W210 E320 immobiliser and alarm problem

[3mercsjohn]

I have a '96 W210 E320. Drives really well but not surprisingly a little rusty. Recently the immobiliser and alarm have been unpredictable and I have been advised on this model and by the breakdown recovery man to get the immobiliser taken off. I think it is the scorpion version.

I am not a car thief so I don't know how to do this.:lol:

I don't expect anybody to post the answer put maybe a few pointers would be useful or even a direct email or phone numberwould be really useful. I know a little about car electrics but not enough to do this job.

 

[television]

Hello and welcome,,as this was a retrofit by MB in this country, it is often just a matter of re joining the wires up, they are all colour coded so just join up like to like

 

[3mercsjohn]

E320 alarm

Ok, Thanks for that. I didn't realise it was that simple. I'll have a go this weekend.

 

[bigasotonuk]

Hi, Welcome to the forum,
Before you rip it out just put new fob batteries in the remote as 9/10 that will cure it, just because the fob unlocks/locks the car doesn,t mean that they are OK, mines does this change the fob batteries and works ok again.
Have you got Red&Green lights on the mirror (& possibly the drivers door handle too), are they flashing every time you use the fob?
Please be aware there were 7 different types of Scorpion alarm systems some with and without immobilisers and it is entirely possible that you have MB factory fit immobiliser as well as the Scorpion alarm, in this case removing the Scorpion Alarm system still would,nt solve your immobiliser issue.
You can normally identify the MB factory fit immobiliser by the raised collar/ring around the ignition switch.

 

[3mercsjohn]

W202 Scorpion Immobiliser

Thanks for info. I located the offending retro-fit scorpion and buzzed it through to be sure what all the connections are for. The remote had new batteries and worked fine as far as I could work out. Sometimes the car wouldn't "un-immobilise", ie crank but not fire and it stay like that for hours. I have been informed that these UK add-ons are not particularly reliable on this year (N) of W210.

It was a UK MB fit and obviously not done in the factory. Removal was simple as it was connected in series with the existing alarm and immobiliser system. With obvious connections for the indicators etc.

The car now seems fine, starts and runs ok and the locking system and alarm behave just like my '92 W140 300SEL

 

[davidw210]

Hi ,
I have a graceful old W210 E230 (N reg) , the key fob batteries have been changed and all the usual suspects. it has an alarm I think scorpion how and where are the connections to disconnect it. Only the green flashing led comes on and the same as above problem occurs. Please help this old w210

Dave

 

[Hertfordshire Merx]

I recently replaced a Scorpion alarm siren on a 210 which had failed. Scorpion dont support dealer parts departments anymore so I am told and fortunately the siren was sourced directly from them.

 

[bigasotonuk]

Hi,
Welcome to the forum Dave,
If the red LED in the mirror is not working this is most likely to be your fault.
This went on my 202 (same system) went MB and this was the solution, you can,t change the LED's so a new rear view mirror has to be sourced. Though if you are careful and good with a soldering iron you can solder in a new one, not sure how this was done as he dissappeared into the workshop came back 5 minutes later job done and it was perfect.
If you decide to get a second hand mirror, 202 and i believe 124 have the same mirror though the 202 mirror only comes in black and yours being a 210 will either be beige or grey i believe, S class mirrors may even be compatible i believe.
HertsfordshireMerx I,m a little confused did you source your Scorpion alarm siren from MB? Can I ask how much it was, and did it come with a new isolation key? Many Thanks.

 

[davidw210]

Hi Andy,

I dont know for sure that its a scorpion I am only guessing (probably not as it doesnt have an isolation key just the blipper). It worked after many dozens of times trying then failed again as soon as I turned the ignition off. I didnt mention that the door LED only flashes green as well.

I will have a look at the mirror gubbins to see any likley culprits. Thankyou so much for your advice i am hoping she will breathe again soon.

Thanks

Dave

 

[bigasotonuk]

The Scorpion alarm/imobiliser was fitted as standard equipment for UK imported Mercedes and utilised the standard single button fob.
My car did exactly the same as you are describing yours is doing, replacing the LED in the rear view mirror sorted mine out straight away.
I was sceptical that such a fault would cause the immobiliser to operate erractically, and did,nt really expect it to solve it, but it did.
Where in Hampshire are you? As I will drive to you or you to me and i will remove my cars mirror fit it in yours and see if this solves your issue

 

[turbopete]

is the remote a seperate unit or part of a "flip out" key unit? if its the latter, my c220 diesel was prone to the keys going wrong. would unlock the car, crank over etc but not start. between us (it was dads car before me) we had 4 keys in 6 years. car showed no faults when put on MB diagnostic machine!

