I agree with you that sometimes it is not the product itself that creates the "problem" but, rather, the inane responses from service reps and other company hacks. I am well versed on cars, and sometimes their responses make me feel like they must think I am a doofus from Palookaville. It is when they insult my intelligence that I blow a gasket.

Have you tried negotiating? Maybe they go half and half on the cost of a new harness?

Harnesses became "consumables" when the Germans allowed the "Green Party" to take over industrial decisions. The wiring harness is supposed to be biodegradable. This is because of Germany's countless environmental laws. Some of which make sense, some of which are totally stupid. The wiring harness is one example of the stupid ones. The harnesses began to degrade way before the car's "normal" life.

Another stupid law is the requirement that before you get a fishing license, you have to demonstrate to the German Fish & Game people that you know how to kill a caught fish with a single hammer blow to the head.

Good luck in your quest to make them address the harness issue. On the other hand, thank God you don't drive a POS Cadillac Seville.

__________________
Current Benzes

1989 300TE "Alice"
1990 300CE "Sam Spade"
1991 300CE "Beowulf" RIP (06.1991 - 10.10.2007)
1998 E320 "Orson"
2002 C320 Wagon "Molly Fox"

Res non semper sunt quae esse videntur

My Gallery

Not in this weather!

Good Luck with your battle, I have tried before here too, hopefully you have more luck and drive than I did after I got my harness.
Chris
Attn! W124 Owners
94 E320 Stalling Problems

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94 E320 with:
18" ///AMG Monoblock II's,AMG Gen II front bumper, H&R spings,500E sway bar, Bilstein sports, Eisemann Exhst, K&N,E500 Headlamps, Crystal Clear Corners, Avantgard Grill ...and more stuff to come! oh yeah 241k miles!!


My Car WOO HOO...... Now SOLD
New car.... 2001 Jaguar XJR!!!!

I offered customer service supervisor at MBUSA, as a suggestion: that I had been told that other MB owners had been handed a new harness, and were then responsible for their own installation.

But, well, given that he had NEVER EVER heard of the problem in the first place, my generous suggestion went unheard...

Evidently, being deaf is part of the MBUSA "customer service" rep job description...


Flanso,
Yes, please try again tomorrow. If you have to, there is a telephone number on that same link, and the NHTSA rep will cheerfully take your complaint verbally.

Also, add my web page to your online complaint. If your complaint is verbal, get an email address to sent it to. The more, and different, NHTSA people that read the scale and trend of the problem, the better the odds of a satisfactory resolution.

http://sites.google.com/site/infoage1/mercedes-benz-1991-1996-engine-wiring-harness-defect
.

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MERCEDES-BENZ 1991-1997 ENGINE WIRING HARNESS DEFECT NHTSA COMPLAINTS

we replaced one at our shop last week that was literally powder!!

Below, is another NHTSA Mercedes Benz underhood electrical fire complaint from a 1995 300.

Oh, and btw, the NHTSA is STILL investigating this issue last I heard from them (that would be, um, last Friday). So be sure to get those complaints in. They are not being ignored...

MERCEDES-BENZ 1991-1997 ENGINE WIRING HARNESS DEFECT NHTSA COMPLAINT SUMMARIES


NHTSA Complaint Summary

Make: MERCEDES BENZ
Model: 300
Year: 1995
Complaint Number: 836664
Summary:

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FRONT UNDERHOOD; CONSUMER WAS TURNING A CORNER WHEN THE VEHICLE STALLED, TOTAL VEHICLE FAILURE. SMOKE STARTED COMING FROM THE HOOD BURSTING INTO FLAMES. NO DAMAGE TO THE INTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE, BUT TO THE RIGHT HAND SIDE UNDERNEATH THE HOOD, INCLUDING THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE MELTED. *AK

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MERCEDES-BENZ 1991-1997 ENGINE WIRING HARNESS DEFECT NHTSA COMPLAINTS

This seems like a really obvious field for a class-action lawsuit. The NHTSA records supply the people who've been injured. State vehicle registration records provide the list of people who are in danger of being injured. Once a lawsuit has been filed, people can depose Mercedes officials, put them under oath, ask them questions that they have to answer ("How many replacement engine wiring harnesses have you sold for 91-95 cars." And how many have you sold for 86-90 cars?") I'm not a lawyer, and am not entirely on board with the sue everbody all the time lifestyle, but this seems like a ripe situation. I wouldn't say that if it appeared that MB was taking the slightest interest in the problem.
This reminds me a little of the famous Audi "Leaping 5000" problem that they resolutely ignored, until sued.
Amerikanischer Schwein!

I bought my 94 E420 in April of this year. The previous owner had replaced the harness and a number of other items to correct a reoccuring check engine light/poor running issue, and he gave me all of those dealer receips. Is there a way to check if a complaint has already been filed for my car? How long do replacment harnesses last? Mine was replaced in 01 or 02 and now my CEL is on and I am unable to read the codes because the LED just blinks continously when the key is on or when the engine is running. Could this be harness related?

will
94 E420 (CEL on?)
82 300D (won't start?)

