1995 E320 Sedan (W124)

About a month ago my A/C starting having problems. It has always worked like a new car. About once a week, when I started the car, the A/C would not come on at all. Then, 10-15 minutes into my drive, the blower would suddenly come on full blast. Now, for the last week. Whenever I get it the car, it rarely starts right away. Sometimes I'll start it in the morning and it works fine. I will stop at the post office to pick up my mail, start the car again and it won't come on. I have no idea what would cause this intermittency. Tonight, I started the car, the A/C started blowing, I turned off the radio, and could hear a light grinding/purring coming from in front of the dashboard, right where the windshield meets the hood. I am scared it might be the blower motor going bad. I hear that's an expensive fix. But that doesn't explain why it sporatically operates. Please advise.

Thomas

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'95 E320 Sedan w/224K Miles (W124)

Can you be a bit more specific? When you say the a/c doesn't come on, do you mean there's no air coming out the vents in the dashboard, or that the air coming out the vents isn't cold? That's two very different problems.

- JimY

Your a\c blower motor after 224k is about over,blower is locate under front winshield.

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MB STARS Master Guild Technician,17 years MB tech
14 years independent shop owner

There is no air at all coming from the vents. It is just like the entire system is off, even when I have it all the way up. Nothing at all, and no sound either.

I'm afraid it is the blower motor too. However, would a shot blower motor cause it to sporatically go on or off. I thought it could maybe be the blower motor fuse in addition. Please advise.

Does the blower motor replacement involve disassembling the dashboard?
I would say my technical expertise is A-. I have worked on my Mercedes for 2 years. I have done such things as replace the steering wheel, dismantle the center console, and pretty much dismantle the interior of the car. Is this something I could tackle, or should I have my mechanic do it?
Should I replace the dust filter along with the blower motor. When I look it up on fastlane, you can order it with the dust filter or without. I replaced the two recirculation filters below the windshield wipers about 6 months ago. Are those the same thing? Also, should I replace the heater core or heater blower/motor at the same time. My window fogs up when I start my car midday sometimes, so I'm beginning to think my heater core might be leaking.


Thanks.

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'95 E320 Sedan w/224K Miles (W124)

Hi Thomas -

It's almost certainly your blower motor. The lack of air and occasional grinding from the base of the windshield pretty much convicts the blower motor. More than 200K is a very good lifetime for those things.

The blower motor is replaced from under the hood, not inside the car. You don't have to disassemble the dash. Instead, you have to remove the windshield wiper, it's motor, and transmission. It 's really not all that bad a job. Try using the search function to find some relevant threads - I know it's been discussed here a million times.

When your windows fog up, does it have a sickly-sweet smell? If so, then your heater core is certainly leaking. This is cause for some concern, as the glycol used as anti-freeze is quite a hazardous poison, especially when inhaled as a vapor. I wouldn't mess around with this one - park the car until you can get it repaired. As an alternative, you can try one of those stop leak compounds for radiators. I almost hate to suggest such a thing, but Larry Bible, of all people, used it to stop a leak in his 300E heater core, and it worked for years.

Best of luck,

- JimY