W124 series E class, advice for a newbie

[grober]

Great Little Feature!

Works on my 96. Very useful in the summer. you have to hold it down quite long time. Door locks first then the windows/sunroof.

 

[andy_k]

I believe that you can reset the system by winding all the windows down and opening the roof then disconnecting the battery for a short period.

When you reconnect the battery try again.

as Grober said it should go locks, windows then sunroof

Andy

 

[Howard]

Bah ......

Am i the only person it doesn't work for ? ....

 

[Vips]

I looked the doors and held the key down for good 20 -25 secs. But nothing.

 

[imadoofus]

Bah ......

Am i the only person it doesn't work for ? ....

Nope. It's never worked for me either. Is factory-fit RCL a requirement?

I've cot full closure on my after market alarm, with a fob, but the key-in-the-lock thingy defeated me within my first weekend of ownership!

PJ

 

[Howard]

Mine has factory central locking ......

 

[imadoofus]

Yeah, so does mine, but not remote central locking. I wondered if the comfort-closing thing needed the factory-fitted remote central locking, cos mine didn't work with the key held in the lock.

PJ

 

[Howard]

Hmmmmm....

Whats remote central locking ? from the alarm fob ?

Mine has a factory fitted Scorpion alarm, but its never worked ... i have the 'brain' from it sitting here on my desk .... i wonder if that is the cause .... even if the alarm is shagged . as long as it senses the 'brain' there maybe it will comfort lock ?

 

[imadoofus]

To test, wind all the windows down and open sunroof. Lock the car and hold for anything up to 5 seconds and the windows should all rise. Don't let go of the key until the windows have closed though otherwise it can confuse the system.

I thought I'd read in the handbook that you have to hold the key at two o-clock, rather than at three o-clock, ie don't turn it all the way. But I couldn't get it to work at any time.

PJ

 

[andy_k]

straight from the "book"

HTH

Andy

I wonder how many people are now back in the car parks trying their locks?

 

[imadoofus]

So I had the two o-clock bit right, just not the rest

Howard, yes, remote locking is from the fob, not the key. Factory-fit remote locking is identifiable by a green/red led-type thing behind a little square window on the door handle, and also a couple of inches to the left(?) of the boot lock.

I got remote control of my factory-fitted non-remote locking with my aftermarket alarm, but full-closure cost more. The alarm has the circuits, but not the solenoids. Or something.

PJ

 

[bolide]

RCL is not a requirement for comfort locking. RCL has LEDs in the driver's door handle and by the tailgate lock (estate), no keyhole in these locations and a black infra-red key with a flip-out key

I think CL is an option. These cars vary enormously and I've learnt never to make categorical statements about them as someone will always pipe up and say "I think you'll find that on the post-facelift model with green mudflaps and the snow chain option the dash LEDs flash faster when going downhill"

Might be wrong about the green mudflaps there, though...

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[219]

Both my 1989 300TE and my 1990 300TE-24 have comfort locking - which also OPENS all the windows when getting into the car on a hot day if the key is held in the open position.

Having just read this thread for the first time just now , a couple of things to watch out for on these cars that don't seem to have been mentioned .

It is very common for corrosion to set in around the rear side windows (ie either side of the luggage compartment) and the tailgate window allowing ingress of water and causing corrosion . I have seen numerous cars with corrosion where the rear wheelarches join the rear wings due to water gathering there - easy to check for by opening the panel where the jack/1st aid kit is kept and where the spare wheel is on the other side . Tailgates tend to rot along the bottom edge , and the internals - wiper motor and electric closure mechanism are prone to failure due to water ingress - easily replaced . The sunroof motors can also suffer here - it can be a bit of a fiddle to change over and set up again but not beyond a competent DIYer - same with the sunroof mechanism in the roof - take out the lower lining and observe operation - it isn't that complicated although some people seem to think so .

Self levelling suspension hydraulic pipes ALWAYS rot away underneath - usually just where they start to rise up at the back end of the driver's side sill and go up over the rear suspension - I've had that on both my 124s and on my 123 280TE ; I have also seen numerous 124 estates in scrapyards with collapsed rear ends - the pipes don't cost much but if you get a garage to do the job it ends up being a BIG labour bill. My red one , which I just recently bought , is currently up on ramps getting these replaced as a preventative measure (the old pipes were really rotten) . What a lot of people don't know about is that you can buy compression couplings for these pipes so that you can cut and join them (Merc part no A 003 997 91 72) which cost about £4 each . It makes it so much simpler when you can just cut out and replace the rotten bits ; also you don't have to get multiple complicated bends in the pipe which are impossible to thread up and around the suspension components . The 'official' way to replace these pipes is by removing the rear suspension : how many people are going to want to do THAT ? Brake pipes and petrol pipes are equally prone to corrosion in the same areas and need to be checked also.

