Does anyone know how to get to the rear window shade mechanism on a 126? Do you have to remove the hat shelf? My shade stopped working, but the motor runs, which makes me suspect a bad cable or something mechanical of that sort. The Benz CD explains nothing about the shade....

Thanks!

I have fixed this problem before...
read my post in this thread Link

I did not find this link while searching the site. Thanks a lot - I will attempt the same method!

OK. I can now describe the system and repair of a rear window shade on a 1989 560 SEL. I hope this will be of use to someone....

First of all, I started this thread because the rear shade was not working, and I could hear the motor make a loud rattling noise when the button was pressed for either up or down. I suspected a broken nylon "rope" (as it is called at the parts dealer) - just as Shaun had suspected and described the repair for in this thread earlier.

I got the new rope and tried to feed it in, only to realize that this was the beginning of the problem, not the fix. I realized the pervious rope must have broken for a reason. So here is how the system works, and how to fix it.

The role of the rope is to extend the shade by pushing it upwards along the metal rail - the actual retraction of the shade is not accomplished by the rope, but by a spring contained in the shade roller. The mechanism had broken because the shade roller had seized. An easy test for this is to pull the shade up along the rail while it is extended - if it retracts as soon as you let go, the mechanism is fine, and your biggest challenge is getting the old rope out. If not, schedule five hours of fun (which you may also need to schedule if the old rope is stuck deep inside the mechanism). The rope itself retracts towards the driver side of the hatshelf into a metal tube underneath the hat shelf. The worm gear is located at the driver's side, facing the passenger side (important to know since this means the teeth of the rope must face towards the driver's side when guiding it back in).

In my case, I had to disassemble everything.

First, remove the guide rail as described by Shaun above. Next, remove the rear seats. It takes about 20 minutes to remove the rear seat cushions - I have the reclining seats, so I had to unbolt the bottom cushion (there are two bolts - one on the left and one on the right), rather than just move a lever. The back seat goes out by removing three bolts from the bottom edge. On both cushions, watch the in-seat heater cables and connectors before you pull out the cushions. Next, remove the upper doorsill molding paralell to the seat edges.

Next, remove the rear pillar covers. This is easier than it seems at first: Remove the single screw on each pillar, then work your hand under each pillar molding and force it away from the pillar. Make sure the pressure is sideways towards the inside of the car and not downwards - you do not want to break the plastic retaining pin to the headliner (I didn't because I was careful). There is no need to unscrew the seatbelt - just slide away the molding and let is hang down.

For the reclining seats, there is a hat shelf molding with a hinged flap all along the length of the seat. It is held in place by six philliphead screws. Remove the screws and lift out the molding.

The manual states you should remove three bolts in the trunk going into the hat shelf - I am not certain they do, but I removed them.

Now the fun starts. If you have rear speakers, you may or may not want to remove the speaker covers. You are supposed to do so by pushing the cover forward from behind into the car and then lifting it out. I did and found one of them so briddle it fell apart as I removed it - the other was just fine. Oh well - one of these go for $120 or so. There is no need to remove the speakers themselves. Anyhow, next you somehow want to cajole the hat shelf corners above the speakers and pull the entire shelf into the car. You may have to cut the wires of the rear windshield brake light - I had to, and later installed nylon quick connectors to prevent this problem in the future. The wires for the sun shade have a plug that is snapped into the back of the sunshade motor -you'll have just enough clearance after pulling the hat shelf out to get to it. I'll continue in the next post on this thread...

__________________
Henry Bofinger
1989 560 SEL (black/black)
2001 Audi TT Roadster (silver/grey)

Once you have the hat shelf out of the car, the construction becomes easy to understand. You remove the four nuts attaching the shade mechanism to the shelf. The hat shelf is made of a flimsy combination of plastic and particle board - the shade mechanism is made of finely machined metal.

I had to remove the roller by bending one of the retainers out of the way. Be careful not to harm the shade on the sharp metal edges of the holder. Then I removed the spring loaded mechanism and reworked it with a combination of WD40 and 3-in-1 oil. I also had to remove the motor and the plastic mechanism cover to get out the rope that had broken in three different locations.

On reassembly of the mechanism, and this is important unless you want to take the hat shelf out again after the fix, make sure you give the mechanism enough tension to retract the shade, but not too much to make it hard for the rope to force it to extend. Forget about installing the rope until the hat shelf is back in place.

When reinstalling the hat shelf, make sure the left and the right corner clips are visible above the hat shelf through the rear windshield.

When all is said and done, and the seats are back in place, have an assistant (or fiancee, as in my case) push the up/down button as you feed in the rope. When feeding in the rope, do the following (and this will save you a lot of heartache):

1. the teeth face the driver's side of the car
2. the portion of the rope with no teeth is the top of the rope and goes into the shade
3. you'll need to feed it twice - the first time you'll need to retract the rope all the way, see how much is sticking out, get the rope out again, and cut the same length off the inside end
4. the rope will give you a hard time while going in - create a strong curve in the first three inches of the rope towards the driver's side, using needle nose pliers
5. for the same problem, the inside end of the rope will need to be cut with a slant to make it clear the first curve of the tube

Last but not least, reinstall the the guide rail.

