Humzam

Hey, I have a 2003 mercedes s430 160k. I just got this delivered to me. Bought through an action. The auction gave it a run and drive verification and the reason it was in the auction is because it needed a fender and headlight. Very minimal damage. As I got the car the battery was dead. I changed the battery and everything lit up. Dash came on and air pump kicked in. But as I put the key in the ignition I noticed it didn't suck the key in as it should. The key doesn't seem to turn. Also the the odometer shows dashes for the miles, the steering also doesn't lock.. Ive heard rumors about it being the EIS but is there any way I could know for sure before dumping money into this. I'm worried I'll get a new EIS and end up having to replace everything including new ecu. Any advise would be highly appreciated. Also the keys batteries are replaced. Used spare key as well and nothing. Cars battery is fully charged.

tusabes

Hi, first thing to check is voltage , even with a new battery there may be corroded wiring not allowing sufficient voltage to start

the key will.not turn with insufficient voltages

You also want to check is the prefuse under the passenger floor and apply power there
you can't just put a used eis in, what you'll want to do is buy a matched set of the key , eis , ecu and shifter taken from the same donor car . Matched sets cost about $350 on eBay . You must swap all 4 parts or else it will not work

Humzam

Battery voltages and terminals are good. I'll check the fuses under the floor and let you know. Thank you for your help.

amstel78

There's no steering lock in the W220 S-class vehicles to my knowledge, just transmission selector lock. As for the odometer showing dashes rather than the mileage, that doesn't sound good. If not the EIS, ECU could be toast.

Edit: came across this during a search. Might help you out.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r230...er-dashes.html

Humzam

Yeah I'm worried about it being the ecu. I'll try all the fuses and if no luck replace the ignition system with EIS. If no luck then ECU. Looks like this car may become really costly. Thank you for the link. I'll definitely check it out.

tusabes

again , you cannot just replace the eis with a used part . It will not work.

You would have to buy a new eis from the dealer and have it programmed by the dealer (and they will require you to tow the car in , as this is part of the anti theft system - they will not sell just the part to you , they need to verify ownership and install it ) .

buying just an eis from a dealer will cost far more than buying the 4 matched used parts - eis , key , shifter and ecu from a donor car . No programming is needed if you buy the matched set from a donor car

Humzam

Yeah I've found a few sellers on eBay that sell that four matched parts from a donor car. I'm just hoping once I replace those it works and it doesn't need something else.

tusabes

You can always resell those matched parts on eBay if they don't work for you

but first please check the fuse I showed you - it may be the simple problem and you might not need the 4 parts .

Also if you like to do lots of reading , you might want to read through the first ten pages of this post -
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w220-s-class/2693609-s500-resurrection-daves-thread.html

this was a mechanic who ran various tests trying to narrow down the issue to a single part , but in the end buying the 4 matched parts is what solved his problem

Humzam

You're right. Once I get home I will check the fuse. And yes I don't mind reading so I will read that too.

Humzam

I tried looking for the fuses, my car is LHD, where would it be located

Humzam

I figured it out. Where would you like me to apply power?

tusabes

Watch the YouTube video I linked

Humzam

I watched it. The fuses are all good. I had a question. With the four things you said to replace. Is that the main ecu of the vehicle? So if it is the ecu that's fried will replacing all four fix that?

tusabes

Yes it's the main ecu . If that's what's fried then yes changing all 4 parts from the same donor car should fix it . Make sure the part numbers are the same as the parts you remove from your car, as there were differences mid year for different model years

Humzam

Ok I'll try that first

Humzam

Hey I found a complete set up for my car. All four. The part numbers all match up besides the ecu. The ecu from the donor car is two digits off. Everything else matches to my car. Would that work or should the part numbers need to match up for everything? Thanks.

tusabes

Ideally you'll want an exact match on part numbers , to guarantee compatability

different part numbers don't necessarily mean it won't work - sometimes the different part numbers will also work fine too . But sometimes the different part numbers will have some issues, and you just need to try them to see if it works , with the understanding you may need to resell or return them if they don't work in your car

I don't think there's any way to tell for sure when trying to swap parts with different part numbers