95 e320 wiring harness conundrum

[ehm]

Help! I have a 95 e320 sedan and was advised by my mechanic that I needed a new wiring harness, which I understand is not uncommon. I bought the part from *************** and they have been very professional, asking for the last of the VIN no. to confirm a match, (which is C195716), and they sent me the part, the part number is 1244405632. My mechanic indicates it is not the right part, that it lacks two of the leads. From all indications that is the right part number, which leaves me clueless about what to do. Can anyone confirm that it is the right part number for my car? If it is, I can only conclude 2 possibilities: the part I have was mislabeled by Mercedes, or my mechanic is just plain wrong. As he charged me for a couple of hours to put it on and take it back off, I am in a rather sour spot. Many thanks for any thoughts or suggestions....

[softconsult]

You tried to save money by purchasing the part yourself. If you had let him buy the part and make a little money on markup, then he would be obliged to only charge you once for labor.

Now you may have to pay him for double labor since it's not his fault.

Steve

[Ron in SC]

Call Tim in Mercedes parts in the link below. Give him your vin number and he will be able to give you the correct part number. Sometimes it's a good idea to get a part like that at the dealer since if they give you the wrong part they will return it with no problems, so long as when you ordered it you also gave them your vin. Also the chances of getting the right part the first go round are improved, at least at Duval Motorcars.

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=213951&catalogid=0

[deanyel]

There is an early and a late harness, they are not interchangeable, and apparently it is not a clean VIN split. But you are sitting on the answer - if the old harness has come out just check the part number. Any MB parts counter will be able to give the updated number - which should vary only in the last two digits.

[tan man]

to softconsult steve: your post is of absolutely no help. nobody posts here to get spanked by you or taught a lesson. you have nothing helpful to offer!

to Ron:I went to my local benz dealer for the harness. the vin was of no help. they would only go by the part number off the old harness. however, you are correct that if they give you a wrong harness they will swap it for the correct one without further charge.

to deanyel: the part number off the old part is good...if you can get it. my old harness had the part number printed on a white shiny plastic tape strip wrapped around the lead wire. it was dirty so I tried to clean it, the numbers got totally smudged and wiped off. there is no other visible place on the harness showing the part number. it may be located in alternate places but you can't see that without removing the harness. not a good idea since replacing the harness is must easier if you lay the new one over the old one are swap plug by plug. pulling out the entire old harness leaves you with 24 or 26 plugs to guess at where they go.

If you got the wrong harness (you are stuck with it) there is only one other alternative harness that could work. by elimination they should know what the correct one is. talk to them, they should work with you. another sure way to check is meticulously trace the existing harness in your car and count how many plugs come off it. the count should either be 24 or 26. that count will definitely tell them which harness you have. as for your mechanic, it should take about 1 to 1.5 hours to swap harness. at worst it will cost you a couple hours of his labor. you don't mention why your mechanic said the wiring harness had to be changed. was there a check engine light that came on or is your mechanic noticing crumbling wire insulation.

[softconsult]

I'm guessing Tan Man and EHM are the same poster.

Relax.

My post was not ever intended to help you. It was a comment to others using your situation as an example. I believe there are situations where it is smart to pay a shop to handle the whole repair, part + labor.

I am not alone in this opinion. Finally, I can't recall any MB shops I have used that would allow me to provide the parts. A large part of their gross margin depends on parts markup. Why would they do that?

Steve

[softconsult]

Sorry, Tan Man and EHM are not the same. Should have been obvious.

No caps at the beginning of sentences makes reading very difficult.

Perhaps something to think about.

Steve

[autozen]

Originally Posted by softconsult

I'm guessing Tan Man and EHM are the same poster.

Relax.

My post was not ever intended to help you. It was a comment to others using your situation as an example. I believe there are situations where it is smart to pay a shop to handle the whole repair, part + labor.

I am not alone in this opinion. Finally, I can't recall any MB shops I have used that would allow me to provide the parts. A large part of their gross margin depends on parts markup. Why would they do that?

Steve

Steve,
I like all your observations. You are a very asstute individual, and someone I would enjoy having as a client. You look at things from all perspectives. As you stated I never let a client bring in parts for 3 reasons. First as you say repair facility labor rates are based on expected parts profit or the rates would be higher. Secondly is the situation here. Who pays for second time. Thirdly if the owner supplies the wrong part, you're hoist is tied up for three days til he can get the right part after work one evening. If I get the wrong part, I can have another delivered in a matter of hours.

I like your observation about matching parts. A good professional mechanic matches parts before starting work and never throws old parts away until the job is completed. You never know if you will need a clip or something off the old part or need to look at wear marks or something.