Those of us are not confident with pulling wires apart on a R129, turning a screw, it's a no brainer. Thanks for this great idea. Very much appreciated.
Actually, the easiest way to raise the roll bar without hydraulics is to locate the roll bar wiring under the passenger-side rear trim panel just behind the jamb, unplug the connector, and then simply jumper the 2 exposed leads using jumper lines from the 12-volt battery in the trunk or a separate 12-volt battery. The roll bar will instantly deploy as if the car were in a roll-over accident. But be careful not to have any body parts or other items in the path of the roll bar or such parts will be launched into low-earth orbit! Be advised that this will disengage the roll bar from its hydraulic cylinder connection point and the roll bar cannot be lowered until the hydraulic system is restored and functioning. Once the hydraulics are functioning, the cylinder that operates the roll bar via the dash switch can extend (upward) to re-engage the connection with the roll bar and then the roll bar can be lowered via the dash switch as normal. Note that the roll bar is instantly deployed into the raised position by springs which are compressed via the hydraulic system when the roll bar is in the lowered position. Be sure that the battery has 100% charge and the hydraulic system reservoir is full when re-engaging the cylinder to the roll bar or it may not make a solid connection and will likely re-deploy potentially causing personal injury if you are in its path. I am speaking from experience on this. 2000 SL500.
Damien...is the traction control the ASR!? I'm having ASR trouble and would prefer to disable it. My car is a 1992 sl 500. Can you explain how to disable the ASR? Thanks, Jeff
Tactile transducers mounted to the seat frames… Mercedes has long had a very well designed metal seat frame. A lot of that came out of the SL series of coupes that Mercedes made in the Early 90’s. The pop up roll bar in the event of a roll over…. Brilliant. I forgot how long it took to pop up, once one of many Gyro sensors sent a signal to the Roll Over Protection signal processor which signaled to the roll bar to pop up very fast… it’s like “air bag fast” …
Good work. I'm just gonna remove my entire soft top and I was wondering what these sensors were. I have put a Ford 8.8 limited slip rear in my R129 and I now know I don't need this nonsense. It is a LS conversion and I know the purist hate it but, I love the look and the hardtop and well...I'm on a budget.
And a top hydraulics rebuild of the cylinders is far better than the OEM cylinder. They upgrade the seals to a far superior quality seal material that should last at least double the original. Been using them for a decade + and haven't had one come back leaking yet.
Great video! I got a 1992 300sl and i’ve searched so much to find exactly what is this sensor about and i couldn’t until now.. I want to ask you about the repairing program you mentioned in the video, is it possible to download somewhere transfer because i have some troubles with engine..Thanks 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
can you explain how to drop the roll bar manually...I can't get the top to function under normal operations so I manually raised the soft top. The roof needs replacing so the roll bar is in the way. thank you.
I have a 1989 R129 straight 6, and i need to change that switch, it looks straight forward, the actuator arm snapped off, ( age hardened) I will repair with a carbon rod, if that doesnt work its back to Mr Mercedes Ouch !! Thanks for the info , Cheshire UK.
Just if it helps .. my roof stopped working and wanted to get the rollover up but wouldn’t work .. I tried lots of things and looked underneath for the sensors but it seems they don’t exist on 1996 500sl . Anyway I noticed the fluid pump didn’t seem to be firing up or attempting to do anything so checked the 40A fuse and it was badly corroded ., replaced it and now everything back and running .. so reason for the post is just trying to be helpful
Mercedes Benz r 129 Hello, I saw your video, I wanted to ask if it is safe to do as you show in the video, so as not to break some other things. Thanks
Yes it’s safe and works very well. Switch one of the sensors to arrest get to 5mph and slam on brakes. The roll bar will pop up. After switch the sensor back to function.
This video is my 1995 SL500. I also have a 1999 SL500 and it does not have the same sensors not sure when they made the running change so those of you with updated cars and no sensor may have to use Klaus' method of jumpering wires. He runs Top Hydraulics in OR, he posted the info on a MB forum somewhere. There are other differences between my 1995 and 1999. The 1995 has 12 hydraulic cylinders for the top, the 1999 has 11. The 1999+ trunk struts are different, tonneau cover rams are positioned different and the fuel filler neck on the right rear gets in the way of working on the top cylinders much more than the 1995. Also, at some point Mercedes switched from 2 tonneau cover latches to 1.
@@toothfixer , great , after I asked you , I looked under my R129 and it has the same sensor as yours . I'm having to repair the cylinders in mine too . Do you know if there is enough clearance for the soft top to be raised manually over a raised rollbar and do you know how to get the rollbar down manually ? Thank you again for a great knowledgeable video .
