yvery

Hey everyone,

Just picked up a 14 E550 with 14,000 miles. The M278 V8 is quite something! I've researched about the cam magnet/sensor leaking oil into the wiring harness issues on mbworld extensively.
As a preventive maintenance I'm wondering if anyone here ever changed it to the newest revised part for the magnet/sensor and also installed the pigtail harnesses? Is it a permanent solution?

Thanks!

S550e

Hello fellow M278 owner!

I recently picked up my 14 E 550 as well, and damn! I thought I had low miles at 37,000! Congrats on the gem find...

I have not checked how my current sensors look so I don't know if they are contaminated with oil, but I plan on changing everything as a preventative measure. There is updated part numbers with green O-rings.

I will use this video and change them myself!

KEY08

Congrats on that low mileage E550. How much did you pay for that unicorn? I’ve never had any of those cam sensor issues with my E550 that I’ve had for 5 years and 62,000 miles

ghlkal

Congrats on the great find!

For now, I only installed the pigtails. I'm monitoring to see if oil leakage becomes an issue.

Hopefully, if you update to the latest versions, they won't leak ...

yvery

Thanks! Looking forward to seeing the results!

Thanks! That's good to hear. I paid 29K USD.

Great, hopefully the pigtail will take the hit. Did you buy from pelican parts or FCP?

ghlkal

FCP Euro

See this thread for more https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...age-issue.html

S. Madman

Always always swap the old camshaft sensors, specially after 50,000 miles. They will leak creating a nasty mess on the affected side. Pigtails protect the ECU, but not anywhere else that oil falls on. For the camshafts solenoids 100-120k miles is fine.

yvery

For the pigtail harness, did you attach it to the cam magnet wiring or the cam position sensor wiring?

Thanks!

ghlkal

Magnets.

I'm not aware of pigtails for the sensors as they have a different connector ...

Blkvip

nice video. im at 130k no oil leaks from the magnets at least. gotten check the connector tomorrow.

ronnie117121

I could never find pigtails to the sensors until I came across this link on another forum. Although not mercedes parts they work. https://www.ebay.com/itm/17091548172...Bk9SR_zat9q3YQ

ghlkal

Interesting. So, the "kit" listed has pigtails for both the sensors and the magnets, right?

You have put the pigtails on the sensors?

juanmor40

I am confused. The eBay link only lists compatibility for the M278 engine, but I understand the M276, M278, and M157 engine share the same sensor and solenoids.

What am I missing? I may need to order the FCP Euro ones, and find out on my own I guess.

ronnie117121

Yes. They plug right it. Runs like a top. They seem to be good quality builds. Heavy plastic plugs just like MB parts and nice wires. Even has the locks.

Pigtail for the camshaft position sensor

ronnie117121

Yes. They plug right in.

ronnie117121

Check the part number for your particular model. If the part number is the same the ebay kit will work. All these engines use the same sensors and solenoids I think. That fcp euro kit only has the actual camshaft sensors and pigtails for the solenoids. It DOES NOT have pigtails for the crankshaft position sensors.
These are m278 part #s however if your model part # is the same the listed pigtails will work.

Engine Camshaft Position Sensor
Part Number: 276-905-10-00

Camshaft Solenoid
Part Number: 276-156-07-90

ronnie117121

That fcp euro kit comes with 4 camshaft position sensors and 4 pigtails for the magnetic solenoids. It does not have pigtails for the camshaft position sensors which are the most prone to oil penetration. You can waste over $230 on it if you want to. I promise you that link I posted in this thread is the only place to get pigtails for the camshaft sensors. That said I could be wrong maybe you can get them somewhere else. If so I could not find them after an exhaustive search.. fcpeuro does not have camshaft position sensor pigtails for a mercedes V8.Mercedes Benz does not have them.

juanmor40

You can get the pigtails individually, no need for the kit. The kit is when you got oil already

