philipminion, ADAM BOURASSA, Mattman, Ashman,

I appreciate you guys' assistance. Following Ashman's advice, I did a quick '1000SEL' search and found the SEL1000 stretch limo. That is definitely NOT the same as mine, even the design of the nameplate was different--their 'SEL1000' even looked more like a factory-made plate than mine. It must be one hell of a smooth cruiser. Just think what performance goodies you could buy with that capital investment! Maybe I will start a '1000SEL' club for any outside-the-box combinations that have come out of the MB factory.

Ashman, I will follow the links you were kind to furnish, and make sure I am not missing anything relating to my strange ('grey market'? machine).

philipminion, your advice concerning the climate control is right on. I believe in the KISS principle, where I am sure you know is 'Keep It Simple, Stupid').

The problem is, I am a mechanical kinda guy. I do not have a natural affinity for electrical circuitry, so in the past I just took my problem to a pro and paid the money. The problem is, I have no money to pay someone else, so I will have to fix the thing myself, hopefully with advice from my new-found friends.

I'll try to describe how the system malfunctioned and hope I can explain the problems well enough so you guys who understand the climate control system can direct me as to what to check.

The problem is, when I first bought my AMG and headed for home, while checking the engine over while gassing up, I noticed frost on the air conditioning hose metal bulkhead fittings at the firewall. I then realized that the compressor was constantly on. Having experience with the GM long style compressor, I knew the compressor could not hold up during the 4.5 hour trip, so I manually controlled the inside temperature by turning it on only when I got uncomfortable and off when it got comfortable again, until I got home.

Since I only drove the car five miles to and from work for about a month, I had no need to even monitor the temperature, but when I did have to take it on a trip, that day the temperature soared to 112 degrees and although I was still careful to not overtax the compressor, the fuse for the compressor blew and since then it immediately blows replacement fuses. Because I currently have a cash flow problem, I haven't been able to have it fixed, preferring instead to drive my '85 Volvo, because although the Volvo's air conditioning compressor is locked up, it is cheaper to drive a 2.3 liter turbo, four speed with overdrive and I really like to shift those gears.

Does anyone out there know what could be drawing the excessive current? I suspect the clutch, but do not understand the principle of operation for the compressor/clutch circuit. I have a spare clutch on my parts car but do not want to just start changing parts unless I have no other option.

Also, I still have the original climate control problem, where the climate control does not cycle depending on the temperature that is dialed in. Because I have never used the system when it worked properly, I have no idea how to set the controls for normal operation. The heater seems to also intermittently malfunction. For the last few weeks, I have not been able to control the heat temperature or even the fan sometimes. This morning I noticed that my coolant temperature was not registering and a quick check disclosed that the wire is not connected at the sensor, so that may be the answer to my heater problems. I sure hope so because I am confused enough already. I really am at a loss with the climate control with no knowledge of the principle of operation. I really need some help on this problem.

You guys really have a challenge here, but perhaps there are only a few problems that cause other symptoms to occur, like the heater/sensor connection.

As promised, here are a couple of photos I snapped today. As luck would have it, it rained last night and is still fairly cloudy, but I hope the lighting is good enough for you to catch any details I was concerned with, i.e. AMG wheels, chrome airfoil with red lens for extra lighting (not hooked up, but could be kinda cool for sequenced turn signals, etc ala the old Ford Thunderbird or Mercury Cougar), 'moon roof'--sorry, I forgot to get a good shot of the roof.

Now, if I can just get the hang of how my graphics program wants to do things, I can furnish some decent pictures. I had to make do with getting them on the screen, then capturing the image with a screen-grabber utility.

Again, I appreciate you guys. Please do not hesitate to let me know when I can return the favor.

(-Sorry, but I will have to edit after I figure out why the photo does not show up. I thought I did everything right, but who knows???-)