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).

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Richie
1986 300E

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.

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John

2003 Firemist Red/grey leather SL 500
2015 Palladium Silver/black mbtex GLK 350
1987 Smoke Silver/burgundy mbtex 300E Sportline (SOLD)

Click to see 87 300E

Check your alternator output. Low voltage can cause this.

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Jeff Lawrence
1989 300e
2000 Dodge Grand Caravan SE
No matter what you fix, there will always be something else to fix..
"Warranty" is just another way of postponing the inevitable.

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.

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Richie
1986 300E

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

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

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Richie
1986 300E

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 Armstrong, Charlotte, NC
Mountain Island Lake
RobAinCLTNC@hotmail.com

2004 VW Passat GLS TDI-50k
2006 Honda Odyssey EX-L 7k
FOR SALE 1991 300TE 228k

2003 Subaru Outback 57k Silver/Black-SOLD
2005 C230K 18k Pewter/Grey-SOLD
1997 E420 108k Black/Grey-SOLD
1986 560sl 200k Black/Palimino-SOLD
1985 300sd 340k-SOLD
1979 240d 170k-SOLD
2000 Volvo V70XC-POS couldn't sell fast enough

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.

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Richie
1986 300E

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.

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Richie
1986 300E

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>>

__________________
Richie
1986 300E