Got home a couple of nights ago and noticed this hanging off the back of the car ('99 E430). Rolled under the car and slid it back into a fitting attached to the inside of the bodywork (see arrow).

Two questions...

(i) what it is?
(ii) is there meant to be anything to stop it sliding out of the fitting (like a screw or clip or ?) ~ there is no space to see anything.

thanks,

Peter

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any more details about the peice? Are those electrical wires or some sort of metalic stabilizaiton? Did you find out what it connects to? If so, where on the undercarriage or body did it connect? Is there any attached circitry or sensors?

Also, can you get a pic of under the car where you think it fell off and reattaches to?

Anything else anyone can think of?

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It looks like the rear sensor for an after-market radar detector.

THAT IS AN ANTENNA AND ATTACHES TO THE BUMPER

Thanks for the replies. Now 1999E320 mentions it the wires did feel like antenna cables. My best guess was that it might be related to the airbags (acceleration sensor?).

Does anyone have a drawing that shows if the plate is meant to simply slide into the fitting on the bumper, or is there supposed to be something positive to keep it there? There is very little space behind the bumper and so you can't see anything.

thanks again,

Peter

That part has nothing to do with SRS. It's not any kind of antenna splitter either. MB wouldn't mount stuff like that externally. It's not even an MB part. Look behind the inner trunk panel and I'm sure you'll find some after-market wires/cables in there.

That is definately part of your antenna. It goes from one side of the bumper to the other. It is a Mercedes part and they did mount it there.

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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

202 820 22 75 repl by 210 820 17 75:

Antenna, Telephone in Bumper, Code 270

As per EPC

__________________
Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician

Sorry guys, I blew it. I broke my #1 rule when it comes to posting replies. I thought I was sure, but I wasn't sure. My apologies. Steve was right, as usual. Bumper antenna for C-TEL. The good news for pwells is that it doesn't look like it's too hard to fix. The mounting plate, which fastens the part in question, is available as a spare part. It will probably require removal of the bumper cover to replace, but that's usually no big deal. Let us know how it goes.