I'm not a lawyer, and don't think that as a group they''re good for much beyond target practice. But...This seems like a textbook opportunity for a class action lawsuit. The NHTSA complaints give you the names of people who have been harmed, while state motor vehicle registrations give you a list of owners who are potential plaintiffs.
Once you have a lawsuit going, the plaintiffs' lawyer can put MB's people under oath and ask them all the questions that you think they're lying about. With the important difference that if they don't answer truthfully under oath it's a felony. Which would be a good way for MB to test the loyalty of its employees... Who's willing to go to prison for Mother Benz?
Beyond that, this whole story raises my interest in NOT buying a '93 300TE. Maybe there is a Toyota in my future...
seo

It doesn't strike me as a very good case. So many owners got help in either free parts, free labor or both. Those that got stuck with the entire bill were often second or third owners with cars that were over 10 years old. As a safety issue it would seem to be a dud too - perhaps a few engine fires but nothing like bad brakes and crashes. Bad products and stupid management decisions don't always equate to legal liability.

If this becomes a OD topic like you guys are making it into then it will get closed again...This is a tech help forum!

__________________
MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
44 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
Retired Moderator

With the consent of M.B.DOC; this thread has been moved to ShopForum > Do It Yourself Links & Resources > General Information.

This topic is important to millions of MB owners.

I will be reviewing the total thread, any off topic posts will be deleted (without notice).

The topic is:
* MB Wiring Harness Failure

* Not general MB BASHING...

I guess I make the 6th complaint for a '96. I just had all the GPs replaced and my tech said the wiring harness is badly deteriorated. It's now causing the temp gauge to fail. He said to talk to MB first and see if they will do anything first. Yeah, that'll work...

__________________
Deuce
'02 CLK430 (Nightwing) 54K
'11 ML350 109K
'21 VW Atlas (Wife's Rocket)
'94 Bronco XLT (Son 1)
'06 Honda Odyssey 180K (Sold)
'02 E320 151K (Sold)
'96 E300D (RIP Riggo - 12/16/2010) 198K
'03 Honda Odyssey 34K (Sold)
'95 E300D 145K (Sold)
'01 Mazda Tribute 19K (Sold)

Reading this endless thread, there seems to be different stories about whether MB USA or individual dealers will help out owners with the cost of replacing a deteriorated wire harness, and general concensus that it's not cheap. I have these two questions?
a) Do the replacement harnesses hold up all right? I've read some comments about having to do multiple replacements, but it's not clear if they're replacing the same harness more than once, or if other harnesses deteriorate after the first one (underhood?) goes bad.
b) Is there an aftermarket source for replacement harnesses? I've fabricated harnesses (for yachts) on a semi-production basis, and I must say that the prices that people say they've paid seem very high, assuming that it's just plain copper wire with DIN spec plugs, which ought to be available wholesale. The harnesses I've made all used tinned copper wire with special insulation, and the wrapping had to be a special marine "worm" type. The standard type of automotive wrapping tends to end up in the bilge, tightly wound around the impeller shafts of the bilge pumps.

I just did a minor investigation on Google, and came up with no harnesses for MB, but, for example, a complete harness for an ENTIRE '57 chevy costs $399. And it probably has fewer connectors and less wire than the engine compartment harness for a MB 300.
Then I discovered a company called Autoparts Warehouse quotes prices for mid-90's MB's:
Year Engine Chassis Quantity

Mercedes Benz C220 1994 - 1996 111.961 202.022
Price: $56.92

Mercedes Benz C220 1994 - 1996 111.961 202.022
Price: $56.92

Mercedes Benz C280 1994 - 1997 104.941 202.028
Price: $56.92

Mercedes Benz C280 1994 - 1997 104.941 202.028
Price: $56.92

Which is cheaper than I could ever make one for. Am I comparing apples and oranges here?
seo

For starters, it seems to me that most of the discussion revolves around the E320 models 93-95, and a few 92s and 96s. Maybe that's because most of the models that year were E320, or maybe I'm biased because I own one. Your post (and research, I assume) mentions C220 and C280. That's probably apples and oranges right there.

From what I know of automotive manufacturing, nearly all automotive wiring is made in Mexico because it is a labor-intensive process. Manufacturers ship wire and connectors to Mexico and get finished assemblies back. Perhaps the replacement wiring - which you can't compete with - is made in Mexico.

I suspect the few people that had to replace the harness twice were those who replaced theirs early on, and the replacement wiring was old stock, i.e., production wiring set aside for aftermarket replacement. I can only hope that this wiring is sold out, and further production of replacement wiring is similar to wiring used in present production. I shudder at the thought that MB would use defective wiring to make replacement harnesses, yet use good wiring in production of new vehicles. This would be the ultimate nonsense.

If you fabricate harnesses on a regular basis, you may be in a position to offer this community a lower cost alternative. A lot of owners are sick of MB sticking us with defective wiring, then raping us with aftermarket prices. I replaced mine four years ago and got no help from MB. If others could find the same (or better) wiring for less, everyone would benefit. I urge you to explore this opportunity.

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 169K

Hi, we have the disintegrating wiring harness problem with our 95 E320 too, and do I just want to add my name to any list that might be forming. We just spent more than 2000.00 to fix the airconditioning, so we are really not happy now! We did a lot of research before buying this car a year ago because we couldn't afford a new car. I think we will just bring the car home and let it sit until some kind of answer emerges. I anyone wants to call us, we'd be delighted.

Pamela and Kenneth McCall
(mod edit, don't post your phone number on an open forum!)