Help! BAS/ASR problem

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Flyer

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 16, 2002
Messages
1,638
Location
Houston, Texas
Car
Ford Mustang GT
Just nipped out to drive to the bank and the BAS/ASR light came on and the display in the dash indicated a problem with BAS and ASR. Of course, cruise control has gone also.

On Sunday, I gave the car a thorough clean and sprayed the hosepipe underneath to clear all the salt out. I also cleaned under the bonnet, but with a sponge.

Could I have knocked a sensor or something? Maybe the water has got into something? Where are the sensors?

Assuming this is a fault, could I be looking at an expensive repair? :(

Cheers

Andrew
 
yeah brake light switch springs to mind,dead common on these.
 
Brake light switch ... certainly *sounds* inexpensive :) .

Greg, I had about four stops and the problem is still there. Car is now out of warranty, so zerocool, any idea of likely cost? Is this a simple job? Could any fool (ie. me) do it, or is it best left to the dealer?

Cheers

Andrew
 
When my ABS light came on I changed the brake switch which cost only £8.11 from the stealer. Didn't help though, but was an easy job:confused:

It turned out to be F/O/S ABS sensor £34.00 + £18.00 for fitting at my local non MB garage.

I cleaned my engine bay a while ago, just with a sponge and spray on engine cleaner, after that the engine would not start for about 5 minutes of trying!
 
Originally posted by Black180

I cleaned my engine bay a while ago, just with a sponge and spray on engine cleaner, after that the engine would not start for about 5 minutes of trying!


You feel a right pr@ when you do that don't you!


Only the once. I had my mini engine cleaned to trace an oil leak. My dad had to dry the plugs and leads out for me on the cooker!


I would hope a modern engine to be better, but I have only wiped a few areas of my engine bay/underside of bonnet lid.
 
Had this problem on my 2000 CLK. Turned out to be an ESP sensor unit or part of it...at no cost.

Took them 4 days to sort it out though
:(
 
any idea of likely cost?

I had this problem, It turned out to be a Front Brake Sensor, Total cost for parts & Labour was £54

The part(brake sensor) cost £1.50 the rest was a Hours Labour.

Knowing that I would be tempted to find out where this sensor actually is and try to replace it myself surely it is only a push on part. Even if you bought 4 and replaced them all
 
Hmm ... what to do, what to do ...

I think my brake pads probably need replacing (49k on original pads), so if they do, could that cause this problem?

I think a phone call tomorrow to Road Range in Chester is in order. Maybe pulling a wheel off before I call them to try and locate the sensor, but I'm not going to risk anything - my mechanical skills faded away after I got my GCSE in Motor Vehicle Engineering and discovered computers :D (and girls, of course ;) ).

I couldn't do without her for four days though. Of course, she is now out of warranty. Typical.

Guys, when I say I cleaned under the bonnet, I mean that I had a wet sponge and just wiped the dust and muck away. I didn't go in with a high-pressure jet-wash thingy (although I have seen that done :eek: )

zerocool, if you get a min, I'd appreciate your advice. Oh, and is it a brake sensor, or a brake light switch (or both).

Cheers

Andrew
 
Andrew, I think you will have to take it in and get it investigated. They could do that while you wait assuming you have arranged for them to do that. Once they diagnose what is wrong they could order the bits if necessary such that you are only without it half a day maybe. My problem was that the wrong bits turned up.

Like you, girls and computers got in the way of my mechanical engineering skills ;)
 
It's a brake sensor, if you stop your engine and start it again it goes away, right? The sensor is about £10 and fitting is about £100 :( If you can get it done under warranty then you're laughing, I had to pay for mine :(
 
what your saying is correct,but I have had brake light switches give the same symptoms.
best to get it to a stealership and have it put on the d.a.s machine and have the fault codes read,should only take 10 mins or so.
you could fit the part yourself,but sometimes the light will still illuminate until the fault memory is cleared,or you could disconnect the battery for 15 mins,which should reset everything.
did a brake light switch on the same model today funnily enough.
 
I have my receipt here From Road Range Liverpool - 11/10/02

Fit OSF Brake Sensor

Total Labour £46.50

Part Number A 126 540 20 17 - Sender Unit - £1.32

Total VAT £8.37

Total Value £56.19

Due To Your Vehicle Being Over 3 Years Old You Are Now Given 25% Off Labour And 10% Off Parts
-----------------------------------------------------------
I gather that was 1 Hours Labour charged, I left my car with them for a couple of hours while i went shopping and picked it up on the way back(About 2 hours)

A couple of the so called Mercedes Specialists in my area(Formby-Not S&R!- & Bootle) wanted £100 & £120 for this job, one claming the part is about £75. Its always worth checking with the Main Dealer for a price.
 
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I'd love to know why my sensor cost £34.00 from MB, but Aletank got his for £1.32. That seems sooooooo cheap. I'm moving North;)
 
The £1.32 sensor sounds like the small tail that fits into the brake pad itself . That costs about £1.32 .

Its the one that makes the Brake warning light come on in the dash and slides into a small hold in the pad. Would take a competant person about 20 min max.
 
Originally posted by fuzzer
The £1.32 sensor sounds like the small tail that fits into the brake pad itself . That costs about £1.32 .

Its the one that makes the Brake warning light come on in the dash and slides into a small hold in the pad. Would take a competant person about 20 min max.


That's the one that your garage should replace everytime you have new pads.

I DON'T think this is the same one! It sounds like the pad wear sensor and ABS sensors are different, which I suppose they would be as they are detecting different things!
 
yeah I don't think you would get an abs sensor wire for that money,it definatly sounds like a brake pad sensor wire.
by the way the brake sensor wire won't put the bas/esp light on.
 
The CLK went into Road Range Chester yesterday, for about three hours. As predicted, the fault was a brake sensor switch.

Here's the breakdown:

A 001 545 01 09 Stoplight Switch £ 6.90
Labour £69.50
VAT £13.37
TOTAL £89.77

Expensive, but at least it's fixed. The bad news (that was the good? :confused: ), is that I need new rear discs and pads, approx. cost £240 :crazy: .

At least they let me keep the old switch ...

Cheers

Andrew
 
that is robbery,our garage would probably charge similar.
the longest I have taken to change a switch would be 15 minutes,and about 5 minutes on the das machine to diagnose it.
I really feel for you merc owners.
rear discs and pads you say,I am sure you can get cheaper than that.
what is the problem,are they rusted or worn below tolerances.
would leave the pads until the warning light comes on,at least you will get your moneys worth out of them.
I can't believe the labour charge for that brake light switch,I need to get my own buisness going.
would feel guilty charging 30 quid to fit it.
 
The service advisor didn't even blink when he presented the bill ... Does the switch live inside the car, near the brake pedal?

The discs, all round, are rusted, but I can feel a pulsing when braking hard (no, not the ABS) and the braking doesn't fill me with confidence anymore.

RR say the rear discs are warped and that the pads should *always* be changed when you fit new discs. True?

Where could I get them cheaper (I realise you are in the CI, but where in general)?

They had a new CLK500 in the showroom; love the brakes on that, they look very classy. Wonder how much a set of Brembos would cost ... <:devil: too much!>

Cheers

Andrew
 

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