Car in question is a 1998 S500 W140 USA version.

Up until it didn't, the car ran and started fine.

Went to start up the car last week, and the car cranked, then would fire for a second, then die. I could see the tach jump, as well as the oil pressure gage before the car died.

First thought was a bad key (rfid chip). Unfortunately, my wife cannot find the spare key she had while we were on vacation two weeks ago. (I always like to have a spare key with me when out of town.)

So, I make the trek down to the dealer for another key. Got the key from the dealer and it has the same symptoms as the original key. Note: The new dealer key does not remotely operate the locks. I swapped batteries, between the new key and original key (which were two months old) and no change. The original key still locks/unlocks, the new one does not. I know that the batteries in the key do not affect starting, but it makes me wonder about the veracity of the new key, as in, did I get a bad key from the dealer. Both keys do turn the tumbler and crank the engine.

I also traced the wire from the transponder ring (coil) to the black box above the steering column (part # 129 820 37 26, SIEMENS SWK4 680 PA6-GR30), and disconnected the transponder ring pigtail and checked the transponder for continuity, and it showed 0 ohms resistance.

Doing a data dump on the car with the XENTRY system, I get a code ME1R, "P1570 DAS to engine control module N3/10 faulty".

Testing for actual values, I get:

57 DAS and ECM compatible?

Yes

53 ECM identified?

Yes

54 ECM locked?

Yes

55 Start auth?

No (Ahah!)

56 Vehicle locked with DAS?

Yes

66 Number of starts with non-locked ECM?

Starts=0

Other info displayed:

Code# 032302064
Code unit# D7F650
Chassis # ---------375

And a reference to DAS control unit 82801.

So far I have not found the location of N3/10 or 82801, which might be the same module....


Anyone have any suggestions on what to do next?

Thanks for any thoughts!

Jim

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