1995 E320 - Wiring Harness
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The harness is not under any recall -- leaving many people pretty p*ssed off.
Some have suggested they saw the beginning of quality slippage here. Not in the problem -- in the way Mercedes responded to it. Mercedes says your dealer has discretion to help you as appropriate -- and the dealers do get some MBZ money.
What really happens is the dealer takes a look at you -and a look at the car. If you have been regularly going to that dealership for service, if you have less than 60,000 or 70,000 miles on it ( it varies by dealership) and if you insist on help -- then, and only then they will review their discretionary dollars to see if they want to spend them on you. Yes, it's that difficult. I passed the mileage step, the relationship step and my wiring was clearly decomposing but the dealership wanted to hang onto the dollars for a "better" candidate because I had too much of my previous maintenance work done at an independent shop. The message was, "In the future, if you want us to take care of you, then you need to be loyal to us and bring your business here!"
There are quite a few "informal" recalls being handled this way, and I can't imagine that Mercedes doesn't know what's going on...
The harness is DIY if your fairly competent technically. Otherwise, figure $1200 at an independent shop, $1700 at a stealership, and if you do it yourself - then it's $550 or $820 depending on the harness you have and where you buy it.
The head gasket was redesigned in 1996, I think, but it ceased to be a problem after then. In 1997 they came out with the V6 which had other issues - but not a head gasket problem. No recall here either, but the usual way the problem starts is with a seepage around the edges. You have years of advance warning that it is starting to fail. I would consider it a fair warning not to be ignored, however.[
!]
Good luck.
Some have suggested they saw the beginning of quality slippage here. Not in the problem -- in the way Mercedes responded to it. Mercedes says your dealer has discretion to help you as appropriate -- and the dealers do get some MBZ money.
What really happens is the dealer takes a look at you -and a look at the car. If you have been regularly going to that dealership for service, if you have less than 60,000 or 70,000 miles on it ( it varies by dealership) and if you insist on help -- then, and only then they will review their discretionary dollars to see if they want to spend them on you. Yes, it's that difficult. I passed the mileage step, the relationship step and my wiring was clearly decomposing but the dealership wanted to hang onto the dollars for a "better" candidate because I had too much of my previous maintenance work done at an independent shop. The message was, "In the future, if you want us to take care of you, then you need to be loyal to us and bring your business here!"
There are quite a few "informal" recalls being handled this way, and I can't imagine that Mercedes doesn't know what's going on...
The harness is DIY if your fairly competent technically. Otherwise, figure $1200 at an independent shop, $1700 at a stealership, and if you do it yourself - then it's $550 or $820 depending on the harness you have and where you buy it.
The head gasket was redesigned in 1996, I think, but it ceased to be a problem after then. In 1997 they came out with the V6 which had other issues - but not a head gasket problem. No recall here either, but the usual way the problem starts is with a seepage around the edges. You have years of advance warning that it is starting to fail. I would consider it a fair warning not to be ignored, however.[
!]Good luck.
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1995 Mercedes E320 Wiring Harness
THANKS BILL
PLEASE ASSIS, hAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIND REPLACEMENT ENGING=E WIRING HARNESS. sO FAR HARNESS ONLY, THROUGH DEALER FOR $1100. i KNOWLEDGE ON WHO HAS AT A MORE REASONABLE PRICEmgraziano said:
THANKS BILL
Don't waste time talking to dealers on that one (they not only wanted a fortune but also wanted to keep my car for a few days).
I bought my 1995 E320 harness (original MB, same as the dealers sell) from ********** in Atlanta 1 800 741 5252 for $720 plus $9 shippment and changed it myself in about 2 hours. It's really easy if you like working on cars and are a methodical person. Keep replacing old connectors with new ones step by step one connector at a time (it's really hard to mess up). The only harder part was to route the cables near battery.
If you want to save $729 and skip the hard part but you have some free time you can fix the harness yourself with a couple of rolls of cloth electric insulation tape. I got mine a few years ago at Ace Hardware (gives a factory look when finished), opened up the harness across the top of the egine (where it gets hot and brittle and gives you the shorts which mess up the car electricals) and taped around the offending wires (water temp sensor connector was the one which started it for me). A couple of years later the Check Engine Light came on again so I just changed the harness to the new one to be on a safe side. So depending on the level of deterioration patching the old harness may be a waste of time.
I bought my 1995 E320 harness (original MB, same as the dealers sell) from ********** in Atlanta 1 800 741 5252 for $720 plus $9 shippment and changed it myself in about 2 hours. It's really easy if you like working on cars and are a methodical person. Keep replacing old connectors with new ones step by step one connector at a time (it's really hard to mess up). The only harder part was to route the cables near battery.
If you want to save $729 and skip the hard part but you have some free time you can fix the harness yourself with a couple of rolls of cloth electric insulation tape. I got mine a few years ago at Ace Hardware (gives a factory look when finished), opened up the harness across the top of the egine (where it gets hot and brittle and gives you the shorts which mess up the car electricals) and taped around the offending wires (water temp sensor connector was the one which started it for me). A couple of years later the Check Engine Light came on again so I just changed the harness to the new one to be on a safe side. So depending on the level of deterioration patching the old harness may be a waste of time.
I made fun of my sister-in-law for buying a Prowler. She has basically bought every car except an MB. To cut things short, someone cut me short by saying, "they aren't the best cars ...." took it as an insult, but not hard. Reading these posts, I understand other people's sentiments. Better update myself. I'm trapped in a time warp between the late 70s and 80s.
i know this is an old post, but i'm trying to check my "primary ignition wiring harness" for shorts. where is the primary ignition harness located? i have a 1995 e320 with a dead ignition coil. i'm replacing one of the coil packs and all plugs, but read in the e-class owner's bible that worn insulation on the primary ignition wiring harness can cause the coils to short out. i'm worried that if a short exists, i may damage the new coil pack. thanks!
