'97 S500 - Need ABS codes scanned in N. Illinois - Know anybody that can?
 

I'm looking for a shop or an individual within 50 miles or so of Rockford, Illinois that can read the ABS codes on my '97 S500. None of the local shops can and I'm afraid to take it to the dealer.

I bought it in November with a number of issues that have all been resolved except 1. The ABS & ESP lights come on. I've replaced the brake light switch but that didn't fix it. It also has new brake pads, discs, flex hoses and rebuilt calipers as well as new tires and a fresh alignment.

When the car is first started in the morning the lights may or may not come on immediately, but if they do they will always go off by the time I back out of the garage and start down the driveway. Then within an hour or so of driving both will come on. Sometimes I can stop the car, hold the brake pedal down and turn the wheel from lock to lock once, turn the car off then back on and the lights will go off. Sometimes they'll stay off, but others they'll come back on within a minute or two.

Once I find out what's wrong I want to repair it myself. If one of our members can and is willing to scan it for me I'd be glad to pay a fee. Thanks!

Doesnt this car have ODBII ? If so I'd think you could take it to any Advance Auto or Autozone and they could read you the codes.

Yes it does have ODBII and I have scanner of my own that works great but it can't read the ABS or SRS codes. I've also tried Autozone, plus three shops in town but none of them can read the ABS or SRS codes either. Apparently you need software or cables that none of them have.

I need to find an independent shop the specializes in Mercedes somewhere in the area. My regular guy has done quite well on everything I've throw at him so far, but there just aren't enough Mercedes in my little town for any of the shops to buy what they need to read to ABS codes.

Still hoping there's a forum member that can recommend a capable shop somewhere in Northern Illinois for me. Anybody?

I came across this in a google search. Evidently you can read some of the sub-systems with a simple LED blinker box type setup.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/174687-mercedes-fault-code-reader.html

I followed your thread and wonder if this adapter, OBD Mercedes Benz 38 Pin to 16 Pin OBD2 Adapter Cable | eBay, I found on ebay would allow me to read the ABS codes through the 38 pin connector using my OBDII scanner?

Does anyone if this will work. I also email the seller to see what they say.

Unfortunately it won't read the ABS codes.

Still looking for an independent Mercedes shop somewhere in North central Illinois.

Bit the bullet
 

I finally bit the bullet and took it to the local dealer, about 45 minutes away. They charged me $125 to evaluate it and reported the ABS/ESP lights to be the result of the "steering angle sensor" being faulty. Does this sound right?

They also reported that the front springs were broken and the lower ball joints were loose. This seemed a little strange as the car was just aligned and the shop that did it reported that all front end components were in good condition, plus the doesn't have any symptoms of broken springs or bad lower ball joints that I can detect. Can anyone offer any advise on these parts?

Thanks!

If I ever said anything bad about MB dealerships, I take it all back. I searched for a replacement steering angle sensor today and the cheapest I could find one was around $360. The dealership quoted me $413 plus tax, so I figured for the difference I'd go ahead and let them do it if the labor wasn't too high. Turns out the $413 included labor! Plus they'll apply the $125 I spent to have the car scanned and inspected as a credit on the final bill!