I recently had the throttle actuator replaced on my E-320. The car ran better for about a day, then the check engine light came on and it began acting as it did before: slight surging at stop-lights, no cruise control, mis-firing upon heavy acceleration. I figured the used actuator I bought was bad and made an appointment to have my mechanic check it again.

Today, none of those symptoms were present. The check engine light is still on. One more thing: for quite a while there has been a persistant ticking noise eminating from behind the dash on the passenger's side of the car. Today, the ticking was gone, along with all the symptoms I listed above.

Could the problems I've been having be due to something OTHER than the throttle actuator? I'd love any advise before I replace the actutor with a more expensive refurbished one and pay the labor all over again.

Thanks!!

__________________

Current:
2014 VW Tiguan SEL 4Motion 43,000 miles.

2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport (wife's).

Past:
2006 Jetta TDI 135,970 miles. Sold Nov. '13.
1995 E-320 Special Edition. 220,200 miles. Sold Sept. '07.
1987 190-E 16 valve. 153,000 miles. Sold Feb. '06.
1980 300-D 225,000 miles. Donated to the National Kidney Foundation.
1980 240-D manual, 297,500 miles. Totaled by inattentive driver.

I just had my kickdown actuator (solenoid I think) replaced in my transmission on my 1995 E320 because the check engine light was on. I didn't have any symptoms, but the dealer fixed it and the light is now off. They also replaced the Bowden cable and some seals inside the transmission. Maybe there is more wrong with the transmission than they fixed. I think there can be simple adjustments for the Bowden cable that cause issues too. Maybe it is just a simple adjustment. The dealer should be able to plug you in and determine why your light came on again.

I had ticking once before and it turned out to be a bad battery that the electrical system was trying to keep charged. The bad battery never made my check engine light come on, however, so I don't think the two things are related.

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I just couldn't give up on my 1995 E320.

I think it might be like always going back to that same bad relationship with an ex girlfriend.
You feel you love them too much, or you are just too stupid to know any better.



Flickr slideshow of my 1995 E320
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24145497@N06/sets/72157616572140057/

Yeah, my mechanic has been plugging in to read the codes too. I know the throttle actuator needed to be replaced because it was also making a lot of noise. But I replaced it with a used one, so that one may be bad. I'd just hate to replace it again because it's not a cheap fix!

BTW, should you ever decide to sell your 320, let me know!

__________________

Current:
2014 VW Tiguan SEL 4Motion 43,000 miles.

2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport (wife's).

Past:
2006 Jetta TDI 135,970 miles. Sold Nov. '13.
1995 E-320 Special Edition. 220,200 miles. Sold Sept. '07.
1987 190-E 16 valve. 153,000 miles. Sold Feb. '06.
1980 300-D 225,000 miles. Donated to the National Kidney Foundation.
1980 240-D manual, 297,500 miles. Totaled by inattentive driver.

make a small slice in the actuator cable close to the unit, and see if the wires are bare or have severe damage from engine heat destroying the insulation, when you buy a used actuator you likely are getting on in as bad shape as the one you are replacing, if the used one was working on the donor engine it is likely that once it is removed, the wires if they are burned will move and eventually touch, if they do they could eventually cause damage to the cruise control/ idle control module.

Thanks for the advise, guys!

I took my car to the mechanic's today and he ran the diagnostic on it. Came up as the throttle actuator again, so I will be replacing it with a refurbished unit rather than a used one. He said it was also causing the ticking noise from behind the passenger side of the dash.

Hope it works this time!!

__________________

Current:
2014 VW Tiguan SEL 4Motion 43,000 miles.

2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport (wife's).

Past:
2006 Jetta TDI 135,970 miles. Sold Nov. '13.
1995 E-320 Special Edition. 220,200 miles. Sold Sept. '07.
1987 190-E 16 valve. 153,000 miles. Sold Feb. '06.
1980 300-D 225,000 miles. Donated to the National Kidney Foundation.
1980 240-D manual, 297,500 miles. Totaled by inattentive driver.

As far as I know, there is no such thing as a refurbished unit.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".