started up my '97 SL600 after sitting for a few months..
when i put it in gear there was an unusual "clunk", so i shifted back to park and back to reverse, took the car for a short drive and it won't shift out of 2nd gear (i THINK it is second)..
is this the conductor plate gone toes up..?

 

You wont know if it's electrical or mechanical limp mode until you scan the transmission, however double check your fluids and try disconnecting the battery hold for five minutes and then reconnect---do you still have limp mode??

 

hello Plutoe..

thanks for the hints..
i'll check trans oil level.. stupid me for not thinking of that..
all else has always been good, car always garaged so wiring failure unlikely i think..

i should add here that now that this has happened it might have had a rough shift or two in the past year.. which i did not give much thought to..

won't disconnecting the battery require resetting all the usual stuff like windows, radio and so forth..? which i am unfamiliar with doing..

also, this car has now sprung a hydraulic fluid leak in the top mechanism.. top of windshield and also dripping from the trunk area to the ground behind the rear tire.. so much for taking the hard top off after 4 years..

thanks..

 

97 will not have the eco wiring harness!!! Depending on temp of engine and fluid the old transmission will stay in the start gear. I think the electronic transmission was 96 so that may not be an issue. I cold weather it is an engine warn-up factor.
The reset with the battery can be a DIY action that will clear the codes. Steering wheel full right-left until light turns off and window switches worked together up and down and up. If you disconnect the battery for days it might involve more steps for other systems. regardless of duration the radio code is also needed
As a note about the top hydraulics, it's a time thing! TopHydraulics has a great product over the Benz dealer and the DIY is not high on the skill set but as a personal note when the advise is to block the bolt from dropping into a black hole, take all measures possible.!!!

 

well, SRHsl600, i don't know what the eco wiring harness is..
i don't think this is temperature related as the ambient temp was in the 70's..

i have a star diag system, which wants to know which 129.??? model and which engine is in this car..
i don't know which to choose..
so i try one or another and both times it will only tell me there is a communication problem when i try to scan for error codes..
i KNOW this SDS works since it works on my '06 SL55 just fine..

it would help to know if this is the 722.6 transmission like the one in my '01 S600 but having done a conductor plate on the S600 the conductor plate part looks nothing like the part available for the '97 SL..

i need to know how to learn which SL i have so i can tell the SDS so it MIGHT work..

 

simply post the VIN and place the info in DAS Xentry and get on with your life!!