My 59k mile W202 C200 classic (auto)

[gurpz]

Part number on the right sensor is.....

006 545 3724. (110 degrees)

I make that an auxiliary fan switch, usual fitted to a 190E!
Most strange indeed because it certainly isn't a 190E and it's definitely supposed to be there.
This would explain why people really couldn't place it and the part number was awkward to read but I have made sure the above number is what is on the sensor 100%

The plot thickens definitely not listed for your car, chase the wire and see where it goes

 

[Wigglesworth]

From what I can remember and after just having a quick look.... the wire goes up into the main engine loom and then into the secondary fuse box (the one on the passenger side with the star port in it).

I am going to the parts department on Monday afternoon at Sytner Mercedes Benz of Teesside (my local dealership) to hopefully pick up my front engine cover that we ordered. I will ask to see if they can shed any light on the situation as they are exceptionally good at the parts department there (and I have rarely said that of any dealership).

 

[Wigglesworth]

!!UPDATE TIME!!

Today (as in Sunday), was an utterly brilliant day. Thanks mostly to killerHERTZ for supplying me with some quality parts that I would have otherwise struggled to get.

Firstly the total round trip mileage....



I did half of the mileage, Stockton to Ripley. Then later, Ripley to Stockton.
My friend did the other part of the drive. Ripley to Cambridge and then return to Ripley.
Between us we managed an overall average of 37.96mpg. My friend likes to travel around 70mph and myself a much more leisurely 56mph. All of this achieved on 1 tank of fuel (just) and brimmed back to the top on return home!

And now for the best pictures....



Facelift rear lights, in my opinion, they look fantastic against the imperial red!


And something that I have been looking at getting since I saw an imperial red C36 AMG...





AMG monoblock 15's :bannana:

Also not pictured is the swapped over mirror frame (now I have 2x working electric mirrors). Factory tailored mats, first aid kit (unopened) and centre console bin as mine was missing since I got the car.

Currently I am a very happy man indeed, I have some long term plans brewing that tie in with the wheels too!

Thanks again killerHERTZ, the car drives totally different now and doesn't feel anywhere near as twitchy in side winds on the motorway anymore

 

[Wigglesworth]

I went to the dealership today to collect the front engine cover.
Decided that some inappropriate parking was in order as the weather was foul...



This was to actually prove fairly handy as the parts guy came out to have a tinker to find out more about the mystery sensor.

Anyway, this is the new part ...





And this is the receipt to show cost and part #...


Back to that mystery sensor!
There is nothing listed on the system at all for it. We made extra sure of the part number and it is as listed above!
Super helpful parts guy did some searching and found that 006 545 37 24 is listed as a fan switch. This is a super rare part and not many ever get sold. There are however 5 available to order in the uk.
The other part as you friendly and super helpful folks suggested is 005 542 10 17 ! This one is very common and around the same price, however is listed as a temp sender unit.

The plan then of course is to earth the switch and see if the fans run flat out as disconnected it does nothing.
Apparently it was likely to have been fitted as an afterthought, the data card that came with the car (in German) seems to suggest fitting of a towbar. This isn't on the system.... however on the MB system the car is listed with command system and that's not fitted... who knows what they were thinking??? I know that I don't

 

[John Jones Jr]

Is that temp sensor acting as an override for the electric fans to engage earlier due to possibly the car being spec'ed from the factory for a tow bar installation?.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Nice to meet you both, car looks loads better with those AMG wheels & the lights.

You should have got the Avantgarde Grill aswell, you'll regret it (its now sold)

 

[Wigglesworth]

Is that temp sensor acting as an override for the electric fans to engage earlier due to possibly the car being spec'ed from the factory for a tow bar installation?.

This actually seems to be the opinion of the parts department. Even though the towbar never seems to have been actually fitted. The car does have a high output alternator and massive battery in the boot.
It's strange because the data card (in German) supplied new to Avis rental with the car does imply a towbar was to be fitted. The data received from MB today doesn't mention it at all.

