I have not had my car long and have been doing maintainence "checkups" on it. I was going to check the fuses on my car, just to be sure that no one had put incorrect fuses and to be sure that the proper amp fuse was in each slot, but how do you tell what amp is supposed to be in their respective slot? I removed the lid and there is a piece of paper in there that tells what each fuse is for, but there is nothing in there as far as I can see that states what amp fuse goes in the respective slot. Is there another paper missing? As of now, it seems like a guessing game. I did not think to look in the owners manual. Is it in there?

Another question- there are two wires that come out of the top of the fuse box that are hooked to two different fuse holder clips. They run out into some wiring to the master cylinder and appears to have fusible links. Is this factory, or has someone added this? I can get photos of the area in question if need be.

Thanks!

G'day 86

Have a look at my reply further down the page re fuses - link to a fuse legend.

The paper list does show what amps they are - designated by symbols.

Cheers

__________________
1988 W126 420 SE

beware of fundamentalists!

Thanks! I will check it out. Any news about the two wires that come out of the fuse box on top?

No, they sound a bit untidy to be original - post a pic if you can.

Cheers

__________________
1988 W126 420 SE

beware of fundamentalists!

I will. Maybe shortly if I can make myself go out to take one. It is 30* outside, so I am not too keen about going out there.

I checked that chart and seen that. Now I see how they have it.

Thanks

OK, I went out and took a couple of photos. It appears to be factory, but as mentioned, I have no idea. It seems like a factory cut notch is on top of the box to where they fit properly between the box and the cover....

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Look directly beneath the number for each fuse.

There is a square, or a circle or a solid dot.

Now, look down at the bottom of the page. The key is there. The square seems to be 8A (can't quite read it), the circle is 16A and the solid dot is 25A (please confirm.....my eyes are not that good).

Thanks. Yes, it is there. I just did not realize there was a "key" there. I will look them over on Tuesday, just to be sure they are all the proper amperage, because you never know what some PO may do to some of these cars.

I looked at other 81-85 S-Class on E-Bay to try to see the fuse boxes, but did not see any other with the two wires out of the top like mine has, but I only got that view of a couple of them. There was another very nice 85' 380SE on there that looked like it had about 3 or 4 additional wires over top of the brake booster that my car does not have. I guess it is not uncommon for these cars to have "add-on" features over the years. I am guessing that mine had something added. I want to check it out though if it is not original. The PO had added a trailer hitch and the wiring harness for a trailer is in the trunk. Is it possible that these two wires go to that? Appears to have fuse links on both. I just do not like "mystery items" on cars.

No, they are definately not original!

What they power is anyones guess. Could have been an alarm (aftermarket - badly wired) a stereo, anything.

Either way - that is a very untidy way to do wiring.

If you can't find what they power - I would remove them.

Cheers

__________________
1988 W126 420 SE

beware of fundamentalists!

Oh my. That is what I was afraid of. I do not think it is the radio, because it is still the factory unit. They appear to be hooked to the master cylinder, but I am pretty sure they go to the trailer harness, because that is the only "aftermarket" thing on the car and they appear to have been there for a very long time, so I guess they mean no harm. I may get my local MB shop to inspect this however.

Thanks!

Pull the fuse on those aftermarket wires and see what stops working. If you can't figure it out pull that po butcher job right out. I remember when I got mine it must have had 3 head units in the console over the years. Each installer hacked something else up to install their head unit and by the time I got the car there were so many wires behind the radio it wouldn't slide back!

So my dad and I spent and afternoon tracking them down and cutting it out. We removed and amazing amount of wire, one guy took power for the radio off the fader switch, the other was off the old car phone harness. In the end we found the original MB wires for the radio intact so we took power off them for my new headunit.

Also replace all the fuses with the updated copper ones.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Thanks.

Wow, it sounds like you had a real mess in there on your car. From what I can tell, my car has never been modified and none of the original wiring has been tampered with- its just these two "added" wires in question. It also has the original radio, so everything under there should be as original- or so I hope.

Anyway, I e-mailed the PO last night, who purchased the car 5 years ago from the original owner. This morning he replied and said those two wires were there 5 years ago when he purchased the car from the original owner, so obviously it was something that the original owner added. I looked at them closer and they run under the master cylinder, and between the firewalls to the far passenger side, where they run inside the firewall at a plunger where other wires are. I will take a photo later.

I glanced inside the car on the passenger front and I see them inside the kick panel there and they appear to be running along the right rocker panel (inside of course). They disappear under the carpet where it meets the kick panel. The kick panel is a little loose there and out a little, so that is how I noticed them. Like I said, the PO said they were there when he bought the car, never questioned them and let them be. They obviously are harmless, but who knows where they go. Probably to the trailer light wiring harness in the trunk?

Maybe someday I will investigate further, but I will let it go for now. I was just wondering about them.

Thanks again!

No, my SD has a trailer hitch and they seem to have taken power for the trailer lights off the rear brake lights.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Thanks Hat. Yeah, I checked mine and that is how it is on mine as well. They are hooked to the brake lamps.

While I had my camera out, I also took a photo of where those wires go.....

They run inside - I see them going outside of the kick panel and under the carpet, heading toward the back. Who only knows.... Oh well.

Anyway, I e-mailed the guy I bought it from, who purchased it from the original owner over 5 years ago. He said they were there when he got it, so obviously the original owner had added something to the car at some point. Like I said, they appear to have been there for many years, so probably harmless.

I am not going to worry about them - looks like too much work to remove now. Definitely not a show car anyway. Maybe later.

I also checked those fuses and chart to ensure the proper fuse was in place. ALL were correct until I got to the last one, which was the auxillary fan. It is supposed to have a red fuse (16 amp), but someone had installed a blue one (25 amp). There was an extra white fuse in there (8 amp) so I put that in place until I get more. Better to have a lower amp than a higher amp in my opinion. Personally, I have never even heard or seen that fan on. I am assuming that that "auxillary" fan is the fan in front of the radiator?

Oh - I forgot- there was another that was wrong. It was the fuse for the RF and LR windows - which do not work BTW. They are supposed to have a red (16 amp) fuse, but they had a blown white (8 amp) fuse. That is probably the problem- they used too small of a fuse. Will check that soon too.

Thanks!

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