I wonder which engine (M157?) uses different pigtails because here they say all recent VVT engines use the same part and cheaper than Ebay.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...500156#fitment
$10/piece
or
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...-2769051000kt1
or
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...-2761560790kt1

ronnie117121

Sorry,but you are incorrect.
The point is getting pigtails for the camshaft sensors.Camshaft sensors. Not the magnetic solenoids.You can get solenoid pigtails anywhere. They are $7 at eeuro.com. for oem's. The pigtails are different. The plugs are different. One is a 2 wire pigtail. The sensors have a 3 wire pigtail.
If you READ those links you posted and read what they contain you will see that they are all pigtails for the magnets.(solenoids)You gotta read it.
fcpeuro does not have pigtails for the camshaft position sensors. The sensors are what most often suffer oil penetration. Not the solenoids. On my car non of them leaked. All the sensors did
Non of those links you posted contain camshaft position sensor pigtails.That is the point.You evidently did not scroll down and read what the kits actually consist of. They clearly say 4 pigtails for the magnetic solenoids.
The ONLY place to get sensor pigtails is to buy them in this 8 piece kit on ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/17091548172...ug9000b2i00004
My advise to anyone that has these sensors and solenoids is to add these pigtails.All 8 of them. And change all 4 of your sensors to the new ones with the green o ring.It's cheap insurance.

Marlene550

2014 E550 (M278) with 78k miles. I had been looking for cam sensor extensions for some time and was about to try crafting my own, most kits only provided cam solenoid extensions. The set of 8 linked to above was the first I've seen that provided both the 2-pin and 3-pin extensions. On install, I noticed trace oil on one pin apiece in each of the 2 driver-side cam sensor plugs. No oil on other 2 cam sensor plugs or any of the 4 solenoid plugs. Replaced the two failed sensors with new OEM parts from FCP Euro, cleaned affected wiring with electronic contact cleaner thoroughly, and reinstalled all 8 extensions. I'll likely begin inspecting all plugs for seepage every 3 months or so. For what it's worth, I have been asking my dealer service advisor (who has generally been very good) to check for seepage at each of my last 2 routine services. They reported both times no seepage, which means seepage either began only within the last couple months (I believe unlikely), or that they weren't looking very carefully. I advise anyone looking to keep these cars a long time (as I do) to be proactive and check yourself, since no one cares as much about your car as you do.

ronnie117121

Good Job. fyi eeuro.com is usually and sometimes much cheaper that fcp on oem MB branded parts. Just my observation through many years of maintenance of many different bmw's and mb's. I hope you got the upgraded sensor(green o ring vs. black). I personally buy all sensors from the dealership. That way I am assured of getting the most recent version and don't have to worry about being shipped a backstocked item. Only 8-10 bucks more per item so well worth it for the peace of mind imo. Mercedes and bmw's are funny animals when it comes to their sensors. I once put a new crankshaft sensor from Advance on a cl 500 I owned and it started and quit and wouldn't start again. If I was you I would go ahead and do a preemptive change of the other 2 sensors. If they aren't suffering from oil intrusion now they will be.Better to be safe. You gotta shine a light inside the plug to see an initial smaller intrustion. Like you I own a 2014 e550 ragtop.(m278)which imo is the sexiest model ever. I mean it looks mean from the front and back. Side too. Absolutely beautiful car. Pretty fast to. Even stock. I plan on keeping this one. Bought it a couple years ago with 38k miles.

Marlene550

Yes, new sensors are green ring style. Preemptive replacement of the other 2 is on my short list of maintenance tasks. You're absolutely right about the flashlight. It took a light directly into the harness-side connector to see the minimal (hopeful early) seepage on my two failed sensors. Also, once I pulled the bad sensors, a light into them confirmed seepage at the one pin as well (hard to see directly into sensor plug when still installed in car due to orientation). Thanks again for providing the link.

juanmor40

Been there. Now I do better lighting, take snapshots and view them in a laptop or zoom them in the phone. It is a lot easier to my eyes than the light moving around while looking into the sensors or anything under the hood.

ronnie117121

Your welcome. That I know of and I have been in the market for many years Those cats are the only one on the planet that have a high quality pigtail for the sensors so I thought I'd spread the word. Hard to believe MB dosen't provide them.

S. Madman

Even if they are not leaking get them replaced. Once they go, they seep into the harness fast. The first spots are the O2 sensor harness, followed by the ECU. If you wait until the problem is there you are going to regret it. Consider this my last, and only warning.