Anyone ever heard of the wiring harness going BAD?? (long)
 

Dropped off my car today at the dealer cause it went into limp mode and the Check engine/Brake/ETS/ABS lights came on while driving during the weekend. Everything just come on while going about 10mph just after startup.

Limped home after Roadside told me there was nothing they could do.

SA called and told me their technician determined that the entire main wiring harness has "rotted, cracked, shredded" and would need to be replaced for $1000 parts, $1300 labour. This is before they can even check for other faults. They say the wiring harness is preventing them from checking anything else and hopefully, changeing it out will solve everything or at least allow them to see what else is wrong.

I am the original owner of this 98 320 and it only has 36,000 miles. It's garaged on the third floor of a city garage. I drive it 2-5 times a week, wash regularly and 2 times a year I'll even hose out the engine (gently.) It goes to all checkups at the dealer and runs fairly well. How can my wiring harness disintegrate. It's not like some racoons have setup shop in my engine bay. The car is moved all the time so unless there is some rat that hunts my particular car down in the garage to chew my wireing it just does not make sense. I mean they just fixed the brake switch 2 months ago and I poke around the car all the time.

Has anyone heard anything even similar to this?

It's been suggested that I try to work with my SA to see if they will try to help me out. (something about manufacturer hidden warrenty) If not maybe goto MBUSA. The car is out of warranty and I can afford the fix but there is something of a principle here that does not sit right. I can't imagine how a harness can rot even including a design defect but it definitely can't be a normal wear item.

Alternately, I can goto another dealer and see what they find.

Opinions? Options? HELP!!! GILLY.......

$1,300 that is excessive...
 

Why don't you get them to take it out, and you patch it up yourself! all you need is some wire connectors and soldering iron!
thats outrageous! My 93 acura never had any wires rot on me! and its still going strong at 150,000 kms!

OK, first the problem:
Can you tell me where the harness is defective, for example, in the control module box, inside the car or where? Can YOU (not the tech, YOU) can YOU see where the damage is, did they attempt to show you the damage or what? Do they have any idea HOW it was damaged? Are they suggesting mice, or any other clue as to how it happened?
I've seen one ML harness damaged due to a short circuit under the passengers front seat and had to replace it. There is one rather large harness, I assume that's the same one as you need, it's really big, but there are subharnesses as well. Huge job to replace it, R&R all seats and carpet is the worse part of it though.

On who's gonna pay for it, as you are the original owner and fairly low miles, I'd say you should be talking to the regional rep about it, a person they call the SPOM (service/part operations manager I think is correct), it's a regional position with Mercedes. They may be able to at least help pay for it, I'd push for 100%, depending on what the source of the damage is. I wouldn't arbitrarily assume that just because it's kept in a ramp that it's impossible for mice to do it, it's not like they CAN'T be there, but I'd think someone else in the ramp would be having problems also, not just you.
The "hidden" warranty you speak of is technically called "DSA", Dealer self-Authorization. They (each dealer) only gets a certain amount of money each month to use for situations where you are out of warranty, but the dealer thinks that you're getting a bad deal, so to speak. They typically reserve this for what would be described as "good customers", in other words people who purchased the vehicle (preferrebly multiple vehicles) from that particular dealership, and seem to be getting all the work done there. The amount for the repair is quite high, it would eat up alot of that monthly DSA money, so i'd say try to set up an appointment with the regional rep (SPOM), or at least ask the service MANAGER at the dealership if he could talk to the regional rep about it.
If they tend to believe that it was an outside influence, such as a small animal, etc, then possibly your insurance may cover it, either auto or homeowners/renters insurance, etc. I can't see how MB could be held accountable if this were the case.

Try to find out if they can show you the damage and/or ask if they have any idea what happened. Other than that shorted harness I replaced, never seen a problem, except for the well-known failures of 104 engine harnesses.

Gilly

Ok here's the picture. It's a few wires just above the front left wheel well next to the ABS pump. One is completely off, others are stripped or cracked (3 or 4). Looks like rat snacks or dishonest employee to me (I'll guess the former). Seems to me like replacement of the entire harness in the engine is a bit radical however their position is:

1) Computer is really messed up right now and it looks like the shorting wires are the cause. (example, the mechanic says he can't even clear the codes as the computer won't accept the command).

2) It's electrical and they can't tell how many wires are affected, some are obvious others may not be and since they have to warranty the work, their practice is a swap out to be sure.

3) There may be other problems but they can't tell until the wires are patched.

Gilly, your right, it may be rodent related and that is not Mercedes fault. That's why I had to see for myself.

What I considered is:
1) LImp car to another shop or home to patch the wires only and hope that solves it. Cheaper, but I may eventually have to go back to the dealer anyway for the full thing. Granted it's a gamble.

2) Try another Dealer to see if they are willing to do the patch and pray option rather than full on R&R.

3) Bite the Bullet and help my dealer's profit margin.

After soul searching, I've decided to suck it up and pay because:
1) I'm out of time - going on 2 week trip tomorrow morning so options 1 and 2 were out. (without much more work and 2 week delay)
2)Don't want to take the chance that it could eventually fail ...AGAIN... and after this time, it's not worth the hassle.
3) Got the dealer to give me 10% off (Whopee!!! just covers tax..) after much begging (although it is $230 or so).
4)Hoping my insurance might cover it. (but lets not hold our breath here)

Kindof sucks but then what is peace of mind, my time & inconvenience worth?????? My wife says alot more than $2000 to $3000 and on this I have to agree.

Thank god it was not some type of melting or corrosion like it was originally described to me. Looking at it really helps.

I would think as long as the wires are not broken (the copper part) then you should be able to partially remove the black wrapping and separate each wire and wrap with black electrical tape and then wrap them all back up in the bundle. I have found that Scotch 33 seems to work the best. I would definitely try this before spending a bunch of $$.

engatwork,

I agree with your premise and that was my first inclination also. Problem is that Mercedes won't do it. I can take the car back and do it myself or take it to another (non-dealer) shop. Then I would have to return it to Dealer to have the warranty and other work done.
Problem is the time which I don't have cause I'm going away. I'd rather not have to take the car back and START AGAIN to deal with this in 2 weeks.

Add to that, we're actually not sure the wires are the only problem, there could be more after the computer starts working again but I have to fix the wires first.

You see how quickly this could stretch into a 1 month problem.....

This way, when I get back it's all fixed. Course others may make different choices. If I wasn't leaving, I'd probably make different decisions. C'est La Vie

Have seen a lot of "rodent" damage underhood on MB's. SOME insurance companies will pay for that damage, why not ask yours??

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll try that.