1994 Mercedes Benz 320

I OWN 1994 E320 AND I WAS TOLD BY MY SERVICE FACILITY THAT IT HAS A BAD ENGINE WIRING HARNESS. I AM HAVING ERRATIC IDLE PROBLEMS AND TECH'S WON'T DO ANY MAJOR REPAIRS WITHOUT MY FIRST HAVING THE WIRING HARNESS REPLACED. THEY SAY THAT IF THEY DO ANY MAJOR REPAIRS IT WOULD REQUIRE VALVE COVER REMOVAL BECAUSE THEY WON'T BE RESPONSIBLE FOR HARNESS REPLACEMENT. *JB

I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS WEIRD DRIVETRAIN FAILURES WITH MY CAR... ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS HAS FAILED. UPON REPLACEMENT AND SUBSEQUENT INSPECTION, IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THERE IS AN INHERENT DEFECT WITH THIS HARNESS. ON A 12 YEAR OLD CAR, THE INSULATION ON THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS IS BRITTLE, HARD, CRACKED AND SPLIT IN MANY AREAS...EXPOSING BARE WIRES AND SHORTING OUT ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS THAT AFFECT NORMAL ENGINE OPERATION. THIS HAS CAUSED MY CAR TO SURGE AND QUIT RUNNING FOR NO OTHER APPARENT REASON. MERCEDES BENZ HAS DENIED THE EXISTENCE OF A PROBLEM AND HAS FAILED TO ISSUE A RECALL ON THIS ONGOING WIDESPREAD MANUFACTURERS DEFECT. *NM

THE VEHICLE HAS HAD INTERMITTENT ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS FOR AWHILE, BUT NONE OF THEM VERY SERIOUS. FOLLOWING RECENT SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE, THE ENGINE DEVELOPED A FAILED SPARK PROBLEM. AFTER REPLACING PLUG WIRES AND CONNECTORS AND A COIL ASSEMBLY ATTEMPTING TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM, IT WAS OBSERVED THAT THE WIRING FEEDING THE FRONT COIL ASSEMBLY HAD LOST THE INSULATION AND WAS SHORTED OUT. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION, THE WIRING TO THE OTHER COIL ASSEMBLIES ALSO EXHIBITED THE SAME PROBLEM. THE WIRING WAS TRACED BACK TO WHERE IT JOINED UP WITH THE REST OF THE HARNESS, AND IT WAS FOUND TO HAVE BRITTLE, CRACKED OR MISSING INSULATION EVERYWHERE IT WAS CHECKED. UPON DOING RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET, I FOUND THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM AND FOUND OTHER VERY SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE AS WELL. IN CHECKING THE COST OF THE PART FROM THE LOCAL DEALER, I FOUND THAT THEY HAD ONE IN STOCK (A SIGN THAT THEY MUST REPLACE QUITE A FEW OF THESE) AND THE PRICE FOR THE NEEDED PART WAS $1033, THIS DIDN'T INCLUDE LABOR WHICH WAS ESTIMATED AT 5 HOURS. I AM PURSUING THE LEAST EXPENSIVE OPTION FOR SUITABLE REPAIR, BUT I AM EXPECTING NEARLY A $1500 REPAIR COST. I HAVE OWNED MANY VEHICLES IN EXCESS OF 10 YEARS OF AGE, AND THIS IS THE MOST CATASTROPHIC WIRING FAILURE I HAVE SEEN. I SHOULD CONSIDER MYSELF LUCKY THAT THIS PROBLEM DIDN'T MANIFEST ITSELF WITH A MORE SERIOUS PROBLEM SUCH AS A FAILURE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS OR AN ENGINE FIRE, WHICH UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES SEEMED QUITE LIKELY. I WILL SAVE THE WIRING HARNESS FOLLOWING REPLACEMENT SHOULD IT BE NEEDED FOR FUTURE REFERENCE. *JB

SEVERAL YEAR HISTORY OF INTERMITTANT ENGINE ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS. FOUND INSULATION ON ENGINE WIRING HARNESS BADLY CRACKED, DECAYED, DRIED OUT, ETC. CLOSER INSPECTION REVEALED LOTS OF EXPOSED COPPER WIRE. REPLACED ENGINE WIRING HARNESS WITH NEW PART, PROBLEM SOLVED. MERCEDES BENZ IS WELL AWARE OF PROBLEM, BUT REFUSES TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY. PROBLEM RESULTED FROM MB'S EXPERIMENTATION WITH BIODEGRADEABLE WIRE INSULATION.

1994 MERCEDES BENZ E320 ENGINE WIRING HARNESS AND THROTTLE ACTUATOR WIRING . THE WIRE INSULATION USED ON THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS AND THE THROTTLE ACTUATOR IN MY CAR HAS BADLY DEGRADED! THIS CAUSES ALL KINDS OF SHORTS WITHIN THE ELECTRONICS OF THE VEHICLE AND PROBLEMS WITH THE ELECTRIC THROTTLE SYSTEM IN THIS CAR. THE PROBLEMS WITH THE THROTTLE ACTUATOR CAUSED MY CAR TO GO IN AND OUT OF LIMP MODE(REDUCED POWER) WHILE I WAS DRIVING. THIS CAUSED MY CAR TO ACCELLERATE VERY QUICKLY AND NEARLY CAUSED AN ACCIDENT!. MY LOCAL MERCEDES DEALER DENIES THAT THERE IS A DEFECT IN THE WIRING ON MY VEHICLE AND THAT THIS IS NOT A COMMON PROBLEM. THAT IS NOT THE CASE! M I HAVE RESEARCHED THIS SITUATION ACROSS THE UNITED STATES VIA THE INTERNET AND I HAVE FOUND WEB FORUMS THAT ARE FULL OF THESE SAME COMPLAINTS. IT WAS MADE CLEAR TO ME THAT FROM 1993-1995 MERCEDES BENZ USED A DEGRADABLE INSULATION ON THE WIRING OF THE VEHICLES. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ENVIORNMENTALY FRIENDLY BUT IT DIDNT STAND UP TO THE HEAT OF THE ENGINE BAY VERY WELL.. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE CARS WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS I HAVE WITH THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS DUE TO THIS DESIGN FLAW BUILT INTO THE CAR. NOTHING WAS DONE BY MERCEDES TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM EXCEPT SELL ME A NEW WIRING HARNESS FOR 1000 DOLLARS!!!.. THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE A MANUFACTURERS RECALL BEFORE SOMEBODYS THROTTLE GETS STUCK AND THEY GET HURT OR BEFORE THEIR CAR BURNS UP.*AK