Infared Remote Question...
 

My dad went out and bought a pristine condition 1996 SL600. Anyway he got the car home and tried to use the remote control to lock the doors. He tried and nothing happened. Anyway we read the manual and tried to program the remote to no avail. We tried to hold down the button on the remote to test if the battery was ok and the light came on and flashed after 2 seconds. If anyone can help me with this, it would be greatly appreciated.

By the way, you can see the car here. I took the pictures outside in the dark.

Given the year, my guess is that you have the same system I do in my 1996 S500. The interior rear view mirror has a red and green light. Attached to the very bottom of the mirror is the IR receiver. It looks like a dark/black protrusion.
This configuration works so well they don't use it any more. :)
On mine, even with fresh batteries, the operating range of the remotes to the receiver is very short. The remote IR window (red plastic) must be pointed directly at the rear view mirror. I think the max I've ever achieved on a brightly lit day is about 5 feet. Its a bit better at night, but not much.
Get close to the mirror with the remote and try it. Do either/both of the red/green lights on the mirror blink? Give us the sequence/pattern of the blinking lights and we may be able to help.
Hopefully, the remote you have is the right one for the car. If not, you'll have to order a new one from MB. (ouch!)
Contrary to what many sellers on eBay would claim, you cannot take any MB IR remote that "looks" right and program it to the car... its got to be one of the originals, or a MB provided replacement.

I agree with Ken but I would also add that you should install new batteries in the Transmitter first. These are CR2025 disc batteries available at any pharmacy. Open the little door on the transmitter and put them in, close the door. That's it. Then test it as Ken describes.
Steve

batteries...
 

I changed the batteries and still nothing. I pust the button on the key and I get no light what so ever. I think that the reciever may be dead or shorted because it reieves no signal form te button on the key. Anyways, I talkd to the person my dad bought the car form and he said that if we cant get the remote to work, give him a call and he will order a new one, or he will take it to the dealer and have the problem fixed.

I would check the fuse for the infrared receiver - make sure it's not open.
steve

fuses
 

I checked all of the fuses, and I replaced them all with fuses of adequate ampereage. The fuses looked to be in good condition before I replaced them, but I still did replace them anyways. Just to be sure though, I found 3 diffferent fuses under the hood fo the IR system, and I found none in the trunk related to the IR system.

Thank you for your time.