I've noticed over the last week that the SRS light on the dash flickers on and off from time to time. The car I'm talking about is a 86 300E with 200k mis. on it. Can anyone
tell me if they're experiencing the same thing. I don't know if it's coincidence or not, but it seems to flicker off and on alot when I hit bumps, (maybe I'm imaging the bumps part).

Richie:
A lot of people who have had this on various model MBs in the past have mentioned: replacing slip rings in the steering wheel for the air bag contact; checking the battery for low voltage; and checking the seat belts connector and switches to make sure the circuit is complete when buckled. A more thorough search than I performed may turn up more possibilities.

Check your alternator output. Low voltage can cause this.

Thanks guys,

Will check everything you mentioned. The funny thing is today on my way home from work, I didn't see the light the light come on at all.

I've seen the light flicker when turning the wheel, but
not over bumps and such.

It's usually caused by dirty/intermittent connections in
the slip ring at the steering wheel. I think the light
would also be activated if you had intermittent
connections to the seat belt tensioners - corrosion at
plug in connections, for example.

The classic fix for the slip ring problem is to spray a
bunch of contact cleaner into the back of the steering
wheel. I bought a big aerosol can at Home Depot for
about two bucks. Work the plastic tube up toward the
slip ring by going in from behind the wheel (power it
outward to make room). Spray genererously - use a shop
towel to catch and drips. Then spin the wheel from
lock to lock several times. This will clean the contacts.
One treatment - ten minutes work - cured my flickering
SRS light.

When the SRS light is on, your airbag and seatbelt tensioners
are deactivated. I'm not a huge fan of airbags, but I do
like to have the seatbelt tensioners operating.

- Jim

flickering srs light
 

I'm gonna pull the steering wheel today anyway(horn stopped working after I changed the signal/wiper combo switch), will look for any corrosion, anything out of the ordinary. Will checkout the alt. output,battery etc. Thanks everyone for the replys

I have experienced a version of this problem on the 560sl. The SRS light will stay on for a day or two then it will mysteriously dissappear for awhile before coming back on for a day or two. Any ideas?

Rob,
Didn't get a chance to pull the steering wheel yet but I'm almost 100% positive that once I spray up the rear of the steering wheel my problem will go away. I say this because, just on a hunch(when the light wasn't flickering)I tugged on the steering wheel and sure enough, the light started to flicker. Hopefully I'll also figure out why the horn stopped working once I changed the turn/wiper switch combo. I'm positive I put everything back once I did change this switch. Hopefully Wednesday will be the day I pull the steering wheel. I'll keep you posted.

Rob,Jim;
Didn't get a chance to pull the steering wheel yet but I'm almost 100% positive that once I spray up the rear of the steering wheel my problem will go away. I say this because, just on a hunch(when the light wasn't flickering)I tugged on the steering wheel and sure enough, the light started to flicker. Hopefully I'll also figure out why the horn stopped working once I changed the turn/wiper switch combo. I'm positive I put everything back once I did change this switch. Hopefully Wednesday will be the day I pull the steering wheel. I'll keep you posted.

srs light no longer flickers
 

Thanks for the input on fixing the flickering srs light, it no longer flickers but my horn still doesn't work. I checked and cleaned the contacts, changed the fuse(#6), and still the horn doesn't work. Any suggestions? I traced all the components I took off when changing the turn/combo switch and everything is intact. HELP>>