Newbie questions about 1994 c220.

[ericnguyen]

Dear friends:

I've bought an old 1994 Mercedes c220 and have some newbie questions regarding that car:

1) Is $35 for a duplicate ignition key (based on my car's VIN) a reasonable charge by a MB dealer? It seems no other places (Walmart, K-mart, Home Depot) can duplicate MB keys except MB dealers.

2) Are ignition keys for 1994 c220 transponder keys? (I believe they aren't, because MB only introduced transponder keys starting since 1997 ?).

3) In the center auto gear area, there are 4 buttons for glass window control. However, I also see 2 other buttons in this area:

a. The first one is a small square black button which shows a white stick man if I move it to the right, and a white round point if I move it to the left.

b. The second one is a round black button with a white arrow that either points to the north-east or north-west direction (dashboard is north)

Please tell me what these 2 buttons are designed for.

4) I only found 3 black buttons (different shapes) near the door
handle on the driver side, and these buttons are for moving the
driver seat, seat backrest and head rest. However, I could not
find any button or handle under the driver seat so that I can move
the DRIVER seat back and forth. Could some gentlemen tell me how I can move the driver seat in my 1994 c220?

5) Whenever I inserted the ignition key and the routine ignition test started, I heard some clicking/rattling/slapping noise coming from the right side (driver seat is left side) of the rear seat. I could not figure out the source of this sound. After running the car for several minutes, the noise went away (but it would always come back after turning off the engine and re-inserting the key). I could only guess it may come from the rear seat belt motor or some device located near the battery in the trunk. What do you think this sound may come from?

6) Is the OVPR (Over Voltage Protection Relay) located next to the positive electrode of the battery in the trunk?

7) My current battery in an Interstate with 850 A CCA. I believe it's dying and wonder whether I can replace it with a cheap battery with only 660 A CCA? I live in sunny California, so I guess it does not take much effort for the starter to crank the engine (I use Valvoline SynPower 5W40). Are all Mercedes batteries 12 V ones?

8) Is there any Mercedes factory manual for 1994 c220? Where can I buy it?

9) Are original Mercedes cassette/tape players in 1994 c220 Alpine ones? Do these original units have the standard ISO/DIN connectors on the back?

10) I've noticed that the plastic insulators of many electrical wires in my Mercedes got dried up and exposed the inner copper wires. What should I use to cover them up? Electric tapes do not stick well in this hot environment.

11) The only way to fill up the transmission fluid is by pouring in the transmission dipstick tube? Why the transmission dipstick have 3 undulating sections? I think it is a little bit hard to insert the dipstick back into the tube. What's the correct to insert the transmission dipstick?


Thank you very much for all your time and help.

Eric

[Hocky]

Welcome to the C class club Eric. Mine is the 1994 C180 Euro and it does not have electric seat adjusters. Regarding the button on the left between the front and back window buttons, its the rear child safety lock for the windows. When you see the child logo, its on, otherwise its off. Don't know if it locks the door too, haven't tried to open it yet when this is on. Please try this yourself. The other lonely button at the bottom end with the slanting logo is the left or right RV door mirror controller. Flick to the left you control the left mirror with up/down or left/right pressure on the knob. Likewise with the right mirror flick to the right and do the adjustments. The transmission dipstick has the twists for some strange reason, perhaps to go around the twists and turns of the tube to reach the bottom. I found the only way to get it back in properly was to really give it a firm shove from the top. Perhaps the experts could help you with the rest.

[mbdoc]

Eric,

The Overvoltage relay is under the hood(rt rear) under a black plastic cover, about 4.5" tall with a blue 15A fuse.

[miktvk]

Eric, your 220 is suffering from the same evil problem afflicting all 93-95 (up to 96?) MB engines: biodegradable wiring.

In an effort to be more 'green', MB (and others) decided to make a lot of plastic components more enviro-friendly during those years, a noble cause to be sure, but the engine heat caused the wiring to begin its return to dust a bit prematurely.

So, also welcome to the bad wiring harness club. Black tape will help little. Any movement of the harness will cause the insulation to crack all over, it might as well be made of pie crust.

Delaer repair is about $750, parts and labor.

