W124 air-con question?

[minio]

Hi folks,


I am in the middle of the interior swap (from the 230E to the 250D) and it couldn't be going any worse really...


Nothing is a straight swap... It turns out that the 250D had the air con and the electric windows added by one of its previous owners and the main air-con panel was glued in to the place (in between the wood and the inside panel)! I can't live with the glued in panel but simple though of trying to sort it out gives me a head ache! I hate wires and that is all what I can see....

Is that a common thing (to add the air-con?)? How difficult would it be to swap the whole thing around (from the 230E to 250?)? Any other options?

Any advice? I shall add some pictures later.


Many thanks
Greg

 

[minio]

Any help would be highly appreciated!


Greg

 

[millo777]

I read that quite a lot of w124s had the AC fitted by the dealer in the UK rather being factory fit.

If you're doing a straight interior swap, could you not just leave all the wiring in place in the 250d and just reuse the centre console wood panelling to accomodate the AC controls.

Pics might help.

 

[spanner]

After market A/C was a common retro fit.
The problem now is when (typically) the blower motor fails you have no idea what motor is fitted and you'll have to take the dash out to find out.
When you've done that you might well find that the motor is NLA.
Plus you'll probably find out that the people who installed it in the first place threw it in from a great distance closely followed by a large bucket of glue and broken bits.
With factory fitted A/C the blower motor can not only be easily identified by part number but can be changed through the engine compartment after removing the wiper mechanism.
This is why the very first thing I check when doing a pre-purchase inspection on a 124 is whether it's got factory or aftermarket A/C.

 

[minio]

I read that quite a lot of w124s had the AC fitted by the dealer in the UK rather being factory fit.

If you're doing a straight interior swap, could you not just leave all the wiring in place in the 250d and just reuse the centre console wood panelling to accomodate the AC controls.

Pics might help.

First of all: sorry for not posting up any pictures...

The problem with the fitted AC system is with the control panel that has been scraped off badly to accomodate the control buttons and then glued in place badly!!! It looks bad and I just can't live with its lack of quality! It is just wrong!

I will try to post up some pics so we you can see what I am talking about.


Greg

 

[minio]

Here are some photos that I have taken today.

They show the air con that is fitted to the 250D, I will try to get some photos of the donor car air con tomorrow.

Does it look familiar to anyone? Will I be able to butcher the ac buttons' tape and connect it to the 'standard' ac buttons?


Thanks
Greg

 

[minio]

This is the main module, and the back of the AC buttons so you can see the the tape and the glue that used to hold it to the central console.

 

[millo777]

I take it that the 230 doesn't have AC so you can't use the panel from that car in the 250D?

So I guess the only 2 options are replace the AC control panel, or reconstruct the original bodge. If the AC and other related functions are working you may be as well to just get some super glue and stick it back together as it was found. The buttons look like the ones used on the dealer fit diavia AC system.

Maybe this type of panel would be easy to use as a replacement, or there are a few members breaking w124s at the moment, so i'm sure the part is available if you posted in the wanted section.

Mercedes * AC Aircon panel * w124 124 230 300 280 320 heater control | eBay

But I'm not sure I'd fancy trying to work out that wiring. Is there at least a multiplug of some sort to connect the control switches to the.....whatever it is they connect to. The buttons are obviously designed specifically for the w124 and came as a kit, so maybe you can track down a wiring diagram or parts from diavia?

 

[minio]

The 230 has got an AC as well and it even may have the same panel as the one you have linked up.

Give me a sec and I will get my GF's iPhone with a flash light so I can take a photo or two...


G.

 

[minio]

Here you have a quick photos of the panel that I have taken out of the donor (230) and the wiring (mess) inside it.

And my question is (precisely) can I use this panel in the 250D, and if yes what would be the best way of swapping it over.

If not, what shall I do before re-assembling it in order to make sure if everything works as it should?

Is that the 'new type' gas or the 'old' type that I have in the 250D? How can I check that?


Thanks
Greg

 

[millo777]

The AC reciever/dryer should have a sticker on it indicating whether it's r12 or r134a, but failing that the refill ports are different sizes so an AC tech will know just from looking at it.

Sorry I can't help with the wiring as I've gone that far into the dash on mine.

I would have thought the AC controls would have had a multi plug or connector of some sort? the panel from the 230 appears to the same type of switches (Same symbols anyway).

Failing that I'd be tempted to leave the AC controls as is and glue em back up. They're easy to access after the rest of the interior is fitted anyway.

I would think the only way to test it is to fire up the car and see if they work. I don't think there is any self diagnostic on the AC panel, or star diagnostic on the 250D?

btw, if you're doing a full AC rebuild there are some very cheap condensors and dryers on ebay at the moment (brand new of course).

Sorry I can't be more help.