Kudos to Brian Carlton
 

Thanks to Brian, his wiring diagram, Klima ice cube fix and massive amounts of experience, Sybill the SDL of so damned many personalities is now blowing 43°F air out the her vents. I know from my own experience that this is the first time her a/c has worked in almost two years and I'm guessing that it was broken long before I acquired her.

Evidently, the CCU is OK because, with the ice cube in there, the compressor comes on and stays on (not crapping-out in 10 seconds before). But, just in case , I did disconnect the coolant circulating pump.

The only thing is now the compressor stays on 100% of the time even with adjustments of the temp control so I'm guessing that's probably an issue with the evap temp sensor.

Thanks again Brian, for all of your help!
Randy

Yes Brian is a great asset to the forum. I just wish he would move to Atlanta and open a MB shop with me....

Well what do you think Brian?

LOL, Russell, making tooling for jet engines is a bit more lucrative than fixing old M/B's..........sorry to tell you.:D

Randy, that's great news! I'll bet that vent temp. comes in handy down in Texas in August.

Depending on the ambient temperature, and the cabin temperature, the compressor may not cycle while you are observing it. Although a 42° vent temp should be close to the point where the evap temp switch signals the CCU to open the circuit to the Klima, you really can't be sure until you get it out on the highway and have good airflow through the condenser.

On a recent trip with the SD, at 100°F., the compressor never cycled for an entire 2 1/2 hour trip back from CT. The system never got the evap cold enough.

You'll know for sure if the evap freezes up on you..........:eek:

Precisely. I did snake up under the dash and find the wiring to the evap temp sensor and unplugged it. The compressor disengaged when I did that so, it could be that I'm just experiencing normal operation...it is hot (>98°) today. Also, my wagon's a/c compressor stays engaged 100% of the time if the temp is above 95° or so but I've had so much trouble with this thing, I'm decidedly gun shy about this unit.

But, after jumping the big a/c hurdle, I'm spending today on the interior. I have the seats out and am heading to the store in a minute to get a shampoo machine and try to get the carpets somewhat clean. Jeez that thing is nasty on the inside.

open an account for me.. i dont want to do anymore work on my car... :D

Well, you got further than I did.

The '87 has full heat........all the time........and no a/c.

Pulled the monovalve and put a new plunger in place. Cycling the CCU seems to cycle the valve.........so......we'll see.

But, the CCU is toast anyway. No signal to the Klima to engage the compressor.:mad:

Another roll of the dice on e-bay..........$70.00........we'll see how she goes........

That happened to my Bride's 300D and it was the fuse that had opened up.

On the 123 it's the same fuse as the horn. See if you can toot. No toot, and the monovalve goes full open!

I have 12V at the valve, so, I'm pretty confident that the fuses are OK.

I honked at some guy a few weeks ago who was endeavoring to run me off the road, and it immediately went to full heat. And it was 104 outside......:flamethro
Pulled over under a car wash, replaced the fuse, and made sure I didn't honk.
It's not like the AC actually does much cooling with that Freeze12 crappage, but even 55 degree vent temps feel good when it's over 100.......
Huh, so what will Sybil throw at you next.......:P

Leaks.
 

Good question. When I backed her out of the shop I noticed two additional puddles of stuff...one of them the size of your hand, oily and clear. It's not WVO (her tank is full of it) but I think, power steering fliuid. The other is a little drip of AT fliud. Probably coming from where the cooler tubing attaches....every MBZ automatic I've ever had has leaked there at some point. And, I know that there's a leak at the shutoff lever on the IP. She already leaks lube oil from the stupid oil level sensor. Next oil change, I'm pulling that dumb thing and replacing it with an aluminum plate.

Mind you, this car oozes fluids like a WWII fighter returning from a mission over Europe. I do NOT park it in the driveway.

She got her insides cleaned pretty well yesterday; I rented a rug doctor, pulled the front seats and went after it. You would not believe the difference shampooing the rugs makes on that car!!! I should have it back together tonight.

Hopfully before and after pics are forthcoming.....

I thought about doing B&A pix but got focused on the task at hand and decided not to take the time.

Believe me, nasty doesn't begin to describe the former condition of the interior of that car....SDs have depressions where the back of the seats bolt to the floorpan. Those depressions were completely full of some sort of food-related guck. Incredibly, prespotting with Gain stain remover got most of the crap out of the fibers.

300 Sdl
 

Randy,

Thanks for the update on the 300SDL.

My best results on carpet cleaning have been with a pressure washer. I mix water, laundry soap (wisk), and bleach to saturate the carpet. Let it sit for a while and blast it out. This is after a thorough "dry cleaning", I mean a vacuum, air hose, etc. There are some great carpet spot cleaners out there these days also. The dry powder Resolve cleaner is a good last treatment for a fresh smell. Laundry sheets under the carpet also help keep an old car smelling fresh for a period of time.

BTW, a thread like this is a lot more useful if it has a link to the original discussion.

That's good info!!

There wasn't really an original discussion. The closest thing would be this or this.