1995 w124 a/c woes...

[Maruzo]

Hi all,

Bought a 95 e320 in mint condition last week. Just about everything works except the a/c.

A little history on it:

previous owner states she replaced the compressor last year. A/C worked for a few months, then she garaged the car for the summer, and the a/c stopped working when she started driving again in october.

When I got the car, the compressor would work for 1~3 minutes in the morning. Then the fan would just blow regular air.

I took it to a garage that does a/c service and had them charge the freon. They verified that the vacuum is still good and that there were no leaks (pressure was good, they said).

The charge did not help. Still blowing regular air.

So i took it to another place, an auto shop that specilizes in electric and a/c. These folks traced the problem to a compressor relay that was not turning on the compressor. So i had the part replaced.

The a/c worked for 3 minutes. Then it stopped again.

After 3 hours of troubleshooting, it's getting dark. So the a/c specialist gave up and asked me to come back tomorrow.

They ended up not charging me the $140 they wanted to troubleshoot and fix the problem.

So i was driving the car back, and i turn on the radio. The radio display works, but no sound came out. And the minute I turn on the radio, the buckle-up sign came on instantly, along with the interior lighting next to the buckle-up sign.

The radio eventually came back on and the buckle-up sign went away. But that really gave me a scare.

The other funny thing was, the driver side window's 1-touch open function failed as well. But resumed working after a few repeated tries.

Any ideas?

I've so far had the compressor replaced, charged the freon, and replaced the compressor relay. The mechanic told me they've confirmed the thermostate working, along with a few other a/c parts that they confirmed weren't the issue.

I'm a bit weary about bringing the car back to this auto electric place and thinking maybe i should just bite the bullet and send it to the dealership to have it looked at.

Any suggestions are most welcome!!

Theo

[Maruzo]

Hi all,

Just bought a 95 e320 in mint condition. Just about everything works except the a/c.

A little history on it:

previous owner states she replaced the compressor last year. A/C worked for a few months, then she garaged the car for the summer, and the a/c stopped working when she started driving again in october.

When I got the car, the compressor would work for 1~3 minutes in the morning. Then the fan would just blow regular air.

I took it to a garage that does a/c service and had them charge the freon. They verified that the vacuum is still good and that there were no leaks (pressure was good, they said).

The charge did not help. Still blowing regular air.

So i took it to another place, an auto shop that specilizes in electric and a/c. These folks traced the problem to a compressor relay that was not turning on the compressor. So i had the part replaced.

The a/c worked for 3 minutes. Then it stopped again.

After 3 hours of troubleshooting, it's getting dark. So the a/c specialist gave up and asked me to come back tomorrow.

They ended up not charging me the $140 they wanted to troubleshoot and fix the problem.

So i was driving the car back, and i turn on the radio. The radio display works, but no sound came out. And the minute I turn on the radio, the buckle-up sign came on instantly, along with the interior lighting next to the buckle-up sign.

The radio eventually came back on and the buckle-up sign went away. But that really gave me a scare.

The other funny thing was, the driver side window's 1-touch open function failed as well. But resumed working after a few repeated tries.

Any ideas?

I've so far had the compressor replaced, charged the freon, and replaced the compressor relay. The mechanic told me they've confirmed the thermostate working, along with a few other a/c parts that they confirmed weren't the issue.

I'm a bit weary about bringing the car back to this auto electric place and thinking maybe i should just bite the bullet and send it to the dealership to have it looked at.

Any suggestions are most welcome!!

Theo

[Ferdman]

Theo, taking it to your local MB dealer or a competent, reputable, MB-trained indie would be a good idea.

[mbdoc]

Yes, that MB system is different from 99.9% of any other car's a/c system.

The a/c controller sends a GROUND signal that goes thru the low pressure switch & then to pin #10 of the Klima relay. Testing should be done at the Klima relay connector.

[engatwork]

Yes, that MB system is different from 99.9% of any other car's a/c system.

Once you understand how it is done it is a pretty neat way of doing it in my opinion.

[mbdoc]

And some what easy to defeat, just as MB elimated that belt protection system in 1996 & later systems.

[Maruzo]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I do have a trusted mercedes specialist that we take our benz to. But he's almost as expensive as the dealership!

I took my 98 e320 to him for the same a/c problem and it cost me $1700 to repair!

The a/c does work good after the work though.

I got this 95 e320 really cheap and it's in such good condition, i guess i'll have to spend some more money to get the a/c working good. Sigh...

[Maruzo]

Hi mbdoc, thanks for your suggestion. Can you tell me what this Klima relay connector look like, and where it can be located?

[Maruzo]

Update:

Took it to my local benz specialist shop. The mechanic replaced the controller module/ klima relay, recharged the freon.

All's well now.

Btw, anyone know why sometimes the sound won't come out of radio, the antenna won't engage, the interior light flashes like crazy, and the central lock and alarm won't work?

This typically happens when i turn on the radio while the a/c is on, or any combinations ending with turning the radio while the car's running.

I re-seated fuse#C and everything is now back to normal. Hopefully it won't happen again.