I've talked with several people here about the "ecologically friendly" wire insulation that was used in the mid-90s E320s, and how they found out the hard way that it tended to deteriorate and crumble after a number of years; and how Mercedes had replaced most of them by now with decent insulated wires. "Replacing the engine wiring harness" was high on everybody's list of thing to make sure had been done to your E320.
But the engine wiring harness is only part of the wiring in the car, obviously. It's probably the most highly stressed, with thermal and vibration variances all over the scale.
But lots of other wiring goes under the dash, to the switches and light on the center console, to the power windows, to the convertible top motor and controls, to the brakelights etc. And ALL that other wiring, also had the eco-junk insulation at birth, didn't it?
Is it the consensus that wire insulation outside the engine compartment, is less likely to deteriorate over the years? And so it doesn't need to be replaced, even when you replace the engine wiring harness?
This relates to the 95 E320 Cabriolet I looked at the other day. It had a year-old battery, but didn't seem to be charging it very well. On a voltmeter, charge voltage was around 12V with the engine idling, and barely rose to 13V when revved. I'm more used to seeing 13.5V to 14V on Fords, Toyotas, Mitsubishis, and VWs.
Some here have said that the car might have a bad voltage regulator on the alternator. That's understandable... but if true, then what might have killed the voltage regulator? Some eco-junk wiring shorting to other wires or to metal in the car, and producing intermittent current spikes? I don't know if the engine wiring harness has been replaced.
Carfax said the engine head gasket and engine mounts had been replaced, plus a lot of more routine maintenance, by Westwood Mercedes in Los Angeles in 2006. Carfax never mentions electrical system checks or replacement of any wiring, but Carfax can miss stuff.
Even if this car has had the engine harness replaced, might the wiring in other parts of the car be causing problems? Anybody had such a thing happen to them, due to eco-junk wiring that ISN'T in the engine compartment, and so didn't get replaced??
But the engine wiring harness is only part of the wiring in the car, obviously. It's probably the most highly stressed, with thermal and vibration variances all over the scale.
But lots of other wiring goes under the dash, to the switches and light on the center console, to the power windows, to the convertible top motor and controls, to the brakelights etc. And ALL that other wiring, also had the eco-junk insulation at birth, didn't it?
Is it the consensus that wire insulation outside the engine compartment, is less likely to deteriorate over the years? And so it doesn't need to be replaced, even when you replace the engine wiring harness?
This relates to the 95 E320 Cabriolet I looked at the other day. It had a year-old battery, but didn't seem to be charging it very well. On a voltmeter, charge voltage was around 12V with the engine idling, and barely rose to 13V when revved. I'm more used to seeing 13.5V to 14V on Fords, Toyotas, Mitsubishis, and VWs.
Some here have said that the car might have a bad voltage regulator on the alternator. That's understandable... but if true, then what might have killed the voltage regulator? Some eco-junk wiring shorting to other wires or to metal in the car, and producing intermittent current spikes? I don't know if the engine wiring harness has been replaced.
Carfax said the engine head gasket and engine mounts had been replaced, plus a lot of more routine maintenance, by Westwood Mercedes in Los Angeles in 2006. Carfax never mentions electrical system checks or replacement of any wiring, but Carfax can miss stuff.
Even if this car has had the engine harness replaced, might the wiring in other parts of the car be causing problems? Anybody had such a thing happen to them, due to eco-junk wiring that ISN'T in the engine compartment, and so didn't get replaced??
