Greetings! I have a 2003 SL500 with appx 45k miles. I converted the keyless go from the original “key card” style to the newer 2004+ “key fob” style about 3 years ago. All keyless go features have worked since then - with the exception of the push button start, which has never worked. I’m just now getting around to tackling that, but need some help.

Today I removed the shifter module from the car. Anticipating that the keyless go wire from the shifter may be broken as outlined in several threads, I removed the black outer casing from the keyless go wire - but the accessible portion of that wire appears to be intact.

However, upon continuity testing - I’m getting questionable results (or I’m not understanding things correctly). When I place the probe in one of the sockets in the shifter stalk and the other probe in the white keyless go plug, I get continuity ( works for both sockets). This is good - EXCEPT that I also get continuity if I place one of the probes in the stalk socket and touch the other to the stalk itself. This suggests to me that the keyless go wire is somehow shorted inside the stalk - a problem, needless to say.

Assuming I’ve gone about this correctly, does my diagnosis that this is shorted seem right - or is there some other plausible explanation for this? Is there a way to remove and replace the wiring inside of the stalk? It doesn’t seem very obvious to me if there is - but I’d love to know if there’s a way to do that?

Assuming the issue is with the wiring inside the stalk, would it be feasible to replace just the shifter stalk/wiring with one from another unit? I’d consider just swapping out the whole shifter module with a used one - but that appears to be problematic and require special programming. (I do have Star - so if this can be done DIY, please advise). I’ve seen instructions on how to replace the plastic Park lockout part that often fails - but not on actually removing the stalk.

I love the car and have done a lot of work to maintain it. This is one of the last few items I’d like to restore to original functionality. Appreciate any insight you might have. Thanks in advance!!!

p.s. There are no keyless go errors in DAS, and no messages come up on the dashboard when I push the kg button.

 

I would have started with DAS to see if the shifter button press was recognized. If not, I believe that the wires come out to a two pin connector and you could jumper that to make sure that it is an issue with the wiring or button. You can also test the button. Assuming that you have bad wires in the sifter, I would get another shifter and move your module over to it.

 

Thanks Mike! Yea - I concur! It was only after I was knee deep into this that I realized I could have been a bit more thorough with DAS first. I did test the button and it shows continuity. I put the button back on the stalk and tested for continuity at the plug, but with button pressed I get nothing. Im going to try jumpering the plug. If that doesn’t work, I’ll loosely reinstall everything - run DAS - and narrow it down.

Is there much involved in switching my module over to another unit - if it comes to that? Thx!!

 

Reassembled everything. After taking apart the shifter knob and examining it appears that the pins on my button are too short - or the shifter stem socket has somehow been pushed down into the stem (is that possible?) My pins are appx .5” long from the header. I extracted the button/pins and inserted into the shifter stem (no knob or other plastic parts). The pins don’t extend into the socket. They just sit at or above it. Seems like they should be closer to 7/8 to 1” long. Anyone know what they should be?

My theory is that the mechanic I used to repair the “stuck in park” issue right after I bought the car broke the pins. However, there do not appear to be any broken pins in the sockets. (I can insert a paper clip +/- 3/8” into the sockets).

Thoughts? Thx!

 

Here are a few pics of my button/pins:

 

The socket in the shifter rod should only be recessed about 1/16" below the top and the contacts only about 1/16" in the socket. In other words, at 1/8" below the top of the lever, you should be making contact. Also, I've never taken a knob about. Can you post pictures or explain how to disassemble without breaking something?

 

UPDATE: For anyone who might run across this post. I was able to successfully start the car with keyless go by removing the shifter knob and jumping the 2 contacts in the shifter stem socket. Worked like a charm! Per Mike’s earlier reply - I could have saved my self some time and effort had I tried this in the first place. 🤣 Oh well - I now have a better understanding of how to R&R the shifter box, should it ever become necessary.

I also used DAS to run through all of the associated tests for keyless go (actuations, antennas, etc). All passed successfully.

In the meantime, I’ve ordered some longer pin headers in hopes that I can remove the short ones and replace with pins long enough to reach the socket. I’ll update you again once this has been completed.

