I bought a 2002 CLK convertible (A208) last September and when I bought it the automatic roof worked but was always a bit temperamental – it needed a bit of a push to get the roof to move back and the micro switch in the boot (triggered by the retractable cover being in the closed position) needed permanently holding shut. I did notice there was evidence of hydraulic fluid leakage on the boot floor but I cleaned it all up in the hope it was left over from a fault that had been repaired. At that time the fluid level looked a little bit low so I syphoned it out and topped up with fresh fluid. Everything seemed to work well for 3 or 4 months until about 3 weeks ago when I disconnected the plug from the roof ECU, and removed the ECU, to mop up the last bit of the hydraulic fluid that had crept under the ECU.
At the same time I also decided to put the roof up and down manually so I knew how it worked in case of emergency.
When I put it all back together it no longer works at all (except manually, but even doing it manually has problems, see below). When I release the front catch (on the roof crossmember at the screen top) the windows go down as normal. The red button lights up (not flashing) and when I lift the red button all that happens is the rollover bar goes up! Even if I press the red button down the rollover bar still goes up. The rollover bar switch works correctly – ie – both up and down. I did notice that the motor continues to run for the rollover bar even when it is fully up or down – is that correct, or should it stop once its limit has been reached?
I’ve taken all the trim out and the back seats so that I can see everything. I noticed that the 22mm brass hydraulic piston (circled in the picture below) has a bad leak, so this clearly needs replacing/repairing.
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I’ve plugged the car into the STAR diagnostics and it shows the following fault:
B1650-001 Fault in soft top actuation process. The switch status of a limit switch is not plausible.
I suspect this fault may be due to my tinkering with the various pistons/locks as sometimes when I go through the manual opening/closing routines the pistons/locks won’t work until I reset them with a screwdriver (push the springs/locks back to their resting position).
So finally, my questions:
1. Has anyone experienced this type of behaviour before?
2. Is there any way to test the ECU without having to buy a new one (only to discover the original is fine)?
3. How can I remove the leaky piston? The brass body looks like a nut (see pictures) but I have tried to turn it with no success – is there another way of removing it?
4. Does anyone know the part number for this (question 3)?
I suspect I may be unlucky here and have 2 completely separate problems – i – a knackered ECU, and- ii – a knackered piston.
Any thoughts/opinions/observations, preferably on this problem rather than life in general welcome.
Steve
At the same time I also decided to put the roof up and down manually so I knew how it worked in case of emergency.
When I put it all back together it no longer works at all (except manually, but even doing it manually has problems, see below). When I release the front catch (on the roof crossmember at the screen top) the windows go down as normal. The red button lights up (not flashing) and when I lift the red button all that happens is the rollover bar goes up! Even if I press the red button down the rollover bar still goes up. The rollover bar switch works correctly – ie – both up and down. I did notice that the motor continues to run for the rollover bar even when it is fully up or down – is that correct, or should it stop once its limit has been reached?
I’ve taken all the trim out and the back seats so that I can see everything. I noticed that the 22mm brass hydraulic piston (circled in the picture below) has a bad leak, so this clearly needs replacing/repairing.
I’ve plugged the car into the STAR diagnostics and it shows the following fault:
B1650-001 Fault in soft top actuation process. The switch status of a limit switch is not plausible.
I suspect this fault may be due to my tinkering with the various pistons/locks as sometimes when I go through the manual opening/closing routines the pistons/locks won’t work until I reset them with a screwdriver (push the springs/locks back to their resting position).
So finally, my questions:
1. Has anyone experienced this type of behaviour before?
2. Is there any way to test the ECU without having to buy a new one (only to discover the original is fine)?
3. How can I remove the leaky piston? The brass body looks like a nut (see pictures) but I have tried to turn it with no success – is there another way of removing it?
4. Does anyone know the part number for this (question 3)?
I suspect I may be unlucky here and have 2 completely separate problems – i – a knackered ECU, and- ii – a knackered piston.
Any thoughts/opinions/observations, preferably on this problem rather than life in general welcome.
Steve
