W126 Seats/Steering Wheel - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

matt_gesek · #1 07-28-2009, 08:46 PM

Hello!

I have just purchased a 1988 420SEL with 57,000 on the clock. The car is a second owner car that is nothing more than a bit dirty! The immediate problem that I have is that the drivers seat and the steering wheel will not move with the drivers door closed. They do move if the door is open, as if the car is not running (even when it is). Any ideas? I just replaced the overload protection relay and all the fuses are good.

As a side note, the SRS light is on and the low fuel light is dimly lit as well.

Thanks for any help!

-Matt

Chadahar · #2 07-28-2009, 10:59 PM

Did you have your key on? Seats and wheel will move with the doors open,(convenience from MB engineers for entering the car. With the doors closed the switches won't work without the key in position II. If they don't work that way, you may need to clean the switches. Or the trouble is in the wiring going through the doors.

tinypanzer · #3 07-28-2009, 11:13 PM

Get the SRS checked out. You don't want an errant airbag in your face.

The fuel reserve light should go out when there is more than 3-4 gallons in there. One thing I have noticed that will mess with that light is having a subwoofer in the trunk.

The light should be bright, you might want to replace it after you figure out why it is staying on. They get dim with use.

Sweet car! I'm jealous. If you don't mind my asking, what did you pay for her?

matt_gesek · #4 08-01-2009, 04:46 PM

None of this information is helpful. The airbag will not deploy for no reason. I am aware how the seat works with the key/door open, etc. I am aware of when the low fuel light will come on. I've had 30 Mercedes-Benz.

I paid $5,000 for the car. There simply are none around that do not have 200,000+ miles. After cleaning the car and doing some simple repairs today I have found that the car is in great shape and is extremely clean and unmolested.

86560SEL · #5 08-02-2009, 02:16 AM

As Chadahar mentioned... I think his point was to be sure the switch was turned on, because if its not on, these will not work. I found that out the other day on my 88' 300SEL. I dont think he was really aware that you were already familiar with that operation of the car.

Unless your low fuel light is on when you have plenty of fuel, I think Tinypanzer answered your question on the airbag/low fuel light, so that was a pretty good bit of advice. The airbag light being illuminated when the car is running should have nothing to do with the seat not working. It should not be illuminated with the car running. Ironically on mine, the light dont come on at all, which is not right either. Perhaps a bad bulb. I too dont think it would come out for no reason, but it does signal a problem. May just need to be reset by a professional.

Also, as Tiny mentioned, as far as the low fuel light being dim, like mentioned, it could be the bulb. Since you have owned 30+ Mercedes (I have owned only 3), you may already know that the bulbs on these cars grow dimmer over time.

Sometimes people just want to verify some information, because some people that come here may have never owned a Mercedes or know their quirks.

Hopefully someone here will have the answer you are looking for, but dont be too discouraged if they dont.

Good luck!

BTW, that is a super nice car you have there! Mine has it beat by 100K miles more and its still a nice car, so yours could stay that way for many more years... these cars are tanks.

*just want to make sure that the timing chain/tensioner/guides/rails are up to date on that particular engine despite low mileage, because those guides/rails weaken over time - if one of them break, its disasterous for the engine.... but you may already know that too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt_gesek

None of this information is helpful. The airbag will not deploy for no reason. I am aware how the seat works with the key/door open, etc. I am aware of when the low fuel light will come on. I've had 30 Mercedes-Benz.

I paid $5,000 for the car. There simply are none around that do not have 200,000+ miles. After cleaning the car and doing some simple repairs today I have found that the car is in great shape and is extremely clean and unmolested.