87 300SDL

OK... here's a couple of attached pics

The other week I was fishing a wire thru the firewall and when I was finished, conveniently my climate control no longer worked. I had no blower motor working on any setting. I can hear the click of some solenoid trying to open flaps, but no luck.

BTW, I'm watching this thread with interest but posting my specific questions here.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=201968

So I poked around under the dash and found these two problems:

I found two vacuum lines that just go to nothing. Both black, both enter the dash area thru the firewall next to the brake vacuum canister. I'm holding them in the picture. Interestingly I plugged the larger line (both are black) and the engine could hardly hold idle. But I fail to understand why they wouldn't be connected to anything under the dash.

My thoughts are that as I pulled on the wire I disconnected these, but for the life of me can't find where they go. As you can see they could only stick thru the firewall for a few inches so whatever they attach to should be very close, yet I can't find anything.

#2 Behind the climate control system is this star like electrical connector. There are black wires coming from it. Only one wire is attached to anything... the rear window defroster switch, which, BTW, doesn't work anyway. The others just hang loose in the dash. While I'm thinking they aren't climate control related... WHY THE BLEEP WOULDN'T THEY BE ATTACHED TO ANYTHING?

Any help is appreciated. I'm going to try some of the diagnostics in the other thread.

Bill

Attached Thumbnails

   

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'87 300SDL, intensely modified Greasecar setup, with nickle plated heat exchanger, 3 valve setup, 312,000 miles
'95 Suburban diesel, Greasecar basics, 16 plate heat exchanger, mercedes fuel lines, Racor filter
'85 Renault Alliance converted full electric vehicle

The "vacuum lines" are vents. They allow air into the vacuum system when needed, to "turn off" some vacuum-controlled device. Leave them alone.

The star-shaped thing is an illuminator for all of the switches in the panel above the climate control -- sunroof, antenna, etc. The star has one lamp; all of the other "black wires" are fiber optic conductors or "light pipes." They are supposed to be plugged into the backs of the switches to illuminate the labels. The wire connector in the center of the star pulls out and has a bulb in a socket. If the bulb fails none of the switches illuminate.

Your car must be missing the "No user serviceable parts inside" label.

As to the climate control itself, you may have shorted a hot lead while fishing the wire. Check all of the fuses first. The climate control is completely dead? Doesn't work even on Defrost? That is the simplest function, the "limp home" mode, as it were. If even that doesn't work then next you should check to see if the climate control is getting 12 volts when the key switch is on.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Sure, but it didn't say "Hey Bill, This means you." so obviously it's OK for me to take apart.

Anyway, some more info as I track things down.

I tested the right and left plugs to the climate control center. On the left side almost everything has voltage pins 1-10 and 13. On the right side only 10 and 13 pins have voltage. I have no idea what that means, but I assume it means voltage is getting to the climate control panel so I can rule that part out.

Now, I have poked around but haven't found where the actual blower is yet to see if electricity is reaching it. I suppose when I do if it does not, I can backtrack from there.

To answer your question, I do not even have defrost. I have no blower function what so ever. All fuses appear good in the fuse box.

I also thought this was vacuum related because the car started shifting hard at the same time as this problem. However I just tested the vacuum to the main port in the distribution for the climate control. It stayed above 15 inches Hg, which seems to indicate this is NOT a vacuum problem.

So where's the blower? I took off the panels underneath the glove box. I see some brown wires going into the duct work, next to what I assume is the coils for the A/C. Is this what I'm looking for?

TIA,
Bill

__________________
'87 300SDL, intensely modified Greasecar setup, with nickle plated heat exchanger, 3 valve setup, 312,000 miles
'95 Suburban diesel, Greasecar basics, 16 plate heat exchanger, mercedes fuel lines, Racor filter
'85 Renault Alliance converted full electric vehicle

Jeremy is right on.

The first thing to do is, find the blower fuse and pull it out and throw it away. Then replace it. You cannot tell if one of those POS fuses is good or bad by just looking at it. Do this before you try to fool with the blower.

The Blower is removed after you take off a very expensive weird looking part with a bunch of metal prongs on it under the glove box. Somebody will have a name for it. Held in there with a bunch of clips and screws. This is not the coil for the AC.

The little thin black fiber optic wires are inserted into the various switches on the wood panel.

Feed them through the connector, then insert them in the switches first then plug the connector back on the switches. It''s the only way they will stay put. you cannot plug them into the connector first. They will wind up in the same place you found them.

At night when it's vewy, vewy dark, turn the lights on. The switches will light up. This presuppose that the bulb in the optical spider is good.

It sounds like someone has been in there messing around prior to yourself. Not a good idea if you don't know what your looking at.

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1986 SDL
My Other Car is a Porsche. When it stops leaking, I'm out of oil.