Truth About Wiring/Insulation Problems
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Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 36
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From: NorCal
1998 S500
Truth About Wiring/Insulation Problems
I have seen various threads about problems related to poor quality of the wiring insulation. I have also had that problem on my '98 S500 with the right side mirror. I thought that the wiring insulation was only a problem up through '95 so I'm confused why my '98 has that problem with the side mirror.
I have also seen references to "biodegradable" insulation which makes no sense.
I'm looking for some definitive info (such as affected models and dates and the real cause of the problem) on the wiring insulation problem. I have not been able to find any previous threads that have addressed this directly. Thanks in advance.
I have also seen references to "biodegradable" insulation which makes no sense.
I'm looking for some definitive info (such as affected models and dates and the real cause of the problem) on the wiring insulation problem. I have not been able to find any previous threads that have addressed this directly. Thanks in advance.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,290
Likes: 1
From: New Zealand
1993 300SEL/S320
The whole idea behind the wiring was that to make the car conform to EC regs they had to be able to recycle them easily. Anyway the wire was not so much biodegradeable but as a result of the ease of recycling it did not stand heat very well which is exactly what you use if you need to strip large amounts of insulated wire and guess what there is in a car right next to the engine....
As far as cars that have the wiring problem pretty much every car till 1995 it was assumed. I've never seen a 98 with problems. Also with the earlier cars it's not so much the mirrors etc that have the problem but the engine because the heat is what causes the problem. I think yours is something else going wrong, it could have been simply some defective wiring.
As far as cars that have the wiring problem pretty much every car till 1995 it was assumed. I've never seen a 98 with problems. Also with the earlier cars it's not so much the mirrors etc that have the problem but the engine because the heat is what causes the problem. I think yours is something else going wrong, it could have been simply some defective wiring.
