Hello Out There, My 1993 400e Is Just Going Over 177000 And I've Never Had Any Problems At All. Always Done The Routine Maintenance As Needed And Changed The Oil Every Other Day ! So For Me Now To Have Asr Problems I Guess It' Just About My Time ! For Those Of You Out There Who've Had A Lot Of Problems And Are Thinking About Selling It Please Remember The Grass Isn't Always Greener On The Other Side ! This Is My 3rd Mercedes And They're Just Hard To Beat. All Three Have Had At Least 250000 Miles On Them. 1979 240d , 1982 300e, And The Current 1993 400e. I Just Hate To See My Baby Sick.

You're not having 400E problems so much as you're having ASR problem, an insidious diabolic miscreant. You can't really disable it because it's ingrained into so many systems of the car, but you can sell the car, and buy another 400E without ASR and live happily ever after. It's a great car but early ASR doesn't age very well. I'm starting to see classified ads touting "no ASR".

So.....What's the problem?

__________________
It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein


09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D

Hi, Deanyel (nice Name) ,thanks For Your Responses And Advice But This Car I Really Love And My Indie Mechanic Buddy Who Works On The Car Says The Motor And Trannie Are In Such Good Shape I Should Try To Fix Problem Using Inexpensive Methods First Before Expensive. Given All The Threads I've Read Over The Past Few Days It's A Wonder My Wire Harness Lasted As Long As 177000 Miles. Do You Know A Reputable Source For The Harness Purchase ? My Buddy Will Look Out For Me On The Install. How About The People That Rebuild The Asr Control Unit For A Few Hundred Dollars-- What Do You Think ? Viable Option Or Waste Of Time And Money ? WILL KEEP YOU POSTED. Thanks Again . Deano

Hello Larry Delor, Thanks For Your Reply. I've Got A 1993 400e ,w 124 And M119 Motor With 177000 Miles On It But Looks Like New And Motor Is In Excellent Condition. A Few Days Ago I Picked Up The Dreaded Asr Light On And The Limp Mode Some Of The Time.now The Limp Mode Is 100% Of The Time. My Indie Mb Mechanic Buddy Used His Mb Handheld Computor And Here's What He Reported : Fault Code 1: 030 ----can: No Data From Ea/cc/isc (n4/1) ---- Control Unit : Asr- 5bps ---- Mb No. : 013 545 39 32 He Suggested I Get A New Unit Or A Rebuilt One To Try First. Also Cheap Fixes Before Expensive Ones. Can You Interpret That Code And Does Your Experience Give You Some Answers. Thanks In Advance

I have a 95 E420 (pretty much the same engine). I had the ASR light come on, and it turned out to be a defective brake light switch.
I would not trust any of the codes until you know if you have a bad harness or not. Before I got a new harness, I had all kinds of codes (one even pointed to the air pump), but most of them were false.

My latest problem was a code that pointed to the EA (electronic actuator). It just so happened that the morning that my mechanic pulled the car into his garage, it backfired. He took out his reader, determined that it needed a Air mass sensor. After clearing all codes (including the EA code) no codes have since re-appeared (except for an unrelated code).

by the way... I had originally brought the car in to have the cabin blower motor replaced, not to fix anything else, since I firmly believed I needed a new actuator, and was going to shop around for a rebuilt unit.


So: check the brakelight switch and check the harness.

__________________
It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein


09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D

THANKS LARRY AND Hello Out There-my Mechanic Buddy Ruled Out The Stop Light Switch And The Neutral Safety Switch And It's Looking Like The Throttle AcTuator.i Understand This Is High-dollar And Was Wondering If Anybody Has Any Suggestions !

A bad engine actuator diagnosis is always pretty much a guess. It is pricey and it often doesn't fix the problem. It seems to be a much more common problem on ASR cars than on non-ASR cars. The progression of remedies is probably something like this:

- clean it, on the car or off the car
- check actuator wiring harness for crumbling insulation, can be rewired.
- replace potentiometer - according to europartsdirect.com your car has a replaceable potentiometer for under $50.
- rebuild actuator with beckman technologies (do a search for phone number) or 4mercedes.com
- or buy a new one.

Hello Deanyel, Thanks Again For All Your Suggestions ! I'll Start On Them Real Soon And Get Back With Results. Have A Nice Evening. Deano

I have the same ride,93 400E with almost 170k.I just did my upper wiring harness about three thousand miles ago.I had alot of ASR discrepancies.They gone now.Also there's some cat on www.2phast.com with a 500E that has a write up tutorial on how to put an on/off ASR switch in.But I'd do the harness first.I refused to believe that my harness could be bad;until I opened it up.The wires were crumbling and the more I moved it the worst it became.I've had two previous mercedes;both 300 E's,87 and an 89.The 400 is the finest machine I've ever owned.I wouldn't sell either.Good luck.

Pardon me... I am working in the electronic-related industry so I would like to express my observations.... Before 1995, electronic components in cars are not as complicated as 2000+ model year... and cars now-a-day are controlled by electronics. I firmly believe that MB's mechnical engine is excellent, but its electronic components which control the vehicle is, IMO, years behind the Japs... and the stubbon German heads are too proud to learn from Japan... I know, because my company does business with both Germany and Japan. I refuse to buy 2000+ MB model year for that reason... Happy driving