Boot won’t open

[Damp Logs]

Hi,

1999 SL320

Tried to put some stuff in the boot earlier and I’ve obviously confused(broken)the mechanism

Key turns fill circle and I can hear a motor when I press the remote

Central locking works. Button on centre console doesn’t

Any ideas?

Edited by Damp Logs on Sunday 4th April 06:41

[Clifford Chambers]

Damp Logs said:

Hi,

1999 SL320

Tried to put some stuff in the boot earlier and I’ve obviously confused(broken)the mechanism

Key turns fill circle and I can hear a motor when I press the remote

Central locking works. Button on centre console doesn’t

Any ideas?

Edited by Damp Logs on Sunday 4th April 06:41

Try bouncing the boot whilst someone fiddles with the locking. If you get it open, don't close it again until your confident the problems resolved. The mechanisms a bh to get to.

[Deefor62]

Damp Logs said:

Hi,

1999 SL320

Tried to put some stuff in the boot earlier and I’ve obviously confused(broken)the mechanism

Key turns fill circle and I can hear a motor when I press the remote

Central locking works. Button on centre console doesn’t

Any ideas?

Edited by Damp Logs on Sunday 4th April 06:41

Did you manage to get this resolved in the end?

I have a similar problem with my 1990 500SL . I use a battery isolator to stop the battery draining, and when I want to use the car, I simply unlock the boot manually, reconnect the battery, open the door using the remote key fob and off I go.

Not so this weekend. When I put the key in the boot lock, turned it anti clockwise as per usual , and then pressed the button in - nothing happened.

It feels like whatever connects the rear of the lock barrel to the latch is no longer connected. No amount of fiddling around with the key does anything. I'm loathe to drill holes anywhere, and also not confident that connecting another battery to the car via positive cables and earth under the bonnet would let me open using the remote, and could possibly fry something in the electrics.

Thankfully I don't need the car on a daily basis.

If anyone has any hints and tips - I'm all ears.

Thanks

[Clifford Chambers]

Deefor62 said:

Damp Logs said:

Hi,

1999 SL320

Tried to put some stuff in the boot earlier and I’ve obviously confused(broken)the mechanism

Key turns fill circle and I can hear a motor when I press the remote

Central locking works. Button on centre console doesn’t

Any ideas?

Edited by Damp Logs on Sunday 4th April 06:41

Did you manage to get this resolved in the end?

I have a similar problem with my 1990 500SL . I use a battery isolator to stop the battery draining, and when I want to use the car, I simply unlock the boot manually, reconnect the battery, open the door using the remote key fob and off I go.

Not so this weekend. When I put the key in the boot lock, turned it anti clockwise as per usual , and then pressed the button in - nothing happened.

It feels like whatever connects the rear of the lock barrel to the latch is no longer connected. No amount of fiddling around with the key does anything. I'm loathe to drill holes anywhere, and also not confident that connecting another battery to the car via positive cables and earth under the bonnet would let me open using the remote, and could possibly fry something in the electrics.

Thankfully I don't need the car on a daily basis.

If anyone has any hints and tips - I'm all ears.

Thanks

If you think power will open it hook some up under the bonnet. The alternator connects straight to the +VE battery terminal.

[Deefor62]

Clifford Chambers said:

If you think power will open it hook some up under the bonnet. The alternator connects straight to the +VE battery terminal.

Hi Clifford. Thanks for your suggestion. I will give that a try, but if it's the connecting rod that's disconnected, it may not do the trick.

When I eventually get into the thing, I will look at setting up some sort of emergency release cable - similar to that I had in previous Alfa 156's.

[Clifford Chambers]

Deefor62 said:

Clifford Chambers said:

If you think power will open it hook some up under the bonnet. The alternator connects straight to the +VE battery terminal.

Hi Clifford. Thanks for your suggestion. I will give that a try, but if it's the connecting rod that's disconnected, it may not do the trick.

When I eventually get into the thing, I will look at setting up some sort of emergency release cable - similar to that I had in previous Alfa 156's.

Benzworld.org has covered this in the past.

If I were trying it I'd want another car by the side I could disassemble to see what I was doing but (I believe) the least distructive route is through the number plate light.

[Damp Logs]

Hi All,

thanks for replies etc,

I have only just had it fixed

managed to do it without cutting the boot lid, but it did involve destroying the o/s/r light unit.

the issue was a collapsed lock barrel wedging a spring which then prevented the rod from moviing

I took it to Andy at Autobarn on The Wirral - he cursed and swore but got it sorted.

from what he said earlier cars didnt have a cover over the lock and can sometimes be accessed through the right hand number plate light unit.

i needed a new lock mechanism as well as light, both of which were scarse(and expensive). again earlier light may be easier/cheaper

if you need any help, Andy may be your man

[Deefor62]

Damp Logs said:

Hi All,

thanks for replies etc,

I have only just had it fixed

managed to do it without cutting the boot lid, but it did involve destroying the o/s/r light unit.

the issue was a collapsed lock barrel wedging a spring which then prevented the rod from moviing

I took it to Andy at Autobarn on The Wirral - he cursed and swore but got it sorted.

from what he said earlier cars didnt have a cover over the lock and can sometimes be accessed through the right hand number plate light unit.

i needed a new lock mechanism as well as light, both of which were scarse(and expensive). again earlier light may be easier/cheaper

if you need any help, Andy may be your man

Good to hear you managed to sort it and without having to do too much damage to the car.
I’m not able to take mine anywhere due to the battery being disconnected, so will have to try and sort it on the drive.
I’ve read about the right hand number plate light access, so will give that a go. It seems the least risky approach, but will involve a degree of luck in getting a tool of some sort into the right part of the mechanism to open the latch.
Assuming I can get in, I will be very interested to see what exactly has gone wrong.

Thanks all for your suggestions.

[Damp Logs]

might be worth a phone call to him

good luck

[Deefor62]

Damp Logs said:

might be worth a phone call to him

good luck

I spoke to Andy, and was going to try and get the car trailered upto him to sort it out. I've got a replacement (used) lock and rear light on order in readiness.
However I called out the AA with a view to the car being relayed up there, but the patrolman tried one of the other suggestions made earlier in using a battery booster fastened to a positive terminal in the main relay compartment, and the other end earthed. This allowed me to open the car on the remote central locking, and the bootlid opened as per normal. I've now connected the battery isolator, and tests show that the boot will open consistently with the remote. However, it looks as though there is an issue with the lock, as it will not open manually when the battery has been isolated.

Hopefully, the replacement lock will address this.

The earth point is in the compartment on the passenger side, in front of the bulkhead, containing a whole host of relays and control units. There's a junction box in the bottom of the compartment with a flat cover fitted over it. Removing the cover reveals a cluster of positive connections, which Mercedes have conveniently put a blob of red paint on the top of the thread.

Thanks again for the suggestions.