I do indeed think that you are 100% on the money with it

Nice to meet you both, car looks loads better with those AMG wheels & the lights.

You should have got the Avantgarde Grill aswell, you'll regret it (its now sold)

I'm really not sure with those avantgarde grills.... on the one hand I like them, on the other hand, I love the look of the early grill.
Maybe I will change my mind on it if I continue with my long term goal of full body restorations and C36 AMG replica (exterior only)?
Either way I seem to have become even more attached to the old girl after the trip to you're place.
Just a shame I was in such a rush with my friend having to get his lad back home!

 

[John Jones Jr]

This actually seems to be the opinion of the parts department. Even though the towbar never seems to have been actually fitted. The car does have a high output alternator and massive battery in the boot.
It's strange because the data card (in German) supplied new to Avis rental with the car does imply a towbar was to be fitted. The data received from MB today doesn't mention it at all.

I do indeed think that you are 100% on the money with it

It's only guess on the basis of a tow bar being mentioned by your parts guy. What you really need to do is find out what M-B offered from the options list regarding towing.

Is there any kind of unused socket or a redundant looking junction box in the boot area?

 

[Dec]

Is the car old enough to have an N10 relay, if it were wired for towing then it would have the relay in the 2nd picture.

Dec

 

[Wigglesworth]

Is the car old enough to have an N10 relay, if it were wired for towing then it would have the relay in the 2nd picture.

Dec

My car does indeed have the N10 relay!
I had some issues with the indicators early in ownership whenever the heated screen was on. Indicators would become intermittant and the ac off light would flash randomly.
I took my time and re soldered all of the joints as most were dry, I don't unfortunately recall which relay type it is though.

And in other news ....!!!I GOT THE AUXILIARY FANS WORKING WITH THE A/C!!!

I am unfortunately very tired, a long day trying to sort out moving back to the midlands, and viewing a house about 130 miles away. Means the update on this will be after I have had some rest tomorrow. :bannana:

 

[Wigglesworth]

As promised the auxiliary fan update....

I decided to check more in depth with the wiring from the fans and up the loom. I'm really glad that I did because there were many faults involving corrosion in the loom connectors.





The one thing that I didn't take a picture of was the main earth for the auxiliary fans that bolts to the back of the power steering pump.... this had corroded through and was no longer attached!

£5 later and some 17 Amp wire, block connectors and insulating tape along with a new ring connector for the power steering pump earth..... I HAVE WORKING AC FANS!!
It seems that the system on this car is exactly the same as the earlier W201 190E (mostly). This is how I found the corrosion in the connections, I started to compare the system with the 190E and was checking out if there was a resistor behind the passenger headlamp (there isn't). I hardly even touched the wires and it all fell apart in the connectors! Green fuzz everywhere.

The fans appear to be single speed and cut in and out when the ac is running at full speed for a few seconds when the condenser heats up.
Mystery sensor is in fact the very same auxiliary fan switch as fitted to the 190E and the whole system seems to work in the same way!

So there you go ... all fixed! If you find that you are having similar issues with you're w202 c class then it's worth thoroughly checking the loom and all the fan wiring behind the passenger headlamp!

 

[Wigglesworth]

Jeez .... it's been a busy month that's for sure!
We have just about finished our monster 130 miles house move with 3 young boys. The car has been storming along, the old girl has soaked up everything asked from her except for 1 major disaster all has been well!
Now let's get to the major disaster.....

Yet another issue with the ac system! This time in the form of sudden and catastrophic failure of the original fitment ac compressor

This is a long saga that took above a week to source the correct parts, this is mainly due to the fact that this car is "special" in many areas including it seems, the ac components!

This is what you are all most likely used to seeing fitted to the W202 for the ac compressor...