[Limited Edition]

Eric,

$35 for a duplicate ignition key is a reasonable charge by a MB stealership.

1994 C-Class ignition keys are not transponder keys.

Push the seat bottom button forward to move seat foward.

You can buy a service cd on eBay for DIY information.

Welcome to the forum

Regards,

Don

[ericnguyen]

Many thanks for all your helpful replies.

I would like to have some questions for:

1) black 1994 c280:

I could not find any seat bottom button under
my 1994 c220's driver seat at all. Only the passenger seat have
a black handle under it. Could you tell me the specific location of this mysterious button under the driver seat? I like your word "MB stealership" heh.

2) miktvk:

"Wiring harness" refers to all electrical wires in a car OR just some cluster of electrical wires in some area under the hood (if so please tell me where this clsuter of wires is).

3) M.B.DOC

- Which types of fuses are used in MB cars? Are they ATC (standard) blade fuses or MAXI blade fuses? Can I just buy the easy-to-find fuses at Kragen or NAPA parts stores to replace these MB fuses?

- It seems my 1994 c220 have 2 different fuse boxes. I found one
under the trunk and near the battery. However this fuse box has some label that refers to another fuse box called "main fuse box".
Please tell me where I can find this MAIN fuse box.

4) For all:

- Is it normal for the tiny red LED near the power button of an OEM radio/tape player (I believe it's an Alpine) to keep blinking all the time even after the ignition key has been removed. Is it because the radio's constant power line is damaged?

-Are original Mercedes cassette/tape players in 1994 c220 Alpine ones? Do these original units have the standard ISO/DIN connectors on the back?

- Filling up the transmission fluid is through the transmission dipstick tube?

Thanks a lot!

Eric

[Limited Edition]

1) black 1994 c280:

I could not find any seat bottom button under
my 1994 c220's driver seat at all. Only the passenger seat have
a black handle under it. Could you tell me the specific location of this mysterious button under the driver seat? I like your word "MB stealership" heh.

The button is the one on your door. You have three buttons on your door that look like a seat. One button is the seat bottom, one is the seat back and the last is the headrest.

Regards,

Don

[miktvk]

Eric, the harness in question has many wire bundles to a number of electrical parts, but it is the one that send wires to the ignition coils in the valve cover, the temp sensor in the thermostat, and it also sends some wires to under the front of the valve cover, to the very front of the head. Not sure what all those connectors are for, but check the exposed wires going into the connectors at those locations, guarantee you will see flaking insulation. Try not to move those wires around to much for the moment. If you see any exposed copper or cracks in the insulation, go find some liquid rubber (silicon sealer), squirt a bit into the back of the connector where the wires enter them, when it hardens, it will stabilize those vulnerable areas for a while.

[Hocky]

Eric,
The wiring harness if I'm not wrong is that black plastic "Y" shaped structure which is sitting on top of the area between the engine and the fuel injection set up. I suppose the structure is a heat insulator for wires within because of the tremendous heat generated by the engine in this area. This is a very hot engine. Mine is only 1800 or 1799cc and the heat is surprisingly hot only after a short trip. Maybe the coolant system is not sufficient or is designed for cooler countries like Germany/Europe and Canada where it would not overheat so easily. Our temp is now in the 30s and low 40s and my aux fans are working intermittently to help cool the engine. I can see the temp going beyond the usual 80 and down again when the fans go on.

[suginami]

I respectfully disagree on the advice that you may have a bad engine wiring harness.

This site and others on the world wide web are full of posts with owners of E320's and C280's with bad engine wiring harnesses on M104 engines (2.8 and 3.2 liter) from '93 and '95. They are all bad.

I have also read many posts on this site about many bad engine wiring harnesses on '92 - '93 400E's.

If you do a search, you'll find well over a hundred posts on this site, and 80-90% of the complaints are M104 engines, and maybe 20% are M119 engines.

But I can't ever recall, not once, reading or hearing of a complaint regarding a bad engine wiring harness problems on M111 engines.

There may be some problems, but I'm inclined to believe it is very rare, and you'd be the exception, not the rule.

[ericnguyen]

Thanks for all your great help.

This site rocks and is very informative.

Eric