Went out for a quick lunch to meet some friends...when I got back to the car, the car wouldn't start. The starter wasn't engaging at all. It wasn't the battery as the stereo would play full blast, all the lights in the dash would light up, and the annoying key buzzer would still buzz. Took the key off, put it back in, still nothing.

I popped the hood, checked for any loose wires, nothing. Didn't bother with the battery at the trunk as I knew it wasn't the problem.

I sat their for a couple of minutes trying to figure out what was wrong then I noticed that the alarm LED was flashing. Found it weird since the doors were unlocked and I was in the car. I figured it was the immobilizer...and maybe there was something wrong with the key (dirt, water or something...happened to me in a Range Rover). I wiped the key clean, tried it again to no avail. I got out of the car to reset the alarm by locking and unlocking it. The light was still flashing when I got back in, and of course, the car still wouldn't start.

I got out of the car, locked it and tried to see whether the light was still flashing. It wasn't.

I guess I waited long enough cause when I unlocked the car again, the LED wasn't flashing anymore. The car started as though without incident.

I figured you need to wait a while for the alarm to reset before unlocking the doors again.

Everything's back to normal now (including pulse, adrenalin level--mine).

Has this happened to anyone before? What causes it? I made a couple of calls to friends who've owned or own MBs and most of them claimed that this happened to them at some point.

Is this normal, in a weird kind of way? Is there something I can do to prevent this from happening again? Is there something I could have done but were not aware of having done it to engage the immobilizer?

Really confused me, this one....

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Rainmaker
93 500E, 43k mi, Pics of upgrade parts
Evo II Wheels on Dunlop FM901 235/45x17s
94 Facelift
RennTech CF Airbox
RennTech ASR Defeat
RennTech Chip
1st Gear Start
97 Range Rover 4.6 HSE Vitesse, Yellow, "Tonka" (sold)

your driver's side lock probably needs to be replaced. there are microswitches in there that wear out. exact same thing happened to me at a work location. was about to die from embarrasment as the alarm horn went off, lucky for me the lock/unlock trick worked. the cylinder costs about $160 keyed to your car (with a spare key). the other solution is to install a keyless entry system, there's a thread with step by step how-to's, total cost is about $85...

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joE
1993 300e-2.8 - gone now <sigh>
"Do not adjust your mind, it's reality that's malfunctioning"
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