Originally Posted by
pizzaguy
At one time, SKREEMS were said to "die and never come back without help". But lately, I've read of SKREEMS that seem to act just like yours is acting.
What we must be careful of, is condemning a SKREEM that is losing battery power at times. That would cause the SKREEM to not respond to the ECU and cause a "bad SKREEM" symptom to come and go, just like yours is doing.
Power is fed to the SKREEM via fuse 35 (in most model years). If the remote lock/unlock buttons work, then there is power to the SKREEM. The easy way to test is to wait for the car to refuse to start, and hit lock or unlock, if the locks respond, there is power to the SKREEM. If the locks do not respond, there may not be power to the SKREEM or the SKREEM is really dead.
(The SKREEM is also the receiver for the lock/unlock/panic buttons. It is conceivable that the buttons will work when the car wont start.)
There is no "DIY fix" for a bad SKREEM.
Josh Chase is owner of the MSS and he can certainly guide you in getting this figured out. If he contradicts anything Iv'e said, listen to HIM not ME.
YOu can click here to contact him:
https://themercedesswapshop.com/
What about SKREEM units that sit on the shelf for long periods of time?
I have had batteries go flat on me in the winter, no problem.
I have a unit I purchased from NeedsWings when he had a special on some years back, should I worry about it?
Modules like this fail even when a 10 cent item in them fail, always have and always will. Take the seat relay as a prime example, I repaired mine when I found a 10c diode had failed. The part was so cheap you could only buy them on a card of 10 pieces.