Is this car going to drive me daft

[David Bird]

Went out today 30 or so miles away from home went to put some gear in boot and boot wouldn't shut ,no matter what i did it kept flipping back up .Drove home with boot tied almost shut with a lace from my shoe ,took it to my mechanic son and he sorted it in a couple of minutes the bar that the lock pushes down on had moved down a touch he adjusted it back up and hey presto . Got to thinking it may not be a bad buy after all and come to park at home and fob would not release from dash turned on and off a couple of times and it released and came out .Is this a potential pocket emptying problem looming . You do just wonder why someone gets rid of a car this tidy .

 

[Meldrew2]

.......... fob would not release from dash turned on and off a couple of times and it released and came out................

Sometimes it's because of the steering lock - just wiggle the steering wheel a bit.






.

 

[Colin_b]

First, be happy with proper laces rather than slip-ons or velcro.

New car, new problems - they seem irritating rather than serious.... so hang on to your sanity for the time being.

 

[Harrythedog]

Do you not have to have your foot either on or off the brake pedal to release the key?

 

[Dec]

Went out today 30 or so miles away from home went to put some gear in boot and boot wouldn't shut ,no matter what i did it kept flipping back up .Drove home with boot tied almost shut with a lace from my shoe ,took it to my mechanic son and he sorted it in a couple of minutes the bar that the lock pushes down on had moved down a touch he adjusted it back up and hey presto . Got to thinking it may not be a bad buy after all and come to park at home and fob would not release from dash turned on and off a couple of times and it released and came out .Is this a potential pocket emptying problem looming . You do just wonder why someone gets rid of a car this tidy .

Foot has to be off the pedal before key will come out.

All you have to do now is to check your car alarm, does it work or does it not work?


Dec

 

[David Bird]

how do i check if it works - key will not open either boot or door due to i assume lack of use ,started the wd40 treatment and will try and get a more solid key cut to use that to try and tease locks back into action otherwise its a lock stripdown ,To top it all i got a faint sense that exhaust had a slight chuff . In the process of contacting former owner of car through a third party so hopefully i can in next few days get some more info re anything thats been done and anything that was causing him concern .

 

[David Bird]

Who ever takes notice of a car alarm these days ? or does car alarm not working point to even more problems .

 

[Dec]

The boot and door locks are seldom tested, its only when there is an emergency like a flat battery or a failure of the remote or central locking that the ”fault” is discovered. Your key blade is not the problem… unless its damaged… the problem is seizure of the lock mechanism.

Best treatment is WD40 or penetrating oil, always fully open the boot lid, and put the straw of the WD40 can into the keyhole and flood the lock, leave the boot open for a few minutes to allow the oil to fully penetrate down into the lock mechanism then try with the key, repeat regularly or as often as you can until the lock frees up… it could take weeks or you may need to dismantle the lock to free it up.

Like locks, the alarm is usually never tested and it’s only discovered to be faulty when it gives trouble.
To test, if the were working, is to unlock the car door or boot lid, opening either should sound the alarm siren and the indicators should flash.
Alternately, lock yourself inside the car with the remote and stay completely still for 60 seconds then either wave your arms about to trigger the alarm motion sensors or open a door/s or bonnet.

What year is the car?

Dec

 

[David Bird]

Its a 1999 although it is Dec 1999 so almost 2000

 

[David Bird]

Eager to find out wether last owner changed /maintained wiper mechanism before attempting to grease etc (worried about breaking something to find he greased it the week before it left him. Mechanism does look newer than i would expect of a 1999 but it does squeak a little so could do with finding out wether it just needs a wiper blade . Are they just a standard wiper blade 1 as against 2 on other cars and are they all same size.

 

[Dec]

Will the key blade fully enter the boot lock key hole?
Do you have the cars Users Manual?
Wiper Blade is 24 inch long, Bosch is supposed to be best, opinions vary.

Dec

[YOUTUBE]XCVhpeDLUHY&NR=1[/YOUTUBE]

 

[David Bird]

Bosch is a current thing with me i purchased Bosch wiper blades for my minibus at twice the cost of the usual run of the mill makes i often use -Both have been removed due to non clearing of screen and squeaks - on top of that i was in a motor factors a couple of weeks ago buying other parts and a bloke was at the counter complaining about the Bosch wipers he had bought recently being faulty/needing changing. Are we getting cheap copies or are Bosch obtaining inferior poss chinese parts .

