Having been now unemployed since 2019, and having finally received the long awaited stimulus check I find myself finally in a position to resolve the issue with my car that forced me to park it last year, the turn signal issue.

Car in question is a 1993 400SEL.

So I finally got around to watching videos on the how, why, and where, and removed the evidently faulty "Lamp/Light Control Relay" this afternoon. But, have now discovered all I can find are used units! Well "Hella" is still in business, but do they no longer make replacement parts or something? Seriously not even a third-party parts company out there is offering any aftermarket new replacements? I figure this thing managed to last for 27 years, assuming it was never replaced previously, so a new unit would be ideal, but this seems a bit ridiculous for a part that people comment about claiming is prone to failure being relegated to used-only replacements. Heck, even a refurbished unit would be an improvement over a pulled-from-wrecked-car unit. How do I know the wreck didn't happen because of a faulty turn signal?

Secondly, has anyone been able to locate anyone offering spare key making services for these now 'classic' Mercedes cars? I am terrified every time I go out that I'm going to lose the sole key I have for the vehicle. Amazon disgustingly bought out the Mercedes partner company that all of the spare keys came from and from what I understand, Jeff Bezos murdered off spare key production purely out of spite (must be a BMW man), just because he could. I spent three months chasing down dead-end leads a couple years back seeking anyone who could make a spare key for this car, and not one of them panned out. Has anything changed on this front since 2019, or are we all still SOL when it comes to ever getting replacement keys made for our cars?

 

They don't make parts for this phone anymore either, because it's obsolete much like the 140 chassis. Keys are no longer available. For the relay, try Ebay for a used one.

 

New MB or quality OEM parts is always my goal too…but you may be overthinking used parts. If they work..you’re back on the road and that’s the ultimate goal especially when a part becomes NLA.
I agree with E55Greasemonkey on getting a unit off eBay. But…just because the W140 is technically out of date…it’s not obsolete…it’s a fine chassis and worth keeping up and enjoying. There is something special about he older MB engineering…W140 is a fine machine.
keys…you apparently know more than me on the why…but yea we are effed on the key chips. Hopefully one day MB Classics will step in and provide genuine replacements.
happy for you to be getting the ole girl back on the road again! Enjoy the classics!