Does your MB do this?
 

So I was cleaning my car yesterday (84 280CE Euro), giving the centre console a good clean when I hit the window button, to my suprise the window came down even though the key was off. Since I can't read my owners manual (it's in German) I didn't know if it had a timer ala Volkswagons.

Anyway later I returned and it still had power to the windows, until I closed the doors, then no power. I guess it's a feature so you can close a window while getting out, but then why not power them all the time?

My dad's US 72 300SEL 3.5 does that. Pretty smart. If the doors are open, no one's going to sneak in though an open window.

I don't know why the windows aren't powered all the time. Maybe so something doesn't blow if a switch gets stuck in the up or down position.

Sixto
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

My power seats have power when the door is open without the key.

Same thing on my euro W124. It does not happen when the door is closed. Its great cause sometime you can forget to close the windows but you don't need to put the key back in the ignition to fix them. I like it.

When power windows became more popular back in the Sixtie's, most car companies had the systems wired to operate at all times. Then came horror stories about children injuring themselves while operating power windows in an otherwise unoccupied car. The first remedial step (found on some US luxury cars in the late Sixtie's) was to add an extra momentary-on switch to the driver's control panel that governed power to the switches when the engine was off. After awhile, that extra feature went away, leaving zero power to the windows when the ignition switch is in the "off" position. Now thanks to the use of a few relays, many cars have a system in which power remains available to the window controls for a limited time, or until the driver's door is opened, whichever comes first.

All this is in my upcoming book "A History of American Power Windows 1937-80" soon to be found on Amazon.:)

Mine too.......on both sides !!

Seat adjustment AND the stereo (thanks Glen) work with out the key (seats with door open) on the 560. On both the 4.5 and the 560 the windows do not work without the key on.

Mike,

I thought the radio goes on for an hour the first time you turn it on with the key out and then a half hour the second time and that's it. Maybe it's a feature of the funky two-piece Beckers.

Sixto
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

I don't know about the timer. I only know I can hit the on button and the stereo comes alive. I might just have to sit out there for a while on day to se how long it stays on.

Same thing here with a US-spec 420SEL, i was able to power on the old Becker radio with the key off, now i can't anymore with the Kenwood installed.

Most stereos have two power connections - switched and unswitched. Switched power runs the unit and unswitched power is a trickle for the clock and station memory. The Becker is able to run off unswitched power as well.

It's a simple matter to wire your Kenwood to work with the key in or out. It's a much more complex matter to have the radio turn off then you turn the engine off and be able to turn on the radio again with the key out.

Sixto
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

From what I understand (at least on my C280) is the radio can be turned on without a key, and will run until the car battery was drained to a certain point. This keeps you from having a dead battery if you accedentally leave the radio on and forget. Same goes for the feature that runs the fan/vents to keep your car warm for a half hour, or if the voltage from the battery drops below a certain point.