I thought Mercedes changed to better wiring in 1996?

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1983 300 SD strait exhaust,wrapped also,true cold air,monark injectors,no ALDA .15psi summer winter 18 psi

1999 S320 cold air intake,one muffler,Nitrous kit 125
shot ,ceramic brake pads,removed belly pan,hood slats,and modified grille for cooler air.
no kittens Denso plugs 170f thermostat,best time so far 14.67 in the 1/4. wrapped exhaust, Borla'muff
215 55 16 front tires The Runaway Files by Tennessee Nate

Based upon what I learned and posted about a few months ago, I think a small number of the wires (the larger ones) in my 96 harness had the old insulation on them.

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1996 C280 289K Traded
1997 E420 167K Traded
2001 S430 229K
2000 GMC Jimmy 198K Gone to Boneyard
2003 Camry LE 159K
2011 Mazda3 i Sport 7K

I have heard that all throttle bodies have messed up wires.

__________________
1983 300 SD strait exhaust,wrapped also,true cold air,monark injectors,no ALDA .15psi summer winter 18 psi

1999 S320 cold air intake,one muffler,Nitrous kit 125
shot ,ceramic brake pads,removed belly pan,hood slats,and modified grille for cooler air.
no kittens Denso plugs 170f thermostat,best time so far 14.67 in the 1/4. wrapped exhaust, Borla'muff
215 55 16 front tires The Runaway Files by Tennessee Nate

MB stopped usage of the bio-degradable wiring on the engine harness on 11/95.

That 11/95 is the production date of the HARNESS not the cars production date.

So some W210 cars had that type wire on the engine harness.

__________________
MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
42 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
mbdoc-pe@hotmail.com

Oh MBDOC do I have to worry about my 99 s

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1983 300 SD strait exhaust,wrapped also,true cold air,monark injectors,no ALDA .15psi summer winter 18 psi

1999 S320 cold air intake,one muffler,Nitrous kit 125
shot ,ceramic brake pads,removed belly pan,hood slats,and modified grille for cooler air.
no kittens Denso plugs 170f thermostat,best time so far 14.67 in the 1/4. wrapped exhaust, Borla'muff
215 55 16 front tires The Runaway Files by Tennessee Nate

Not on the engine....

__________________
MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
42 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
mbdoc-pe@hotmail.com

I've never heard of a bad ME harness for the 1996 model year. They were all HFM, that is fours and sixes.

Seen plenty of them (1996 year models) including diesel & gas models!

The 1996 E320 does have a HFM fuel system.
So did the 1996 C220, SL320, S320, & C280.

__________________
MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
42 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
mbdoc-pe@hotmail.com

That was my point - that it's HFMs that fail in 1996, not MEs. In other words the problem seems to have gone away on V8s and V12s with the end of model year 1995 transition from LH to ME. I have 96 ME engine number 17xx and the original harness is fine, other than being plagued with unraveling friction tape. Also ME in 96 did away with the ETA harness and the lower harness (ground strap only) - so it's just one big harness that does everything engine. It's also a way more expensive part than the LH harnesses so it better not fail.

Sorry to ask this question...but what is the STARTING date for the biodegradable harnesses.

i am looking at a 1993 TE

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1989 300ce 122k
( facelifted front,updated tail lights, lowered suspension,bilstein sports, lorinser front spoiler, MOMO steering wheel, remus exhaust,stainless steel brake lines)

1997 s320 103k (what a ride)





1972 280se 4.5 153k Owned for 12 yrs, sorry I sold it


[/SIGPIC]

I think it's 92 to 95 model year for LHs, and 93 to 95.5 (mid-year sometime) model year for HFMs. There were no 92 HFMs in the U.S. Europe got some 1991 LHs but U.S. didn't.

Generally speaking that is correct, but as has been said, many cars had harnesses or ETAs that were made during the "biodegradable" period installed after that period ended. So it's difficult to say in a blanket sense that "all 1997 W210s are exempt" because they still may have some biodegradable wiring somewhere in them.

On affected cars, door and tailgate harnesses (wagons) where there is a lot of flexing, seem to also be somewhat more prone to failures than their non-biodegradable counterparts.

There is a lot of documentation and discussion of the biodegradable harnesses and wiring over at 500Eboard.com

Cheers,
Gerry

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"Just Say No to Ü-R-O [parts]"

A trick question - a 93 TE rear wheel drive is HFM and suspect, but a 93 TE 4-matic is CIS and not prone to failure.