Look I am at my wits end and just dont know what else to try. We took apart a 97 e420 and now that we have it all put back together (the dash that is) the key wont turn the steering wont turn and I dont knwo what to do. I have tried all the ides that I found on other posts from the past but none have worked. I am wondering is there some sort of safty thing that maight be causing this issue. Or is my ignition just F**ked? Please help.

Also I dont know if this will help but I can also switch gears from park to all others with out even touching the brake. So maybe something was over looked when I put it back.


Any and all ideas would be helpful.


Thank you all in advance

Dawnielle

My E300 does this on occasion. Exact same symptoms, key will not turn, steering wheel is locked, and you can move the gear selector freely without touching the brake. I've never taken my dash apart though.

I usually get out, lock the car, go do something else for a bit, then come back and it works just fine. I dunno what causes it.

My K40 relay is the original one, I'm planning to replace that soon. This relay is the source of all kinds of intermittent electrical weirdness (or so I'm told) so maybe it is related??

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'98 E300 turbodiesel

Thank you for the reply since it is the only one that i have gotten back other the I did get one email and who ever that was from I appreciate it. It did not work but I still appreciate the effort. All the wires are connected but still no luck. I think that there may not be any power going to the lock but I cant figure out why. I tried calling Mercedes and they will not even talk to you on the phone. They want me to drive to them and that is a 60 min drive. Please help I really need to figure this out. The key will turn if it is not on the steering columnbut once placed back on there it will not turn. The steering column is locked and the gear shifter switches just fine. If any one has a link to a place that shows how to replace the AC evap and then how to put it all back to gether I would love to see it so that I may read through and make sure we did everything in the right order.

Thank you all

The anti-theft features that you're describing are difficult to workaround for a reason. You'd probably be better off having it towed to a dealer to address the issue.

So you replaced the evaporator and now the key won't turn. Can I correctly assume that the vehicle has the electronic key? If not was the ignition tumbler turned while seperated from the steering lock? Has the cable to the ignition switch been installed correctly. Most importantly and with all due respect are you s****in' me?
Don