 

[David Bird]

Yes i have the user manual if its the folder with seperate booklets - Interior - Exterior- Audio etc . I will try the key blade to see if it goes fully in from memory i suspect it did.

 

[GP801]

Another vote for Bosch blades. Its the same 24MB as for the 124. An ordinary 24 does not have the correct clip. About £11 on ebay for the real deal. (just got one last week) £20 in Halfords.

 

[Dec]

A wiper blade has to be matched to the strength of the cars wiper arm spring, that’s why you should use the Mercedes recommended blade otherwise one blade would do all cars.
The construction of the rubber part of the blade needs to cope with the amount of pressure exerted by the wiper arm on the windscreen, for example, if I put the wiper blade from a Mini on to a W202, the strong spring of the W202 wiper arm would squash the rubber Mini blade flat on the windscreen and so the blade would be inefficient, not because of the blades quality but because its not designed for a W202. The opposite would happen if you put the blade for a W202 on to a Mini.

If you have a clean windscreen and you fit a new blade and the results are poor then either the blade is incorrectly fitted or you are fitting the wrong blade.

Wear is also a factor so blades need to be changed every 6 to 12 months depending on use. It’s the square edge at the tip of the blade that’s important, as this edge wears away then the blade becomes less efficient.


Dec

 

[David Bird]

Sometimes it's because of the steering lock - just wiggle the steering wheel a bit.






.

The steering lock should not be on should it when i try to remove key fob ?

 

[David Bird]

Checked locks again - Yes key goes in all the way but will not turn even a small amount still spraying wd into both locks Jeez where does it all go ? must be a big pool of wd somewhere - still keep trying to tease the lock to move but no movement as yet . Even did the tapping end of key with handle of screwdriver and will at some stage get a vibrating item on end of key in hope that does something . I do feel i am going to need strip down of locks .

 

[Dec]

I think, when you shut the boot lid it goes down into the boot lock latch in the back bumper, there is a drain hole just inside the keyhole, for the door, it escapes through a drain hole in the lock barrel and eventually escapes through drain holes in the bottom of door.

Door is easiest to free up, the key should turn a quarter turn to the left or right when working properly.
The fact that the key fully enters the lock means that the lock barrel is no longer seized, there is a mechanism further back in the lock that’s still stuck, keep wiggling the key left to rightb as often as possible.

I was once at that for 3 weeks, couldn’t get it to budge at all, I eventually had to dismantle the lock…. however, at the time I wasn’t aware that it is most beneficial to flood the lock with the boot lid in the open position… so keep at it, don’t give up, it will come…eventually.

How about the alarm, did you test it?

Dec

 

[David Bird]

I was on the point of testing alarm but it was a bit late and i thought jeez if this alarm goes off and i cant for some reason stop it ? Perhaps need more info on how to overcome a problem should i find one .If it doesn't work does that have further implications ?

 

[Dec]

I’m not trying to alarm you but the three most common “faults” on your car are;

- Seized boot/door locks.
- Neglected lubrication of the wiper mechanism which can lead to seizure and damage to the wiper system.
- Failure of the alarm system.

All three “faults” are preventable if the are lubricated and or tested twice per year, I bought my current car 6 months ago and all three faults were present.


When you unlock the car the indicators should flash 1 time.
When you lock the car the indicators should flash 3 times.

When you trigger the alarm simply unlock the car with the remote control OR put the key into the ignition and turn the ignition on, this will silence/disable the alarm. In the unlikely event that the alarm doesn’t disarm then you will have to unplug the alarm siren.


Generally, with this particular car, the solution to a faulty alarm is the replacement of the alarm siren, about £80/90 and easy to DIY.

If your alarm doesn’t sound when triggered then it makes the car easier to nick and your insurance company might not pay up if the knew the alarm didn’t work.

This is all about preventive maintenance, all three “faults” are usually unknown to the owner until the are tested.

Dec