@@thaddeauscaldwell7101 you will have no issues raising and lowering the top with the rollbar in place. Be especially careful with the bow extension cylinders. They use circlips so keep a magnet near them when you try to pop them off and be mindful of which side you’re removing. The pin can only come out 1 way. All of the cylinders have a ton of loctite on them so a torch is absolutely necessary to break up the loctite.
@@toothfixer , thank you Rob . I am glad to hear that I can manually raise and lower the top , with the rollbar in the upright position . The magnet is a great idea . I have already purchased some used circlips , just incase some is lost . A friend of mine with an R129 has a friend that lives in Atlanta and he is an R129 owner as well and he charges $500 to rebuild all the cylinders and this includes him taking out them out and putting them back in. I live about 45 minutes from Atlanta , I may just have him do the work but I'll supply the correct seals but not the cheap o-ring seals . I hope to see more of your R129 videos. Thank you again Rob for the information.
Oh don't waste your time only fixing the one that's leaking. Save yourself time and money and frustration and when 1 goes do them all. They are all the same age. And fix one and then the next weakest link will go and then the next and so on and so. No matter what when 1 goes your going to be doing all of them one way or another. Learned that lesson a couple times before it stuck. Try to save customer money on these you will but only because you'll be eating some of cost and walla the customer saved money but is still pissed because you will have they're car for way longer than originally stated. It's an expensive lesson to learn especially if they need a rental
You are 100% correct sir. Fixed the main lift cylinder on one side. While bleeding air from the system top functioned fine for 2 cycles and the bow extension cylinder on that side failed. Sent all 12 plus the windshield header distribution block to be rebuilt. I’m a glutton for punishment getting ready to buy another SL500 and will do the cylinders on that one. Funny thing though I now have the confidence to do the job easily in 4-5 hrs vs 10+ the first time around. LOL
Those of us are not confident with pulling wires apart on a R129, turning a screw, it's a no brainer. Thanks for this great idea. Very much appreciated.
Actually, the easiest way to raise the roll bar without hydraulics is to locate the roll bar wiring under the passenger-side rear trim panel just behind the jamb, unplug the connector, and then simply jumper the 2 exposed leads using jumper lines from the 12-volt battery in the trunk or a separate 12-volt battery. The roll bar will instantly deploy as if the car were in a roll-over accident. But be careful not to have any body parts or other items in the path of the roll bar or such parts will be launched into low-earth orbit! Be advised that this will disengage the roll bar from its hydraulic cylinder connection point and the roll bar cannot be lowered until the hydraulic system is restored and functioning. Once the hydraulics are functioning, the cylinder that operates the roll bar via the dash switch can extend (upward) to re-engage the connection with the roll bar and then the roll bar can be lowered via the dash switch as normal. Note that the roll bar is instantly deployed into the raised position by springs which are compressed via the hydraulic system when the roll bar is in the lowered position. Be sure that the battery has 100% charge and the hydraulic system reservoir is full when re-engaging the cylinder to the roll bar or it may not make a solid connection and will likely re-deploy potentially causing personal injury if you are in its path. I am speaking from experience on this. 2000 SL500.
i got mine to pop up drifting as i have traction control fully disabled 😂 cool to know what actually controls that. great video 👍
Damien...is the traction control the ASR!? I'm having ASR trouble and would prefer to disable it. My car is a 1992 sl 500. Can you explain how to disable the ASR? Thanks, Jeff
Great Videos and Thanks for sharing the info!!
Tactile transducers mounted to the seat frames… Mercedes has long had a very well designed metal seat frame. A lot of that came out of the SL series of coupes that Mercedes made in the Early 90’s. The pop up roll bar in the event of a roll over…. Brilliant. I forgot how long it took to pop up, once one of many Gyro sensors sent a signal to the Roll Over Protection signal processor which signaled to the roll bar to pop up very fast… it’s like “air bag fast” …
Good work.
I'm just gonna remove my entire soft top and I was wondering what these sensors were. I have put a Ford 8.8 limited slip rear in my R129 and I now know I don't need this nonsense. It is a LS conversion and I know the purist hate it but, I love the look and the hardtop and well...I'm on a budget.
And a top hydraulics rebuild of the cylinders is far better than the OEM cylinder. They upgrade the seals to a far superior quality seal material that should last at least double the original. Been using them for a decade + and haven't had one come back leaking yet.
where can I get those far superior quality upgraded seals? :)
Thank you sir
Great video! I got a 1992 300sl and i’ve searched so much to find exactly what is this sensor about and i couldn’t until now..
I want to ask you about the repairing program you mentioned in the video, is it possible to download somewhere transfer because i have some troubles with engine..Thanks 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you for such a golden trick! I have a question though, is there a way to lower it again? Since my system doesn’t work at all.
can you explain how to drop the roll bar manually...I can't get the top to function under normal operations so I manually raised the soft top. The roof needs replacing so the roll bar is in the way. thank you.
