Frightened new owner: W124 Key identification and help with remote central locking

[ashimashi]

Hi All,

After years of salivating over various Mercs, and in a moment of madness, I forked out a small fortune on a 1995 W124 E220 Estate last weekend.

I am now in the post-madness grief/disbelief phase (i.e. What the flip have I just done?!), which is exacberated by a couple of niggly issues, one of them being as per title of this thread:

The car comes with only one flip-out key, which has a large button with a tristar on it. The driver door does not have a keyhole, only passenger side.

They key works fine for the ignition. It also locks and unlocks the passenger door and trunk lids fine.

If I sit in the car and turn the ignition and then press the driver door lock knob down, all door lock, therefore the vacuum system appears to be ok.

However, I can neither lock/unlock the doors using the fob, nor the passenger door locks all doors. So in essence I can't really lock the car at all!!!

I have replaced the batteries in the fob but still no joy. Do I need to reprogram it?

I'll try and attach a picture of the key. It has huf written on the blade, and the part number is 1407601406.

Needless to say this is stressing me out immensely so any suggestion on how to deal with this or whether ditch the existing remote system and get an aftermarket one would be hugely appreciated and will hopefully help me in settling in the prospect of an Old W124 ownership/maintenance.

 

[renault12ts]

A small fortune? How much?

 

[trapperjohn]

Cough.The car locks and unlocks and stops and goes. You are on a winner here. Others will be along to sort the "plipper" out I'm sure. These are mere teething problems. Good Luck with the car.

 

[trapperjohn]

You may have a vacuum pipe of the "pump" which drivers the locking mech. Its under the rear seat squab (tip the seat squab forward) its under some sound insulation.

 

[MCFastybloke]

On the drivers door and the boot is there a black square? You need to point the for right at this and press, green flash for locked,red for unlocked,its not like modern locking you really need to be directly in front of this sensor.

 

[ashimashi]

A small fortune? How much?

Ok not exactly a fortune, €1500, which I won't regret if the car turns out to be usable!

Cough.The car locks and unlocks and stops and goes. You are on a winner here. Others will be along to sort the "plipper" out I'm sure. These are mere teething problems. Good Luck with the car.

Doesn't lock and unlock, that's the problem. I drove about 100 miles back from where I bought it and it drove nicely.

You may have a vacuum pipe of the "pump" which drivers the locking mech. Its under the rear seat squab (tip the seat squab forward) its under some sound insulation.

But as all locks go down when the key is in ignition and the driver door lock is pressed down, doesn't that mean the vacuum lines and pump are all in good order and it has something to do with the remote/alarm?

 

[ashimashi]

On the drivers door and the boot is there a black square? You need to point the for right at this and press, green flash for locked,red for unlocked,its not like modern locking you really need to be directly in front of this sensor.

I tried it earlier, no joy, but I'll give it a go from really up close tonight.

But since I've replaced the batteries in the fob, don't I have to reprogram/train it as well?

 

[grober]

Don't panic. If its not the battery or re-synchronising the fob to the car[ can be quite finnicky] Its likely that one or more of the 4 legs of the small surface mounted switch[ under the "button" have broken off. You need to split the casing and resolder the switch to effect a repair. details here. repairing broken W202 Key fob. - Mercedes-Benz Owners' Forums
ps if you are not used to soldering any local radio/electronics enthusiast/tv repair man should be able to do this for a few quid-------- your local MAPLINS might put you in touch if you can't find anyone.

 

[ashimashi]

Don't panic. If its not the battery or re-synchronising the fob to the car[ can be quite finnicky] Its likely that one or more of the 4 legs of the small surface mounted switch[ under the "button" have broken off. You need to split the casing and resolder the switch to effect a repair. details here. repairing broken W202 Key fob. - Mercedes-Benz Owners' Forums

Thanks. When I press and hold down the button on the fob, a red light comes on. Does that not indicate that the fob is ok electrically? I'll try the resynch instructions from the link you provided and see how it goes!

(scared/frightened/paniced is the theme today alright, thank you all for your encouraging words )

 

[renault12ts]

You're in denial...you only joined today...and yet you list your car as a Renault.

 

[ashimashi]

You're in denial...you only joined today...and yet you list your car as a Renault.

Well I haven't commissioned my W124 yet, so technically I'm still driving one of my other cars (Renault Megane - Yuck - and a dieing Saab 93 that will hopefully find a good replacement in the W124).

 

[ashimashi]

here. repairing broken W202 Key fob. - Mercedes-Benz Owners' Forums

Brilliant article. Does the reprogramming instructions in that post apply to W124 as well? i.e. do I have to point it at the rear view mirror?

 

[grober]

True REMOTE test is the " infra red test". Look through the viewfinder of your digital camera at the red LED when you press the button do you see a white light shining behind the red- That's the INFRA RED signal [ the camera lens is sensitive in the infra red unlike your eye] If that's OK its unlikely there's anything wrong with your key- there are some posts on here with pics if you search.
there is no IR sensor on the w124 mirror- point it at the doorlock funnily enough I used to get the best "sync" result pointing at the drivers door lock through the window from the other side of the car- go figure.

 

[grober]

Here's a video THE GUY IS A LITTLE FLAKEY ON THE TECHNOLOGY BUT YOU WILL GET THE IDEA
[YOUTUBE]lCqfivH9-Dg[/YOUTUBE]

 

[ashimashi]

Just did the IR test with a digital camera suggested, the fob definitely lights up and emits IR.

Did a half-ar5ed attempt at reprogramming it: pressed the button while pointing at the door, then turned ignition to 2 for 20 seconds, turn off ignition. Pressed the button again. No joy, no green light. Will have another proper go at it tomorrow, not a good idea to try it after a 15 hour work day!

Thanks for all your advice and if anyone has specific instructions for W124 reprogramming please send it my way.

 

[GP801]

I think the key is not the problem. If I understand the first post correctly the key when used manually only works on the lock its inserted in. I think you need to look elsewhere. Sorry I cant tell you where though. The pump for the vacuum is under the rear seat.

 

[Dec]

As above, a sound like the remote fob is ok and the vacuum pump is not hearing from the remote fob when you press its button.

Try unplugging the vacuum pump for 20 minutes to see it this might reset something. Check that the pumps electrical wiring plugs are clean and free of corrosion. Guide here… PeachPartsWiki: Keyless Entry Install

Dec

 

[BlueQuinn]

Is this pretty much the same system as the older dealer fit alarms, but now incorporated in the keyfob?

If someone has disconnected, removed or turned off the alarm then it may stop the plipper from working. It certainly does on the older Scorpion type.

 

[grober]

RESYNC METHOD ONE
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/1223813-post9.html
MY METHOD POST #10 HERE but others als o detailed in the thread
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/electronics/26218-96-w-s-124-e200-remote-central-locking.html

 

[ashimashi]

Is this pretty much the same system as the older dealer fit alarms, but now incorporated in the keyfob?

If someone has disconnected, removed or turned off the alarm then it may stop the plipper from working. It certainly does on the older Scorpion type.

Thanks, yeah that is quite likely to be the case (disconnected / turn off the alarm). In that case how can I get the car locked? I can only lock the passenger door with the key, and the driver door only has an electronic receiver not a lock barrel.

Is there any point in looking into aftermarket (Omega or similar) remote systems and just get rid of the old merc stuff?