96 E300 cabin fan blowing at only 50%. Advice?

Everything seems to work fine except that the fan only blows at about 50%.

Is there any way to tell if it is the fan motor or something else like a regulator?

Replace the fan resistor. It's a common failure point on early 210s

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I thought this was NLA for the early w210's, requiring an upgrade to the later style blower? I remember this happening to my '97 E300 before I sold it a while back, and I ended up replacing the blower with the one from an S-class.

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w210/153918-early-w210-blower-motor-regulator-replacement-diy-here.html

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1998 E300 turbodiesel

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IS this a big job? I have a tendency to bite off more than I can chew.

Or can you point me toward a DIY link?

It's a relatively easy diy. You access it from underneath the dash,that's the hardest part.

http://youtu.be/J8lgCPa_S_M

The guy in the video used the w140 conversion. I used a Chinese knockoff of the normal 210 resistor off eBay, it was about $20 and it's plug and play. Still works find 2 years later.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blower-Motor-Resistor-Regulator-for-W210-E-Class-Mercedes-Benz-E320-E420-E430-/111797306940

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Thank you. I'll give it a go.

Do you think I can give this unit a couple of taps to see if it works for trouble shooting purposes?

Thanks again.

I'm seeing the part he recommends on amazon for super cheap. $25. Seems to good to be true.
The manufacturers' names are MNJWS or Bapmic.
Are either of these reputable?

I can't link to amazon but the part # he give in the vid you provided is 1408218451

Nope neither are reputable, they are both cheap Chinese knock offs. When I initially did the repair I tried the w140 controller and it failed within a week, got my money back from the eBay seller. The second one was the w210 version and has worked ever since. These parts are so cheap and easy to replace that it's worth the gamble if you can diy.

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I'm seeing the part he recommends on amazon for $25. Nothing more expensive.
Is there any reason not to get one of these? Since they are so easy to get access?

The eBay one I linked is $20. Buy it from whatever seller has the best feedback or return policy.

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I bought that regulator.

I pulled the air filters and washed them. they should be dry by the time I get the part.

But they were definitely clogged up because without them the blower is actually decent.

Its hard to believe the repair shops charge up to $1000 to replace that fan and several hundred to replace the filters when it took me 10 minutes to get to them.

But then again, its not hard to imagine.

I just got the regulator in the mail.

It has no thermal paste.
I have a tube of it from when I changed the CPU on my computer.
I will use that.

It's good to change the filters regularly. They are cheap ($15 or less from Pelican) while expensive ($40 or more) from a dealer. My last one was in the car for four years, during which I drove only 16,000 miles; it was clogged from that driving.

I put a new one in about a month ago, and the fan immediately ran at lower speeds. It took me about a half hour to change it. Instructions are in the box. I think one of the reasons for fan failure (which happens regularly in the W 210) is failure to change the filter.

OK. That was pretty easy. The new part is beefier looking than the old one.
Fan blows full speed.