1995 E320 electrical weirdness
 

124,000 miles without a glitch, up until now. Started off with dead battery last week. No surprise as it was four years old. R2'd with a new one. When attaching the negative post I noticed a slight spark . Suspicion sent me for the multimeter. Discovered I had a .68 ohm draw with ignition off, all doors closed and no ultities on. The car is totally stock. No aftermarket add ons.Began the diagnosis by removing fuses one at a time to isolate the drain. All fuses removed and still no change. Leads me to believe the drain may be in an unfused circuit. Engine wiring harness was replaced in 1998 by the recall. Ops, I mean campaign. Then I found other, unseen or un-noticed before, anomalies. The radio & automatic antenna has power and operates with the ignition off. I suspect this might be a failed diode for the door open power seat operation. But that doesn't explain why I have no check engine light on with the key in the #2 position. The check engine light does illuminate, however, very dim with all fuses removed. but goes out and stays out with fuses installed. I'm sure I have a queertron running around some place, but where? The questions before the house are: Could the draw be the unfused alarm system and where can it be disconnected? How does one get the damn diode out of the fuse box and does it have anything to do with the inop check engine light? Sorry about the long rant and thanks in advance for any help.

Had a similar problem with a 94 wagon we had briefly. Turned out to be a frayed power wire for the old analog phone. It was routed under the passenger side carpeting, direct from the battery, then thru the console to the phone. It had worn from the constant movement of the carpet, wearing enough to short against the sheet metal. Even if you don't have a phone mounted in the car, an old harness may still be in there. Just a thought.

I have the same problem!
 

1995 E320 Wagon---Radio operates without the key in, no check engine light up when key on 2 (or ever), and with the driver's door open no overhead light (seatbelt relay, $60, I am told) I too, just for the 1st time had the battery go dead. (well, almost dead, car did not start) I know the alarm has some problems, only totally functional when operated from the tailgate lock. I also think mine has the factory analog cell phone harness, and the wiring harness has not been done. 48k miles on it. If you find the problem, E-mail me.

If the radio operates without the key in the ignition, that's most likely the result of a busted power seat diode. It's in the back of the fusebox.

1995 E320 queertrons
 

Thanks for the inputs guys. Haven't had the day off to persue any more troubleshooting. Yes, this car has the MB analog phone but not used in years. I removed the handset several years ago. Will have the chance this weekend (don't do football). The same amp draw continues along with the other anomalies mentioned in the initial scream for help. Will for sure let you all know the results


Thanks again

Edgar

1995 E320 wagon
1984 Porsche 944

Though a problem, 95 engine wiring harness is not covered under recall/campaign. If you had wiring replaced under recall, it was wiring under the floormat. I'll bet your engine wiring harness is original.

I don't think that the radio working without the key in is unusual. Both my '94 and '99 do that. They are also on a timer so they turn off after about 30 minutes or so if undisturbed. I could be wrong (my wife says that happens a lot).

In fact my radio does turn off after 30 minutes w/o the key. Will check the cell phone harness today.

Is there really a problem here??
 

I'm not really sure your describing that there is an electrical problem. Are you experiencing an excessive current draw? Is something not working?

How did you measure current draw?
 

Flygeezer: At the beginning of your initial post you mention a 0.68 ohm draw. How did you measure it? I just posted about a W124 alternator, and had noticed your comment about the battery spark.

E320 Electrictal Weirdness
 

TomO:

In my origional post I used the word ohm. That was a mistake on my part. Please insert the word amp. I removed the ground (-) cable from the battery.Then hooked a multimeter in series between the negitive post of the battery and the ground cable end. The digital display indicates .68 amp. with timely spikes to .69. Im sure this is the clock taking a small bite of power to operate. From what I've heard and read, a 1 miliamp draw is normal. My car has over a half an amp. In the meantime, I've installed an onboard 1.5 amp automatic battery charger to offset the excessive drain. Our weather in Louisville has been below 0 for the past couple of days and has precluded any garage activity. I'm taking the car to work tomorrow evening and pulling into a nice warm hanger and start the isolation process again keeping in mind the recomendations all you nice folks have passed along. Will keep ya posted.

1995 E320 Wagon
1984 Porsche 944