400e ASR light/limp only below op temp
 

Ok, there are a billion threads on ASR to sift through, nothing about engine temp correlation that I can find ina quick visual scan, and no, I've not read the codes. It's too damn cold here lately - maybe this weekend

Is there a quick answer? Started recently, can recycle ignition and it will go off, but only after it reaches operating temp. I can recycle 20 times before then, and it will come back on.

There is a problem in the EA/CC/ISC computer, reading that code will help provide the diagnostic path.

This eBay "code reader" if it is the right one, it does not fit properly. The manual talks about a 38 pin connector. My connector only has 9 pins, and the damn pins are much skinnier than the receptacles. Nothing "plugs" anywhere, it just goes in and pops right back out because the pins are loose. I tried pin 1/black 3red and7white for this computer/module, held them in there as best I could, I get no lights of any kind, ignition on. What am I doing wrong?

There is a 9-pin X11 connector and a 38-pin X11/4 connector. The X11 is on the driver's side and its use was discontinued by MB in early 1994. You can check Lambda on the X11 (this is not what you are looking for).

The 38-pin connector would be on the passenger side. Are you looking at the right connector?

Mine is on the driver side, 9 pin. Guess not. How can I read the codes i need for ASR?

Look at the housing in the engine compartment where it says "Battery in Trunk." There is a round cap about 2" in diameter. Unscrew it and you will see the 38-pin connector.

The picture in this link shows the housing with both the round cap and the rectangular cover that houses the various modules removed. http://www.k6jrf.com/MB_X11.html Look for X11/4.

We are talking about a 1993 400E, right?

user error
 

But I'm not going to blame myself yet, because there are NO less than 3 receptacles under the hood. My diagram showed one in front of the battery in trunk box, but no IN it - the 38pin connector on my car is in that box. There is also one in front, 11pin, and then the other 9 pin.

Anyway, the codes are 3, 6, and 14

The sheet says:

3) Right EA/CC/ISC actuator (left cylinder bank) (m16/1)
6) Starter lockout/backup lamp switch
14) closed throttle position contact switch

I'm guessing code 6, as I think that's a common failure, could be causing the other 2? What do you think?

And a bump for a good thread: looks like this is the direction I need to head in, unless someone has more insight

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=97443&highlight=starter+lock+switch

and I will add...coolant temp sensor?
 

The thread I just referenced is really good, and I definitely have a problem with it occurring fter it sits in heavy rains or snow and does not run for a couple days. Also, I have been told my battery is not passing the load test - even when that was a 3 month old battery. So, perhaps the battery was bad from Autozone (unlikely?) or, as I suspected before I had the ASR issues, the alternator or voltage regulator is fading. A reman ETA was put in this car by the PO, maybe 20k ago. I doubt that's it, but who knows.


Quote from related thread:

"It is the one component whose behavior/ non-behavior would consistently correlate to the temperature/humidity issues I have described throughout this thread. And I have noticed previously, and again in our current cold weather, that the ASR fault does not self-correct until coolant temp reaches 81/82. I will go out on a limb and say there must be a connection."

I would clear all the codes and see which ones come back. The brake lamp switch is only about $30 and you can change it in 10 minutes. The Neutral Safety Switch is about $130 and that can be changed in less than an hour.

Last week, I was getting an erratic idle, pointing to a fault in the EA/CC/ISC. The car had just been driven in heavy rain. I cleared the code and the problem has not returned (so far). If it does, my first action will be to replace the NSS.

When I was at the dealer last week, I asked the tech why there was a 500E in the repair lot. He had not looked at it yet, but he said it was an ASR light and suspected that it might have been the NSS getting wet with all the rain. It's a cheap place to start.