380se climate control
 

I purchased a 1985 380SE with 77,000 miles a couple of months ago. It seems you make a new discovery daily with these cars. Love the ride but the climate control doesn't work, the fan turns on whenever it feels like and most of the time not at all (or can be heard barely turnng) Fan sometimes works on high when pressing defrost button but mostly not. Pushing slow or fast fan speed buttons rarely works. Suggestions?

additional info
 

l would like to provide some more details on the climate control function on this W126. The fan blows at high speed occasionally. (Usually after a cold start) Pushing any of the buttons rarely works. When set to automatic fan speed usually get no fan but it will start blowing after driving for a time and changes speed from max to min every couple of seconds then will stop working. There is plenty of ambient heat coming from the vents during a long drive. I live where it snows and not having a defrost fan or good heat is a major problem. It is limiting my enjoyment of this fine sedan although I'm not too upset with her yet. Do I start by replacing the push button control module or might it be faulty connections to the fan motor? Something else?

need to spend some money
 

Cruiser:

You need a new, I mean a re-built one of these controls if your blower is OK. It is a box thing which cost me $500 or so a few years back. The electronics are not dependable compared with the engine and transmission. That is why even Porsche and MB are now buying their AC compressors from Denso (previously known as Nippon Denso).

I replaced my blower too but I cannot remember the cost. Most of the units are re-conditioned but you can buy all the regular service items like rotars, brake pads and oil and air filters from MB.

go to this site
 

This is one of the best sites for W126 cars. Lots of information.

http://www.mbcoupes.com/w126index.htm