replaced control arms + tie rods, now ABS,ESP lights are on ...

croolis · 12-31-2012, 10:17 AM

hello guys,

my 2007 300C had become exceedingly rattly and mechanic told me it would need most parts replaced - to that end I bought a complete kit from a company in Germany called CP Autoteile, cost less than 500eu and with the usual stupidly cheap German postage ... 13eu for a 25kg package, to Malta .. parts arrived and I had the whole lot fitted today.

Firstly, for anyone considering this operation, there are two versions of the kit - for cars equipped with self levelling headlights (I think all UK CRDs are like this, as is mine) and those that don't have them .. the seller cryptically labels these as 'mit xenon' and 'ohne xenon' .. the 'mit' one is for the self levelling hid headlights.

I bought the 14 part kit which includes tie rods, tie rod ends, control arms, and even the balljoints (traggelenke in German .. i'm learning the language one fault at a time!)

With the job done I took the car for a test drive .. apart from all the creaking and rattling having vanished, the steering wheel is slightly off centre when driving in a straight line (conversely, holding the steering wheel straight the car veers to the left), and and ABS and ESP (orange) lights are coming on. They do sometimes go off at very slow speeds, however 10km/hr or more reliably gets them back on ..

The mechanic (very patiently) had the wheels off, checked that everything is in place (the sensors and their connecting cables), and checked the car on his computer - the error it's giving is 'Front Right Wheel Speed Sensor' - according to the mechanic, and I am inclined to think he's right, it's just a case that the car needs wheel alignment and the ABS/ESP stuff should go back to normal. Of course, today being new year's eve the wheel alignment shop is closed, and will be closed tomorrow too so I can't actually test this out ..

Has anyone had this operation done on their cars? DId you have the same sort of problems?

jackwalton · 12-31-2012, 10:49 AM

Apart from the alignment problem which you are on your way to sorting. I would guess a wheel sensor or some wiring has been damaged.
The faces can get damaged easily.

Don't think the re-alignment will sort out the ABS/ESP lights. You could check the suspect sensor with an ohmmeter if you have one and check for obvious signs of damage or mounting problems. I'm not sure what the resistance should be but about 1000 ohms would be sensible.
You should be able to measure a slight voltage on the pair of sensor wires if you jack up the car and spin the wheel by hand.

Jack

**MADDOG** · 12-31-2012, 10:58 AM

Try this:

1. Start car
2. Rotate steering wheel to full lock left.
3. Rotate steering wheel to full lock right.
4. Center steering wheel.
5. Turn car off.
6. Restart car.

If the lights are still lit, Turn Off Car. Then open the hood and find the fuse for the Powertrain Control Module or PCM or it may be labelled as PCM/AutoShutOff.

Pull that fuse for 3 minutes, re-insert, secure fuse box top and restart the car.

If the lights are still lit then you have a fault at the sensor.

**UK CHRYSLER 300C** · 12-31-2012, 01:05 PM

You need the alignment doing first so as your steering wheel is straight then all your lights will go out......won't they Lucian....lol
Make sure they use a steering wheel clamp so to keep your steering wheel straight whilst they muck about with tre's...I would have gone for link bars first as they're only a few quid then delved deeper rather than chucking €500 at it

jackwalton · 12-31-2012, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MADDOG

Try this:

1. Start car
2. Rotate steering wheel to full lock left.
3. Rotate steering wheel to full lock right.
4. Center steering wheel.
5. Turn car off.
6. Restart car.

If the lights are still lit, Turn Off Car. Then open the hood and find the fuse for the Powertrain Control Module or PCM or it may be labelled as PCM/AutoShutOff.

Pull that fuse for 3 minutes, re-insert, secure fuse box top and restart the car.

If the lights are still lit then you have a fault at the sensor.

The above wont solve the problem described in the original post. An error code has identified a wheel sensor fault.

Jack

**UK CHRYSLER 300C** · 12-31-2012, 05:11 PM

Not a wheel sensor fault,it's a steering angle fault and tracking with steering wheel straight will cure it.....I've done it a few times now,if it was a wheel sensor fault then only abs light would be on

**badgx** · 12-31-2012, 07:20 PM

Yep believe it or not, there is a steering angle sensor. Its located inside the steering column control module (SCCM) behind the clock spring. Our vehicles are equipped with Electronic Stability Program (ESP) so if any of the steering angles were out by significant amount, the steering angle sensor could trigger both the esp and abs lights

Step 1, as already mentioned above ^^^ get wheel alignment done preferably from a garage equipped with Hunter.

Step 2, use basic code reader to clear the trouble codes and go for a drive. If there was a problem with the speed sensor abs light will be illuminated and the cruise control will refuse to operate. Test the cruise control.

Step 3, if above fails, then remove road wheel and undo the speed sensor and spray some brake cleaner fluid to blast away any possible brake debris.

Step 4, if no joy, then renew speed sensor. It might have been accidentally damage by the mechanic? Don't forget to clear the trouble codes before you go on another test run.

TBH if no improvement after wheel alignment you should really take it back to the mechanic

Heres a photo of my SCCM, the arrow points towards the location of the steering sensor. I had this apart when I did the paddle shifter mod, compliments of MD's excellent write up

**UK CHRYSLER 300C** · 01-01-2013, 04:05 AM

If you get the tracking done correctly the lights will go out on their own,don't go messing with the clock spring and the steering angle sensor just go get it tracked,doesn't matter which method you use as long as the steering wheel is locked in the straight ahead position while the tracking is done

croolis · 01-01-2013, 01:15 PM

hello and thanks for all the replies..

i'll take the car for alignment tomorrow and report back..

reason i went for the big guns rather than just replacing parts piecemeal is that pushing on the joints with a crowbar all the bushings were worn out and very loose, i think they had never had any work done over the car's 70000 mile life. On the positive side I think I got the parts at a good price and labour here is cheaper than uk (186 eu for the complete job)

croolis · 01-02-2013, 05:10 AM

updates ...

i've had the wheel alignment corrected, steering is now dead centre as it should be, no change with the ABS / traction control error lights .. 3 lights are coming on .. they go off at very slow speed (below about 10km/hr), and come on immediately on speeding up.

I know for sure traction control isn't working as the car spun its wheels on a damp road, from stop, something it normally never does (I wasn't trying to spin the wheels, mind you ..)

Mechanic said he will try to get a part locally .. can anyone tell me the correct part number (Sep 2007 CRD sedan) and if there is maybe an equivalent Mercedes part?

thanks.