This is on his SL (r129) not a w140 BTW. I have no idea what the differences were between the two with regards to the remote/keyless entry systems.

__________________
Daily Driver: 02 E430 4MATIC
In the family: '03 E500 // '04 ML500 // 64 220SE

And your point is? I read the initial post. The 140's and 129's are very similar in the operation of their keyless entry systems.

I could be wrong but I think it uses BOTH IR and RF for the trunk, if one fails the other may work.
Gilly

__________________
Click here to see the items I have up for auction at EBay

Click here to see a photo album of my '62 Sprite Project Moneypit (Now Sold)

Thanks for the all the input. It's very frustrating because one remote all the buttons work, but it won't start the car, and the other will start the car but the trunk button doesn't work.


I bought 2 unused (but coded) remotes on ebay. There must be a way to reprogram these things !

__________________
1998 SL 500 Sport (Samantha)
2005 E 55 AMG (Dr. Jekyl)

Wish there was. Think of it this way. You have a really nice car. $422 in replacement keys is a small price to pay for the fun you have with it.

The transponder inside the key can not be recoded, they are programmed at the key facility for a certain car and that's all they will work with (you'll get the "start error" message if you get the blade cut and try to use it).
Gilly

__________________
Click here to see the items I have up for auction at EBay

Click here to see a photo album of my '62 Sprite Project Moneypit (Now Sold)

That seems pretty obvious. The key that gives me the "START ERROR" message is the original key the car came with, and it has never been re-cut or re-keyed, and the rest of the remote still functions flawlessly (both RF and IR functions) ?!

How does the walet key work ? It's too small to contain a transponder, yet there's no "START ERROR" message when I use it.

__________________
1998 SL 500 Sport (Samantha)
2005 E 55 AMG (Dr. Jekyl)

Well I suppose that's the philosophical outlook. I think what frustrates me the most is that the remote that failed is 13 months old. I've never had a remote fail on a car before, and now both of them aren't working properly for no apparent reason. (not dropped, not wet, not exposed to magnetic fields, etc....)

It's just dissappointing

__________________
1998 SL 500 Sport (Samantha)
2005 E 55 AMG (Dr. Jekyl)