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  #1  
Old 03-20-2019, 08:35 AM
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Location: Rockville, MD
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European 1985 300TD turbodiesel oddities...

Good morning All. I am reaching out to you all for guidance, help, and re-affirming I am not going crazy with this car...

This is a European market 1985 300TD turbodiesel station wagon. It was never federalized and has some weird options. ABS, two part skid plate setup underneath the protects radiator, engine, and bell housing, the car originally came with 15 inch steel wheels (I only have the spare tire), manual lumbar adjusting front seats, cargo hold downs in the rear (I have two over the tire humps and I am missing the third that is on the cargo floor - right side near the tail gate), pet net and privacy cover, third row, and a rear compartment bosch heater inside the area where the first aid door is (modified with rectangular vents). The car is champagne metallic with cream mb tex interior.

I may have some electrical gremlins and the wiring is a bit different than the service books that I have - covering US market cars. There is no warning module/buzzer like the US market cars or European market cars that were federalized. The warning system would have used a buzzer soldered to the back of the instrument cluster.

First head scratcher... If I open up the drivers door, I can power the windows without the key in and in position 2. Is this a feature or do I have an electrical gremlin? I can hear a relay click on when the door opens and it is behind the instrument cluster. This would be the window relay ice cube. Where other W123 cars with power windows have one ice cube there, this car has two. I am not sure what the other one is for, or if they are the same (have the same effect) where one is used with door open and no key and the other used with key in position two and door closed - if this is how it is designed. So is this a feature or is this a problem?

Second head scratcher... This car has different style door lock plastic rods. There really isn't much to grab a hold of and when you push them down, they almost disappear into the top of the door panel. This is a bit strange because it makes it difficult to unlock the door from the inside, especially the back. I found a secret though. The door is locked from the outside when the rod is pushed down, but from the inside, you can still pull the chrome handle and open the door. I am assuming this is how it is supposed to be designed? Seems a bit dangerous if you have children in the back?

Another issue that I am experiencing is an ABS light on all the time. The car has an OVP relay, and I would imagine that it is used solely for the ABS on the car. There is no EGR and there is no tachometer and I can't think of anything else that would use the OVP on the car (except maybe the rear heater...). As soon as I hook up the battery, the 10amp fuse blows on the OVP. I am thinking I have a short somewhere. I am looking at the wiring diagram for a W126 with ABS, but I am not sure it is completely the same. Would the key components be the two relays on the pump, three sensors, the OVP, and the computer? I think the computer is located in the right kick panel. Something is causing a short to ground. Is it more likely to be a component (and if so which ones would be the most likely) or am I dealing with a wiring issue where a hot wire is shorting to the chassis or a ground wire.

I would really like to get my hands on an electronic troubleshooting manual specific to this type of European market car so that I have a better understanding of how it is wired. If you know where I could get that information or if you know someone with knowledge of these types of systems on this European market car, I would like to talk with him/her. I am most interested in the warning system, ABS, and the rear cargo heater, as these are the most different from anything I have in my service books.

Thank you for your time.

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Old 03-20-2019, 09:41 AM
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Windows energized when a front door is open is a feature in the W108/109 so my guess it’s a feature on your car.

Sixto
98 E320s sedan and wagon
02 C320 wagon
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Old 03-20-2019, 09:49 AM
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Location: United Kingdom
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About the door locks, that is normal and standard to Euro models of that generation (or at least, it was exactly the same on my W124).

But there should be child locks, activate somewhere in the end plate of the door near the striker. Have you got those?
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Old 03-20-2019, 10:15 AM
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smoke gets in your eyes
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Eastern TN
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I don’t know if this is from a W123 manual but this is about how the rear door child locks should be -



Sixto
98 E320s sedan and wagon
02 C320 wagon
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  #5  
Old 03-20-2019, 10:21 AM
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smoke gets in your eyes
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Eastern TN
Posts: 20,841
FWIW there’s a third style of door locks different from US golf tees and Euro headless pins - the red indicator post in a clear dome. Basically you have no control over the locks from the cabin. The doors lock as the car moves off and unlock when you pull the chrome handle to open the door. They lock with the key from outside, of course.

Sixto
98 E320s sedan and wagon
02 C320 wagon
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  #6  
Old 03-20-2019, 10:57 AM
Diesel Preferred
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Charleston SC
Posts: 2,788
The first two sound like features, not problems.

The ABS / OVP fuse blowing - that's a real problem. Have you tried reaching out to MB clubs overseas, in Germany or the UK? I'd try to locate those types of organizations. You could also try the MB Classic Center in CA and see if they can help you locate a wiring diagram. Very rare car with all those options, definitely worth keeping her ship-shape!
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/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
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Old 03-20-2019, 12:52 PM
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Location: Walnut Creek, Ca.
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my 84 euro wagon does the window thing. The relay is energized when the drivers door opens, and you can use the electric windows (my rears are crank, just front electric). So yeah, that's correct.

My rear lock pins are like yours, fronts have a mushroom type head. I assume the rear are like that for child safety reasons.

Don't have abs so no ideas there.
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Old 03-20-2019, 12:53 PM
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Thank you for the confirmations and information. I will look into overseas forums. If anyone has any experience on any particular forum groups, or contacts overseas, let me know. Thanks!
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  #9  
Old 03-20-2019, 02:03 PM
Diesel Preferred
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Charleston SC
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Try the MB Classic Center in California as well!

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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
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