Merc AW169 2011

scot22_2

Having spent a lot of money repairing most recent car now very careful.
Went to start car , sbs light stayed on and engine wouldn't start.  Called AA 
Kept well distanced.
Within a couple of minutes car was running and he said nothing to see.  Left quickly.  Concerned he might have taken some shortcut, is there one.
Anything to worry about with airbags ?

Scrapit

They said nothing at all?

TadleyBaggie

SBS light? (ABS perhaps?) What has the airbags got to do with it?

angrycrow

Op I suspect you have miss understood what the AA told you. 
Two possibilities 
Abs light, this relates to the antilock braking system but is also used to provide data to the traction control system (esp). If the battery has been disconnected or got too low on modern cars the system sometimes needs the car to be driven a short distance to allow the abs / esp system to calibrate.

Srs relates the the airbag and seat belt pretensioner systems. I can't see the AA resetting this and leaving as it is a critical safety system. 

I can't see either system stopping the car starting so I suspect this all relates to a low battery. Likely AA used a booster pack to start the car. 

scot22_2

Sorry, careless typo.  Should have been srs , that's why referred to airbags.   Thanks for giving time to reply, esp angrycrow.
No indication of low battery.  Should a decent garage be able to reassure me ?

angrycrow

Still think this was a low battery issue. If the car is on its original battery its done well and is due for a change. Its the right time of year for battery failure to show up with low overnight temperatures. 

scot22_2

Many thanks angrycrow.  I'll pursue that line.  Further evidence my wife had just driven for an hour in the dark with the heating own, so would have been heavy drain.  Might take it to my garage for check. Will update if anything found.

scot22_2

Many thanks angrycrow.  I'll pursue that line.  Further evidence my wife had just driven for an hour in the dark with the heating own, so would have been heavy drain.  Might take it to my garage for check. Will update if anything found.

daveyjp

Like a lot of Mercs it has two batteries.

Main one under the driver's seat floor - check for water ingress - and a smaller one behind a panel on the right hand side of the boot.  Check for condensation affecting the wiring and connectors.

Scot22

Many thanks JP. That is very helpful indeed.  Wish the AA man had spent more than a couple of minutes.  No reference to any possible causes.  Response to question was don't know.  

KimJongUn88

To be fair, the job of the AA man is to get you going again. Once the car is up and running, he’s not there to diagnose what caused the non start issue.