Now this was the first challenge for me! My car doesn't have this kind of compressor at all. In fact the unit fitted to my car was a Sanden SD7H15 with 4x mount bolts that run front to back.... not side to side as normal.
My compressor looks like this....


Eurocarparts at Mansfield were excellent with the sourcing of this compressor and we went through ordering around 6 units before we got the right one!
Sure the one supplied is an 8 rib pulley.... but my car uses a 6 rib belt so it's all good.

The receiver dryer was even more of a pain in the butt. 4 separate variations listed for the w202 were ordered, all were wrong!
This is the type and design that kept arriving and are listed for the car....


The unit fitted to my car (and original at 20 years old) was really hard to pin down! eBay came down good in the end!
Original unit....


I was really surprised to find that this unit is listed as a Peugeot 205/305/309 receiver dryer. When the new part arrived it was a perfect match....


The system is still not up and running yet as we had to remove the backplate/head from the old compressor to remove the unit from the car! The unions were so damn tight onto the compressor that we very nearly tore an engine mount trying to free them off! Once the head was removed from the compressor, we got a hacksaw and cut through the fittings on the head rather than damage the lines....


The bits of the head are still firmly in the unions, we have tried heat, cold and even brute force to release them ..... nothing is working!
It's the last piece of the puzzle before it can be regassed and oiled

It's not been a cheap fix so far either ....
£240 for the replacement compressor (brand new and hard to find)
£18 (or there abouts) for the receiver dryer
£? In endless trips to the factors to collect incorrect parts!
£32 for a new aux drive belt
+ the price that the last bits are going to be to get sorted.

M.O.T is due on the 27th May and it's looking possible that a full exhaust will be required too. Hardly a surprise really as it still has the 20 year old original fitted.... I'm thinking maybe stainless and tailored for quietness is the way that I want to go there (it will actually be cheaper than a full standard system).

Still love the car to bits! Still have the same love that I had for it when I first got it.
And this afternoon, me and my dad had the pleasure* of replacing the front arb bushes and drop links on his W210 2.4 E240 (I should really get a thread started on that one).

Oh and before I totally forget...
As we had the old compressor in bits from removal. I thought it wise to check some of the internals to see what the heck happened.....

This is a broad shot of the surface of the 7 pistons that are inside the SD7H15


Now to highlight the first of the issues, this is what the piston crowns 'should' look like.


3 of the pistons looked like this....


When I turned my attention to the reed valve block that sits between the pistons and the pump head.
It wasn't immediately obvious that there was an issue here....

If you look at the 2 at the top of the picture, 1 is missing entirely and the other is displaced because it's snapped!

From the other side it was obvious there was an issue, this is what you see when you first remove the head....


I have no idea of what caused this internal damage. But this was accompanied by massive play on the compressor pulley! The pulley had so much play in it that the outer rib on the aux belt was ripped apart..... the noise was akin to dumping about 100 ball bearings into the engine, even with the ac turned off!

So there you are guys my first update in a while and it has been 'interesting'

 

[Wigglesworth]

More excitement at the moment!
I took the old girl for the MOT 2 days ago and received a call from my dad while there asking if I wanted a FREE Mercedes
He didn't know what it was and only had this picture .....


So that's a definite YES, yes I did want a free W202 elegance thank you very much!
The arrangements were made to collect it after the MOT as it was located less than 3 miles from home.

Then.... to make my day even better, the MOT tester tells me that the old girl has gone through the test with a completely clean sheet and comments of how clean she is were made :bannana:
I was also told that I will need a steering damper, front shock absorber and a windscreen before the end of the year.

So off I went to collect my dad, friend and FREE car (with absolutely no clue what engine is in it or if it runs).
Arriving at the free car it was clear that it had sat for a long time. The owner appeared to inform me that it had been off the road for 6 months! It was sat on one totally destroyed tyre and one flat tyre but with a quick jump start it fired up first time

It's certainly a breaker/donor car and for that I hold no guilt at all.
The interior is mushroom like mine, but..... it's ditched. Not just dirty, absolutely ditched ....
Drivers seat.


