odelay17

When we initially had gotten this car, it ran fine and very smooth. Shortly, the car would not start, and had it taken to an authorized MB tech. He was quick to find that the wiring harness was disintegrated and that the over voltage relay needed replacing. I was'nt ready to spend unnecessary amounts of money for the labor costs of these easy tasks, so i took the liberty of replacing them myself.

I do consider myself fairly knowledgeable on cars, and i believe my installs are all correct. Yet in the end the car still runs quite rough.

The car also tends to make a noticeable noise at initial startup. You should be able to hear this in the video.

Lets start with Video #1
This video will show how my car sounds at start up and how it reacts to gear positions
http://i11.photobucket.com/player.sw...7-VID00054.flv



Ive been having other electrical issues as well. These being non functionality of my turn signals and PS marker. Also my illumination does not activate with the designated wire on my aftermarket stereo (pioneer 6900ub) Where should this wire tap into? This is shown in Video #2.
http://i11.photobucket.com/player.sw...7-VID00055.flv



Other Questions:
How do you get to the warning buzzer (the annoying noise maker that turns on when you open the door). I would like to swap this with a 12VDC Chimer.

What to do with illumination wire?

Where is the diagnostics port? OBD1?

My coolant temp gauge doesnt read out, possible reasons?

odelay17

Ive never been on a forum that hasnt had a single suggestion with the amount of information i have provided.

I'll try posting this in the tech section...

Saijin_Naib

Okay, vacuum hoses and lines? Distributor Cap/Rotor? Non-resistor Spark Plugs that are not fouled with crap and are properly gapped? EHA Valve been messed with? Thermostat replaced recently? How about temperature sensor?

odelay17

I will search, but in case i dont find anything what is the recommended gap for the plugs?

Thanks you for the suggestions, i will investigate these things.

STLe320

when my car has been sitting for a while (94 e320)
like overnight...

when i start it up it makes a real rough sound. the car is actually louder until i reach a certain rpm on the dash, then it stops. but it's only when it's cold.

is that when yours is doing it? or is it every time you start it?

odelay17

well i havent had the car for very long at all. In fact my girlfriend drives it, not me. Currently, at startup, the car makes these noises. On every startup, which all happen to be cold. The car runs to rough to get to operating temp, as well as my water temp gauge isn't functioning so I guess i wouldnt really know for sure whether it was getting to op temp or not.

All in all, the car ran pretty well until a certain point where it would not start. After that the mechanic noted my overvoltage relay as well as my wiring harness. Both were replaced, but the issues remain.

vanwiek

Have you done a basic tune up? What do the plugs look like, are they gapped to 0.8 mm? Also in you video i noticed that you still have the coils with blue stickers, they are known to have issues. The spark plug connectors should also be replaced with each spark plug change about $6 per, there are three of them. http://www.autohausaz.com/search/pro...ug%20Connector

Fuel filter?

Turn signals are controlled by the combination relay in the fuse box, it also controls the intermediate setting of the wiper and the rear defroster. Do these other items work as they should? All three of the items malfunctioned in my car, it was a bad solder point at one of the pins. I fixed it myself. http://www.autohausaz.com/search/pro...nation%20Relay

The buzzer is behind the instrument cluster. It is built into the Door Buzzer Relay, you can't just replace this relay with a chime as a few systems are tied into it. You can take the relay apart and solder a chime in its place. See the attached pdf.

The diagnostic port is in front of the battery. You can build your own scanner, search the site.

I would assume the coolant sensor is not working. In fact that may be part of your rough running issue.

Rio Z Lander

nice benz but wow that brings me back to how mine ran when i got it...okay well i did not run but wow... try new spark plug wires spark plugs air filter get the timing looked at. i know im forgetting some thing there might be a vacuum leek
but other than that i would not say your car is not in bad shape at all. much better than mine. truse me star with the small parts 1st and move one to the big ones. that what im doing last thing for me is the timing

ps2cho

Do you have any problems accelerating? Or is it just a rough idle? This should tell us something about the issues.

odelay17

GREAT info. So far ive fixed the rough running. I believe one of the wires was not contacting and after gapping the plugs and pushing the wires in harder its running smooth now.

The issues that still remain are the turn signals.

It is very difficult to explain but here it goes:

When the lights are off the signals work properly

When the lights are on, the left corner illuminates and neither front or rear signal blinks. The right side does not illuminate, but does blink like it should.

Maybe another video will help.


Its unfortunate that the buzzer cant be easily replaced as its incredibly annoying, and certainly not "luxury" sounding. I am not afraid of soldering and i go to school for electrical engineering, but if its too much of a risk of deactivating or interfering with other systems, it may not be worth it. Has it been done? Wouldnt mind giving it a shot and doing a write up.

Thanks again everyone, its getting close and closer to being complete.

vanwiek

Since the turn signals work fine when the lights are off I betting on the exterior lamp failure monitoring unit/light relay. Almost all of the exterior lighting goes thru this relay, it's what turns on the bulb out light in the instrument cluster if there is a burnt out bulb. My has gone out and I had very odd problems with my lights. I bought a used on one ebay for $20 bucks and all was well. http://www.autohausaz.com/search/pro...ghting%20Relay

I've attached the lighting diagram.

The buzzer can be replaced, someone here or on mercedesshop.com has done it. I plan on it myself, i bought a used one to try it on, just haven't gotten around to it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Merce...spagenameZWD1V

shdoug

I happen to love that whiny buzzer sound. It's very European. Chimes are for Hondas! Just my humble opinion.

It sounds like you might have a bad socket or 2 for your lights. Maybe the grounds are not grounded. That's a common problem and sometimes easy issue to fix. I would take all the bulbs out one by one and spray contact cleaner in the sockets and check all the terminations visually.

vanwiek

I think the buzzer sounds dated, as all newer mercedes have chimes. To each his own...

The grounds would be a good thing to check but since he only has issues with the turn signals when the parking lights are on, i'd try and swap out the light relay with a known good one after checking the grounds.

shdoug

Yeah, but newer Mercs are lame.

vanwiek

touché