The “fanfare horn” was an optional really loud two-horn set that goes in front of the radiator and was operated with a switch on the dash. Mercedes apparently thought the normal polite “city horn” wouldn’t be loud enough for autobahn use. I remember I had an old 300D that had the switch on the dash but, alas, not the horns themselves.
I went this morning to get a smog check on the car, as required by the State of California before the car can be registered.
Unfortunately, the mechanic told me the rpm was too high and this would cause the car to fail; also it would affect the catalytic convertor, for which repairs on a Mercedes certainly don’t come cheap.
In any case I intend to cancel the sale, return the car and get my money back.
At the urging of the friend who had given me the original lead, I went to another Smog Check place. The car passed in every category but one–the “Check Engine” light, which stayed on… it has been on all the time I have had the engine running today. What a category for a Smog Check! Apparently this is controlled by some kind of computer hardware in the car… :mad:
Well, the check engine light just means there’s an error code relating to the emissions control system. Not all emissions problems will show up on a sniff test, hence failing the test if the CEL is on.
Now, here’s a bit of a conundrum, though. All newer cars use a standardized communication protocol called OBD-II. Cars before that used a whole assortment of proprietary connectors and communications formats called OBD-I. For OBD-II, you can use a very cheap scanner tool to get the codes off and reset them. For OBD-I it varies from brand to brand, but I’m betting an MB one is probably going to be expensive and not something every mechanic is going to have. Most cars switched over in the 1996 model year. However! Some cars switched over earlier and some quick googling suggests this might actually be one of the very earliest OBD-II cars.
At any rate, I guess depending on how exactly you’re able to “cancel the sale” you might consider taking it someplace (which may or may not have to be a MB dealer or specialty shop) to at least get the code read. There’s a huge range of things it could be, ranging from exceedingly minor (like loose gas cap) to prohibitively expensive.
Well, the manager of our mobile-home park suggested I go to a local service place–in a national chain–which she said might do a diagnostic on the light for a nominal cost. And the state Bureau of Automotive Repair gave me a number for a state agency which apparently provides financial assistance in such matters. (Correcting the situation once identified)
The former owner told me the light tends to come on without reason. I can sympathize with her since I had the exact same problem with my former car.
I have noticed that various items on the instrument panel–fuel gauge, speedometer, etc., don’t work right. The former owner’s grandfather ascribed this to fuses, but I’ve bought new fuses and a fuse puller and that notion isn’t borne out…
Apparently the mechanic who repaired the ignition switch, and provided keys for it, did not change the locks on the driver’s door and the trunk to accommodate the new keys. ( The passenger side door does not have a lock.) I would want to find an independent locksmith to go to, since a MB dealership told me that they charge $60 apiece for new keys! :mad:
I believe that any Pep Bots or Autozone will check your OBD code for free.
The light doesn’t come on “without reason”, but sometimes the only reason is that the gas cap is loose.
Unfortunately, they’re not allowed to do that in California.
Like I mentioned up-thread, if this car indeed is one of the first OBD-II compliant cars, he could buy a cheap scanner (they have sub-$10 ones that interface with your phone or a computer) and get the code, but if it is still the old OBD-I style he’s kind of stuck. Even if auto parts stores were allowed read codes there, they probably wouldn’t have one that’d do older Mercedes ones.
But seriously dougie_monty, you mentioned earlier that you might be able to back out of this car. Unless you’re viewing it as a hobby, I’d probably do that. And I speak from experience in saying German cars with electrical problems are rarely cheap nor particularly enjoyable hobbies.
Some car check engine lights can be reset by simply disconnecting the negative battery cable for a prescribed amount of time. The guys at Autozone will likely know what that is. 15 minutes or so?
Phu Cat
*I *know what that is. I have changed batteries in my cars quite a few times. I may try that. 
Oh–the information I got was apparently misleading; at the local Autozone store they said they sell diagnostic devices–some quite expensive–that can solve the problem with the light. I will try contacting other places…
No, the diagnostic devices they want to sell you just enables you to read the code and clear it. It will turn off your check engine light, but it will do nothing to fix the issue that turned it on in the first place. And, just turning off the light does nothing to prevent the check engine light from illuminating again.
