Tindo
Member
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2013
- Messages
- 16
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- Location
- South Africa
- Your Mercedes
- Mercedes Benz E280 1997 W210
Hi guys, ive a problem with my 1997 Mercedes Benz W210 E280 Elegance which I hope you will help me with. I will try and describe the sequence of events as accurately as possible.
Sometime last Friday (4 January) I opened my boot with the remote and locked again without a problem. When I tried unlocking the doors to drive out the doors wouldnt open and I remained locked out. tried the Mechanical key but it wouldnt unlock the driver door (or even turn). After giving up my dad came in the evening and when he tried the doors opened and the car was flashing the indicators rapidly (without any sound) which I assume is the alarm. The indicators in the dash were also flashing rapidly. Pressing the unlock button on the key wouldnt stop the lights and they only stoped when I started the car. I drove the car for about 5km, came back and parked without incident. When I tried starting the following day the car wouldnt start, just lih\ghting up the dash and not starting. I tried repeatedly and fiddled with the battery terminals (because they are loose and have given me a problem before when starting) but car wouldnt start and in the middle of all this fiddling with terminals and trying to start the car the key suddenly refused to turn in the ignition. On leaving the car the remote key wouldnt lock the doors.
I also need to mention that before the general failure mentioned above, the ignition part where you insert the key has started spinning when I need to start the car so when turning the key, the whole thing thing turns as well and I have to wait for it to stop truning before the key can engage and start the car.
As of now, four days later this is what is happening:
1. Remote key cannot turn in the ignition which means I cant start.
2. When I insert the key, the steering lock is released, and when I remove the key its locked again.
3. Remote key cannot lock doors or boot.
4. Mechanical key in the cannot lock doors or boot
5. The central locking switch in the centre console can lock doors when I'm inside and there is a hiss from under the rear seat and the multifunction display shows mileage, time, outside temperature etc
6. Radio, trip counter, multifunction display, electric seats, inside lights and headlamps all work but the horn is silent.
7. I don't have a spare key or emergency key.
After reading of similar problems this is what I've done so far:
1. Charged main battery - didn't help
2. Changed batteries in remote key (red light shows when I press the key) - didn't solve the problem
3. Checked the IR beam under camera and its showing.
4. Asked an electronics guy to check the remote key motherboard / chip and he didn't find any problem with it like dry joints.
5. Electronics guy checked my fuses in the box under the bonnet and they were all fine.
6. Left remote key in ignition (read somewhere that it re-syncs) - didn't help.
7. Tried wiggling the steering when starting - didn't help
8. Cleaned both remote key and ignition keyhole IR sensors - didn't help.
The whole thing has left me with a couple of questions which I believe someone in the forum can clarify:
1. I read on the forum that the central locking and ignition part of the key are separate but it appears they both stopped functioning simultaneously, is there a car component / system whose failure can shutdown both ignition and central locking functions?
2. When I insert the key, the steering wheel is unlocked, does this mean my EIS is still functioning?
3. The mechanical key does not lock doors or boot, is it possible that there is a general locking failure which is affecting mechanical lock, remote lock (and possibly ignition)?
4. Or asked in other words, does an ignition failure cause both the remote and mechanical locking system to fail?
5. In case I have a key problem, is it possible to just order the slim emergency key, is it cheaper than the key with remote functions?
6. Does the description i have given above suggest a dead ECU?
Im sorry for the very long post but I wanted to give as much detail as possible so that some forum members can figure out the exact problem(s). Thanks for reading.
Sometime last Friday (4 January) I opened my boot with the remote and locked again without a problem. When I tried unlocking the doors to drive out the doors wouldnt open and I remained locked out. tried the Mechanical key but it wouldnt unlock the driver door (or even turn). After giving up my dad came in the evening and when he tried the doors opened and the car was flashing the indicators rapidly (without any sound) which I assume is the alarm. The indicators in the dash were also flashing rapidly. Pressing the unlock button on the key wouldnt stop the lights and they only stoped when I started the car. I drove the car for about 5km, came back and parked without incident. When I tried starting the following day the car wouldnt start, just lih\ghting up the dash and not starting. I tried repeatedly and fiddled with the battery terminals (because they are loose and have given me a problem before when starting) but car wouldnt start and in the middle of all this fiddling with terminals and trying to start the car the key suddenly refused to turn in the ignition. On leaving the car the remote key wouldnt lock the doors.
I also need to mention that before the general failure mentioned above, the ignition part where you insert the key has started spinning when I need to start the car so when turning the key, the whole thing thing turns as well and I have to wait for it to stop truning before the key can engage and start the car.
As of now, four days later this is what is happening:
1. Remote key cannot turn in the ignition which means I cant start.
2. When I insert the key, the steering lock is released, and when I remove the key its locked again.
3. Remote key cannot lock doors or boot.
4. Mechanical key in the cannot lock doors or boot
5. The central locking switch in the centre console can lock doors when I'm inside and there is a hiss from under the rear seat and the multifunction display shows mileage, time, outside temperature etc
6. Radio, trip counter, multifunction display, electric seats, inside lights and headlamps all work but the horn is silent.
7. I don't have a spare key or emergency key.
After reading of similar problems this is what I've done so far:
1. Charged main battery - didn't help
2. Changed batteries in remote key (red light shows when I press the key) - didn't solve the problem
3. Checked the IR beam under camera and its showing.
4. Asked an electronics guy to check the remote key motherboard / chip and he didn't find any problem with it like dry joints.
5. Electronics guy checked my fuses in the box under the bonnet and they were all fine.
6. Left remote key in ignition (read somewhere that it re-syncs) - didn't help.
7. Tried wiggling the steering when starting - didn't help
8. Cleaned both remote key and ignition keyhole IR sensors - didn't help.
The whole thing has left me with a couple of questions which I believe someone in the forum can clarify:
1. I read on the forum that the central locking and ignition part of the key are separate but it appears they both stopped functioning simultaneously, is there a car component / system whose failure can shutdown both ignition and central locking functions?
2. When I insert the key, the steering wheel is unlocked, does this mean my EIS is still functioning?
3. The mechanical key does not lock doors or boot, is it possible that there is a general locking failure which is affecting mechanical lock, remote lock (and possibly ignition)?
4. Or asked in other words, does an ignition failure cause both the remote and mechanical locking system to fail?
5. In case I have a key problem, is it possible to just order the slim emergency key, is it cheaper than the key with remote functions?
6. Does the description i have given above suggest a dead ECU?
Im sorry for the very long post but I wanted to give as much detail as possible so that some forum members can figure out the exact problem(s). Thanks for reading.