Don't get me wrong... I love the SLK's and the SL500's etc... I just really, really wonder what the cars will be like to live with as they age?

Attached Thumbnails
560SL Convertable Top won't go DOWN !!!   Bad Microprocessor?-mercedes.jpg  
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 05-17-2003, 09:45 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Milwaukee Wisconsin
Posts: 1,150
Did they really have microprocessors in 1986? Dumb question, but did you check the actuator switch? The switch you press to activate the top mechanism. The mechanical switch is a moving part and it is far more likely to fail intermittently than a none-moving "solid state" part. I have a 1991 300sl and the top contoller has a pair of relays which carry most of the current and "interlock" with the window up/down contoller. Solid state devices don't fail intermittently. You most probably have a bad switch, bad or corroded connector, or a bad relay. It's a complex system, but a a logical trouble shooting approach is more effective than just throwing new part$ at the car until it works again. Tod
__________________
Resistance is Futile.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 05-17-2003, 10:28 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Las Vegas, Atlanta
Posts: 670
I don't know about the SLK, but the R129's automatic top can be raised or lowered manually fairly easily. In fact, it is not much more difficult or time consuming an operation than working the top of a W107 like the 560SL. But this is a moot point, because the R129's top is remarkably reliable. And if you are so very unlucky as to have something go wrong, the built-in diagnostics of the top's controller make troubleshooting easy.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 05-18-2003, 08:16 AM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Posts: 766
On my 560SL, I find that the CPU governing all operation of the top mechanism isn't quite as reliable as it used to be. Of course, it's 52 years old, and the related mechanicals operated by the CPU and its immediate operating apparatus are only 14.
__________________
Craig Bethune

'97 SL500, 40th anniversary edition

'04 Olds Bravada (SWMBO's)
'06 Lexus ES330
'89 560SL (sold)


SL--Anything else is just a Mercedes.
(Kudos to whoever said it first)
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 07-11-2003, 10:36 AM
QP1955
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Quote:
Originally posted by tecqboy
Did they really have microprocessors in 1986? Dumb question, but did you check the actuator switch? The switch you press to activate the top mechanism. The mechanical switch is a moving part and it is far more likely to fail intermittently than a none-moving "solid state" part. I have a 1991 300sl and the top contoller has a pair of relays which carry most of the current and "interlock" with the window up/down contoller. Solid state devices don't fail intermittently. You most probably have a bad switch, bad or corroded connector, or a bad relay. It's a complex system, but a a logical trouble shooting approach is more effective than just throwing new part$ at the car until it works again. Tod
I lost all my fluids for 1991 300sl roof, it came from top cylander from right front and back, does any one knows how to fix it?
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 07-11-2005, 07:46 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Toledo, Ohio
Posts: 6
SL 500 Soft Top

I had problems with my pump and the dealer wanted to replace it for over $2,500. If you do not get any codes that tell you what the problem is you may want to try taking it to a hydraulic shop to check the motor and see if it is running properly.

TK
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 07-14-2005, 09:42 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Vernon, CT
Posts: 1,848
I have never seen or heard of a any R107 having any sort of powered top. There isn't even a place to put top motors. The gas tank is right below where the soft top is stored.
__________________
1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 07-15-2005, 11:43 AM
DanielG's Avatar
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Deerfield, Illinois
Posts: 349
Rick -- so, you've never seen a powered top 107 -- you'll get a kick out of this:

http://www.autotop.uk.mcmail.com/yourpag3.htm
__________________
Dan

1986 560SL (52.5k miles) sold 11/24/04

1987 560sl (55.6k miles)
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 07-15-2005, 05:42 PM
ericdee's Avatar
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 501
Don't most of the new cars have manual over ride? I know my Jag does.
__________________
Eric, 1983 500 SL
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 07-16-2005, 02:28 AM
airedale's Avatar
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Kansas
Posts: 187
Quote:
Originally Posted by DanielG
Rick -- so, you've never seen a powered top 107 -- you'll get a kick out of this:

http://www.autotop.uk.mcmail.com/yourpag3.htm
How Interesting!
__________________
John
'02 Isuzu Axiom Canal Blue Mica "Wonder Car"
'02 Isuzu Axiom Garden Green Mica from Alaska "Sara"
'97 Ford Taurus Wagon 225,000 miles Intense Black "Batmobile"
'91 560 SEC Ice Blue Metallic "Big Benz"
'84 380 SL Astral Silver "Pretty Girl"
MBCA member
Chance favors the prepared mind.
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 07-18-2005, 08:01 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Vernon, CT
Posts: 1,848
That is a first for me, but it's not factory. I didn't go throught the whole site, but it appears to be out dated. What was the cost?

__________________
1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




All times are GMT -4. The time now is 11:53 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2018 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Peach Parts or Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page