Centre console.


Interesting mileage figure (I think it's actually around the 150k mark)


Front carpets.


Uniformly knackered steering wheel.



Dirty, dirty, dirty!!!


Equally disgusting rear seat squab!!


Now the interior is actually cleaning up really well, this was a surprise!

I also now have the correct parcel shelf with original 3rd brake light fitted...


I really am going to have to figure this out as far as wiring is concerned as the looms are different on both cars and none of the wiring is present on my 97 classic.... any pointers would be great.

I am also interested in a retrofit of the door airbags as the entire facelift interior is to be fitted to my classic pending deep clean of new interior and carpets!

Should look really good if it pulls off correctly and take lots of age off of my car visually.
I will as always post more as I go along with the jobs when they get completed!

 

[Wigglesworth]

Got a couple of things finished today....

Old front end....



Replaced grill with the later grill from the breaker car after it had all been cleaned up a bit....



And the drivers side seat has been cleaned ready to be fitted once dry!

Before....



Complete with the suspiciously brown and very ominous stain....



And no I wasn't tempted to sniff or lick it

After results but still wet ....



The seat will be a couple of shades lighter as the mushroom seats should be when fully dry! These Mercedes Benz seats are really very good quality fabrics and even the worst seats to look at seem to respond amazingly well to deep cleaning!

Job to start tomorrow if I get enough time is to fit the half chrome elegance door handles....



I'm not 100% sure if I can just simply swap them over but I will certainly give it a go and report what happens.

 

[grober]

Very informative thread. Keep up the good work! The W202 facelift took place around September 1996 - Mercedes model changes tended to co-incide with their factory summer break so that retooling/component +trim change could take place ready for when production would resume. It might take time for the new models to enter the supply chain with RHD cars being several months later meaning earlier pre face lift cars might still be being sold/registered up to a year later? What was hidden in the facelift was Mercedes adoption of their "canbus" networked electronic wiring systems meaning lots more electronic jiggery pokery for the DIY man to contend with. Maybe this is the difference in circuitry you have come across?

 

[Wigglesworth]

Been busy again today with help from a friend and my dad got a fair bit sorted!

First up was the dashboard removal, proof I have removed the dashboard is here......

(Oops got dad in shot)

I would say if you have a confident, methodical approach and a very helpful and patient helper.... this is a relatively easy task!
There are from memory 6, 8mm bolts to remove. There are 1 at each end underneath the covers at the outer edge of the screen demister vents (the covers pry out gently with a small flat screwdriver). There is 1 bolt at each end of the dashboard inside the door shuts.... passenger side is under the side cover that you pry off, drivers side is accessible after you remove the tray that sits above the pedals. And finally there are 2 more (could be 3) underneath the panel that sits above the passenger footwell below the glovebox.
Once all of the lower dash and centre box, gear selector surround, radio, heater panel and black plastic support items for the dashboard items are removed. You then want to remove the steering wheel including the airbag, the stalk pack (unless you don't have cruise) all of the vents and the dash binical.
There is a little more to it than mentioned but I will get this all typed up and supported properly with pictures when we swap out my horrible dark chocolate colour dash from OLP ... essentially with very minimal effort the whole dash lifts up and away with firm but relatively little force!
We had the dash out within an hour but bear in mind the seats were already removed in the front (another simple but heavy job).

I was really hopeful that today I could have at least the fundamentals of electric rear windows installed.... this however hasn't gone as expected or as planned

This is the pre facelift rear door card with keep fit window installation....


And this is the facelift with added lazy man glass....


I prefer the cleaner look of the facelift interior and now I'm unfortunately single and without children in the car, I would like to have the electric rear windows!

