My 1994 mercedes-benz s320 has a defective engine wiring harness. It is falling apart being that it was constructed using biodegradable materials. It is causing many, many, problems with engine misfiring, smoking / bare wires, etc.
1994 Mercedes Benz 320 electrical complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 42, newest first, as owners wrote them.
A/c and all items on fuse #7 quit working. Car skipped and would just die. Checked wiring and found wires cracked. All wires in harness cracked and looked overheated. Wiring harness replaced by new owner.
Engine wiring harness is made of biodegradable material that has caused massive electrical problems when it disintegrated.
1994 mercedes e320 wiring harness deterioration, cracking replacement will be $2,000.
I was driving down the highway when my car just stopped. After having it towed to beck mercedes benz, a diagnostic test was conducted, I was to the wiring harness had broken completely into. The harness wires were quoted as being rotted. Cost is over $2,000.00 to repair. Nothing has been done. After questioning how could this happen I was given no answers.
Wire harness failure outer sheath is missing and exposed insulation is brittle. I understand this is common with the mercedes vehicles between '93 - '95. When will the company stand up and admit they have a problem. I guess sometimes it takes a accident with lives lost and lawsuit before anyone will admit there is a problem.
The wiring harness is defective. All the insulation around each wire has disintegrated. The car died as I pulled into heavy traffic. I am told this is a common problem with that year mercedes and that the mfgr. Will not admit there has been a problem with the wire insulation.
My wife owns a 1994 e320 that has only 19,000 miles on it. During a routine inspection after the check engine light came on I was informed by the dealer that the engine wiring harness was deteriorated and had to be replaced. 91-96 mercedes benz are all having the same problem and my car only has 19,000 miles.
A year or two after the vehicle was purchased(may, 1995) I observed an oil leak. I brought this to the attention of the dealer back then, and was told essentially that all cars leak oil and that this leak was minor. Over the years it has been getting more pronounced, now leaking on the exhaust causing smoke. Recently I stopped going to the dealer for service, now to an independent mercedes specialist. They tell me that this oil leak is from the headgasket, a very common problem on the w124 chassis (e320 model). Further investigation on my part reveals this problem to be a commonly reported issue, and was fixed on the next model by bolstering the headgasket in a certain area. In repairing the headgasket the cylinder head has to be removed and the engine harness disconnected. To make matters worse the insulation on the engine harness is already cracking and falling off, exposing the metal wires. The engine harness will be completely destroyed when it is manipulated to disconnect it. I also identified from my research that the insulation on the engine harness was made from biodegradable materials, now how smart was that? Now I'll have a $4-5000 repair bill on two common problems which mercedes denies even exists on this model car. If I don't fix it, then I run the risk of electrical fire from the harness, and the risk of engine fire from the headgasket leak, or some catrostropic combination of both. The engine harness was also replaced once in 1998, after it failed on a 500 mile round trip.
A/c and electrical failures due to wire insulation cracking. A known defect.
Wiring problem. While driving and it was raining at the same time, my lights went off and the wipers stopped working, leading to a crash on highway I-44.
I had to replace the wiring harness on my 1994 e320 at 146000. The harness had been defective for at least 1 year prior to replacement and was the source of continued issues within the engine control unit. Ultimately, I had to replace the engine control unit due to subsequent damage from the wiring harness.
I have had a couple of incidents dealing directly with a faulty wiring harness. I recently purchased a 1994 e 320 from a local dealership. I thought they seemed trustworthy at the time but at further review I see they were selling me a car with a faulty wiring harness. I have done extended research on wiring harnesses and their lifespan are more than likely to last longer then 30 years. I was driving on a 4 lane highway with mild traffic. If I wasn't driving with my absolute full attention I would of ran two cars off the road. The cars cruise control kicked in and the car surged forward from around 65 MPH to around 75-80 mp causing the car to dart forward towards two vehicles around 3 car lengths in front of me. I managed to control the vehicle and I pulled it over to the side of the road safely and had to remove the fuse for the cruise control to be able to drive safely back home. After the incident I had the car checked out and they informed me that the cars wiring harness was failing and that I should contact mercedes benz before I had anything done with the car. I then proceeded to research the problem and that's how I came upon this website. I believe that the wiring harness failure is a definite mb factory defect and there should definitely be a safety recall for the wiring harness. Because not a lot of older people research on the internet and they could be at risk every time they drive their car. If I would of known about this I definitely would not have been driving the car and I definitely would not have bought the car. This whole ordeal is just ridiculous and mb should recall the wiring harnesses immediately before something happens. It would sure beat a lawsuit. Thanks.
Engine wiring harness - insulation deteriorated and caused poor performance, engine misfire and display of various fault codes on diagnostic computer.
Engine wiring harness failed due to defective insulation resulting in stalling while passing another vehicle.
Began experiencing various electrical problem in my mercedes benz e320. Independent repair shop advised that engine wiring harness had insulation crumbling off and sparks were visible between the firewall and harness. Also advised that this is a common problem on early 90's mercedes vehicles due to using biodegradable insulation and a fire was a definite possibility. The insulation does not stand up to the heat of the engine and fails prematurely. I contacted the dealer who advised that there was some sort of recall but could find no information and stated the recall was closed anyway, but the service department was very familiar with the repair and would gladly perform the repair with me paying the full price. This is a safety hazard traveling on our roads and needs to be corrected via a recall and replacement with a non-degradable product.
