Ok, last winter it rained and froze the wiper to the window. I forgot to shut the wiper off. Car sat for a few days during the cold. I started it up one day and went in the house to let it warm up. Come back out and the ominous burnt wire smell was in the air and the wipers, rear dfroster, seat adjustment and sunroof didn't work. I am wondering if there is a relay with all those things in common. I've partially traced out the harness and have found nothing. Before I take the complete dash out I had to ask the relay question. Long shot I know but the dash is a big deal. Help if you can.

Combination relay controls wippers, rear defroster and I think heated seats. A fuse may share the combination relay and the sun roof though.

__________________
92 e300d2.5t
01 e320
05 cdi
85 chev c10

Is this the relay you speak of? I see it listed as as a relay for a number of things. Where is it located?

this one HERE at the bottom of the page?

Thanks,
Gus

I went to your link and went to the next page you will see a rear window defrost relay that sure looks like it. It's behind the fuse box under the hood by vacuum booster.

__________________
92 e300d2.5t
01 e320
05 cdi
85 chev c10

Looks like that link will take you to a few different pages. But yes, I do believe that is the relay that has all the things in common I'm having issues with. Thanks for your help; I appreciate it. I am after all; just a "shadetreeguy" that can appreciate the finer points of driving these old diesels.

I'll let you know what happens.

Gus

Stop doing this, it is bad for your car. A diesel engine makes very little heat at idle, and depends on heat to completely ignite and burn the fuel. When the engine is cold, some of the fuel doesn't burn or doesn't burn completely and so carbon production is way up. Carbon and unburned fuel washes into the engine oil, and will increase engine wear.

Your car almost certainly has an engine block heater (you may need the cord for it) and this is the preferred method for warming up the engine. The block heater only needs about 30 minutes of operation. I set mine on a timer and plug it in before I go to bed, then I have a nice warm engine with instant heat when I start the engine.

In every case (use of block heater or not) you should only let the car idle long enough so that the engine smooths out and full oil pressure has built up, and then drive off gently. Use no more than 1/3 to 1/2 throttle, and try to keep engine RPM below 2000 or 2500 until the engine is fully warmed up. I can tell my engine is fully warmed up with the hot idle oil pressure is around 1.5 bar, which is normal for my car summer or winter.

__________________
Respectfully,
/s/
M. Dillon
'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
'95 124.131 (E300) "Sapphire", 380k miles
'73 Balboa 20 "Sanctification"
Charleston SC

No need to remove the dash, you should be able to get to both the relay(s) and fuses and even the wiper motor from under the hood. When my E300 wiper motor failed, I had the same burnt wiring smell, so that is what I fear you'll need to replace. Just about any wiper motor assembly from a 124 will fit, although the later years are different and have a longer wiper blade that covers more of the windshield. I believe the harness connection for the wiper motor is on the passenger side between the battery and the HVAC intake cowl (metal part, not the plastic, but I could be remembering wrong).

Do you have a copy of the 124 service manual on CD? Do you have a copy of Steve Nervig's browser-based index for the CDs? These are indispensible. The original CD interface is VERY clunky and hard to use, Steve's index makes it much better. You can also access all the 124 service manual for free online, search this forums for links.

__________________
Respectfully,
/s/
M. Dillon
'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
'95 124.131 (E300) "Sapphire", 380k miles
'73 Balboa 20 "Sanctification"
Charleston SC