2006 MERCEDES-BENZ SL500 hood open

337 Practical hints
What to do if …
Warning!
G
Driving when your engine is badly overheat-
ed can cause some fluids which may have
leaked into the engine compartment to
catch fire. You could be seriously burned.
Steam from an overheated engine can cause
serious burns and can occur just by opening
the engine hood. Stay away from the engine
if you see or hear steam coming from it.
Turn off the engine, get out of the vehicle
and do not stand near the vehicle until the
engine has cooled down.

366 Practical hintsWhat to do if …
During severe operating conditions, e.g.
stop-and-go traffic, the coolant tempera-
ture may rise close to 248°F (120°C).
Left display
Right display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
•
Coolant
Stop, put engine off!
The coolant is too hot.

Stop the vehicle in a safe location and turn off
the engine.

Only start the engine again after the message
disappears. You could otherwise damage the
engine.
Warning!
G
Driving when your engine is badly overheat-
ed can cause some fluids which may have
leaked into the engine compartment to
catch fire. You could be seriously burned.
Steam from an overheated engine can cause
serious burns and can occur just by opening
the engine hood. Stay away from the engine
if you see or hear steam coming from it.
Turn off the engine, get out of the vehicle
and do not stand near the vehicle until the
engine has cooled down.
!The engine should not be operated with
the coolant temperature above 248°F
(120°C). Doing so may cause serious
engine damage which is not covered by
the Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.

372 Practical hintsWhat to do if …Left display
Right display
Possible cause/consequence
Possible solution
O
Close hood
You are driving with the hood open.

Close the hood (
page 273).
I
Remove
key
You have forgotten to remove the
SmartKey from the starter switch.

Remove the SmartKey from the starter
switch.
Replace
key
The batteries in the SmartKey are
discharged.

Change the batteries (
page 389).
F
Key
Check battery
The batteries in the SmartKey with
KEYLESS-GO* are discharged.

Change the batteries (
page 389).
Don’t forget
key
This message appears (for a maxi-
mum of 60 seconds) if the driver’s
door is opened with the engine shut
off and no SmartKey in the starter
switch.
Message is only a reminder.

Insert SmartKey in the starter switch.

Take the SmartKey with KEYLESS-GO* with
you when leaving the vehicle.
KEYLESS GO
Check system
The KEYLESS-GO* system is mal-
functioning.

Visit an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center as
soon as possible.
KEYLESS-GO
Drive to
workshop
The KEYLESS-GO* system is mal-
functioning.

Visit an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center as
soon as possible.

394 Practical hintsReplacing bulbsReplacing bulbs for front lamps
Before you start to replace a bulb for a
front lamp, do the following first:
Turn the exterior lamp switch to posi-
tion M (
page 123).

Open the hood (
page 272).
1Bulb socket for turn signal lamp
2High beam headlamp cover
3Low beam headlamp cover (Xenon or
Bi-Xenon* lamp). Do not remove.4High beam bulbs
5Locking mechanism
6Parking and standing lampsFront turn signal bulb

Turn bulb socket 1 counterclockwise
and pull it out.

Push the bulb into socket 1, turn
socket 1 counterclockwise and re-
move it.

Insert the new bulb in socket 1, push
and turn bulb socket 1 clockwise.

Reinsert bulb socket 1 in lamp and
turn bulb socket 1 clockwise.
Warning!
G
Do not remove the cover for the Xenon or
Bi-Xenon* headlamp. Because of high volt-
age in Xenon and Bi-Xenon* lamps, it is dan-
gerous to replace the bulb or repair the lamp
and its components. We recommend that
you have such work done by a qualified
technician.

397 Practical hints
Replacing wiper blades
Replacing wiper blades
Removing wiper blades
Turn SmartKey in starter switch to
position1.

Turn combination switch to wiper
settingII (
page 54).

