My car has a problem and I'm not sure where to turn. I have only had the car for two months so I do not know what to do.

I have the 1995 c280 that was doing great and this weekend when my children and I were out of town, it started acting up. It idles poorly at stops bouncing around quite a bit and then is slow to get away from a stop, back fires once in a while...just no power, feelslike not getting gas. Once I'm up in gears, it does better but does not seem to have full power. Runs better if air conditioning is off, but not much better. I made an emergency stop at a mechanic on the trip. He Changed the spark plugs, the fuel filter, and made sure the battery was full of fluid. Then he found the engine harness to have wires touching and overheating to where the cover was burnt off. He covered the wires the best he could...I have photos of the prior damage. I only have 80,000 miles on this car. This part you would think, would be designed to withstand the heat. It did not wear out from being old...it wore out from heat!
I would appreciate any assistance...Thank you.

Just do a search on "Harness"..

There is tons of info on the problem/remedy..

From the problem you've described, the wiring harness could certainly be the problem. There are also a few other things that need to be checked as well. The Overvoltage Protection Relay(OVP)could also cause the symptoms you've mentioned. As far as not having full power, the Mass Air Flow sensor could be to blame. All of these items are commonly found to be problematic. I'm not sure which part you mean was burned. More information would be helpful in trying to help you solve this problem.

To iluvmils,

Where is the OVP relay located, & what is the cost??? I might do it myself for security on my C36 that already has the harness.

The wiring harness on my 95 E320 looks like it's 200 years old! I'll be replacing it as soon as I finish with the head gasket. All the handling I did with the wiring while working on the head gasket has flaked off the insulation.

It's been reported that leaving bad wiring on the car can further damage expensive electrical components.

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

The OVP is located under the hood at the passenger side rear. It's a silver colored rectangular thing with a fuse or two visible on the top. If the last four digits of the part number are 67 45, just check the fuses. I've only seen ONE failure of a 67 45. If the last four digits are 52 45 and it says "Made in Austria" replace it. The 52 45's are known trouble-makers and I suggest replacing them even if all is well with the vehicle. It's only a matter of time before they go bad. It's easy to replace for a DIYer. Take a look under the hood and you'll see. As for exposed wiring, if the conductor material comes in contact with another exposed conductor(shorts out), components can be damaged. It all depends on what touches what. Cracked/missing insulation is reason enough to replace the harness, in my opinion. Good luck

Thanks for the detailed info!