`87 300d auto gear change.

balamig80

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I recently purchased an `87 300d with several million (187,000) miles on the clock... Dora ,(the car) has an auto box,which from reading the manual has FOUR gears. I dont drive Dora,the missus does, but for the life of me,i only count THREE gear changes ??!!.. She whizzes along happily, the diesel consumtion is around 35,maybe more. Question is,what speed/revs does the gear box change up into fourth and if its NOT changing up to fourth, whats the problem and how do i fix it ??.(her!)....Heeeelp !!.
 

Bolide

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Your Mercedes
BMW 525 Diesel Touring
Where's first gear gone?

Welcome to the proud fraternity of old banger Merc owners!

If it's a W124 then they start in second unless provoked. So you get 2nd, 3rd, 4th in normal use

Try flooring the throttle from a standing start (exciting stuff in a 300TD - you could be breaking a speed limit in just a couple of minutes!) and it should start in 1st. Or start with it in 2. It'll then start in first (German logic at play) and stay in 1st till you push the level forward to 3 when it'll shift to 2. Immediately pull the lever back to 2 and it'll stay in 2

Push the lever to 3 and it'll change up to 3. Amazingly, given the previous logic, moving the lever to 4 gives you top (4)

The idea is to hold lower gears when shifting manually but to be a "slushbox" when shifting automatically

If it's a W123 I don't know. But probably just the same!



Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk
 
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balamig80

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Ahaa!!,Bolide,that would account for it then !!...Yes its a 124 !!. I love it ,wish id got one years ago!. You are bang on about the electrifying surge of power from the off !!,no need for anti radar devices!...Got another small problem just this minute popped up. The warning light for blown bulbs has just come on,on the dashboard. ALL the lights are working,APART from the parking light....This is the mysterious bit. Last week the parking light was on the front nearside,EARLIER on this evening there were no lights AT ALL !!, NOW the parking light is working on the front OFFSIDE ??. Would a blown parking light cause the dash warning light to function ??. And do the parking lights work front and back,both sides ?? :confused:
 

Bolide

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Your Mercedes
BMW 525 Diesel Touring
Parking lights

Which side the parking lights work on is determined by the position of the light switch. Anticlockwise of off one click is offside only, two clicks is nearside only (or vice versa)

Lamp failure warning is triggered by any bulb where one of a pair has gone. If it comes on with sidelights you've got a bad sidelight bulb. If it comes on with brakes it's a brakelight bulb, & etc. Don't forget the number plate bulbs are covered by it too

BTW the rear sidelights bulbs are low wattage (6 Watt??) and they tend to darken over time and become invisible. Do yourself a favour - replace them and keep a couple of spares as they're an unusual wattage. They're not 21 Watt jobs. This is true on the estates and I imagine the saloons are the same

If you've got dim dip beams your headlight reflectors are knackered. £100 for a set of good headlights from a breakers. It's worth doing. There are only two types of lights, pre- and post-facelift

BTW non-working lights are normally fixed in the first instance by a sharp slap to the lamp unit with the flat of the hand. Works most of the time!

Finally, to get the real raw adrenalin-pumping action of these engines try one thing: get a mate to sit in the car (engine off) and floor the throttle pedal. Under the bonnet, check you're getting full throttle. If there's still movement to be had in the linkage adjust up the cable and/or drag the bunched-up carpet from under the pedal. Then just rev the bugger!


Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk
 
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balamig80

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Bolide. Cheers for all the info !. I had only last week changed out the side light bulbs. One of them was,as you say very dim,the lamp very black looking. the replacement bulbs are actually 10 watt. So,all the lights work,but im stll getting the `faulty lights` lamp come up om the dashboard. The only lights that DONT come on are the near side parking lights. This is weird because the side lights ARE the parking lights and they work !!. Could the fault be the switch ?,cos as i said before,my missus saw the front nearside light ON the other day !!. Is there a fuse for just one side of parking lights !!??. Is all a bit ConFUSING!. I dont just want to leave the dashboard warning light on, because it wont tell me if any OTHER lamps have blown.... Anything else i could have missed ?? BTW. I realise this is now in the wrong dept., the problem just morhed itself into something else !.
 

stwat

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1989 300SE
You can also start off in first by moving the selector down to second then back up to third or drive. Or if you want to stay in first for any reason just leave it in second. I hope I'm making sense.... LOL

Stu
 

Richard Moakes

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CL500; ML500
Bulb failure system works by comparing current flow on left hand and right hand of car.

Any imbalance caused by different wattage bulbs will make it come on.

Make sure all bulbs are matched offside to nearside.

Cheers,

Richard
 
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balamig80

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Richard, Dora (a car) is up to all sorts on the lighting front. YesterdayNONE of the nearside parking lights came on,tonight the front nearside DID ??. Is there a relay box or some other magic gizmo that could be causing it ??. Ive only changed 1 bulb and that was last week,which was a low voltage 10 watt job. The dash warning light only came on 2 days ago !!...Im going to take all the various bulbs out tomorrow and make sure they are the same values,clean em up and put em back....Then its on to the central locking,which locks itself ten seconds after you unlock it !!, wether you are INSIDE the car or OUTSIDE it...You gotta laugh !!
 

Richard Moakes

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CL500; ML500
You are on the right path, check all the bulbs are the same wattage in left and right pairs and clean the contacts before putting them back in the car. Contact cleaner is good for that sort of thing.

Also, change all the fuses, the ends will be corroded by now, if you don't have replacements, then spin them a few times to clean up the contacts on the ends.

Will have a look in my factory manuals, see what is says for that symptom with the central locking...

Good Luck,

Richard

1989 W124 300E
 

Richard Moakes

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Books don't mention your specific fault, but I wonder, does you car have the factory fitted security system?

If so, I recommend checking for damp under the front mats, carpets?

Your problem is most odd, usually the car won't lock ;-)

Good Luck,

Richard
 

turnipsock

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You can get a fibreglass brush from Maplins to clean up the bulb contacts.

The rear bulb holder thing can fall out in the estates and there will be no sign of a warning light. The bulbs will still work, it's just that none of the following cars can see them!
 
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balamig80

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:wink: Cheers for all the advice guys !!. I didnt have that much time today,but i did take all of the rear bulbs out and clean them up a tad. They all look to be the correct value, so plan `B`, cos the warning light is still on !!. What i DID notice however,was inside the boot,around where the moulded plastic lamp holder fits to the bodywork,there are,both sides,one or two severe `lines` of rust and from one side,at least,there is water getting in from the outside,i guess from around the rear light cluster....Is this a normal trait of these model cars ??. This COULD have had some effect on the lighting system,but the small amount of water seems to have just run down into one of the wells ,on the left and right of the rear tyre well.... More to investigate...Btw. Richrd, i dont think the car IS fitted with a factory alarm system,although there is a sticker on the back passenger window that says an alarm of some sort is fitted.??... I cant get into the car AT ALL from the drivers side, i have to unlock from the passenger side and RUN ROUND TO THE DRIVERS DOOR QUICK !!,or open the boot and get in that way !!...I think im needing a new drivers side door barrell !!...
 

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