Engine wire harness insulation is cracked and badly deteriorated, causing malfunction and faulty codes.
I own 1994 e320 and I was told by my service facility that it has a bad engine wiring harness. I am having erratic idle problems and tech's won't do any major repairs without my first having the wiring harness replaced. They say that if they do any major repairs it would require valve cover removal because they won't be responsible for harness replacement.
I have had numerous weird drivetrain failures with my car... Only to find out that the engine wiring harness has failed. Upon replacement and subsequent inspection, it is obvious that there is an inherent defect with this harness. On a 12 year old car, the insulation on the engine wiring harness is brittle, hard, cracked and split in many areas...exposing bare wires and shorting out electrical connections that affect normal engine operation. This has caused my car to surge and quit running for no other apparent reason. Mercedes benz has denied the existence of a problem and has failed to issue a recall on this ongoing widespread manufacturers defect.
1994 e320 wire harness crack problem.
94 mercedes benz e320 engine wiring harness has completely desintegrated exposing all wiring in engine compartment. As the engine runs and misfires it sparks and shorts to ground.
Consumer complaint regarding 1994 mercedes benz e320 wiring harness. *ts the mercedes benz m-104 engine was manufactured from biodegradable materials. After several years the insulation on the engine wiring harness began to deteriorate and fail. This lead to a cycle of increasingly severe electrical problems.
The vehicle has had intermittent electrical problems for awhile, but none of them very serious. Following recent scheduled maintenance, the engine developed a failed spark problem. After replacing plug wires and connectors and a coil assembly attempting to resolve the problem, it was observed that the wiring feeding the front coil assembly had lost the insulation and was shorted out. Upon further inspection, the wiring to the other coil assemblies also exhibited the same problem. The wiring was traced back to where it joined up with the rest of the harness, and it was found to have brittle, cracked or missing insulation everywhere it was checked. Upon doing research on the internet, I found this is a very common problem and found other very similar complaints on the federal safety agency website as well. In checking the cost of the part from the local dealer, I found that they had one in stock (a sign that they must replace quite a few of these) and the price for the needed part was $1033, this didn't include labor which was estimated at 5 hours. I am pursuing the least expensive option for suitable repair, but I am expecting nearly a $1500 repair cost. I have owned many vehicles in excess of 10 years of age, and this is the most catastrophic wiring failure I have seen. I should consider myself lucky that this problem didn't manifest itself with a more serious problem such as a failure at highway speeds or an engine fire, which under the circumstances seemed quite likely. I will save the wiring harness following replacement should it be needed for future reference.
Several year history of intermittant engine electrical problems. Found insulation on engine wiring harness badly cracked, decayed, dried out, etc. Closer inspection revealed lots of exposed copper wire. Replaced engine wiring harness with new part, problem solved. Mercedes benz is well aware of problem, but refuses to accept responsibility. Problem resulted from mb's experimentation with biodegradeable wire insulation.
1994 mercedes benz e320 engine wiring harness and throttle actuator wiring . The wire insulation used on the engine wiring harness and the throttle actuator in my car has badly degraded! This causes all kinds of shorts within the electronics of the vehicle and problems with the electric throttle system in this car. The problems with the throttle actuator caused my car to go in and out of limp mode(reduced power) while I was driving. This caused my car to accellerate very quickly and nearly caused an accident!. My local mercedes dealer denies that there is a defect in the wiring on my vehicle and that this is not a common problem. That is not the case! M I have researched this situation across the united states via the internet and I have found web forums that are full of these same complaints. It was made clear to me that from 1993-1995 mercedes benz used a degradable insulation on the wiring of the vehicles. It was supposed to be enviornmentaly friendly but it didnt stand up to the heat of the engine bay very well.. Every single one of these cars will eventually have the same problems I have with the engine wiring harness due to this design flaw built into the car. Nothing was done by mercedes to correct the problem except sell me a new wiring harness for 1000 dollars!!!.. This problem needs to be a manufacturers recall before somebodys throttle gets stuck and they get hurt or before their car burns up.
The engine wiring harnes has failed. I have learned this is a common problem for all 92-95 e-320 cars. It is a safety problem as the engine can just quit without any notice.
No description given. Nlm
E series has engine wiring harness defect due to wires shearing and being exposed. Vehicle hesitates because wires also regulate fuel. Please describe details.
The vehicle was traveling at 60 MPH when all the interior control lights started to blink and all power was lost to the vehicle. Vehicle was difficult to control, but no damage occurred. The vehicle was taken to the deaer and they indicated the battery and altenator required replacing. The short or electrical problem caused the SRS system module to short out (airbag)and the dealer and manufacturer refused to replace it, stating they do cover that defect under warrnaty. This vehicle has significant problems with the front end, wearing out tires in 3-4000 miles. Vehicle shakes and it appears that mercedes has had other problems with this model.
Consumer has experienced a multitude of electrical problems which included the windows not working.
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