1994 Mercedes Benz E Class: engine stalls while driving

Filed Jun 4, 2010 · Acceleration · 72,000 miles · CA

Engine occasionally stalling at any speed including highway traffic. Mechanic traced to defective engine wiring harness shorting. The driving is unsafe as there is a real possibility of a fire with many fires reported.

Filed Apr 7, 2009 · Electrical · 90,000 miles · OH

1. Poor engine performance, unsafe drivability, hesitation and stalling. 2. Frequency of problem is very often. Qualified mercedes-benz repair shop diagnosed issue as engine wiring harness insulation degradation. They have seen a lot of these harnesses fail, according to their head mechanics. In conversations with mercedes-benz dealer mechanics, they, too, have witnessed an extremely high failure rate. 3. Engine wiring harness replaced at a cost of $1,210.00.

Filed Dec 31, 2008 · Engine · 60,000 miles · CA

Tl*the contact owns a 1994 mercedes benz e-320. The contact stated that the vehicle would sporadically stall when approaching a complete stop. In addition, the engine warning indicator was illuminated on the instrument panel. The dealer stated that the engine warning harness needed to be replaced at the cost of $1,800. The technician also added that the failure occurs at a high frequency with this year, make, and model vehicle. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 60,000.

Filed Oct 26, 2008 · Electrical, Engine · CA · fire · 6 injuries

In my 1994 mercedes benz e320, the engine wiring harness has completely degraded in some parts, causing the individually insulated wires to touch each other, causing system malfunctions. My car has stalled on the freeway several times, nearly killing myself and endangering others. My friend's 1995 mercedes benz e420 has caught on fire because of a failure with the engine wiring harness while we were driving down the street, causing severe burns on his upper arms and smoke inhalation injuries between me, him, and several pedestrians. This is a crucial safety defect and I cannot find any recourse via mercedes benz to repair this issue. I am scared to drive this car because I feel that I am a danger to the safety of others and to myself.

Filed May 16, 2007 · Electrical · 110,000 miles · CA

Failure of engine wiring harness, causing engine to stall on freeway.

Filed Oct 30, 2006 · Electrical, Engine · 102,000 miles · OR

Dt*: the contact stated upon starting the vehicle in the morning, the engine made a loud noise and the engine warning light illuminated. Also, while driving 65 MPH on normal road conditions, the engine warning light illuminated again and stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where the diagnosis scanner indicated a wiring problem. There was a the federal safety agency recall # 95v031000 regarding electrical system:wiring. The manufacturer was contacted but the representative indicated the vehicle was out of warranty and was not included in the recall due to the VIN. The contact was suggested to make a complaint with the federal safety agency.

Filed Jul 12, 2005 · Electrical · 125,000 miles · IL · fire

1994 e320 had intermintent running problems. Car would stall without warning, especially during a rain or after washing the car. Replaced many parts(mass air meter, tune up, ovp relay, fuel pump relay, etc) to chase the problem, none of which solved it. Began to look on mercedes forums and found this to be a common problem. Before I replaced the engine wiring harness it began to smoke heavily from under the hood. I had an extingusiher with me and stopped it from catching fire. Mercedes covered part of the cost under their "goodwill" program however I had to install it which took about 8 hours. The first occurance happend around 125k miles however it was many months and miles later that the problem was fixed.

Filed Jun 6, 2004 · Electrical, Engine · 112,000 miles · FL

1994 mercedes benz e420- wiring harness is decaying. The wires are brittle and melting together. The insulation around the wire is gone; as a result, the wire is bare and unsafe. The vehicle suffer from all types of problems; such as, stall on the highway, surging in traffic jams, and gauges intermittently go haywire.

Filed Nov 18, 2000 · Electrical · TX

Vehicle completely died at freeway speeds which could have caused a serious accident. After several unsuccessful visits to the dealer, I finally found the answer to my problem on the internet mercedes newsgroup. Although the dealer denies the over voltage regulator was a problem with the 1994 e320, it apparently still exists. Taking the information from the newsgroup, the dealer replaced the over voltage regulator and my stalling problem at highway speeds was fixed permanently. I feel mercedes should refund some of the $1200 in repairs I incurred while the dealer guessed at the problem. The problem was difficult to diagnose since the car would start after a few retries after the total system failure and run just fine until the next total failure a few days later. Personally, I believe the over voltage regulator problem is an extremely dangerous situation since people could've been killed by the failure of this $89.00 part.