Mysterious BAS/ETS/ABS lights don’t want to go away..

[kjmas]

reading your concern for answers to my 2001 ml. sounds similiar. i would appreciate your insight and apologize for butting in. bas/esp/ets/abs/battery/brake wear/check engine & (red)brake lights all stay on. additionally, will not shift out of 1st gear. ran great prior to letting it sit for approx. 2 months in garage. i pulled all kinds of fuses and relays to see if bad. all ok. when restarting, all lights were out and shifted fine through all the gears. turned ml off and restarted later and back to the same problems as before. tried pulling same fuses and relays but this time it didn't work. i could really use some help. thank you very much!

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[kjmas]

Darkmann: you indicated the last case will lock up the shifter. is that a result of a bad esp control module or esp/bas control unit or are they the same? the lights stay on, (bas/esp, ets, abs, battery, brake worn,as well as, check engine & (red) brake light on the right side. will not shift out of 1st. switched the relay with one next to it, started and all lights were out and it shifted fine through all the gears. when i returned home, turned off ml and restarted, all lights came back on and would not shift out of 1st. took to dealer = abs pump but they did not give me any codes. they said pump runs fine but the internal computer is bad so sending wrong info. to pump and system. i would appreciate your direction. i can do basic repairs ( starters, brakes, hoses etc. oaktree stuff) but electric stumps and scares me. if switches and relays are all that is necessary - can do. if just changing out - can do but need to know what to change. please help!

[Wolfgang]

Originally Posted by dewdaltz

I had my 3 little lights coming on & off for a year now. did all the "DIY" thing that is, replace the brake switch, replace the relays and so on... but no luck. Tired of seeing that 3 little lights went to the dealer to have it diagnosed - BAM - BAM the culprit --- ABS pump. and the sad thing is that I got no more warranty. So far until now my ML runs sooooo gooood.

Here's a report by Jim in Phoenix who fixed a "bad ABS pump" recently. Turned out to be a cold solder connection...

http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforu...d.php?t=163247

Pictures:

http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforu...d.php?t=163321

[Bunkster]

I had a similar problem diagnosed as ABS pump failure which the garage advised would need a new pump. After lots of searching on the internet (in order to avoid the incredibly high cost of a new pump) I ended up shipping the pump AND control board to Florida from the UK - the specialist firm fixed what was an electrical fault on the control board and shipped it all back. Total cost was c$500 instead of $2000+..........! All worked fine - garage could not believe it!

[sbbrian]

Originally Posted by kjmas

reading your concern for answers to my 2001 ml. sounds similiar. i would appreciate your insight and apologize for butting in. bas/esp/ets/abs/battery/brake wear/check engine & (red)brake lights all stay on. additionally, will not shift out of 1st gear. ran great prior to letting it sit for approx. 2 months in garage. i pulled all kinds of fuses and relays to see if bad. all ok. when restarting, all lights were out and shifted fine through all the gears. turned ml off and restarted later and back to the same problems as before. tried pulling same fuses and relays but this time it didn't work. i could really use some help. thank you very much!

Did you ever solve the problem?

[Darkmann]

Originally Posted by kjmas

Darkmann: you indicated the last case will lock up the shifter. is that a result of a bad esp control module or esp/bas control unit or are they the same?

Sorry for the late reply, but I visit whenever I can. I believe they are the same. My repair order (RO) referenced code C1000. Cross-check with whatever code your diagnosis spits out.

Originally Posted by kjmas

...the lights stay on, (bas/esp, ets, abs, battery, brake worn,as well as, check engine & (red) brake light on the right side. will not shift out of 1st...

I never had battery and CEL. You may have a new reason for these lights or the CEL & battery lights are not directly related to the other issues.

[

Originally Posted by kjmas

...switched the relay with one next to it, started and all lights were out and it shifted fine through all the gears. when i returned home, turned off ml and restarted, all lights came back on and would not shift out of 1st. took to dealer = abs pump but they did not give me any codes. they said pump runs fine but the internal computer is bad so sending wrong info. to pump and system. i would appreciate your direction. i can do basic repairs ( starters, brakes, hoses etc. oaktree stuff) but electric stumps and scares me. if switches and relays are all that is necessary - can do. if just changing out - can do but need to know what to change. please help!

My advice is to allow them to replace the control unit if they conclude that's the problem. It may not be cheap, but at least you'll have some warranty and comfort. Personally I don't like dealing with ML electrical issues - too much that can go wrong. Lat time I tried, I fried my A/C blower motor.

[Gregory]

Hi all,

New to this forum and new to the W163 world. I am from Greece (far away e?) and I own a 2000 ML320 with 50,000 miles on. I had my car serviced in an authorized MB dealer (as always do) and after couple of weeks the ABS,ETS,EBS warning leds came on, and then off, and on... and so on.. The car is driveable however low range and cruise control will not work as long as these warnings are on. I have scheduled an appointment to the dealers but after reading all these I will think about it again.. So here comes the request that will also serve other newcomers with similar problems..
a) Can someone summarize the likely causes of this problem (including fuses codes, etc)
b) Can we have a picture of the fuse box and where is located?

Thank you very much for any help.

[hanniep]

Mine came on and stayed on after replacing the brake light switch, turns out it was the ABS Modulator pump,....Cost on pump $1600 but for $400 less from here: http://www.trademotion.com/memberser...&siteid=213951 Part no. (0044310412)-$1200.00

Seems like MB should have a recall on these pumps/problems as so many of us owners have reported the same issue...

[Penn]

Originally Posted by dewdaltz

I had my 3 little lights coming on & off for a year now. did all the "DIY" thing that is, replace the brake switch, replace the relays and so on... but no luck. Tired of seeing that 3 little lights went to the dealer to have it diagnosed - BAM - BAM the culprit --- ABS pump. and the sad thing is that I got no more warranty. So far until now my ML runs sooooo gooood.

I also had the three little lights problem. Eventually it was traced to a faulty ABS sensor on a rear wheel.

[Crazy MB Rob]

Originally Posted by Gregory

Hi all,

New to this forum and new to the W163 world. I am from Greece (far away e?) and I own a 2000 ML320 with 50,000 miles on. I had my car serviced in an authorized MB dealer (as always do) and after couple of weeks the ABS,ETS,EBS warning leds came on, and then off, and on... and so on.. The car is driveable however low range and cruise control will not work as long as these warnings are on. I have scheduled an appointment to the dealers but after reading all these I will think about it again.. So here comes the request that will also serve other newcomers with similar problems..
a) Can someone summarize the likely causes of this problem (including fuses codes, etc)
b) Can we have a picture of the fuse box and where is located?

Thank you very much for any help.

I would think after hearing how many things can cause these lights to come on that you WOULD want to bring it to the dealer since they know the vehicle's computer systems and have information on how to properly test the systems. Sure, the first thing to check is your fuses and relays, but that's rarely the real problem. The dealer can pinpoint it and tell you exactly what is wrong. Yes, sometimes it will be expensive, but not taking it to the dealer wont make what's wrong with it different....and throwing darts (putting on parts on a hunch or guess) can be costly too. Just my opinion.