Yes another ASR problem; '94 S500 - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

sunny · #16 09-23-2003, 01:59 PM

Have been following this thread; great info. Hope all is well now Jim.

JimF · #17 09-23-2003, 05:03 PM

Car appears to be fixed!!

One other KEY fact: When reading DTCs from the EA/CC/ISC module hooked to a properly functioning ETA, a mechanical sound will be heard as the motor turns and 'resets' its position. It can clearly be heard. Needless to say, that sound was missing from my car with the old ETA. Another 'clue' that points to the ETA assy.

Got a chance to take the unit apart and see what this electro-mechanical monster is all about. These pictures are reflect the as-opened condition: there was no dirt, dust, etc. Nothing 'smelled' burned.

The first picture shows the 'business' side of the unit with the motor driving the butterfly with temp compensation provide by the bi-metallic spring [BMS] assy.

This picture shows the reference potentiometer as measured by a by metal pickup that slides across as the butterfly is opened and closed. This too is temp compensated by another BMS.

The BMS for the ref pot.

myarmar · #18 09-23-2003, 06:51 PM

Jim, the upper right corner on the first picture - were the wires soldered to the PCB - this on the pic doesn't look like good soldered joints. Or the picture is a little out of focus?
Regards, Mike

JimF · #19 09-23-2003, 07:44 PM

they do look poor in the pic but they are ok! There's a lot of flux and the pcb has been conformal coated. There's no evidence that of an ohmic contact.

But I haven't taken that apart yet. May have a better picture when I do.

#20 09-24-2003, 11:24 AM

Jim,

If you can figure out these internal ETA gremlins out, I predict a surge in the rebuild business.

That is, if you offer the service.

So many M119.xxx owners have had this problem.

JimF · #21 09-24-2003, 11:41 AM

be able to re-furbish the unit since they are so expensive. Retail price at a MB dealer is $1000 plus tax; wholesale around $750. Personally I got a great price on a new one because of 'pay-back' time!

I contacted VDO and waiting for a reply. Trying to find a qualified repair center. But I have a feeling that a repair facility for this part doesn't exist.

Speedometers can be repaired/refurbished but I don't think that these units can be unless they go back to the factory in Germany.

JimF · #22 09-28-2003, 08:28 PM

on the Internet; ProgRama Inc in Boca Raton, FL.

They repair many foreign car (MB, BMW, etc.) parts, so maybe they can fix/refurbish this unit.

They also pay cash for 'cores' so maybe they are looking for one of these??

Another shop in SD has three (3) of these units, so it may possible to get one 'good' one from the other three 'carcasses'?? It appears that the motor is 'gone' but it's not seized; maybe just brushes?

Boudreaux · #23 10-21-2003, 11:34 AM

My car is doing the same thing. I've spent so much money repairing it I wonder if I should just wait until it completely fails or sell the car! I know that the price I paid for the car is a far cry from it's MSRP in 1994 ($99,500 plus tax), but I think a car of this quality and reputation should address this common problem (along with the injector wiring harness deterioration). A good failure rate would be 15 years but not less than 10 years.

arif · #24 10-21-2003, 06:16 PM

l have same problem, ASR code 6, but it happens once a month or so , l am waiting fo it to get worse before doing something about it.
Except dont get LH mode, have full power.........

JimF · #25 10-21-2003, 07:52 PM

blanks! Nobody wants to fix the ETA, so we will have to do it.

I have not cut into the harness to see if the wire insulation crumbled but will do that if ohm measurements lead me that way. It does appear that the brushes on the motor are bad, so that should be fixable.

Boudreaux · #26 10-22-2003, 12:08 AM

Well JimF, if anybody can fix electronic parts, it has to be you. My CH92 kicks in and helps to keep the car cool. However, I think it would be better if you could find a way for the fans to stay on a la Volvo until the motor cools down to an acceptable level. My '01 XC's auxiliary fan stays on for about 10 additional minutes after the engine has been shut off. I would think that MB engineers would account for this big V8 engine and the heat generated to accelerate wear and tear on electronic parts (or they probably knew about this built-in obsolescence/fault for repair $$$). I will probably keep resetting the CEL until it gets unbearable.

Oh by the way JimF: if you need to replace the wire harness, it is quite simple until you get to the main connector by the firewall. I found the part ( 129-540-77-05) locally for $462 +tax.

deportes · #27 06-29-2004, 03:25 PM

Jim, thanks for the great info. My 1993 3.2 has a similar problem but no dash warning lights come on. I repalced the OVP a month ago, now it Starts up great and runs fine for a little bit, 1/4 mile, 1 mile sometimes, then it goes into limp mode and it appears to run on less than 6 cylinders.
The engine wiring harness looks OK, pliable wires.
I removed the ETA today, just wondering how can I assure myself that in fact is the ETA causing the problem before I go to the dealer and get in debt. Have you found any repaired units?
Thanks.

JimF · #28 06-29-2004, 05:10 PM

that repairs the unit.

Also my comment about the motor's brushes being bad (that's what I thought) was not valid. They are ok.

The main problem with these units (other than the shorting-out of the wires in the main cable) mostly rests in the reference pot. It wears due to the continual movement of the wiper which literally erodes the resistance material. Once that happens, there's no way to fix that other than replacing the ref pot sub-assy. But it isn't a 'stocked' item, so were SOL!

About all one can do is buy a new unit (recommended!) or finding a wrecked low-mileage car. Since age and heat combine to deteriorate the ref pot (and wires), replacing it with a used unit from a high milage car will probably not work too long.

Re aux fans delay ckt: my wife's Honda has that same feature. But the way MB has wired this (through relays), you would have to get creative to defeat this feature. But agreed, it would be nice.

deportes · #29 06-29-2004, 08:30 PM

Thanks Jim, Ijust priced mine with out ASR and the part 000-141-5725 at the dealer is 1800.00 Do you still have the old one?
When I connect 12v to the cable leads I get the motor to work, nothing appears to move, the motor must be moving an internal part. Do you still have your old part? Maybe I can borrow to test.
If teir is a difference, what tool do you used to open the housing?Some type of star with a center hole. I'm trying to make sure this is the problem before I spend 1400~1800 bucks.
It sure sounds that the problem is very similar to what your car was acting like.

JimF · #30 06-30-2004, 01:54 AM

is available for opening cable, satellite 'boxes'. I believe it's called a security torx tool.

Here's a look at the many styles available:
http://www.tamperproof.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=products

Here's look at a soucce for the tools:
http://www.wihatools.com/indexes/indxSecuritytorx.htm

I believe you need a T-15 size.