tngash

Hello all, i'm a new member *waves* - been having an issue with my W203 2002 c180 which the mechanic is having a difficult time resolving and would like assistance.

Car was recently hit on the rear right bumper (quite a hard hit) by some drunk driver (idiot). I took the car for repairs to an indie for what I thought at the time was routine body work. The repairs the indie did were:
1. Replacement of rear bumber.
2. Replacement of right rear wing.
However during the repair process, the mechs unfortunately broke the rear windshield . They replaced the windshield at their own cost. However on picking up the car, I immediately noticed that the car radio had poor reception, there was now an SRS alarm on the instrument cluster (which wasn't there b4 even after the accident) and the remote locking was no longer working. Took it back for this issues to be fixed. They did manage to fix and clear the SRS error by:

• Replacing the roof airbag that runs right across the roof of the car from rear right window to front window. Probably original was affected when replacing the rear right wing.
• Installing and programming a new Sensor control module

However they've been unable to resolve the remaining issues The tests they've done to date include:

• Check all wiring and connectors related to radio system [antenna amp, radio, control box) - confirmed no corrosion or lose wires/connectors
• Replace the control box that is on the drivers side - radio and remote lock still not working. I'm not so sure if they meant the entire SAM or not but those were their words
• They've replaced the radio receiver also on the drivers lock handle - remote lock still doesn't work.

This is where it now gets peculiar.My car had an aftermarket radio (of which remote lock and radio were functional b4 accident). However on replacing it with a OEM Mercedes Benz radio, the radio reception works perfectly - this seems indeed to confirm that the antennae amp module is functional.
However, with the same original radio still installed, the remote lock function is still not working.

They are now talking about replacing the entire security system set of the car which is really worrying me coz of the likely price implication) as a final resort

Going through numerous posts in this forum, I was dead set convinced the problem was the antennae amp module, as replacing this seems to resolve the issue of poor radio reception and remote locking failure for majority of members - but looks like this might not be the issue... Anyone with an idea on what else to check for? Will really appreciate. I have to admit this part of the world (Nairobi, Kenya) might not have the most qualified mechs etc hence I'm hoping I can get a solution here...Thanks!

Distressed owner