W210 Electrical gremlins

[markjs799]

I've recently bought a 1998 E240 Elegance Auto Saloon. I'm pretty happy with it but it does have a few electrical faults which need addressing.

1) The ABS / BAS Warning lights & Dashboard messages appear intermittently, sometimes just after starting the car and sometimes after several miles of driving

2) When using full-beam headlights, the speedometer drops to 0, the ASR warning light appears, and the gearbox doesn't seem to shift above 2nd (unless you are already in a higher gear). When the full-beams are switched off everything returns to normal.

3)The horn and rear electric windows don't work at all. I have checked all fuses and they all appear fine.

Would be grateful if anyone could shed some light on any of these issues

Thanks

 

[johnsco]

See the thread a little way below this.
It might help with your questions.

1999 E300 3.0 Turbo Diesel ABS ASR Light only when headlights switched on

 

[bob6600]

Earth strap behind the headlamp (o/s I think) would be my first guess

 

[markjs799]

Thanks, it did turn out to be the ground wire in the end

 

[johnsco]

It's a very-common problem with these cars as they get older.