armanchosbenz

Hello fellow mb owners...I inserted the key in the ignition lock on my 97 e320....won' turn at all, it's locked....i tried with my reseve infrared key.Same problem. Has this happened to anyone else?

ejrooney

This may sound stupid, but did you try turning the wheel a little bit in either direction to see if that frees up the ignition. Sometimes if the wheel is turned against the lock, it makes it difficult, if not impossible to turn the key.

armanchosbenz

Thanks for your reply ejrooney

I just just did some research on threads with the same problem
It seems that the module in the ignition is not recognizing the key/fob code.
How did i come to this conclusion?
Well....both keys lock/unlock the vehicle,but when either one is inserted
in the ignition....the steering wheel wont unlock...it wont make that zip sound.
the switch-blade key wont turn at all
The only problem now is if i call someone to look at it, whether it's an idie
mechanic or an mb dealer....there's no way to get the car out of my garage.
The steering as well as the gear shifter is locked.....what a nightmare i'm
faced with.

RichardM98

Could the battery be low? There is a threshold voltage below which the ECU won't attempt to start the car. However, there is still enough voltage to light the dashboard and headlights.

Another possibility is that the TCU thinks the transmission is not in park. Do you spill anything on the console recently?

Unfortunately, if necessary, you wouldn't be the first person to have to have the car towed to a dealership with this sort of problem.

armanchosbenz

Yes the battery is low, but not dead....i believe i read a thread about someone with a 210 with the same problem
He charged his battery and the problem was resolved
I was thinking of disconnecting the battery for a minute and then reconnecting it, and then giving it a boost.
I'll let you know what happened....as soon as i try.

ohlord

fully charge it overnight with a 10amp charger.
Then give it a go.

armanchosbenz

I dont have a dedicated charger...i have one of those booster battery packs.
Will that work?

RichardM98

Not sure but...

If the battery is low either the battery needs replacing (bad cell) or a consumer (one of the car's circuits) is drawing too much current when the car is off which is drawing the battery down. Either way you really need to address that issue.

One option is to remove the battery and take it to someone with a battery load tester. They can check it for a bad cell and also put an overnight charge on it.

Not sure where you are located but MB has a battery replacement program. They will come to your location and install a fresh fully charged OEM battery and take a way the old one. Price is about $170 (US dealers). Call 1-800-FOR MERCedes if interested. More expensive but those batteries tend to last much longer than the ones from auto parts stores.

Hope that helps some.

desired_speeds

replace the tumbler

armanchosbenz

The battery is about 1 year old and the reason it's weak is because i dont drive it that often

Hey that's a good price for a oem battery installed

armanchosbenz

I don't think its the tumbler because both keys can't turn the ignition....besides that...it doesn't make that brrrr. sound when the key is inserted.
I believe that sound is the steering unlock mechanism,right after the ignition module reads the key code.

armanchosbenz

Hey ohlord....i dont have a dedicated charger
so i used a 12v portable booster...i connected it directly to the cars battery,
but nothing happened.
Still can't turn the key...would you still suggest charging the battery

RichardM98

Check to see if anything in this thread may be helpful.

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ease-help.html

If you PM him probably best not to mention my name.

armanchosbenz

Ha!....lol....will try
Thanks.

nelbur

Before you spend big money on this problem, I suggest that you pay a lot more attention to ejrooney's suggestion on post #2. This car has a steering lock that will make the key seem broken. It requires that you wiggle the steering wheel while trying to turn the key at the same time. Once the steering lock is bound up a bit, any key you use will fail to turn until you get the steering lock unlocked.

armanchosbenz

Yes, i tried wiggling the steering wheel as well as the gear shifter

lindasbenz

Were you able to resolve this problem because the same thing happened to my 97 E320?

veba911

i hve same prob too but at first i could still lock umlock my doors but now i carnt lock or unlock my doors either ive just orderd new key fom mb at £195 i hope to god it is the key fob does any one else think it sounds like key or not ??????? sorry to hijack thread just we all in same boat

Russell Ormerod

common fault, renew EIS and keys

veba911

hi every one thanks for reply russell i orderd new key from mb what a carry on it was but they deliverd key on thursday and hey presto car started straight up so i would say in my case no eis needed thank god and on the plus side i get an awsome looking lastest generation key nice shiny chrome one so iam quite happy as i feel like i have the keys to a brand new merc lol

talsibs

my car key is not turning how can i solve this problem

renault12ts

When you insert the key do you hear the steering lock unlock?

Plutoe

Additionally---make very sure that your battery voltage is greater than 11volts--if not check(or have) your charging system!!

talsibs

wen i put yhe key on the ognotion theys nothong happenning its not unlocking anything.

renault12ts

Probably the steering lock.

When this happened to me I was able to remove the EIS (the bit your key goes into) and have this and the key tested...since they showed no fault it was clear the ESL (electronic steering lock) was the problem.