Sam Alberon

hey everyone, i have a w211 E500 and its been sitting for a few weeks and i started it once or twice a week to keep the battery charged but this morning i went to start it and the battery was completely dead, i mean not even a light on the dash. so i tried getting into the trunk with the laser cut key and it wouldnt work. i can turn the key both ways and i hear it clicking like it should open and still nothing. i did some research and found that there was a second battery under the cabin air filter and i tried jumping that and still nothing. i finally gave in and called AAA and they tried sending power to the car through the cigarette lighter and they still got nothing. i am completely out of ideas. can you guys and gals help?

arto_wa

Have it towed to a M-B dealer shop - they will fix it!

cetialpha5

The cig lighter isn't active until you turn the key in the ignition so you can't charge it until you do that. Also if you can turn the key in the trunk, you have to lift the handle while the key is turned, you don't just turn the key and then try lifting the handle.

And if you've been to an MB dealer in the last 18 months, you can just call MB roadside assistance for a jump and they'll be able to figure it out for you for free.

kajtek1

Yeah, if you qualify - you will get qualified mechanic coming from MB USA road side assistance for free.
Other than that, when you pull lid on fuse box under the hood, you will find power rail on the back of it.
Not enough to run starter on it, but should be enough to supply power to open the trunk, or charge the battery,
The small battery is disconnected from the system when the engine is not running.

shadenfroh

The small one? Isn't that the battery for your SBC Brakes? I don't think it's a good idea to jump-start your brakes

arto_wa

I know a fellow who in a similar situation managed to burn thousands of Dollars worth of electronics in his BMW 7 series.

They also have the battery in the trunk and everything is electronic and hi-tech.

He was messing around with cables and heavy duty starting chargers in the middle of winter and managed screw it up pretty good.

nopcbs

On a W231 the cigar lighter will be dead or alive with engine off depending on the position of a jumper in the fuse block located under the hood. I moved my jumper to the live position to let me easilly connect a battery maintainer when I store the car. You can make the change and then slowly charge your battery the same way or open the trunk. There are many references to where the block is and which jumper to move on the web. That is how I found out about it.

cetialpha5

Yes, same on the W211.

Boy, you would think the OP would have figured it out by now and let us know what worked. My guess is that he just didn't know to lift the handle while the key was turned.

nopcbs

I typo'd. I meant W211. That's what I have.

- nopcbs

FunkTron

also works for the W219
great for charging the phone when i run in a store (just wish I had the USB port somewhere less conspicuous).

as for the maintainer, are you using a solar panel for storing or is this for a wall connected device?

rapidoxidation

Having a cigarette lighter that turns off when the car is off is annoying. This thread has prompted me to change mine, and in searching for "how to" I came across a good thread:
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...er-always.html

FunkTron

Exactly what i did. Saves a ton of aggravation.

kajtek1

I use my cigarette lighter socket for radar detector and dashcam, so I want it to go off with ignition.
But have other socket in the rear and even tough about checking if it is under constant power, never went that far.
Did it on wagon where cargo area socket goes with ignition as well, but that again works for me as I taped into the wire with trailer lights converter.

cmriv

: smash:

kajtek1

I think it is more like

Sherrodk

kajtek1

The big cable on the left is main starter cable, that goes via the floor and you can access it under the car (in case somebody has door locked as well). You can jump whole car via it.