With wiper arms in the vertical position,
turn SmartKey in starter switch to
position0.
!Never open the hood when the wiper
arms are folded forward.
Hold on to the wiper when folding the
wiper arm back. If released, the force
of the impact from the tensioning
spring could crack the windshield.
Do not allow the wiper arms to contact
the windshield glass without a wiper
blade inserted.
Make sure the wiper blades are proper-
ly installed. Improperly installed wiper
blades may cause windshield damage.
For your convenience, we recommend
that you have this work carried out by
an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center.
!To avoid damage to the hood, the wiper
arms should only be folded forward
when in the vertical position.
Warning!
G
For safety reasons, switch off wipers and re-
move SmartKey from starter switch (vehi-
cles with KEYLESS-GO*: Make sure the
vehicle’s on-board electronics have
status0) before replacing a wiper blade.
Otherwise the wiper motor could suddenly
turn on and cause injury.


416 Practical hintsBatteries
Depress the parking brake pedal.

Open the trunk.

Read and observe safety instructions
and precautions (
page 279).

Unhook the luggage cover in the trunk.

Remove the trunk floor.
The battery for electrical consumers is
located in the right hand area of the
trunk (
page 383).

Use the 10 mm open-end wrench from
the vehicle tool kit to disconnect the
negative lead from negative
terminal4 of the consumer battery
(page 413).

Open the hood (
page 272).

Use the 10 mm open-end wrench from
the vehicle tool kit to disconnect the
negative lead from negative
terminal2 of the starter battery
(page 413).

Remove the covers from the positive
terminals 1 and 3 (
page 413).

Disconnect the positive lead from pos-
itive terminal 3 of the consumer bat-
tery (
page 413).

Disconnect the positive lead from pos-
itive terminal 1 of the starter battery
(page 413).
Removing the batteries
Removing the consumer battery
Remove the screws securing the bat-
tery in the trunk.

Remove the battery support and
bracket.

Pull out the battery ventilation tube
from the battery.
Depending on battery arrangement in
your vehicle model, the ventilation tube
is located either on the left or right side
of the battery.

Take out the battery.


420 Practical hintsJump startingThe starter battery is located on the right
side of the engine compartment.
Make sure the two vehicles do not
touch.

Turn off all electrical consumers.

Apply the parking brake (
page 59).

Shift gear selector lever to positionP.

Open the hood (
page 272).

Remove the red cover from positive ter-
minal on both vehicles (
page 413).1Negative terminal of charged battery
2Negative terminal of discharged
battery
3Positive terminal of discharged battery
4Positive terminal of charged battery

Connect positive terminals 3 and 4
of the batteries with the jumper cables.
Clamp cable to charged battery 4
first.

Start the engine of the vehicle with the
charged battery and run at idle speed.

Connect negative terminals 1 and 2
of the batteries with the jumper cables.
Clamp cable to charged battery 1
first.

Start the engine of the disabled vehi-
cle.
You can now turn on the electrical con-
sumers. Do not turn on the lights under
any circumstances.

Remove the jumper cables first from
negative terminals 2 and 1 and then
from positive terminals 3 and 4.
You can now turn on the lights.

Have the battery checked at the near-
est Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!
G
Keep flames or sparks away from battery.
Do not smoke.
Observe all safety instructions and precau-
tions when handling automotive batteries
(page 279).
!Never invert the terminal connections.
!Do not tow-start the vehicle.

426 Practical hintsFusesOpening
Open the hood (
page 272).

Move slide to position 3 and lift
cover1.
Closing

Hook cover 1 onto tabs and close it.

Move slide to position 2.
Emergency engine shut-down
If the engine cannot be turned off as de-
scribed, you may use the following backup
procedure.
Open the main fuse box (
page 425).

Pull out the two fuses labeled “ENGINE
EMERGENCY STOP”.
!The fuse box cover must be properly
positioned with the slide at the ‹
symbol to prevent moisture or dirt from
entering the fuse box and possibly im-
pairing fuse operation.