 

[type49]

Hi,
Welcome to the forum Dave,
If the red LED in the mirror is not working this is most likely to be your fault.
This went on my 202 (same system) went MB and this was the solution, you can,t change the LED's so a new rear view mirror has to be sourced. Though if you are careful and good with a soldering iron you can solder in a new one, not sure how this was done as he dissappeared into the workshop came back 5 minutes later job done and it was perfect.
If you decide to get a second hand mirror, 202 and i believe 124 have the same mirror though the 202 mirror only comes in black and yours being a 210 will either be beige or grey i believe, S class mirrors may even be compatible i believe.
HertsfordshireMerx I,m a little confused did you source your Scorpion alarm siren from MB? Can I ask how much it was, and did it come with a new isolation key? Many Thanks.

Yep, sounds like the mirror. The red LED has to work to disable the immobilizer. You can buy an LED from Maplins & replace it yourself. Bit fiddly but worth it. How bigasotonuk got his done in 5 mins I don't know , took me ages That guy must have done loads of them!! A 210 E class will fit & so will a 140 S but on the 140 you may have to swop 2 wires around - just make sure all the colours are the same.

 

[bigasotonuk]

Hi,
Like i said he dissappeared for 5 minutes and came back with it done and refitted it for me, he did say that he had a bag of LED's/bulbs for the mirror in his tool box and was very aware of the issue with the mirror, and had done loads of them in the past though his service manager said he was not to do anymore for the customers as MB's solution was a complete new mirror which at the time was about £80-100, now they are more like £200 new.
In retrospect maybe he had one already repaired from a previous customers faulty one, but he did lead me to believe that it was mine he had repaired.

 

[bigasotonuk]

is the remote a seperate unit or part of a "flip out" key unit? if its the latter, my c220 diesel was prone to the keys going wrong. would unlock the car, crank over etc but not start. between us (it was dads car before me) we had 4 keys in 6 years. car showed no faults when put on MB diagnostic machine!

Hi,
If the car was 1997 or earlier you get no information regarding the alarm system on the diagnostic as it was an "add on" by MB UK rather than a factory fit item such as the one that would be fitted to your E300.

 

[Hertfordshire Merx]

HertsfordshireMerx I,m a little confused did you source your Scorpion alarm siren from MB? Can I ask how much it was, and did it come with a new isolation key? Many Thanks.

No It didnt come from Mercedes as I have been told they no longer supply Mercs. I have the customers car in today funny enough and he will be collecting it tonight once I have sorted his air conditioning out - I'll ask him then a post it on here.

 

[turbopete]

Hi,
If the car was 1997 or earlier you get no information regarding the alarm system on the diagnostic as it was an "add on" by MB UK rather than a factory fit item such as the one that would be fitted to your E300.

correct it was my 1996 c220 diesel. had the standard alarm immobiliser set up (dealers told me) PLUS the MBSS system which was an extra immobiliser. i was told it was a near 2grand option on the car when it was new! new keys always cured the problem though!

 

[bigasotonuk]

No It didnt come from Mercedes as I have been told they no longer supply Mercs. I have the customers car in today funny enough and he will be collecting it tonight once I have sorted his air conditioning out - I'll ask him then a post it on here.

Many thanks, as mine I believe maybe near the end of its useful life.

 

[davidw210]

Thanks Andy,

I work In southampton, yesterday it started working fine then s*ds law once at work has stopped and only the green door handle led flashes along with mirror. the immobiliser now does not disarm. A proper Gremlin! took the mirror apart and all connected a ok.

Will keep you posted but thanks again. Definatley not a scorpion so thanks for ruling it out.

Dave

 

[bigasotonuk]

Can I ask you how you know it is not a Scorpion Alarm/Immobilser? As the Scorpion name/mark does not appear on any item of the alarm, it was made to MB specs and was even given MB pt. no.'s.
There is a possibility that you have a separate alarm (Scorpion fitted by MB UK) and separate immobiliser (Factory fitted) this immobilser can be Identified by a raised collar around the steering lock, the key for this has a transponder chip inside and when the chip is in the proximity of the ignition lock/raised collar it deactivates the immobilser. If this system is fitted to your car the key will activate everything, locking/unlocking, alarm on/off, and the Immobiliser.

 

[davidw210]

Hi Andy,

I work in totton where the car sadly has stopped again (fortunatley at work), somone tld me that merc standard alarm sirens can often cause the fault so I have ordered a replacement one which was only £25 (from Mercedes as well). It worked this moning and the red leds on mirror and door worked fine for about an hour.



Running out of ideas quickly/

Dave