Mercedes-Benz Forum banner

Replacing Your Starter ('95 S420)

11K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  Steve_B 
#1 ·
*WARNING* Disconnect your car battery before tackling this job. Fire is used in potentially flammable places in this guide. You're at your own risk if you choose to use this guide. *WARNING*

Hello all,

I'm unsure if there's an existing guide on this topic, but I went ahead and made a clear guide on how to change a starter on a 1995 S420. It's a pretty simple job all in all, and my S420 fires up now very nicely. Simply open the pictures up and read the description in each photo.
 

Attachments

See less See more
10
#4 · (Edited)
This is NOT a ground wire:



The picture above is suggestive that your lower harness is gone and replacement long-overdue.

Please DO NOT start the car until you fix it! The remaining 4-5 wires inside the shroud are in similar shape and you can kill your cluster!

Good luck,
Steve
Just a quick follow up on this. One more picture tells it all:



This topic has been covered many times and there is lots of info in the archives.

Steve
 
#5 ·
Awesome write-up, thank you so much for contributing.

As Steve mentioned, the flaking insulation is likely indicative of your lower harness going bad. To be honest, most people don't pay nearly as much attention to them as the upper harness. Replacement is a good idea as it's attached to the starter and if it does fail it could leave you stranded. It can also kill the instrument cluster as well, which is a pricey item to replace.
 
#6 ·
I'll be dead honest with you Steve_B, I figured that the rest of the wire where it stems is facing the same dilemma. I didn't worry about it though like I probably should. Now I know what's going on (thank you for telling me) and I'll get that fixed ASAP! I'll look more into it before I go bothering everybody about it.

Thom_7, thank you! Yes, I'm definitely going to get the problem addressed knowing now that it kills equipment in the car.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I think on most cars the starter is just a total pita to access, easy as on the W140.
Joe:
If you try it on the M120 configured for LHD car (starter on the same side as the alternator/idler arm/smog pump) your definition of PITA and EASY may change a bit... :))

I had the dubious honor to experiment (several times) installing and removing a starter:

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w14...-bummer-starter-wont-turn-2.html#post14056778

Luckily, in this case the exhaust downpipes were out of the way and it was not as bad as it would have been otherwise...

Best regards,
Steve
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top