Thanks for the help. My vehicle does not have ASR. (yellow triangle in instrument cluster is not present) I understand that throttle actuators go bad for 3 reasons: decayed wire insulation, defective potentiometer, or faulty motor. Based on what I found when I cut into the wire, I can definitely say the wiring is bad. The black sleeve around the wires leading from the actuator to the plug contains only dust and copper strands--no evidence of there ever having been any insulation. I'm going to rewire this thing and give it a try. I'll let you know how it turns out.

I'm still looking for a plug/wire lead supplier. If I can't find an MB match, I could cut off the other end and splice in a whole new connector. Only problem with this is if I do end up needing a rebuilt unit because of a bad pot or motor, I will have a connector mismatch. (Guess I'll have to keep the old connector end just in case)

Any other thoughts?