W169 ABS/BAS/ESP

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Roger57

Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2014
Messages
41
Location
Bolton
Car
2011 E350 Estate, 2011 A180, 2006 A180, 1973 VW 1303
Long story but...my sons 2006 W169 has been sitting on his driveway for some months now, unused and unloved. So. Lets do something about it, thought I...

Car had a pool of water behing the passenger seat and other signs of water ingress. Door seals etc seem to be Ok but I found what I think is the culprit.
I removed the cabin filter and it was soaked through. Inspection of the rubber drain tube in the bottom of the filter box revealed it be completely blocked with what appeared to be ...ermm...plant matter.

Anyway, all that is by way of introduction because the main problem now is that when the ignition is turned on, messages about the ABS, BAS and ESP systems appear. Also 'brake light failure', 'brake fluid level warning'. All three brake lights still work and the fluid level in the reservoir is correct.

From other posts on here I know that the brake light switch could be the problem (even if the brake lights still work). I have aso heard mention of the brake fluid pressure switch and also of the SAM unit.

Using my iCarsoft does show some (presumably erroneous) wiring breaks to the rear light clusters. I have checked these out and all seems to be good. It also shows some CANbus errors and one or two other things.

However, I was reading a post which said that the most likely problem with the SAM module(s) would be water ingress. And this car has had some....
So would like to inspect these SAM modules but I have no idea where they are.

Can anyone point me in the right direction please? Car is a 2006 A180 (W169).

Best Regards
Roger
 
Long story but...my sons 2006 W169 has been sitting on his driveway for some months now, unused and unloved. So. Lets do something about it, thought I...

Car had a pool of water behing the passenger seat and other signs of water ingress. Door seals etc seem to be Ok but I found what I think is the culprit.
I removed the cabin filter and it was soaked through. Inspection of the rubber drain tube in the bottom of the filter box revealed it be completely blocked with what appeared to be ...ermm...plant matter.

Anyway, all that is by way of introduction because the main problem now is that when the ignition is turned on, messages about the ABS, BAS and ESP systems appear. Also 'brake light failure', 'brake fluid level warning'. All three brake lights still work and the fluid level in the reservoir is correct.

From other posts on here I know that the brake light switch could be the problem (even if the brake lights still work). I have aso heard mention of the brake fluid pressure switch and also of the SAM unit.

Using my iCarsoft does show some (presumably erroneous) wiring breaks to the rear light clusters. I have checked these out and all seems to be good. It also shows some CANbus errors and one or two other things.

However, I was reading a post which said that the most likely problem with the SAM module(s) would be water ingress. And this car has had some....
So would like to inspect these SAM modules but I have no idea where they are.

Can anyone point me in the right direction please? Car is a 2006 A180 (W169).

Best Regards
Roger
Further to the above, the (newish) battery will go from fully charged to completely flat in the space of seven days, if the car isnt used. I have read on these pages that the SAM modules (if affected by water ingress) could be responsible for this.
Checking the current drain (after all courtesy lights etc have gone off) shows a current drain of about 80mA. Might not seen a lot, but something is draining that battery, isnt it? My wife has a 2011 A180 with no issues in this regard....
 
I understand that one of the SAM modules may be under the fusebox in the drivers side footwell. Can someone confirm this and also tell me where the other one is. If there is one....
 
I think I have located the one which controls ABS/BAS/ESP and the brake light system. It is, I think, clipped to the bottom of the fusebox in the driver footwell. But how does it come out? It is loose but the cables at the back prevent further removal. Has anyone done this?
 
I think I have located the one which controls ABS/BAS/ESP and the brake light system. It is, I think, clipped to the bottom of the fusebox in the driver footwell. But how does it come out? It is loose but the cables at the back prevent further removal. Has anyone done this?
Can anyone tell me how I remove this module please?
 
Not familiar with that model but you could go to eBay and find someone selling a similar fuse box and the may have images of it removed so you can get an idea of the the location of the clips or screws to remove it.
 

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