vilamoura

Hi, while jumpstarting my '95 SL320 at night, I inadvertently "crossed" the jump cable terminals, i.e. clamping the + clamp to the - terminal on the battery and vice versa. Anyway, right after starting up, I found the ASR & ABS lights stay on permanently, and my speedometer no longer works! both the odometer and tripmeter still display fine, but no longer advance, no doubt due to the inoperable speedometer. Everything else electrical is in working order. I would greatly appreciate any pointers. I've check all the fuses/relays and they're all fine. Alternator fully funcitonal. Thanks for your help.

blueSL

I doubt this is good news. I recommend disconnecting the battery, leaving it for 15 minutes and then reconnecting and restarting. Try turning the steering wheel lock to lock with the engine running. That may reset the warning lights.

It's possible something in the speedometer has been damaged by the reverse polarity.

vilamoura

Thanks for your information.
I have just tried but unfortunately did not work.
Is there any fuse behind the speedometer which is also connected to the petrol consumption gauge?

blueSL

Sounds nasty - remember there are additional fuses and relays in the trunk as well as under the hood - so check those as well.

You want to hope the ASR/ABS control units have not died; there will not be any fuses in the dash, too inaccessible. Best have a dealer look at it and make sure you are sitting down when they give you the news...

morebhp

I had a similar thing after jump starting my old R129 (wihtou crossing over) - similar symptoms from memory (although the speedo still worked fine) - took it into my dealer who obviously knew it as a common fault.

Five minutes later it was fixed free of charge. I beleive it was a fuse.

Good luck!

RO817

i had the exact same thing happen to me last week. here is what i found. raise your hood and there is a plastic cover with phillips head screws and 1 inch washers. remove them and lift cover, underneath, i believe what you'll see is all of the electronic components for your car. well, in the middle of that box you'll see a single red fuse clip. mine was blown. it is a standard 10 amp fuse. i replaced it and lights went off and gas consumption gage started working again. im new at this mercedes thing, so it might have been a coincidence. but give it a look. good luck.

roland salas
basebrawl88@aol.com
1992 blk/tan 500sl
gosh i love this car

jpermouth