JSmith, Thanks for the reply. My harness is encased in a piece of thin plastic tubing, which is now very brittle and actually falling apart at the tough. It does not have tough tape around it. I am wondering if I should replace the thin tubing to protect the wires and their insulation.

My car is a '90 300CE. Does that mean that I have avoided the harness problem? Thanks again.

Mike

jsmith

We were having a starting problem, which we are still having. I went in to buy a OVP replacement. When I was explaining my problem to the mechanic he said to replace the OVP and if the problem continued to replace the harness, since they were cause similar problems. Now that we have replaced the OVP our car started great for about a week, now it doesn't want to start again. Not sure what else it could be....

you are in the group. It affects cars all the way up to the 98MY (when the V6 was phased in). The two most frequent symptoms are recurring check engine light and difficulty in starting. Sorry! But as the originator of this thread about two months ago, it still holds true--

"Wiring Harness Scam continues--this stinks"..

And it still does.
allen

S'2000,
someone posted sometime back that this started in '92 as a result of switching to a different insulation material for the wires which unfortunately does not stand up well to heat and time. the sheath itself is not at issue although in your case you would probably do well to replace it if it is crumbling. i think one would use a heat resistant wrap for this purpose. i do not know how it is in your 300CE but the harness runs all over the engine, that's why it is a time consuming though not difficult job.

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joE
1993 300e-2.8 - gone now <sigh>
"Do not adjust your mind, it's reality that's malfunctioning"
http://banners.wunderground.com/bann...L/Key_West.gif

JSmith, thank you very much.

Thanks to all you guys here on this forum, I think I got an okay deal.

I've read some horror stories here, so I was armed with stuff when I took it to the dealer.

Asked for a courtesy part, but told the Service Advisor that I was aware of the game dealers are playing and that I wasn't going to pay 7 hours labor for something that takes 50 - 70 minutes to replace.

The bill ended up $579.00+tax.

I understand that the part lists for $600.

Of course a lot of bogus "checked trouble codes, reset, checked indicated components." Funny, though they charged me to check them, (EGR and Oxygen sensor,) they didn't indicate in the "comments" section of the bill that they needed replacement, because the light is back on, and when I checked the codes, (thanks, suginami) they were the same two shown on the bill.

All they put in "comments" was that my wiper didn't fit right.

Anyway, thanks guys. You probably saved me $500!

cameronscott@drumcorpsmail.com

BTW:

I called the dealer to set an appointment. She asked what I needed, and I told her that I needed to get the wiring harness on my 94 E320 replaced. That was it.

On the estimate, it said, "wiring harness brittle, check-engine light on..." I never told her either thing, and she acted as though she'd never heard about the issue!

I bet she's never heard of the Roswell Incident, either!

Ah, I love a happy ending!

For what it's worth, Phil here at Partsshop charges $405.50 for a 400E harness. I plan to have mine done in the next few months but do NOT plan to take it to the dealer. My independent tech said it'd take about 2 hours to install. Sounds like a gamble to go the dealership route to me.

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Steve
'93 400E

drumcorp,

to add value to this thread maybe you can post the name / location of the dealership where you successfully got the service.

FWIW RAY CATENA of NJ refused to perform the service with any kind of courtesy break for me. i did come to them armed with forum documentation but they took the hard line that maybe if i was the original owner and had regular service performed by the dealership, so in my case it was a firm NO!

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joE
1993 300e-2.8 - gone now <sigh>
"Do not adjust your mind, it's reality that's malfunctioning"
http://banners.wunderground.com/bann...L/Key_West.gif

I had this doen recently to my '92 400E. The past postings of the degradation of the wiring harness was exactly the same. Brought to the dealer. I was hoping they would do something about it but, did not. So, I just bought the wiring harness from the internet about $383 (it includes tax). Brought to a indepedent mechanic and had it done. The dealer did not want give me any courtesy probably due, to the fact I stopped going to the dealer about 5-7 yrs ago. Oh, I take that back. I did go back once, about two years ago but, the estimate for fixing my car was around $4500+ for things I am sure I did not need replacing. Brought to a mechanic I trusted. The problems I were resolved $450 later. I don't trust or care much for any kind of MB dealer.

Can you tell me where you Purchased your harness on the web. davecancu_99@yahoo.com my quotes have all be over $500.00

These harness's fail....period. In most cases a reputable indy can get you handled for about the same as the "goodwill" labor money. However, for whats its worth, Leith is pretty reasonable about it from what I've heard, somewhere around $300.00 if the car is under 100k and has least had some dealer service done.


One point I've yet to see mentioned is this, goodwill warrenty is just that, goodwill. If you use the dealer service dept., aren't a PITA about it and are reasonable in your request, they can "offer" goodwill providing you participate in the costs of repair. However, most people aren't into dealer service with a older car due to the econimics.


There is no firm policy on this and in most cases actually lies within the whims of the DSM. It used to be the DSM had to sign off on "goodwill" claims in order for the dealer to get paid.



Joe

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Project Smoker, '87 603 powered wagon
Hauler, 96 CTD can you say torque?
Toy 73 Cougar xr7 convertible
Acme Automotive Inc.
Raleigh NC
919-881-0364

I have seen wiring harnesses fail on 11 engines also. Similar symptoms, same fault (cracking insulation)

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Andrew
300e 294,000mi
380sel 185,998mi
380se 309,980mi

sorry, thats 111 engines

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Andrew
300e 294,000mi
380sel 185,998mi
380se 309,980mi

To all concerned. You all have the option of small claims court against dealers that do not cooperate. Why afraid to taker this action? Some time spent, and may result in dealer (or M/b) taking your complaint to heart. A publized claim (complaint) will get action! Good luck Abe G PS been there!