124's tend to have shorts in the wiring where it passes out of the door pillar into the door thru a flexible rubber cover, its usually the insulation that is cracked apart, the same thing that causes wiring harness failures.
If your windows weren't working or started to be flaky then its for certain that the wiring has deteriorated there and this could be worth checking before you tear into the console, etc..

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body. '87 300D w/ Sportline suspension. No more '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750, it was my annual driver to Texas and I sure don't miss it poor A/C heater system!