Here’s a pic of the crude paperclip pieces I used to test the socket (1 large paperclip split in half):

 

Mike - saw your latest reply right after I posted the above. My socket is definitely recessed more than that. I don’t see any way to pull/push it back up without removing the entire stem - which looks like a pretty involved job. I am going to try installing longer pins into the button and see if that works and holds up.

I don’t know that I can show you how to remove the button without braking something - as I broke a tab off of 1 side of the plastic insert when I removed it the first time. However, I have taken it apart and reassembled several times now and it seems to work and function perfectly fine.

It’s back together at the moment, but when I go to dissemble to perform soldering surgery of the new pins, I’ll try to take some pics. Thx again for your help!

 

I’m pleased to report that, for the first time since I purchased the car 3 years ago, I have a working keyless go start/stop button on my shifter. The repair was quite easy and I wished I done it much sooner. The repair I did should also work for anyone who has broken their pins - although you may also need to tackle removing the broken ones from the shifter stem.

First you’ll need to disassemble the shifter button. To do this, I used a small flat head screwdriver to carefully pry up around the outermost silver ring on the shift knob. Start at the 12:00 position and slowly work around - prying a little bit at a time:



In my case, the outer silver piece and the silver button came out when I did this (I forgot to take a pic of the button):



Now you should see the inside of the knob, which contains a black plastic piece that retains everything, a small black plastic piece that fits over the switch inside, and the switch itself. This then all goes together and fits inside a larger “shell” inside the knob. I’m guessing that shell can also be removed, but it didn’t in my case and I didn’t try to remove it as it didn’t seem necessary.
Here’s what it looks like after removing the 2 silver pieces:



Next I used a flat head screwdriver to carefully pry the remaining piece from the knob. You will see 2 tabs on the top and bottom that appear to be holding everything in. I’m sure there’s a right way to do this without breaking something, but I managed to break one of those tabs off. However, I’ve removed and put everything back together several times now and it s
still holds fine.

Here are the parts once removed:




The bottom pic of the two gas 3 “wings” that fit into grooves in the upper piece. The one with the wings fits over the switch and slides up and down in those grooves to actuate the switch when you press the button. Once these pieces are removed you’ll see the actual switch with the pins attached:



In my case, the pins were too short to reach into the shifter socket and make connection. Not sure if they were broken at some point or if the socket somehow got pushed down inside the shifter. Regardless, the simplest remedy was to replace the existing pins with longer pins. I did this by purchasing these from Amazon:



Way more than I needed, but they were inexpensive and available. You can cut off however many you need, and they are a perfect replacement for the shifter switch. Here’s a photo of my original and of it after I replaced it with the new pins. You can see the new ones are almost twice as long. I actually trimmed appt .250 inch off so it wouldn’t be too long:



I installed it into the shifter to do a test fit for length:



I then reinstalled everything back into the knob in reverse order, installed the knob onto the shifter and wallah!! Keyless Go worked!!! It’s a bit tricky putting the parts back together as you need to have the outer ring on loosely before pushing the inner parts all of the way in. Kind of hard to explain but if you got this far you’ll figure it out. Here it is loosely held together ready to insert back into the knob:



You will need some basic soldering tools and skills. It’s not hard by any means, but if you’ve never done any soldering, Id suggest getting with a friend or someone who has. You’ll need a soldering iron, a solder sucker or solder wick, some flux and solder. We’re only talking about removing 2 small dots of solder to release the old pins and then a couple of dabs to install the new ones.

Hope this helps someone get their keyless go going again! 😎

 

Also - I forgot to mention, but you’ll want to use an ohm meter to test your switch for continuity prior to the repair - and as you make the repair. Make sure you have a good switch to start with!! If not - new pins won’t help. The testers are inexpensive and readily available. (Chances are if you’re taking this on, you’ve already got one).

 

Yes, your diagnosis sounds correct — if you’re getting continuity between the stalk socket and the stalk body, that likely indicates a short within the stalk wiring. The internal wiring can degrade or short over time. The shifter stalk itself can usually be replaced without needing to swap the entire module. Since you have Star, you should be able to handle the coding if needed. Swapping just the stalk from a donor unit is a reasonable fix and avoids the complications of replacing the full shifter module. It’s not well-documented, but careful disassembly should reveal mounting screws or clips.