BAS - ESP Dash Light

[coolin]

Hi Everyone,

I've got a quick question for you - I was stuck in stop and go traffic yesterday when the BAS - ESP warning light came on and stayed on. As I was stuck in traffic, I had some time to flip through the manual and saw that the car goes into safe mode is restricts shifting/engine power (which mine did) and continued to do until I got to my destination.

Since then the car has diven fine (no dash lights) and the brakes seem good.

Is it possible that this was related to the heat (33'C+ and being stuck for a couple of hours)? or does this suggest I might soon be chasing an electrical gremlin?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

[jnolte]

it means your battery has dropped below 10 volts, so the car i turns off power robbing electrical devices until proper power levels are restored

[alphanumeric]

oh wow.. this happend to me when I unplugged my battery.. I just drove it for like 30min and it returned to normal..

I guess thats a good sign to replace ur battery tho!

[coolin]

Thanks!

[hangup]

Originally posted by alphanumeric
oh wow.. this happend to me when I unplugged my battery.. I just drove it for like 30min and it returned to normal..

I guess thats a good sign to replace ur battery tho!

when you unplug the battery you need to reset a few things, that includes power windows, moonroof and bas/esp.
to reset bas/esp just turn the steering wheel all the way to the left, right and back to the center and the lights will come off.
to reset the windows/moonroof look in your manual, it's all there. or search here i'm sure it's here as well.

btw, when i had my old battery and it started to die i noticed a lot of times when i start the car especially while really cold bas/esp would come on. then at other times i start it light would be off. i even asked my SA about it and specifically if it could be related to the dying battery, but he brushed me off and started to explain to me what BAS was, etc, etc. basically i got the usual "you are a moron" speech.
i ended up replacing the battery anyways and i never had bas/esp light come on after that!
i always suspected that my hunch was correct and now i'm sure it was :)

[69chevelle]

I thought the bas light had to do with your traction control/brake assist not working??

[DRM]

Originally posted by 69chevelle
I thought the bas light had to do with your traction control/brake assist not working??

Yes but if the voltage drops it is turned off, and the light is telling you that.

[MBHustla858]

another common reason why those lights come on is also for the brake light switch not working properly.

[Lensolo]

My BAS ESP light is more frequent now even after my battery change. But, it's random. Sometimes it's on and goes off, then comes on later. Anyone know what I should check first? My brake lights work fine.

[jnolte]

car voltage. ALso when the light comes on, turn the wheel all the way the the left then all the way to the tight and see if it turns off

[Lensolo]

Originally posted by jnolte
car voltage. ALso when the light comes off, turn the wheel all the way the the left then all the way to the tight and see if it turns off

So, with the new battery and the light still being on, I should have my charging unit checked?

I tried the BAS/ESP reset procedure with the wheel and it still didn't turn off.

[jnolte]

Originally posted by Lensolo
So, with the new battery and the light still being on, I should have my charging unit checked?

I tried the BAS/ESP reset procedure with the wheel and it still didn't turn off.

ya go get it checked

EDIT: whoops i meant to say, when the light turns ON turn the wheel not off sorry!

[svt ricco]

this happened to me a while ago when i started my car for her daily warmup. turned it off then the light was gone. this has happened to me twice now...hmmm

[D-money]

is you'r cruise control working?

[svt ricco]

D-money is you'r cruise control working?

yup..is it connected with the cruise control?

[First Benz]

Originally posted by MBHustla858
another common reason why those lights come on is also for the brake light switch not working properly.

+ Eleventy Billion.

Seriously. They are a common, and habitual problem. Even more of a problem than the MAF sensors.

It is common for the light to go away with the cycle of the key as well, BUT it also means that when the light is on, the BAS won't be functioning to it's max ability.

Mine comes on from time to time, and I just cycle the key to get it to go away until I get un-lazy enough to fix it.

It could also be the battery, but, the stop lamp switches are cheap, something like 20 bucks, maybe a touch more, and you can put it in yourself.

I would start there and see where that gets you.

Eric

[D-money]

Originally posted by svt ricco
D-money is you'r cruise control working?

yup..is it connected with the cruise control?

yes it is somehow connected to cruise control, my bro had same problem on his ml 430, hes bas esp light sometimes stayed on, sometimes flashed, also hes cruise control stopped working. through mb forums i found out that all he needed was the tail brake light bulb changed