Remove access panel that is located within the valve cover. Takes about 6 hex bolts to remove and access coil packs & wiring.
If you're replacing coils, be sure to replace the coil to plug wires (3) and most importantly the coil to plug boots (3).
Use copper based anti seize lube if changing plugs, use standard non-resistor plugs as specified by the factory.
I have a wiring harness from my '95 E320 if you need it.
If you're replacing coils, be sure to replace the coil to plug wires (3) and most importantly the coil to plug boots (3).
Use copper based anti seize lube if changing plugs, use standard non-resistor plugs as specified by the factory.
I have a wiring harness from my '95 E320 if you need it.
How does the insulation look on you engine wiring harness? Peel back the armor and look underneath. Is it original? Some mechanics refuse to work on driveability issues with these models unless the wiring is replaced. Yes, a bad wiring harness that shorts can take out other electronic components. I replaced mine before it became a problem.
I don't see any damage to any wires or insulation anywhere. I went ahead and changed the plugs and it runs much better, but the major problem (which I was told is a dead cylinder) still exists. My major hurdle on checking the wiring harness is that I'm unsure what all encompasses the wiring harness or where to look for trouble (other than everywhere). I've found lots of talk about wiring harnesses, but haven't seen any diagrams of where they are. When I read "Peel back the armor and look underneath." I don't know where the armor to peel back is. Thanks for the replies everyone. Are there some diagrams detailing these areas anywhere? I've found those PDF service manuals, so if anyone knows where to look in those, I can look there. Sorry for the dumb questions and thanks for the help!
Swap your coil packs around and see where the dead cylinder travels. Near where the upper harness connects to the ECU, you'll find a part number and build date on the harness bundle. Let us know what both are.
Jayare
Jayare
thanks again for helping everyone. i swapped around the coil packs and didn't notice too much difference. i was assuming there would be an obvious change. i even tried swapping in a new coil pack, but it sees to run the same -- or at least very close to the same no matter which configuration the coil packs are in.
i didn't see any numbers on what i think is the wiring harness bundle. there's a paper sticker that's too faded to read.
i didn't see any numbers on what i think is the wiring harness bundle. there's a paper sticker that's too faded to read.
Take a few minutes and read all of this thread.
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w124-e-ce-d-td-class/1561128-help-my-5-cyl-m104.html
Good Luck,
Jayare
Jayare, I also have a 1995 E320 that is running fine. In the future, I would like to know if I get a miss, how does one determine i.e. analyze when a coil is bad. Naturally inspection of the spark plug wires is first. When I went to State car inspection they said it does not have OBD (On Board Diagnostics) so auto parts store analyzer may not help. I do have a clamp on timing light if that helps.
Benzie1
You should see a rectangular box in the engine compartment near the battery. If you remove the lid, you will see a number of pins and possibly an LED with a button next to it. This is your onboard diagnostic port. The built in LED will give you some codes regarding engine management, but to get all of the info you will need to build an LED reader. Do a search on the forum for build instructions and a key to the codes. Search for LED reader.
You should see a rectangular box in the engine compartment near the battery. If you remove the lid, you will see a number of pins and possibly an LED with a button next to it. This is your onboard diagnostic port. The built in LED will give you some codes regarding engine management, but to get all of the info you will need to build an LED reader. Do a search on the forum for build instructions and a key to the codes. Search for LED reader.
Hi, I know its been a few months since you posted this but I was wondering if you still had the wiring harness from your 95' E320? I have a 95' E320 Sedan that I want to replace the wires on.
James
1995 e320 dead cylinder
This is weird. The car was running just fine until I parked it for a week while I went on vacation. When I got back and started the car, it ran as though it was missing a cylinder.
Using a timing light, I noted that the lead coming from #2 coil pack to #5 cylinder was not triggering (all other leads triggered the timing light).
I tried the following to isolate the problem:
1. swapped coil packs between #2 and #4 - no change on the #5 lead
2. swapped the lead from the #6 coil pack to #1 into the #5 position - no change on the #5 lead
3. replaced the spark plug in #5 with a new one - no change on the #5 lead.
At this point, I opened up the wiring harness from the entry area to the battery to the moulded rubber section to see if I had any breaks in wires that feed the coils. No breaks were visible.
I am at a loss. Is it possible the ECU has developed an issue associated with that one coil?
What other suggestions can you think of?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
This is weird. The car was running just fine until I parked it for a week while I went on vacation. When I got back and started the car, it ran as though it was missing a cylinder.
Using a timing light, I noted that the lead coming from #2 coil pack to #5 cylinder was not triggering (all other leads triggered the timing light).
I tried the following to isolate the problem:
1. swapped coil packs between #2 and #4 - no change on the #5 lead
2. swapped the lead from the #6 coil pack to #1 into the #5 position - no change on the #5 lead
3. replaced the spark plug in #5 with a new one - no change on the #5 lead.
At this point, I opened up the wiring harness from the entry area to the battery to the moulded rubber section to see if I had any breaks in wires that feed the coils. No breaks were visible.
I am at a loss. Is it possible the ECU has developed an issue associated with that one coil?
What other suggestions can you think of?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
2013 E350 sedan, 2013 E350 cab, 1993 400E sold,1999 ML320
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2,458 Posts
Upper wiring harness or throttle assembly bad wiring insulation issue most likely. My 400E will do the same thing due to condensation making it short out from sitting. Let it run warm up turn the car off and start up again it will usually stop missing. Sometimes it will even trigger the ASR if equipped. Ive been living with my ETA issue for 5 years as I am getting 25 mpg and dont wanna mess that up.
Good Luck.
Good Luck.
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