sl320 starting problem -- Help!!!!

[sirhrmechanic]

Hi:

I have a 1997 320SL. Bought 18 months ago and Starmarked until last fall. It's like new and has had no issues from new. Just serviced last fall with standard maintenance service. 35000 miles. Always dealer serviced.

Because I live in (salty) Vermont, the car doesn't drive in winter and this winter because I was travelling a lot I didn't get a chance to start the car and run it to hot as often as I wanted. I only did it once in mid-winter. It was in cold dry storage in an unheated garage attached to my house.

Yesterday, I went to start it and the battery (brand new last spring) was dead. I charged it and it's holding a charge fine.

But I can't get the car to start and run. I was thinking that there was a frozen fuel line, but warmed the car up... nothing. I put both compressed air on the tank and it's delivering fuel to the engine bay under good pressure. No frozen line.

The car will start on a shot of ether. And will run for about 2 seconds before dying. Then it won't start again for a while... though it does sort of "try" and start which makes me think I have a fuel line or fuel filter plugged. When it does start, I get a lot of smoke out the tailpipe. But I think that's a sign of flooding... which I don't expect from an injected car.

I have checked all the fuses and there are none blown. I can't find the fuel filter.

The other "clues" I can offer... it was bumped last fall in traffic. But was a "1mph" hit at a traffic light. It shouldn't have tripped any kind of auto fuel shutoff. And the car ran fine for several hundred miles after that.

Also, all the electronics on the car are working fine -- except the convertible top and the rollbar raising/lowering switch. The convertible top button (the hardtop is installed, BTW) is glowing red and the light won't shut off. And there are two up arrows/carrots ^ illuminated on the roll bar switch and these won't shut off. And the rollbar won't move when the switch is pressed.

I am wondering if this is a code or some kind of interlock that prevents the car from running if this safety system isn't functioning.

Please help.... from reading the other posts out there, the expertise is clearly out there.

Cheers and thanks,

Pierce

rpreid at pshift dot com.

[Tom Calabrese]

Just went through similar problem with 98ML320. Learned that when you jump the battery it can ruin the key. The result was exactly what you discribed. Rus for a second and then dies. Ordered new kew and car starts and runs fine. Sounds like you have same problem and fix

[sirhrmechanic]

Hi and thanks.

Interesting thought, though the SL320 key is different from the ML (I used to have the ML with the "smart key". And the SL320 has the straight six, so very different animal from the ML which is a V6 and has much more up-to-date electronics.

Mercedes tech seems to think that when the battery died completely and for so long, it wiped the computer codes and needs to have the computer wiped and reloaded by a dealer. The lights that are on were an indication that the codes were FUBAR.

And I didn't jump the car. Too many things go wrong when you jump these things. I used a charger and started it on the battery.

Interesting about those smart keys, though. I didn't know you could do that. I'll be careful about jumping my Excursion that has a smart key.

Cheers,

Pierce