S500 'Display defective, ESP' warning message.HELP!!

[AnthUK]

Changed battery on my 99 S500 and now stuck in Park and car will not start. Rang the RAC who simply did not have a clue. Warning message on dash as above. Any ideas?

 

[television]

Hi and welcome, the first thing to do is to change the Brake light switch, they can go down killing the speed signal, only £9 and easy to fit, that is the first thing to try.

Just seen that you say engine will not start, is that right

 

[AnthUK]

Thanks. Brake lights appear to be working ok but will change it anyway. Engine does not even crank.

 

[television]

Thanks. Brake lights appear to be working ok but will change it anyway. Engine does not even crank.

Hold on dont do anything yet, this is something else

 

[jibcl500]

Thanks. Brake lights appear to be working ok but will change it anyway. Engine does not even crank.

where are you based?, might be worth disconnecting the battery for an hour, reconnect the battery leave for 20 mins or so and then have a go at starting, with the key on postion 2 all dash light on can you move the selector from P to N or D 1 2 3 4 etc.
Is or has the alarm worked ok since chaging the battery, can you locl unlock the car from the key fob.

jib

 

[AnthUK]

thanks for help. RAC ended up towing car to dealers as they had no idea. Turned out to be a dodgy fuse for which they charged me £56! Not happy with RAC as surely they should have spotted that. Apparently they do not carry diagnostic gear for Mercs!! Quite alarming I think. So why cover them for breakdowns?

 

[jibcl500]

RAC dont carry diagnostics because if they did they could find the fault and the customer would expect them to fix it.

RAC AA are recovery services, yes they can get you going if the wheel fell off etc etc, but diagnosis on a MB or any other complex car is really best left to the dealers.

Also there maybe a conflict between RAC and delaers about the fault and who fixed it etc, also warrenty RAC fix it warrenty invalid!!!


jib

 

[television]

Also as JIB with the addition that if you are not 100% sure of what you are doing, you can exit wrong, and have the whole car go down.

 

[AnthUK]

RAC chap said that they only carry OBD11 type diagnostics (which he brought out) Mercs apparently have unique diagnostic ports. Seems a bit silly to have equpment for most cars but not Merc?

 

[AnthUK]

RAC chap said that they only carry OBD11 type diagnostics (which he brought out) Mercs apparently have unique diagnostic ports. Seems a bit silly to have equpment for most cars but not Merc?

 

[BlackC55]

Thats a load of rubbish. Its a 16 pin connector like most, not all 1997 onwards cars.

He wont know what he is doing with it anyway.

 

[yellowspringuk]

Thats a load of rubbish. Its a 16 pin connector like most, not all 1997 onwards cars.

He wont know what he is doing with it anyway.

To be far with RAC, the 3 RAC guys that have attended to my car on two separate occasions, seems to know what they were doing with the OBD diagnostic kit they have, and also carries a good battery tester kit. Without them I’ll still be stuck on the side of the road thinking I’ve got a major problem when all I need is good battery