Hi all, I just bought a 92 300 te 4matic wagon, the 4matic light is on and the owner said last fall it came on and per the manual he turned it off with the switch next to the battery.
I checked all tires and pressures, then found a torn hose going from the resevoir bottle to the pump. I repaired the hose, topped up the fluid, disconnected the battery for ten minutes, and took it for a drive.
Light still on, no 4wd. Suggestions?

Can you still take it back? Sounds like a clear case of fraud, the fault was known and not disclosed, contact your Secretary of State / DMV.

Seriously. These things will eat you alive with 4matic problems, if it isn't working properly and you paid over $2k, take it back.

It sounds like the PO disabled the system with the switch "per the manual", try turning it back on.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

I bought it from a good friend and paid much less than 2k. I was aware of this issue prior to purchase.
In addition to the 4matic problem, there is no fan blower, no 3rd brake light, no rear wiper assembly, no radio. That being said, the body and interior are perfect, it has a custom full dual exhaust and it is tight.
I may have to just buy 4 blizzaks and drive it as is, but being a willing and capable diy'er, wanna go to the next step to get it right.

Did the pump run dry or was the hydraulic reservoir kept full? It's important to not run the expensive tandempump dry, and use the proper MB or Febi hydraulic oil.

If it did not run dry, good, the leveling system is functioning properly also then?

Did you switch the system back on with the switch next to the battery?

I have a spare control unit, I think from the later 4matic as you have, I might also be able to help you with a working rear wiper motor.

The trick will be to troubleshoot your 4matic problem and there are a couple of guys on this forum who can do it, once you catch their attention. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I sold my 4matic about 13years ago, before it started getting expensive so I can not offer much.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

Hello Scirocco,
I assume the light on the dash is not the triangle. If not, then when does the "4matic" mil come on. It will remain on if the switch is in the workshop position. It will remain on if the pressure switch senses no hydraulic pressure from the tandem pump. The light will remain on if there is a code in the system. A pressure problem may NOT set a code.
Don
(JM stay away from the buyer of my 96 E300d with that buy-back bs. I know where you live.)

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Thanks! I am checking into it more today. Also, I would like the rear wiper, and any chance you have any more misc. parts for it? I need some rear hatch trim bits, and a radio tuner (the one in back)
again thanks and I will update

light is not the triangle, just says 4matic. Since I switched it on, it just stays lit, no blinking. I noticed the res was low (but not empty) when I bought it but thought it was related to the 4matic, but it may have been driven 2 or 3 hundred miles empty. When I filled it I found theleak and fixed it, andhave not noticed anything different, but isn't that fluid just for leveling system ordoes it make pressure for the 4matic as well?

Yes, 4matic as well as leveling system. If it ran empty, it might be in trouble.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

By some conicidence, I looked at a '93 300TE 4matic for a guy today, his 4matic light had come on and it was draining the battery with the key off.

The OVP was bad, I happened to have a spare, problems solved. Everything else seemed to be operating properly.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

What does OVP stand for? Is that the dual red fuses behind thebattery? Mine look good.
Today I went through the disconnect battery reset attempt, then disconnected the 4matic ecu, also tried a jumper wire between terminal 5 and 1 to try and get aflash code from the 4matic light which I had read somewhere works, but the light is just on at all times.

Yes, that is a dual-relay load-reduction relay called the OverVoltage Protection relay = OVP relay.

It should be off with the key off, and on with the key on. It provides power to the ABS system / 4matic system among other items, if bad it usually has multiple symptoms but on this car it stuck on, but not completely on, ... so the 4matic and ABS were having trouble.

Fuses usually outlast the relay oddly enough.

Just something to check.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

So if the OVP fuses are good, what else do I check or replace to confirm OVP function?

You can bypass the relay using the schematic on the side if you're electrically skilled, using 10a fuses of course, to see if you problem clears up, or you can swap in a known good one.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff