I am in the process of removing my ETA (Electronic Throttle Actuator from my 1992 500E, I got the ETA out easy enough, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to disconnect the huge plug at end of the ETA wiring harness, from the receptacle it plugs into. I know there is some special simple procedure.

And how often do these ETA's fail? I am the 3rd owner of this 500E and the ETA was replaced at 78K when the car was 5 years old. The car is now 15 years old and has an additional 64K miles on it. I have pulled a number of codes that point to the ETA.

I am replacing the FI wiring harness as well, as it is shot, the ETA buzzes constantly with the ignition on, and the car starts misfiring badly once the engine starts to warm-up. The car also loads up, but runs great over 1500 rpm. I am also replacing the Air Mass Sensor, while I have everything apart. As well as the stop lamp switch and neutral safety switch, as a result of the codes I pulled, and previous behavior. Cruise control works fine. Hope this solves my problem. Already replaced, wires, plugs, caps, rotors, O2 sensor, thermostat.

Also, I cannot figure out how to remove the left A/C vent from the dash, and I cannot find any info. how to do this. I figured out how to remove the door panel safely to replace my power doorlock actuator, but the A/C vent has me stumped.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Also in the future I will try and document my repair procedures in detail with my digital camera, I know this can be of great help many.

Thank any and all of you for your help in advance.

Bill

If your ETA connector has the rotating lock mechanism, it will be very difficult to disassemble. These connectors are actually seperate plastic pieces molded together to capture the pins and wiring inside it. You will have to CAREFULLY cut along the various seams to get it apart. I'm not sure it can be done. The connector on the 95 model years is much easier to get apart. I include a link showing how to disassemble a 95 connector...it might give you some hints on how to tackle yours. Keep in mind that the ETA functions constantly, it sees duty all the time. I am not surprised that fail. But 64K seems too early a failure to me.

http://v12uberalles.com/throttle_actuator_rewire.htm

Also, to take out the left vent, use a portion of this article...

http://v12uberalles.com/instrument_cluster_removal.htm

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