__________________
Henry Bofinger
1989 560 SEL (black/black)
2001 Audi TT Roadster (silver/grey)

Thanks Hbofinger and Shaun (guest) for the detailed descriptor for the sun shade!

I have been searching and searching!

My 88 300 SE W126 has a factory installed power rear window sun shade that isn't working now, but apparently did when I first took it in to the mechanic.

It does slide up if I pull it and immediately retracts when let go. There is no motor noise when I press the button and I just changed ALL the fuses to bronze/copper.

My next step was to check the power to each fuse, as it was suggested by another forum to do so. I can't tell from the fuse legend which one it may be.

The other power items not functioning are: the passenger side mirror and antennae.

So from 2002 to 2014 ... the issue returns ... hopefully it will be painless, but it sounds like it will be painful to change ... OMG!!! But thank you for the detailed explanation!

__________________
1988 Mercedes Benz 300 SE, W126, 184,986 km
1989 BMW 535i, E34, 351,000 km

Those torpedo-shaped fuses should be replaced every ten years or so. All of them in the fuse box. They are not expensive. But they do go bad over time.

So go get a new batch, and replace all with the same color/amperage, and throw away the old ones. They can burn with nothing being wrong, or not connect well anymore.

Greetings from my home town of Stuttgart, where I just visited the Mercedes Benz Museum two days ago (and bought a book on the W126)!

__________________
Henry Bofinger
1989 560 SEL (black/black)
2001 Audi TT Roadster (silver/grey)

Thank you HOBOFINGER!! Hello from Calgary!!

I would LOVE to visit the MBM!! How incredible it must be!! Do you have photos??

Someone else said exactly as you did - REPLACE ALL FUSES w bronze / copper which I did - only took 6 different stores to find all. It is a beautiful sight to see them all lined up!

I must have inserted one wrong as the running lights don't work now. And I was also told to clean the heads before inserting the fuses - it will happen when I get it back.

Just had Botox for the Benz - had the dents pulled out.

But I am experiencing a "hard start" takes 4 to 5 times before the engine catches .. alittle slow then comes on full. I left it w my mechanic to check it ... maybe a batter? (supposedly was newer and was ok).

Any other suggestions to check/watch for?

I'm totally in love with my 300 SE!!!

Was looking also a 300 D turbo - know anything about these? TIA!!!

__________________
1988 Mercedes Benz 300 SE, W126, 184,986 km
1989 BMW 535i, E34, 351,000 km

The museum is simply Fab! You need to plan at least half a day for it. Very, very informative, and they ENCOURAGE you to take pictures! (Special photo spots)

Good you are doing the fuses.

On the hard start: Is it starting hard when cold? On my 560SEL, it would start fine cold, but had those symptoms you describe starting warm. This usually indicates a bad accumulator - not a serious issue, about $120 part, easy to replace yourself if you have clamps for the fuel lines.

I don't know much about the Diesels, but I am told to stay away from the 5 cylinder - the most troublesome of the Mercedes engines.

__________________
Henry Bofinger
1989 560 SEL (black/black)
2001 Audi TT Roadster (silver/grey)

Folks... I am glad I don't have a electric sunshade as I heard that if you use it often, it tends to fail. anyway, I still like to have a sunshade as a new baby is on the way...

Any help I can get for installing a manual sunshade from the kit .. on my E320 1999?

__________________
I am an enthusiast but you can't pry money outta my hands... Help me to get to full throttle on the Harmonic Balancer Crank Shaft Pulley RECALL!

2Phast attempted to install a manual roll up shade (heckrollo) purchased in Europe on his 190E, but the 3rd brake light on his later model W201 foiled his plans. Keep that modern convenience in mind when planning your modification.

I suppose so.. However what I bought is specifically made for W210 and I have a W210, so I should be ok..

__________________
I am an enthusiast but you can't pry money outta my hands... Help me to get to full throttle on the Harmonic Balancer Crank Shaft Pulley RECALL!

WHERE DID YOU GET THE SHADE KIT?? DO YOU HAVE A PART NUMBER AND A PRICE??
THANKS

I bought it from a dealer in Atlanta Area, as recommnded by someone in the forums here. I can look up the part number and let you know alter this evening once I go home.. IF you are willing to let me know what parts I lost and possibly share with me the instruction sheet... : )

__________________
I am an enthusiast but you can't pry money outta my hands... Help me to get to full throttle on the Harmonic Balancer Crank Shaft Pulley RECALL!

Anyone ever perform this repair on a 96 Eclass W210? I tried to get the rear deck cover off one day, after three hours I still had not gotten past the rear headrest release system!!

__________________
Keith Schuster
2006 E350 98K miles
2013 Ford Explorer 15K miles