Let’s say your error code is “misfire cylinder 5”. Check engine light comes on when it detects that misfire. You buy a code reader, read the code, and clear it. Cool, your CEL is gone. The next day the same issue that caused cylinder 5 to misfire happens again. Bam. CEL back on. You’ve done nothing to fix the root problem
I kinda agree with GreasyJack on this one, chasing electrical gremlins on German cars is no fun. Unless you like tinkering with cars, or have an emotional attachment to the car, this particular car might not be a good choice for you.
The problem I have is one that showed up during the Smog Check–required when transferring the title of a car, in California.
The car passed all aspects of the test EXCEPT the light. The former owner told me it had a tendency to light up at inopportune times. Why a dashboard light should be a criterion for passing a Smog Check I have no idea.
I do not have the wherewithal to choose or reject a car as freely as I would like. Getting this one was a major commitment.
Well, so this is another thing where it matters whether this is or isn’t an OBD-II car. If it is an OBD-II car, the emissions place will plug a reader into the car and if certain periodic checks haven’t been performed recently, the car will fail (or rather will be marked as “retest”.) If the problem is with one of those periodically-checked systems, clearing the trouble code with a scanner or by disconnecting the battery will make the CEL go out, but the car will still fail.
If it is an OBD-I car, you might be able to get away with it since the inspectors only check if the light is on or off and don’t actually plug the computer in with those. But you need to figure out which you have before you can go forward. If it’s OBD-II, it’ll have a plug that looks like this probably under the dash near where your left leg sits. If it’s OBD-I, it’ll have a round connector that looks like this in or near the fuse box.
I didn’t see any little round thing like that in or near the fuse box. As for under the dash, this is the first car I’ve seen that has the underside of the dash covered the same as the front and the top. I am not ready to try to remove anything.
I would not worry about getting the keys sorted out until you correct the Check Engine Light problem. You can’t transfer the title until you do that and it really isn’t your car until you get the title in your name. No need to fix the problems with the keys on a car that is not yours.
I doubt your car is OBD-II. It really is too old. That is good and bad. It’s good in that the testing station cannot plug their OBD-II reader in it to check for codes. The bad is your options to read any codes is limited.
I poked around a little online and believe the best bet is to make a home-made reader. That may be beyond your skill level. If so, your best bet is to find a independent mechanic that specializes in cars like yours. As mentioned upthread, that light is not lit without cause. Until you determine the cause, you will not be able to fix it.
I had ascertained–by actually changing the fuse–that the problems with the instrument panel are not the result of a fuse having blown.
One member of a group of Mercedes cognoscenti had told me that the panel’s electrical connection is a couple of plugs with a series of small pins instead of prongs, and that if one or more is bent an item on the panel would not work right. And a mechanic told me today that all of the panel items use the very same set of codes.
So it would depend, apparently, upon the condition of the pins or the status of the codes, wouldn’t it?
Yesterday I took the car for a Smog Check again (at a Test Only place). It passed. 
I got the Smog Certificate, and the registration and title are cleared.
I have the keys and the instrument panel to consider now. Around the first week of March I may relent and have a door key made at a MB dealer; and apparently ALL the gadgets on the instrument panel are governed by the same set of codes and should respond when those codes are reset. What that will cost me is anybody’s guess. From what Greasy Jack says, the car has OBD-II codes since there is no round connector in the fuse box.
The car seems to be a prototype for the C-280 model, the mismatch with the Owner’s Manual I downloaded being what it is.
Years ago I had a VW Squareback, which used fuel injectors instead of a carburetor.
I bought a copy of the book How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, a famous repair manual written in colloquial language.
One serious issue the author brought up was: Don’t use jumper cables to recharge the battery–it can damage the electronic fuel-injection system.
The Mercedes C-280 I have now, uses fuel injectors too. Fortunately I haven’t had to do anything with the battery as yet, but I would like to know if I should keep jumper cables away from this car’s battery as well.
No, you needn’t worry. And there was no need to worry back then with the VW. I don’t know what that author was thinking of, but properly used jumper cables aren’t going to harm any fuel injection system.