I have been driving my new to me 1994 E320 for a week now. I love it. I have 2 questions for the experts here. Is the an adjustment available for the front windows? My driver window only goes up to about 1/2 inch from closed and at that point, the window motor makes a grinding noise.. like stripping gear teeth. The window goes up and down fine except that last 1/2 inch up. I can "pull" the window all the way up with my hands to seal it. Seems like it may be at the end of the gears and ther is no more left to turn on to raise the window that last bit.

the second question is about the check engine light. The mileage tonight turned to 158,600 and my check engine light came on. the engine is running perfect, no idle issues or anything. I tool off tha gas cap and put it back on (saw that ina post on here) and the light is still on. Where should I look ? What commonly causes this? Should I worry if the car is running fine?

All help is much appreciated.

For the first problem you probably need a new window regulator - you've probably got a stripped tooth. These are about $80-90 and can be a do it yourself project if you have either skill or determination. On the check engine light you need to get the fault code. On your car you can do this yourself by pushing a little black button on the computer diagnostic module under the hood. Do a search of the archives for things like "check engine light" and "fault codes" - there's a whole bunch of stuff there. It's not urgent but there's something wrong that's going to need some attention.

There is a black box in the engine compartment near your battery, on the passenger side near the firewall. It has an LED display with a button that you can depresses which causes a red light to come on. Press the button for 3 seconds (with the engine off and the ignition in the on position) and release. Count the number of flashes for the fault code. One blink indicates no codes present. Repeat the code retrieval by again depressing the button and count the blinks a second time. If you get the same number then there is only one code. If you get a different number of flashes, then you have more than one code. Keep repeating till all codes are read. This is indicated by the repeat of the first code received.

Here is a site which shows the fault codes and what they mean:

http://www.batauto.com/MB/

For what it's worth, there are two very common fault codes for our engine - #5 and #26.

If you are able to pull the codes, post what you get, and we might be able to help you. Both problems have relatively easy fixes.

And remember, the check engine light will illuminate only for faults that related to smog emissions issues.

There are other codes that are stored relating to other systems in your car that are stored in that box, but won't illuminate a check engine light.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Shoot. The link I posted above no longer exists. Here are the fault codes:


1 No faults.
2 Oxygen sensor inoperative.
3 Lambda control inoperative.
4 Air injection inoperative.
5 EGR inoperative.
6 Idle speed control inoperative.
7 Ignition system failure.
8 Coolant temp sensor-open or short circuit.
9 Intake air temp sensor-open or short circuit.
10 Voltage at Air Mass sensor too high or low.
11 TN (RPM) signal defective.
12 Oxygen sensor heater open or short circuit.
13 Cam position sensor signal from-EZL/AKR ign. control unit defective.
14 Intake manifold pressure at start too low.
15 Full throttle Info defective.
16 Idle speed info defective.
17 CAN Data exchange-Malfunction between control units.
18 Adjustable camshaft timing solenoid-open or short circuit.
19 Fuel injectors-open or short circuit or Emission control system adaptation at limit.
20 Speed signal missing.
21 Purge switchover valve-open or shorted.
22 cam position sensor signal defective.
23 Intake manifold pressure w/ engine running too low.
24 Starter ring gear segments defective.
25 Knock sensors.
26 Upshift delay switch over valve-open or shorted.
27 Coolant temp sensor deviation between sensor ciruits 1 & 2.
28 Coolant temp Sensor.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I think I have found the check engine light issue without even reading the codes. I usually drive with the radio pretty loud, unles I have my little boy with me. For the last few days, he has been riding with my wife, so my radio has been pretty loud. This morning I had the baby and the radio turned down. I noticed my exhuast seems a little loud. I crawled under the car and there is a crack in the pipe right under the rear drivers side door. In front of what I beleive is the center muffler. I assume this will play a role in the light coming on. Anyone care to comment?

I guess an exhaust leak might affect the functioning of the O2 sensor.

Still, it only takes a minute or two to get the code(s).

Do it and post the result.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I read the codes. Codes 2, 4 , 5 were what it indicated. That would be Oxugen senor, air injection, amd EGR. I think the broken exhaust pipe (broken where is enters the front of the center muffler) may cause this. Can anyone verify if this is indeed the case?

I don't know why a leak in the exhaust, that is downstream of the O2 sensor, would cause all of these codes. I guess anything is possible though. I would clear the codes, get the leak fixed and then see if any of the codes return.

by the way, to clear the codes you press and hold the LED button for approx. 8 seconds. I found this method to not be fool proof and it sometimes requires a longer hold period to clear them. And you have to clear each code seperately. Another words press the LED button for 3 seconds, get the code, hold for 8 plus seconds, then again for 3 sec. to get the next one and on and on until they are all cleared.

You're right about the O2 sensor. The exhaust leak is down wind of the O2 sensor.

I'm wondering if his EGR inlet pipe is blocked, and causing the other two false codes.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I have started the process of repairing the middle muffler. I am considering just getting a new one. here is my question though: On my car, the middle muffler id attached to the CAT with a standard flange set up. The other end.. attaching to the pipe to the rear muffler appears to be welded. It looks as though the middle muffler, the pipe, and the rear muffler are all one peice. Is this correct? If so, does everyone just cut the pipe to install a replacement middle muffler like Fastlane offers?

Yep, mine is all one piece, too.

There is a company called Time Valve that sells OEM stainless steel units. They are a long-time subscriber in The Star Magazine:

www.timevalve.com

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Ok, now that that is confirmed, I will cut it. I planned to cut it na d pul out the middle muffler to weld the pipe. It is a temporary fix till I get the wife to approve the $730 Timevalve gets for the stainless

Has anyone here installed the Timevalve stainless system on their E320? Does the sound change? Is there a performance gain? I do not wish to make my car any louder.

I had one installed yesterday. I was going to DIY, but I could not get the mid muffler off of the cat (should have been easy, but I tried like hell for almost 3 hours to no avail). Mid and rear mufflers. It's a 95 E320 wagon. It was pretty spendy (almost $1K), but I plan on owning this one 'till its junk, which shouldn't be for some time now. Although these mufflers apparently usually fit perfectly, the mechanic said he had to do a bit of bending of the midddle muffer pipes (the ones going into the cat were slightly off: I'm going to call Timevalve and let them know). They custom make each piece after you order it; they use a jig that they set up from an OEM as the template. The car sounds as quiet as ever, and I haven't driven it to check for noticeable power gains/losses.
Brian

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Brian
1995 E320 wagon