Battery replacement

No, you must get the battery working to activate these items. Let change the battery out. here is a guide to help you step by step with instructions in the diagrams below to show you how on your car:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-replace-a-car-battery

Check out the diagrams (below). Let us know what happens and please upload pictures or videos of the problem.

I am sorry, I am not following. car is inside the gate at auction so i just wanted to put in neutral to tow it home, it was towed in the auction because it has the hook in the front bumper. so someone must have had it in neutral when it was towed, and am trying to figure out how. so is what you saying i have to purchase a new battery and install it to put it in neutral? I think one of the problems it has is that even though the battery may be new she wont start. so maybe a starter or another issue, that is why I am trying to find out what benz says about putting it in neutral if it say it breaks down on you and must be towed.

Look close at it as I have seen more than a few auction cars drug onto and off transport vehicles with all 4 wheels locked up. On the S-series it should be a hit to release type, no manual button to override it. You take a rubber mallet and hit the top of the shift lever on the front edge in front of the control buttons. Do that while you apply rearward pressure on the shift stalk. One sharp rap should release it into neutral. I know that works on the 2006 so the 2007 should be the same. I have been able to do it by wearing a glove and sort of slapping the shifter rearward and down at the same time.
Beyond that the other option needs a battery and the brake switch working.

Yes, i know that trick. but that works when the shifter is in between the seats, on this car its in e steering column.

Missed that, On those it takes battery power to move the control motor on the transmission to get it into neutral. With battery power and the correct key in the vehicle it should release when you step on the brake with the key on. If the shift lever itself doesn't move then check to see if the brake switch is functional, it triggers the release system. The other option would be to go under the car and remove the control module and shift it manually. Because there is no manual link between them there is no manual release. Makes them a pain to move, but I'm betting it was simply drug onto a flatbed or dolly to move it. I believe there is a way to release it with a STAR scan tool but never have tried that so not sure it would work.

I see, good points. i asked the tow truck to go get it and he didn't put enough effort, my guess is that on these cars maybe the door has to be closed too, i see it on Benz and BMWs, especially when running, but brake switch and enough juice may get it released. I will try tomorrow, it was towed i know that, and maybe dragged onto the flatbed. yes, I will let you know what i find.

Good luck with it. I try to stay away from most Euro stuff these days as it's getting to the point you need to be the designer to even work on them. I've never figured out how adding a shift motor, control switches, and the computer wiring to control it all is better than a good old fashioned shift cable, other than adding one more module to fail or fight with.
Please let us know if you find a work around as it could help others.

I got it in neutral, can you confirm how many batteries this car have and their location?

I got it inside my home, battery measures 12v, put 2 jumper boxes on it and i hear a click but no starter turning, also, with or without the jumper boxes when i insert the key in the ignition and turn it on there are lights on the dash, even though stronger with the jumper boxes on, but in both cases: after leaving the ignition on for 10 seconds the whole dash goes black as if there is no battery in the car everything shuts off. then if i turn it off remove the key and insert it it comes back to life, same way every time. there are many codes now related to system voltage low to most components. so cleared most to see but i still only hear a click. What could be sole possibilities to why that happen with the power just completely shuts off? I checked and battery terminals are not loose.

There should be at least two batteries in that car. The starting battery electrical system battery and a possible third battery that goes in the end of the dash on the drivers side. Most have the third battery because of the security and safety options.
The starting battery is under the hood tucked up under the cowl on the right side. Then there is the electrical system battery in the trunk on the right side under the access panel and the third one in the end of the dash. All three need to be good for all systems to work.

Got it, charged both batteries and now electricals are okay. I added a jumper box to the starting battery, went underneath and hit the starter to see if i get anything, i got more than a click now, but there is no way for me to test the wires on the starter, with a v12 you can barely put an ant through any hole in the engine lol. Is there another way to confirm if its the starter? If am hearing that hard click does that mean the relay is working fine? Also, when i kept trying to start it and it will click , i did 6-7 times then smelled a burning smell went underneath and there was a bit of a smoke around the starter, no spark or anything just some smoke, not sure if it's because i tried so many times. do you usually hit the starter or the solenoid?

