Stranded...

[katubma1]

Well, after a few years and 20k + miles, my little 240d finally stranded me. I had assumed it was the starter solenoid going bad, so I was prepared for that with a little handy remote trigger starter ready to go. Nope, wasn't that. Turns out the metal connection from the ignition cylinder lock to the actual ignition was failing. It failed. (first pic) I tried to fix it in the parking lot but couldn't get it out from behind dash. Had a friend tow me home.

So, I priced out the replacement part (ouch!) and figured that I really didn't need a key anymore. I simply removed all the internals (steering lock, cylinder, cam, etc) and it starts like a charm with a screwdriver.

Put it all back up under the dash and ran the kill switch out (2nd pic). So now, all I need to start it is a handy screw driver and then just push the little button to turn off. Might be some kinda crime against MB humanity or something, I'm sure.