Yesterday, after 3 weeks sitting in the garage (while I was enjoying my recently purchased Lexus SUV a lot) my '93 SL500 hit back at my lack of care by flattening its battery.
No problem - I jumpstarted it and took the car for a 45 minute run at high speed and many acceleration hills to clear out the cobwebs.
About 10 minutes away from home on the return trip, and fortunately back in the suburbs, the ASR light came up and the engine reduced power. A new SLK which had been following me for the past 20 kms was forced to sit behind me on the narrow road while I tried to figure out what was wrong... since I'd never experienced anything like this before.
After a nervewracking 10 seconds of twiddling with this and that, I discovered the famous 'limp home' mode by putting my foot right down on the throttle. Phew. The SLK roared past me, the driver mentally thumbing his nose at me, I'm sure. Embarrasing stuff.
So, is there any connection between the flat battery and my ASR problem, or is it just a coincidence and I'm going to have to go the expensive route to get it fixed? Or will it work perfectly forever more, and my worries are all over now? And how will I tell?
Or is it best to get the problem fixed regardless for a worry-free life?
I sure don't want my expensive looking machine to end up like the early 90's Rolls Royce I saw on the motorway a couple of days ago with the hood up and a tow truck behind it. I laughed then, but pride comes before a fall
Good looks and a top marque should also mean rock solid dependibilty also, otherwise what's the point!
Ken Silver
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~1993 SL500, glistening triple black, xenons, AMG facelift to 2002 style.
~1999 SLK 230 Kompressor, silver/black leather, CD, immaculate
~1999 Lexus LX470, sand/ivory leather.
~1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara. black & silver.
~ex 350SL, 230E, 280E, MX5, Jaguar Daimler and a lot of other makes not nearly as nice.