On those you don't hit either. They use a permanent magnet starter and hitting them will break the magnets and ruin the starter. If you are hearing it click and smelling smoke but nothing else it would be the starter or the engine is locked up. You may want to make sure it will turn over using a wrench first. Not a fun thing to swap the starter only to find the engine is locked up. Seen someone swap three starters on a big block before they checked and discovered the engine had blown a head gasket and a cylinder was full of coolant.

Removed the starter, the wire between the solenoid is fragile. tried to bench test it nothing, opened it up and smells burned, inside wire also have burned marks, brushes don't look good. It's very tight otherwise would have tried to turn motor at the crankshaft, what if i turn the flywheel would that work or that wouldn't make sense?

Either end works, flywheel or crank snout will both do the job. Just be sure to turn it in the proper direction and through one full rotation. Turning it backwards could cause issues with any internal chains because the tensioners won't be on the correct side. The big thing is to be sure it will move.

Crankshaft usually moves clockwise on all cars correct, if so same for flywheel?

Not all cars but most like that Mercedes rotate clockwise when viewed from the front of the engine. flywheel/flex plate turns the same way. Just be sure which way when you are underneath, that is when it can trip you up.

Got it, if i turn the flywheel will i see the crankshaft turning?

If the flywheel turns the crankshaft has to turn with it as they are bolted together.

Changed the starter, installed it, battery measures 12.3, put a jumper as well, tried and it still does hard click, then smoke after 3 tries or so, battery cables get really warm that fast. I am thinking there is some electrical issue, no way for the cables to get that hot quickly and a smoke to develop.

Put another used battery as i suspect battery has some issue, and a jumper box. she turned extremely slowly, no smoke and the cables aren't hot just normal heat.

That description sounds like a mechanical issue with the engine. The turning hard is making the starter work overly hard and causing it to get hot. I would probably pull the drive belt off the engine and see if it helps. It could be a bad alternator or other driven item is seized. When you tried to turn the engine over by hand did it move easily?

There is so little room to put in a large screw driver to turn the flywheel, so i had no leverage, only a very short one and very little room, was able to turn it a bit with a lot of force on the screw driver because of the little room and how short it is, and i noticed the little mark on the crankshaft moved. I read that an alternator could cause that but didn't know how, but a seized one makes sense, I will do that next, hopefully there is enough room to remove the belt.

In general an engine should turn over reasonably easy even with all the parts on it. If removing the belt doesn't do it you could have an issue in the transmission. An engine normally isn't that difficult to turn over if it doesn't have a problem. What was the sale listing on it from the auction, not that I trust most of them to be accurate.

No, i buy all of my cars from CarMax auction, they are very honest and i have been buying from them for years, if a car gets traded in or sold to them INOP they don't try hard into trying to make it run more than trying to jump it, they are extremely busy, they don't care, and make tons of money. So they always give me the answers if they know what the issue is. This was a trade in from another CarMax store, was towed, they said they put a jump on it and it would just click. They may spend more time if it was a Japanese car, but knowing it could be anything on these cars they don't fool with them. It was a bidding auction, she is worth $11,900.00 i got it for $3,000.00, 84k.

Have bought from a few auctions over the years. Still don't trust most of them. However once you get the belt off and see if it will spin over you would have a starting point. Let us know what you find. Hopefully it's nothing more than a bad accessory and not deeper in.

It's never an accessory with Benz lol, but I always take my chances. its a hit and mess, but I always make money on any car i buy INOP if i can't get it to run, happens every once in a while, but i am fully disclosed with the customers, if it needs a motor i can easily sell it for $4,500.00 or $5,000.00. I will sell it for parts for more than that, lol.

Removed fan and belt and tried but the crankshaft didn't move a millimeter, so decided to sell it like it is. Disclosed everything and posted it got ton of response, first guy came and checked it out and bought, i made $700.00 but am glad she was gone. He called me 2 hours later saying he started it but it's misfiring, am like what the heck? what was it, he said the starter or something was stuck, how is it stuck if i replaced the darn thing? Unreal, the luck.

I'm betting it was something inside the bell housing or similar. But at least you didn't lose money on it. The misfiring could be a bad sign but now you don't have to wonder about it. I'd say it's a win. Thanks for using 2CarPros

Thanks for all ya'll help!

No problem.