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Originally Posted by Kestas
I've followed the threads concerning the wiring harness issue. I've never heard of the wiring harness being sold on eBay, or anybody using one from a wreck (you'd be replacing junk with junk).
I see you have a new headgsket. Your story is typical. This job requires lots of manhandling of the wiring harness. This manhandling probably spalled lots of insulation off the wiring. Open up part of the wiring harness and take a look -- you'll be appalled! Personally, I don't think it's worth looking for the individual fault. Even if you find it, you have a wiring harness with brittle insulation throughout. More problems are sure to follow.
What Chuck wrote should weigh in heavily. A bad wiring harness with future shorts can take out some expensive equipment.
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I agree that the headgasket job caused the wire insulation to fall off in various places. I don't agree that any haness from a wreck will be bad. What if the owner replaced the harness before the crash? Are you saying that the only cars that get totalled are cars with the original harness?
There was a harness for sale on Ebay a couple of weeks ago. It was sold for $150. I contacted the buyer and he said it worked fine. There is a brand new one, in a sealed bag, on Ebay right now, for the E300D and they are asking $300.
According to the 124 Owner's Bible, it is possible to repair the harness. If more economical solutions are not found to deal with known problems, then the cost of repairs can quickly meet or exceed the value of the vehicle. If you add up the cost to repair the evaporator, head gasket, throttle acuator, and wiring harness you could be looking at $10,000 from the dealer. That exceeds the value of many 94-95 E320s. The end result will be a loss in value to the owners of these cars because of the high cost to repair known problems.
To me the bottom line is, if I have a wiring harness related problem and I repair that problem and the problem goes away, I am satisfied. That doesn't mean that the harness has to be perfect. Even if the insulation is cracked or rotten, if it hasn't fallen off and it is still insulating, that is OK. The perfect is the enemy of the good.