early 250SL ignition switch

[hands_aus]

Hi,
My early 250SL is my weekend car (weather permitting).
As I went to go out again there was no way to get the car started.

I figured it couldn't be the starter motor because the car has been starting.
To prove my thinking I removed the HT coil wire then added a switched 12V to the # 86 terminal of the CSS relay.
When I switched the 12V ON, the engine turned over with no hesitation.

To diagnose the switch..there was no spring return action when the ignition switch was moved to the start position but there was 12V being supplied to the electric fuel pump plus the switch had a few dead spots.

After deciding it was the ignition switch I called the local MB dealer and asked for a price. They quoted AUD $655.00

I then decided to give the USA MB Classic Centre a go. They quoted USD $118.15 plus USD $26.50 freight to my door.
Convert that to AUD PLUS Bank Charges,.Total  AUD $145.50

Same company and part, different countries ... saved AUD $509.50

There didn't seem to be any issue about availability of the 5 terminal switch, Part # 000 462 06 93

Next part is to get under the dash and hope my big hands fit in there.

Might need help.

cheers

[DaveB]

Australian dealer prices are high. I shipped an entire factory exhaust from Los Angeles to Australia for less than half the AU price quoted at a Perth dealer. I think the pricing policy is their deterrent mechanism; W113 may be a small niche market that they're just not interested in.

[hands_aus]

Hey Dave

I am not surprised about the price discrepancy.
On one of the projects on the 250sl I saved $2200.00 after the parts were bought from OS and the work was done by an independent MB shop.

No wonder people shop online these days.

cheers

[hands_aus]

It took 2 days feeling my way through the maze of wires, speedo cable and tacho cable just to get the lock mechanism out.
whew!
As part of the process I had to add 12 v to the wiper motor just to shift the position of the under dash wiper arm to get enough clearance for my big hands.

The other thing i did was remove the bracket holding the centre unit, then push the unit toward me a bit but leave the temperature gauge tube and oil pressure line connected.
This gave me access to the back of the speedo.
The negative is that i can't replace the light bulbs. They used to work.
I plan to replace the light bulbs in the speedo and the tacho.

The lock mechanism seems to work just fine.

I attached the wires to the new switch one at a time then secured it to the lock with the existing screws.
An interesting thing is that the switch arrived without screws.
I suppose the original screws have only been used once in 46 years so it sort of makes sense to re-use them.

To test the new switch before re-installing, I checked all the loose cables for potential shorts then reconnected the battery and turned the key.
The car started right up. The return spring in the switch worked as it should.

Whilst I have now re-installed the lock /switch mechanism, I intend having the speedo trip meter fixed before finishing the job. The highest number cog doesn't work properly.

I think this is a good opportunity to lube the speedo and tacho cables so I am looking for advice as to what oil to use.

Thanks

[garymand]

My switch just started to go out.  can you describe what you did to get the switch out?