I have a 1989 R129 straight 6, and i need to change that switch, it looks straight forward, the actuator arm snapped off, ( age hardened) I will repair with a carbon rod, if that doesnt work its back to Mr Mercedes Ouch !! Thanks for the info , Cheshire UK.
'97 SL 320, no sensors to be found...I guess I'll have to bend and pry to passenger side panel. Damn! that was too good to be true!
Does the 1996 SL280 have the same? I cannot find this device on my 1996 SL280. Thank you.
Just if it helps .. my roof stopped working and wanted to get the rollover up but wouldn’t work .. I tried lots of things and looked underneath for the sensors but it seems they don’t exist on 1996 500sl . Anyway I noticed the fluid pump didn’t seem to be firing up or attempting to do anything so checked the 40A fuse and it was badly corroded ., replaced it and now everything back and running .. so reason for the post is just trying to be helpful
Mercedes Benz r 129 Hello, I saw your video, I wanted to ask if it is safe to do as you show in the video, so as not to break some other things. Thanks
Yes it’s safe and works very well. Switch one of the sensors to arrest get to 5mph and slam on brakes. The roll bar will pop up. After switch the sensor back to function.
Thanks for the reply ok i will try it.
Hello, I tried how you show it in the video and it didn't work. Thanks
What if mine is stuck in the up position?
my 2000 sl500 roll bar deployed after parking sideways on a hill. however I don't see these sensors on the suspension anywhere. Any ideas?
This video is my 1995 SL500. I also have a 1999 SL500 and it does not have the same sensors not sure when they made the running change so those of you with updated cars and no sensor may have to use Klaus' method of jumpering wires. He runs Top Hydraulics in OR, he posted the info on a MB forum somewhere. There are other differences between my 1995 and 1999. The 1995 has 12 hydraulic cylinders for the top, the 1999 has 11. The 1999+ trunk struts are different, tonneau cover rams are positioned different and the fuel filler neck on the right rear gets in the way of working on the top cylinders much more than the 1995. Also, at some point Mercedes switched from 2 tonneau cover latches to 1.
Awesome video.
You're right, the cylinders are a pain to repair .
Do you know if this will work on the 1995 320SL ?
Yes the roll over sensor is the same as my SL500
@@toothfixer , great , after I asked you , I looked under my R129 and it has the same sensor as yours . I'm having to repair the cylinders in mine too . Do you know if there is enough clearance for the soft top to be raised manually over a raised rollbar and do you know how to get the rollbar down manually ?
Thank you again for a great knowledgeable video .
@@thaddeauscaldwell7101 you will have no issues raising and lowering the top with the rollbar in place. Be especially careful with the bow extension cylinders. They use circlips so keep a magnet near them when you try to pop them off and be mindful of which side you’re removing. The pin can only come out 1 way. All of the cylinders have a ton of loctite on them so a torch is absolutely necessary to break up the loctite.
@@toothfixer , thank you Rob . I am glad to hear that I can manually raise and lower the top , with the rollbar in the upright position .
The magnet is a great idea . I have already purchased some used circlips , just incase some is lost . A friend of mine with an R129 has a friend that lives in Atlanta and he is an R129 owner as well and he charges $500 to rebuild all the cylinders and this includes him taking out them out and putting them back in. I live about 45 minutes from Atlanta , I may just have him do the work but I'll supply the correct seals but not the cheap o-ring seals . I hope to see more of your R129 videos.
Thank you again Rob for the information.
@@thaddeauscaldwell7101 that’s a great deal it’s a messy job and honestly taking apart these cylinders is no joke. Worth the money!
Oh don't waste your time only fixing the one that's leaking. Save yourself time and money and frustration and when 1 goes do them all. They are all the same age. And fix one and then the next weakest link will go and then the next and so on and so. No matter what when 1 goes your going to be doing all of them one way or another. Learned that lesson a couple times before it stuck. Try to save customer money on these you will but only because you'll be eating some of cost and walla the customer saved money but is still pissed because you will have they're car for way longer than originally stated. It's an expensive lesson to learn especially if they need a rental
You are 100% correct sir. Fixed the main lift cylinder on one side. While bleeding air from the system top functioned fine for 2 cycles and the bow extension cylinder on that side failed. Sent all 12 plus the windshield header distribution block to be rebuilt.
I’m a glutton for punishment getting ready to buy another SL500 and will do the cylinders on that one. Funny thing though I now have the confidence to do the job easily in 4-5 hrs vs 10+ the first time around. LOL
Why don’t you disconnect the odometer on that Tesla and drive it and keep your 99 score