I found this car and want to save it! The only thing I can find wrong with it is the standard engine wiring issues. I have always loved this style Mercedes, and am glad there are others whom share my opinion of them. I purchased this one incredibly cheaply. I know that is usually a bad sign, but I know the original owner (who I bought it from) and he always maintains everything. I hope to repair the harnesses and enjoy this nice ride.
All this being said, where can I get the harness from affordably? Am I better off rebuilding it myself? ( I am a master mechanic, but have mainly repaired american cars, and some classic british) What should I watch for other than wiring, and the cooling "T-Pipe"?
thanks
Dan
Without starting with fresh/new wires, and new connectors, it can only BE an incomplete job. Note the connectors. More photos from MY job done this spring:
It seems we are just going round in circles here Stryker..
You already posted those pictures earlier in this thread.. That is NOT the "Upper engine wire harness" that is most prone to fail.. Due to the extreme heat from the engine the insulation crumbles and wires short out.
Again, this mostly happens to ONLY the main upper engine wire harness which commonly and infamously tend to fail.
All those other wires you showed there run safely behind the firewall and they usually do not deteriorate because they do not endure much heat from the engine so they stay solid.
It is the heat that deteriorates the insulation. Not your barn rats..
I'm not going to change all the wires in my car just because there is a possibility that rats might feast on the insulation.. Does not seem practical, or even logical for that matter..
Not to mention those wires and harnesses are from the M120 motor S600 engine..
The S500 M119 engine is more "mechanic-friendly" compared to the big dog V12.
Correct about the difference between the M119 and M120 engines. Much easier to work on the 500.
But you are wrong about the wiring harnesses. True, the photos are of the body harness, which is a PITA to work on, but the body harness and the engine harness of the same era have the same material covering their wires. If you have not yet changed out the body harness, expect to. See the wires going to the multi-colored boxes? Those are wires heading to the 'mouse coffin' or computer array, in front of the passenger side, in the ENGINE COMPARTMENT. Heat build-up, especially in warmer climates like South Africa during summer, is cooking the soybean paste covering those wires. A bad, failing body harness is a known cause of engine failure! IGNORE AT YOUR PERIL! CHECK OUT YOUR WIRES RIGHT NOW! See any flaking/exposed copper wires? Problems ahead if you do!
Study the photos a bit closer, MafiaDon, we're looking out for YOU!
Brett: What you show as an example is an engine harness, not a body harness. I know Daniel is working on an engine harness for an 8-cylinder, but if the engine harness is bad, I assure you the body harness is close behind it.
I would not even attempt rebuilding a wire loom. Never suggested doing it, wouldn't recommend it, I surely don't advocate it. What part of that is not being processed?
Exactly, and that's the topic of discussion. Your statements about re-wrapping wires up to the connectors possibly leaving a small section un-re-wrapped as it enters the connectors were simply off base and showed that you had no concept of what was being discussed. No one's talking about re-wrapping existing wires in the engine harness. It was important to point that out.
I would not even attempt rebuilding a wire loom. Never suggested doing it, wouldn't recommend it, I surely don't advocate it. What part of that is not being processed?
What IS being processed is that your statements go well beyond not recommending or not advocating rebuilding wiring harnesses to an abject insistence that the harnesses can't be rebuilt, and while in the process, you proceed to issue borderline insults impugning the abilities of a highly trained master tech. Next time, just stuff a sock in it. You really have little more to add to this discussion than your suggestion that you recommend replacing the body harness as well as the engine harness. That is all.
Ok that much is obvious.
But some in here would and have. If I had to I might have tried. I made my own assessment. I respect others choices, be it wise or learning experience. I have my own opinion of expensive. I just want to have fun with fixing a really nice car. Some here do have the ability to do anything on these cars. Hard to believe they let mechanics near computers! LOL
The idea of a forum is to learn and share.
Try it
Carpe Diem
I think much of what Stryker does actually constitutes fraud - i.e. incessant repetition of unfounded, unsubstantiated statements, ignorant of their truth. In a legal context that qualifies as fraud. I can only guess that it's driven by misery loves company - I lost a ton of money on my car, you should too.
Ill second that..The body harness is close behind it? WTF? Ive seen many cars in need of fuel injection harnesses but, only one with body harnesses gone bad ..and it was his..
MafiaDON: the car seems to be sitting very level.
Like I said before, many many things seem to be working correctly! (much to my relief.)
Even some of the little things you would expect to be broken, Like the cup holder in the glove box, indicator lights by the drivers door handle, and so on. Rear headrests seem to be intermittent.
Here are some more pics. keep in mind I haven't even taken it home and cleaned anything yet! it is still at my work.
Just an FYI note for anyone building a loom, the copper alloy in automotive grade wire is softer than normal wire. This prevents cracking of the conductors due to vibration. And car makers used crimped connectors for 2 reasons; one is cost, it's easier to mass produce, and the other is reliability. Soldered joints are solid and can crack due to vibrations, or the wires crack right at the end of the joint where the wires come out.
Old timers I've known who have had to rewire their cars by hand because looms can no longer be purchased have used shrink wrap over every joint as strain relief to prevent failure of the joint. And they've often used normal multi-strand wire too, for cost reasons, with good results. If a car is owned by an enthusiast it will likely be looked after to the point where the downsides of a DIY loom are mitigated. Big manufacturers have to overdo things a bit to make up for the general neglect inflicted on their products to avoid warranty costs.
So it can be done.
But, I'd still buy a loom as I'm so slow with my soldering it would take a decade to build one. Plus, I'd be afraid that with one mistake I'd end up with a nightmare and end up buying a loom in the end anyway.
thinking my battery has an issue, when jump starting the car, it ran nicely. When I removed jumper cables, the idle seemed to get a little rough.
On GM cars, they run all the electronics from the battery, and the alternator just maintains the charge. So a bad battery causes running issues (drivability faults) Is this the same for Mercedes?
Dan
Yes, I don't know of any car, other than a hybrid, that would work differently.
The charging system is a compromise as the alternator produces power depending on the engine speed. The battery has a maximum limit it can take to recharge, too much will damaged it. So the system has a regulator to waste any excess power produced at high RPM as heat.
To minimise the waste the designers choose an alternator that will charge the battery optimally at normal engine speeds with all accessories running. This means it's not really contributing much at idle speeds and everything depends on the battery. So a suspect battery can result in a rough idle like you are seeing.
The home built code reader will clear codes - hold the button down for 8-10 seconds, release, turn off ignition, repeat until all codes are gone (each pin) and you get one flash.
Check the link in my post on page 1 in this thread. It has a youtube video on how read and reset codes I made. It also has a spreadsheet attachment helping you to translate and track your codes.
If you have a built in pushbutton/LED it would likely look like the one on Jim F's 140 coupe - K6JRF Auto Page But that's only for the DM - you need to build the code reader to access the other diagnostic modules.
took off alternator, took it in to be tested. it's dead.
was pleased with the ease of removal
can't wait to drive this beast!!
Dan
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