strange question about fuse box on 380 SEL 1982..please help
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 109
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
380 SEL 1982
strange question about fuse box on 380 SEL 1982..please help
Hey folks,
my driver seat backrest fore/aft adjustment did not work, so I checked the fusebox. The owners book pointed me to fuse 'd', but this fuse looks like a spare, that is no electrical contacts just a way to push it in between a plastic thingy. Anyways, I pushed it in, and the backrest worked! A few miles later, quit working. I pushed it some more, and by mistake, I pushed it all the way through! I removed two screws securing the fuse plate assembly to the box, pulled it up for a better view, and the fuse fell all the way through.. but get this.. the seat worked for a little bit !!!??? wtf?? please advise, this is the only thing wrong with my car and I am going for 100%. BTW, also have a set of near mint bundt wheels and near new Michelins looking to sell as a complete set soon. (Will post separately later but wanted to get the word out)
Thanks!
Brett
my driver seat backrest fore/aft adjustment did not work, so I checked the fusebox. The owners book pointed me to fuse 'd', but this fuse looks like a spare, that is no electrical contacts just a way to push it in between a plastic thingy. Anyways, I pushed it in, and the backrest worked! A few miles later, quit working. I pushed it some more, and by mistake, I pushed it all the way through! I removed two screws securing the fuse plate assembly to the box, pulled it up for a better view, and the fuse fell all the way through.. but get this.. the seat worked for a little bit !!!??? wtf?? please advise, this is the only thing wrong with my car and I am going for 100%. BTW, also have a set of near mint bundt wheels and near new Michelins looking to sell as a complete set soon. (Will post separately later but wanted to get the word out)
Thanks!
Brett
#2
Member
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Kansas City, MO, USA
Posts: 235
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
1989 560SEL, 1999 S600, 2005 S600, 2008 S550 4Matic
That wasn't even a connected fuse!
Brett,
The fuse you were messing with actually had nothing to do with the seat adjustment for your driver's seat. The fuse you described is indeed just a spare. The "d" label corresponds to the fuse just ahead of it. See the picture I have attached to this message. The "d" label is circled in blue in the picture and I've circled the fuse that controls the electrical circuit for the seat adjustment in yellow and labeled it. So the seat adjustment was just working erratically - on and off. Maybe the seat motor is giving in, a common problem on these cars around their current ages. Or better yet, just replace the "d" fuse with a brand new fuse. In fact, to help yourself out, why not replace all the fuses in your fuse box? I was totally shocked when replacing all the fuses in the fuse box of my then newly acquired '84 500SEL brought the interior front and rear dome lights, sunroof, central locking system, automatic climate control, seat belt warning light, the headlight high beam, radio and antenna back to life!!
Actually, to this day, I still can't believe that I fixed all those things just by replacing all the fuses. And to think I was beginning to prepare myself to shell out some time and money to fix all those issues!!
Good luck Brett,
Richard
The fuse you were messing with actually had nothing to do with the seat adjustment for your driver's seat. The fuse you described is indeed just a spare. The "d" label corresponds to the fuse just ahead of it. See the picture I have attached to this message. The "d" label is circled in blue in the picture and I've circled the fuse that controls the electrical circuit for the seat adjustment in yellow and labeled it. So the seat adjustment was just working erratically - on and off. Maybe the seat motor is giving in, a common problem on these cars around their current ages. Or better yet, just replace the "d" fuse with a brand new fuse. In fact, to help yourself out, why not replace all the fuses in your fuse box? I was totally shocked when replacing all the fuses in the fuse box of my then newly acquired '84 500SEL brought the interior front and rear dome lights, sunroof, central locking system, automatic climate control, seat belt warning light, the headlight high beam, radio and antenna back to life!!
![EEK!](https://mbworld.org/forums/images/smilies/eek.gif)
Good luck Brett,
Richard
#3
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 109
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
380 SEL 1982
Thanks, I will check it out!
Is there any harm in letting the spare fuse I pushed through live 'forever' in the bottom of the fuse box or should I take it out to retreive it?
#5
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 109
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
380 SEL 1982
Ok found the problem, now how do I fix it?
Drumroll please...
problem must be a piece of wire when I open/close the door.
Fore/aft asjustment works with door open, doesn't work with door closed.
I have,
replaced switch in door
Double checked solder job MB dealer did a while back putting in a previous switch (82s are hard wired from the factory)
Fixed a different wiring problem (d position on fusebox was dead, I re-wired power seats to 16 and I also bridged the two hot-leads at the switch to one, bypassing a dead lead), soldered the fix and coated liberally with liquid electrical tape.
Ordered a fore/aft motor, have not (and looks like I don't need to but seat needs to come out anyways) installed it yet..
So how do I re-wire the seat wiring through the door jamb?
problem must be a piece of wire when I open/close the door.
Fore/aft asjustment works with door open, doesn't work with door closed.
I have,
replaced switch in door
Double checked solder job MB dealer did a while back putting in a previous switch (82s are hard wired from the factory)
Fixed a different wiring problem (d position on fusebox was dead, I re-wired power seats to 16 and I also bridged the two hot-leads at the switch to one, bypassing a dead lead), soldered the fix and coated liberally with liquid electrical tape.
Ordered a fore/aft motor, have not (and looks like I don't need to but seat needs to come out anyways) installed it yet..
So how do I re-wire the seat wiring through the door jamb?