E220 w124 misfire

[e220-cab]

I have a very anoying problem, If i do not use my car for 3 days, when i try to start it it misfires, it ticks over but if i put it in gear it stalls. I have had a new air mass sensor fitted a new fuel presure valve, new coils, new plugs, camshaft sensor fitted and still no joy! I have taken it to SS Motors in Weybridge Surrey four times now to sort this problem but no success! Ever since they replaced the head gasket at a cost of £880 i have had problems. Some times it is fine but when it is wet or very cold and not started for 72 hours or so the problem starts. I am new to MB club fourms, and this is my first post, I do hope someone out there can help me. Thanks for your time.

 

[Ian B Walker]

I think the timing chain could be one tooth out in the inlet cam.

Ever since they replaced the head gasket at a cost of £880 i have had problems

 

[grober]

Could be what Ian suggests but unfortunately the symptoms seem to fit a blown head gasket where a little water seeps into one or more cylinders as the engine cools.Did the garage skim/weld the head---use a proper Mercedes head gasket when you got the cylinder head gasket replaced? Let the engine sit for a couple days after getting it really hot. Then take out the spark plugs. If water is getting into a cylinder its spark plug will have a wet appearance compared to the others. The other possibility is that some of the wiring has been damaged (the insulation can crack) when the head was replaced. Usually this involves the low tension loom from the ECU to the 2 ignition coils under the inlet manifiold or even the high tension leads to the plugs so handle with care if you take out the spark plugs. If it turns out that the head gasket is faulty you need to tread carefully and get the help of a merc specialist to assess the car and back up any claim you might have against the garage that did the work previously.

 

[recycled]

sounds like classic gasket trouble like mine as well. the water goes in and cannot be compressed by the cylinder. the misfire is the car boiling water instead of burning fuel.air. do you still have some coolant loss, and can you see any whitish steamy patches along the cylinder block?

 

[e220-cab]

Hi thamks for your help, The Garage in question is a mercedes specialist and recomended by Honest Johns web site, i have used them for 3 years and found them to be very helpfull. They informrd me the third time i took it back that he did a chemical test on the head and was fine, the car has done 170k. The head was skimmed and he rewired or repaired some wiring from the cam sensor, he has a £9000 computer that he used on the car but the problem is that the fault is there one day and not the next, one time he had the car for a week using it as his own transport with no problems, then i picked up the car and half a mile down the road the problem came back, by the time i got back to the garage the fault had cleared... so very hard to trace what went wrong. Many Thanks

 

[grober]

Forgive an old cynic but your are asking the garage who may( and I stress only may) be at fault to find themselves "guilty as charged". Perhaps its time for a second opinion. Do the spark plug inspection yourself first . Many garages use an exhaust gas analyser to test for combustion gases in the coolant as its quite sensitive. If its the CHG it will get worse eventually and you will begin to see more obvious symptoms with more water vapour in the exhaust oil in the coolant etc.

If its not the CHG then its probably a wiring loom fault brought on by being disturbed by the head gasket change. Only real cure is a replacement loom unfortunately which isnt a cheap part . It is however a DIY job if you are up for it.
this is a description of a 6 cylinder engine but the principles the same. use the old one as a guide and swop new for old. http://www.mercedesshop.com/Wikka/M104WireHarness

 

[e220-cab]

Hi thanks for you help, I think you have a good point re the harness, i have replaced all the other bits, anyone know how much the harness would be E220 Cabriolet 1995 auto no air con. I have spent £3300 on this car in 3 years thats £25 a week worth every penny great car!

 

[SL300-24]

Hi thanks for you help, I think you have a good point re the harness, i have replaced all the other bits, anyone know how much the harness would be E220 Cabriolet 1995 auto no air con. I have spent £3300 on this car in 3 years thats £25 a week worth every penny great car!

I think that they are around £500 to buy.

 

[grober]

Think this is the one you MIGHT?? need. [A bit of careful dissection of the outer cable sheathing should done first to check for insulation break up]. First diagram here I think http://www.detali.ru/cat/oem_mb2.as...GM=717.413&CT=M&cat=19K&SID=54&SGR=165&SGN=04
but you would need to check with MB with your chassis number. Unfortunately there is no part number listed on that site but a similar system is listed at £458-74 at Inchcape MB mail order.
I still think a second opinion might be a good idea before spending more money.