I had done a few hours research on the wiring in the pre facelift cars and the job looked no more complicated than fitting the approximately 4ft door looms as the car should already be prepped for the rear electric windows..... not the case! The wiring in my car simply isn't there for the rear windows I have started chasing out the loom in the breaker, but oh my god.... the inside of that car looks like there has been a wiring explosion now that we have started!
It is looking very probable that the whole window loom and tailgate fuse box need to be installed into my car to get it to work and I am a little lost with where to start with that!

I am intent on getting the rear seats and parcel shelf fitted tomorrow and wiring in the high level brake light if nothing else, would also appreciate a little input re the electric windows retrofit for the rear if possible (surely I can't be the first to do this?)

 

[Wigglesworth]

More work has been done today :bannana:

Now fitted and fully functional are twin rear fog lamps and a working, genuine high level brake light!

This is before any wiring was completed.....

Looks loads better in my personal opinion.


To wire up, we ran the earth to the common earth point on the rear passenger inner wing (just in front of the electric Ariel). The live wire was taken down to the stop lamp pin on the rear passenger light cluster plug (you can remove the pins from the plug and solder the wire directly to the pin)!
Now the high level brake light is fully functional except for the top corner led....



Then I turned my attention to something that has irritated the hell out of me since I noticed a couple of months ago, W202's only seem to have a single rear fog lamp on the drivers side!
Now this is both lazy and unnecessary from a manufacturing stand point.... so lazy in fact that the left and right hand drive clusters are all identical and interchangeable across all cars!
If you look at the passenger light matrix on the rear of your W202, you will notice that there is a twin filament bulb fitted for rear fog/running lamp ... the same is true on both sides!

So now what I have at the rear when I turn on my rear fog lamps is this.....

As you can see I have both left and right fogs

I achieved this by taking our time with the breaker car and removing the fog lamp wire (including the pin) from the connector. We then chased back enough wire from the loom to span the width of the rear of the car!
Then simply, on the passenger side lamp plug, fit the pin that will be the outer edge where there are 2 pins missing on the passenger cluster plug. Then run the wire across the rear of the boot. Remove the fog lamp pin from the other cluster and solder your fly wire to that pin. Refit that pin and if you did it all right you will have 2x rear fogs!

Looks like this when done....

Drivers side.


Passenger side cluster.



Where the wires route across the rear of the car!

With all the trims refitted you can't tell it's even been done!!

All in all, yet another very productive day indeed. We are still battling pulling out the electric window loom from the breaker car. That is a very involved job indeed but I'm sure that we will get there in the end.

 

[Wigglesworth]

Silly question.... could you get a 98 onwards W202 (with the facelift interior) that had manual rear windows instead of electric windows??

To put it as simply as I can, the rear electric windows is just too much of a task to wire into my car! None of the loom exists in my car to even fit them as an option.

Cheers in advance

 

[Wigglesworth]

I either suffer massive boredom, or have too much time on my hands!

The car was overdue it's monthly engine clean. Doesn't take so long being well maintained and clean ish to start with.
The end result.....


Not too shabby for 20 years old I guess.

In other news, I have been having some issues relating to the washer bottle on the car.
The one that was fitted when I purchased the car was maybe the original? I'm not sure. But either way, at some point in time someone had put in a whacking great bolt to (I presume) stop a leak!


This was an effective bodge until very recently when it started to leak badly again.
So I fitted the bottle from the breaker..... this turned out to be worse and empties all 5.1L in about 8 hours.

So because it's seemingly impossible to find a none leaking replacement, we went to Mercedes and ordered a brand new one.




The obvious problem is the presence of 2x screenwash pump holes. I can only guess that this is for the estate S202 models or maybe cars with headlamp washers?

Either way Mercedes will have all of the grommets and bungs for me tomorrow!

Quite expensive to buy the bottle at £49.90 excluding VAT!
As always receipt with part number ....


That is all for today

 

[KillerHERTZ]

FYI: Mercs have 1 foglight as that they don't look like they are braking.