Hi,

I have a 1995 E320 Sportsline. Its a fun to drive except with this odd problem. The ASR light comes on sometimes and I loose all the power. When I switch off the engine and restart it goes off and everything is normal. Its also interesting that I noticed the problem gets worse and regular when the weather is rainy. Also when I am filling the windscreen washer tank and if I over fill and some goes down same problem happens. I dont know much about technical stuff but it sounds like to me some kind of sensor is very sensitive to get wet! Anyone knows how can I sort this problem. Actually I would like to turn the ASR system off cause I like some wheel spinning

Thanks.

When you say you "lose all power", I am assuming you mean you go into "limp home mode." This is a feature which allows you to still drive the car even with a nonfunctioning ASR system; you should notice that it takes a lot more accelerator travel to actually cause engine RPM to go up (e.g., no reponse for about 1/2 of the usual pedal travel, then finally moving the pedal the rest of the way does cause engine RPM to increase). Is this an accurate description?

If so, start with a search of this site. Search on "asr light" and you'll get a good many hits. The best way to track down this kind of problem is to retrieve the error codes. I personally haven't done that myself, but others on the site have. There are many reasons for the ASR light to go on, some simple and cheap, and some expensive, so you don't want to throw parts at the problem without an accurate diagnosis. Someone, you or a technician, should "pull the codes" and then you'll know what needs to be done.

__________________
Steve
'93 400E

Check the wiring harness that is part of the throttle assy.

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

Yes mate thats exactly the situation. Sorry I didn't know it was called "Limp Home mode".

I spent about 2,5 hours last night to find a similar situation but couldn't find any. Maybe I should search more. I'd seen some threats mentioned about "codes" but to be honest I have no clue how should I get/learn those codes! I am sorry I am quite novice about car electronics. I am quite good to drive them (Done semiprofessional rallying in the university years) but know nothing about electronics Could you please tell me how can I get the codes? MB dealers charge £120+VAT(17,5%) per hour laborship in London. So even just for look at it I have to pay about $280 !!!!

Thanks,

Check for equal tire air pressure... the ASR works on tire speed sensors and tire pressure changes tire sizing.. plus you comment of wet cinditions may increase the different traction factors .. also, check that ALL tires are the same size......

I have a 94 coupe with ASR and had exactly the same problem - moisture related ASR light and limp home mode. My research came to bad brake lamp switch - which I replaced at a cost of about $20 - but it had no effect at all. I posted a thread here and didn't much response, but did get a direct email from a member who said he solved the problem by cleaning the wheel speed sensors with brake cleaner. He said: take off front wheel (both), turn wheel to access the back of the hub, remove two allen head screws, pull out the wheel speed sensor, clean, reinstall. He said this completely and immediately solved his problem. I didn't have to do this as I solved the problem by returning to Arizona - where the humidity is about 15% on a damp day. Seriously, my problem goes away in the desert - but I guess that's not an option for you.

I'd seen some threats mentioned about "codes" but to be honest I have no clue how should I get/learn those codes! I am sorry I am quite novice about car electronics. I am quite good to drive them (Done semiprofessional rallying in the university years) but know nothing about electronics Could you please tell me how can I get the codes? MB dealers charge £120+VAT(17,5%) per hour laborship in London. So even just for look at it I have to pay about $280 !!!!

Thanks,[/QUOTE]

Stuzun,
I don't personally have any experience "pulling the codes" myself, but as I understand it, with my car (1993 vintage) there's a connector under the hood where you can attach a light-emitting diode (LED) and then count the light pulses, which are the "codes" you look up in a manual to tell you what the onboard diagnostic electronics think the problem is. Your 1995 car may be different.

Hopefully, others on the site who DO know exactly how to do this will chime in. If not, you might search on "pulling codes", or perhaps post a second thread asking specifically "Help pulling ASR codes on '95 300E" or something similar.

Do followup with the comments above about unequal tire pressures or different size tires. I used to have this same problem when I used a certain set of snow tires...

Be persistant. There are a LOT of really smart, experienced people on this site, and eventually you'll learn everything you want about this problem (and then some!)

__________________
Steve
'93 400E

THe LED light should already be there. You just need to find the diagnostic module, near the battery, and take off the black plastic cover. Turn the ignition key to "on" position (without starting, but with all instrument lights on), push down the button on the diagnostic module for about 4 seconds and then count the number of flashes of the LED light right next to the button. One flash means no codes - anything else has a meaning. Then do it again to see if you get the same number of flashes or a different number. Keep doing until it repeats itself. Then you hold it down for 8 to 10 seconds to clear the codes - one at a time. Again, there's lot of stuff in the archives on this, including a list of all the codes. This assumes you have the LED light and button - I believe 95 was the last year.

The led/sw combo under the hood only accesses the DM module for Emissions codes. CE lamp activation. Not ASR..
For ASR codes , one must build a led tool [archieves] and go to the EA/CC module port #14 and the HFM module port #8.
Then get the codes for ASR version of those modules..