 

[e220-cab]

Inchcape MB mail order? is this a parts site, do you have a link please.

Many thanks

 

[grober]

Inchcape

Inchcape MB mail order? is this a parts site, do you have a link please.

Many thanks

Here you go. Cant remember if the prices include VAT or not. There will be some carriage costs but shouldn't be too much on a loom. They are part of the Inchcape Group and a genuine mercedes dealer. I would definitely phone them first with your chassis number handy to make sure you get the right part and to check availability. http://www.mercedes-benz-parts.co.uk/
You wont get the part anywhere but an MB dealer in case you are wondering? you seem to be spending quite a lot of money on the car. A Mercedes cabriolet is one car that is pretty well depreciation proof if looked after so one of the few older cars its worth spending money on .

 

[Ian B Walker]

£437.54 at your dealers plus Vat. Not cheap I know. However if you know anyone abroad you can purchase them a lot cheaper though your contact.
Forum request. Can anyone here get a European price from a dealer?

 

[Howard]

I don't know a lot about these , but surely it is just a colelction of wires with a plug at either end ?

How can that cost four hundred sheckels ?

Surely you could make your own , using the existing plugs ? Might take a day or so , but surely it would be worth it ....

 

[Ian B Walker]

I don't know a lot about these , but surely it is just a colelction of wires with a plug at either end ?

How can that cost four hundred sheckels ?

Surely you could make your own , using the existing plugs ? Might take a day or so , but surely it would be worth it ....

Brian (Lastminute) built a wiring loom for me while up my way. Took him two weeks Brian is methodical and more than good at what he does. Just don't try to buy a loom for a 280TE, the price would do some serious damage to your wallet and health.

 

[Howard]

How many wires are in it then ?

Was that two weeks solid , or on and off ?

How long is it ?

Sorry , just curious ...

 

[Ian B Walker]

To answer you Howard, Brian took the two weeks making it. This included drawing his own wiring diagram, taking 2 looms and producing one to his specifications from the said 2 looms. Time was mostly on the job with the odd coffee break and the obligatory sleep period. Number of wires.........looks like hundreds to me but probably about 50 (including those going to the dash and fuse box)

 

[kth286]

Howard

The engine wiring loom on my all electronic 6 cylinder E320 coupe (1995) had 23 plugs on it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That will give you a clue to the complexity.

 

[LastMinute]

I don't know a lot about these , but surely it is just a colelction of wires with a plug at either end ?

How can that cost four hundred sheckels ?

Surely you could make your own , using the existing plugs ? Might take a day or so , but surely it would be worth it ....

Yes, it is just a bunch of wires. But you've answered your own question about the cost: you would be looking at at least a whole day to do it, because getting each wire the right length, and soldering fiddly little pins on the ends, and fitting fiddly little pins into fiddly little connectors, and bundling and routing the wires 'just right', are very time-consuming. (And if you don't do it 'just right', it won't fit properly - which means even more work... In a complex loom, having a wire too long is almost as bad as having it too short.) Getting the loom out of and back in to the car in one piece are not quick jobs, either.

Was that two weeks solid , or on and off ?

It was on and off, but it was also an unusual job (not just repairing/remaking an existing loom as-is) because we were [THREAD=38321]fitting an M104 from a 300E-24 automatic into (what used to be) a 190E 2.6 manual[/THREAD]. So a lot of time was spent unbundling each existing loom, working out where each wire went and what it did, choosing which bits of each loom to keep and which to discard, and deciding how and where to join the two looms together.

(Ian - have you got that car finished yet?! )

 

[Howard]

Tell you what , because i am poor , i would spend the time doing it ...

I'm not doubting that it is complex , but if money is the driving factor ( as it is currently with me ) and the options are :-

A) Get it fixed , £450 for the part and god knows how much to fit
B) Don't get it fixed , car breaks down
C) Do it yourself, takes a bit of time , but essentially it's do-able by a fairly normal person and save yourself the best part of five hundred quid ..

I'll take C every time , if i could weld , i would have had a go at my car myself this summer when it needed doing ....

If you've got the old loom , you can work from that .... not doubting you for a minute Steve , but i'd have a go ...

Anyway , the older 124's don't suffer from loom problems

 

[LastMinute]

I'd take option C, too, but I'm also aware that there are a lot of people who'd go for A because they are unwilling and/or unable to attempt the repair themselves, or they value their own time more than I do...