I can bear out the durability of these cars , I have had numerous cars up over 200,000 miles without incident - as long as they are properly serviced they will run forever - and the Red 300TE-24 I bought about 2 months ago had 1 previous owner who had continued to service it at the main dealer in Glasgow where he bought it , never skimping on anything that needed done , hence I have a car with a fully documented 420,000 miles up which totally belies its age and mileage both looking and driving like a 2 or 3 year old car ! Sadly , I won't be able to keep up the main dealer servicing , but the car will continue to be looked after - mainly by myself - or in cases where a job is beyond my capabilities it will go to Merparts in Port Glasgow who are the only other place I would trust .

 

[phoenix_nights]

Self levelling suspension hydraulic pipes ALWAYS rot away underneath - usually just where they start to rise up at the back end of the driver's side sill and go up over the rear suspension - I've had that on both my 124s and on my 123 280TE ; I have also seen numerous 124 estates in scrapyards with collapsed rear ends

Love the '57 Merc pictured in your sig. Nice car. Used to see one back in oz that was been used as a daily car by a painter.

Would you have any pictures of this pipe. Might check mine out...

 

[219]

I'll try and take some tonight - car still on ramps with rotten bits cut out - awaiting new bits going in .

 

[219]

Never got a chance tonight rain p p. p... pouring down all night.

will try as soon as it's dry.

 

[big x]

Derek,any idea what sort of non-service items have been replaced on your 1990 300TE-24 400k ? I have a 102k 1994 320E saloon and wonder what might be in store replacement wise.As far as I can tell the only repacement part is the radiator and it's going to need a new OSF wing.

adam

 

[219]

The one BIG thing has been the new engine , fitted at 370,000 miles .

Besides that there have been far too many things replaced to list as the service history runs to seven pages of one line entries , unfortunately it does not detail many of the parts replaced , just that the car was in for a service or a repair on a certain date and at a certain mileage .

The one BIG issue on the HFM type M104 engines (that is the 280 and 320 engines , not the 300-24) is the biodegradable insulation on the engine wiring harness . These ALWAYS break down after about 10 years or so causing short circuits , leading to various malfunctions and , in the worst cases , the vehicle going on fire ! A new harness is about £400 ; the stealership will charge a lot to fit it , but if you are patient and logical you can do it yourself - just lay the new harness out in place over the engine , making sure you know where each connector plugs in , then change them over one at a time . It should then be good for another ten years . M-B deny that this problem exists , but it is well documented on the internet and I have seen several of these first hand - in fact one of my friends in the Mercedes-Benz Club has started repairing these himself but it is a very long job and I doubt he would wish to do it commercially.

I did have a diff fail on my last 124 at just a shade under 200K and have heard that this is not too uncommon at higher mileages - you might want to get the diff oil changed on yours. There was a note of a new ignition lock recently and I have heard of this being something known to go .

Rear suspension bushes are fairly standard to wear out on these cars , propshaft couplings , brake pipes tend to rot - all fairly standard stuff ; there really are no serious weaknesses in these cars . Just service it as per reccomendations and it should last forever - mine is proof of that !

 

[Subyland]

The one BIG issue on the HFM type M104 engines (that is the 280 and 320 engines , not the 300-24) is the biodegradable insulation on the engine wiring harness . These ALWAYS break down after about 10 years or so causing short circuits , leading to various malfunctions and , in the worst cases , the vehicle going on fire ! A new harness is about £400

I agree 100%,the engine wiring harness is a weakness. A new harness is £612.45+VAT as quoted this morning. . I shall be getting mine from abroad for £450 unless I can find it cheaper here which is unlikely.

 

[andy_k]

the wiring harnesses don't ALL fail, in fact many have already been replaced under warranty or as goodwill gestures by MB - check the car's history. Ours was replaced in 1999 when it was three or four years old.

The parts of the loom which are prone to failure (the section under the engine cover plate) can also be bought seperately - the part numbers have been listed on here before.

However it's more of a problem in hotter countries, there are loads of these cars running around in more temperate climates without a hint of trouble.

Andy