HopefullyE63

Hi everyone. CL600 2003. I had to stop the car waiting for parts for about two weeks. When I got it back I opened the door and the alarm sounded. I didn't have the key, forgot it at my house the car was at my warehouse.About an hour later I got the key and tried to open the trunk. No joy. Tried to open the door locks via the lock unlock buttons inside, again no joy. Still to this day about two weeks later I need to use the metal key to get in the car. I need to physically push the door lock button to close the passenger side and pull the handle to open the pass side. I can't push the drivers side lock button down I need to use the metal key to close the door. BIG bummer. The trunk and door locks seemed a little slow when they did work but not annoying. I though maybe it was just a Mercedes thing. I looked at the fuse under the rear seat it looks ok. Didn't test it, but replaced it and still no joy. Any help very appreciated.

ctravis595

vacuum pump in the trunk probably has a leak or maybe the motor inside the vaccum pump is wearing out. the motor is not hard to replace

i personally just ordered a used vacuum pump on ebay for $100. everything works great on it. i just need to repair my driver door soft close bladder and i should be back in good condition

and this way i also have my old vacuum pump for parts in the future.

try to get a used pump out of a w220/w215 if you can, with similar options. you may run into trouble if you try a dissimiliar vacuum pump from different year or model mercedes

HopefullyE63

Thank you Travis! I looked up all the fuse locations and checked them all. Power door and trunk fuses all ok ... visually. Anyway I cannot get the trunk open even with the key. Super frustrating. Any idea how to get in the trunk?

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

just remove your battery for 30 min + and hook it back on
then see if keys are back

ctravis595

common problem on these cars is the trunk lock assembly seizing up after never being used for 15+ years. you can find some more user experiences on google.

many people have reported they had to fiddle with the key in the trunk and some even have had to spray wd40 style lubricant in the keyhole to get it to budge. Stuff you don't hear about in SDS...

Make sure you are inserting the key in the trunk fully, turning it counterclockwise, and simultaneously PUSHING IN on the key hole and the trunk should open. If counter clockwise doesn't work, maybe try clockwise motion instead

ctravis595

good advice... you tell him to disconnect his battery when he's having trouble opening the trunk.... the battery is IN the trunk on these cars....guess they don't teach you common sense in SDS... it's just amazing seeing you wanting to argue about how i try to help people but you can't even give sensible advice half the time....

you really expect him to know how to locate the x4/10 prefuse box underneath the front passenger side carpeting and disconnect the battery that way? where's the screenshots and instructions from SDS for him?

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

you have access to the battery with the key
if not
you can disconnect the battery from under the rear passenger seat too
you will find modules on a aluminum plate there
under the plate in the left corner, you'll find a big red wire
just disconnect that, that will do the job (btw, that is another option to jumpstart the car or charge battery without access to the battery)

HopefullyE63

You guys are hilarious. Thank you for the advice!

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

yea I know

lol

HopefullyE63

I did pull up the rear seat and know it well chasing my rear window no op problem when I first got the car. No it wasn't the black box I had to swap out both regulators.... not as bad as I thought. The car isn't the same unless you can put all the windows down. ANYWAY back to the trunk no op.... I ran out of time but did see the heavy red battery cable runs under it. I'll get on it soon.

As an aside... I have an opportunity to buy a Black on Black no pano 2003 SL55 EX garage queen that has been excommunicated to an outside parking spot for a few months now 30K miles. The body looks very straight, has aftermarket headers, some kind of tune, expensive looking wheels (I like the stock ones and it comes with those) clean interior.It looks very dirty from road dust but no sign of paint work or previous damage. Front ABC block needs R&R or kit... The previous owner says he put new batteries in it and "burned" something... as something smelled like it got fried after the batteries were installed. First what would you offer for this car and what's the worst case scenario here. He is asking 10K. I said OK not knowing if it will start or not. I'm thinking 5K is really more the number. The car has recently seen it's front AMG bumper grills and fog lights go for a walk.

ctravis595

you'l' probably see sparks if you disconnect the large red cable first, see if you can't also disconnect the ground beforehand.

RE: sl55, I wonder if he hooked up the battery backwards..it's hard to put a price on a car without fully understanding how bad the electrics could've been fried. You could be looking at a $100 x4/10 prefuse replacement or thousands for new sams/sensors etc

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

First thing is to make sure 30K is real. you need to hook up Xentry and lookup miles in the ESM (Electronic selector module), the EZS (ignition switch) and in the ME-SFI (engine module).

The real Mileage is registered there and synchronizes to the dash.

The ESM from those w215 is one of the most protected modules so will likely find the real mileage there if someone hooked up a filter on the EZS

apart from that, you should know where the smell was

on a W215, I regularly find models not starting with major electrical damage that insurance immediately declare dead as in the worst case, you'll have to remove complete wiring from rear to front.

most of them even go on fire locally

new battery install then smoke means probably + on -

My personal prize would be 5 - 6.000 max and expect 2-3000 usd used parts if you do it yourself

roof hydrolic system must work, that is a very big job to repair

risk is high

HopefullyE63

Great reply thank you.

I looked under my rear seat on theW215. The red cable was connected to a "lever" type holder which I lifted to remove the terminal and cable. It immediately turned off my overhead lights. Is this the cable? There is also a huge red cable but I didn't remove that one. Still can't get into the trunk and even after leaving the cable unplugged for at least 20 minutes, still no joy. Super frustrated. The key turns the locking mechanism in the trunk button. One tech said a previous repair may not have been re installed correctly therefore the physical lock mechanism is no op. So I'm stumped.

As far as the R230 55

I'm in at 6K. I'd have to buy the car for 1-2K on the mainland to land it here for 6k after shipping and taxes. From what I have learned the owner has some wiring parts and access to a replacement module locally. On a 30K car the ABC should still be ok unless the seals have dried out. In that case the blocks may need rebuilt but the struts should be ok right? Am I in for ABC hell with a low mile car like this? Thanks everyone.

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

The red cable was connected to a "lever" type holder which I lifted to remove the terminal and cable. It immediately turned off my overhead lights. Is this the cable?
YES

If the key doesn't open means the lock is disconnected mechanically Only 2 solutions left over then

1 Connect a Xentry DAS to the OBD and try to open it from DAS (there are open activation fonctions in DAS to do that)
2 Instead of breaking open your trunk, you could sacrifice the spare wheel plastic part from under the car, just cut it out, get in the trunk and open it
then get a used one from a junk car

ctravis595

Are you pushing in while turning the key?

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

you turn then push

HopefullyE63

Yes. I tried about 5 different times for at least 15 minutes each time spraying wd40 inside the mechanism and pushing turning turning pushing turning while pushing up pushing you name it. Will taking off the screws from the mechanism work or is it true the 2003 and up models won't allow that? I have seen a video where the guy has a cl500 but 2000 and he broke the license plate part removing it but he got into his trunk removing the screws.

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

no
surface is closed behind that plate

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

maybe ask copperfield

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

HopefullyE63

Hmmmmm I wonder what he charges by hour. But seriously isn't there a way to remove the locking mechanism after removing the three screws holding it?

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

here you go, all I can do for you

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

you can't remove the licence plate part 170 because 10mm bolts 200 are inside there are around 6-8 of them
you could break it off
then cut a hole to reach 100

or do what I said before

stop dreaming

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

maybe you have a vacuum bag - dead body in the trunk hahaha

HopefullyE63

Dead body bounce in the trunk? Hope not, I thought the clunking might be the urethane on the struts being dried out So If I cut the hole in the plastic spare tire holder then what do I do...? Is there a manual override in there? Thank you for your help!