Hello!

Well, finding out the extent of my front-end issues is making me seriously consider finding a replacement 617-powered vehicle, but this could accelerate things.

Over the past month or so, I've noticed that pushing the ACC buttons has occasionally yielded no response whatsoever...no heat, no air at all...even pushing the "HIGH" fan button hasn't done anything.

I've had this problem before, and found it to be the blower motor fuse. Replaced it, and no change.

Now, it doesn't seem to be working at all... I think all fuses are okay, but I haven't checked yet.

Anywhere else I may be able to look? Or is the ACC unit dead or dying?

Thanks!

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2001 VW Jetta TDI, 5 speed, daily driver
1991 Ford F-350, work in progress
1984 Ford F-250 4x4, 6.9l turbo diesel, 5 speed manual
Previous oilburners: 1980 IH Scout, 1984 E-350, 1985 M-B 300D, 1979 M-B 300SD, 1983 M-B 300D
Spark-free since 1999

Very likely the control board has developed some cold soldered joints in there. They do it with enough years gone by.
I removed and resoldered the joints. I have few electrical skills, but found it went ok. Had to redo a few of the solder points the next year, but it has been performing well now for about a year.
Get a hold of as good of a solder iron as you can find. A temp controled model is best. Get your best magnafiying lense out and take you time. Just heat each joint until the solder fllows.

My SDL did the exact same thing the blower motor needed to be cleaned up. Now it works perfectly.


What front end problems? What does a front end rebuild cost on a 300D? $1k? But then you will have a fresh front end. No other W123 you will find is going to have a fresh front end.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Deis, thanks for the idea...does an iron need to be used, or can I use a solder gun? I've got a solder gun with a two-heat setting (140/100 watts); is that too much juice?

Hattie, re: the front end issues...a friend of mine quoted $300 for parts, not including guide rod mounts (he's in a chassis shop at school, so he can do all the work free of charge). However, given the condition of the rest of the car (take a look here for a list of known issues, although that was written before I had the front end checked out), I've come to the conclusion that the car is not worth putting that much $$ into the front end. This is coupled with the fact that, if I had my druthers, I'd rather have a wagon or a 126.

Were the car in better shape, I wouldn't hesitate...but best I can tell, not counting a paint job, it would probably cost $2K to bring the car back to truly "good" condition, and I'd rather spend that $$ on a 300SD or 300TD. I have to save up, though (broke college student), which means my car won't be going bye-bye just yet...

doesn't mean I have to like it, though...

I might not be the best to answer about the solder iron vs gun, but I found the solder points are quite small and a solder gun was clumsy. When I used a good iron all went better. First time I used a small old iron, ok but very slow. The temp controled version was much better. Didn't cool off so much when in contact with the board. Faster and had nice clean solder joints that held.

Old Deis is correct about iron vs. gun. If your gun is like mine (Craftsman) with the hi/low trigger, it is nowhere near a small, iron. Many place to buy them and a good place to start is Radio Shock. Their selection will provide you with just the tiny weapon you will want.

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Steve
'87 300TD - 132K - Soon 4-Sale
'84 300D Turbo - 122K - Driving
'77 VW Type II - 77K - Restored
'08 250EX Ninja
English Bulldog (Brier) - My best friend. Passed away 12/02/04 while in my arms.

I am having similar symptoms as The Warden. My blower motor has been eliminated as the cause of the problem. Sometimes selecting "Defrost" will get the fan going, then it works as advertised until the car is shut down.

Old Dies, could you describe in a bit more detail exactly where your bad solder joints were located?

You don't want to be soldering on a pc board with more than a 25-40 watt iron, too much heat from a high watage iron can ruin it.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Warden unless you really just want a W126, $2k isn't much to get your car in perfect shape. Any W126 you buy unless you spend a lot for a real nice one will probably need $2k worth of stuff.
But I understand where you are coming from sometimes these cars seem to need everything.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200