Need Some Advice from Down Under

[MIKE236]

G'dday Mates
Need some advice on my lovely old car! She is a '88 W124 230TE, 240K+ on the clock. She has been running well all this while until she developed following probs:
a. Auxillary (Air Con) Fan: Running on all the time even with the engine switched off. Checked fuses-all OK and changed relays but it still continues on. :cry:

b. Rear running light (drivers side) functioning erratically. Changed the sleeves and new original MB bulbs but no improvement. Checked with multimeter when it's not functioning, no current flowing even at the junction box in the compartment. Is it the main light switch faulty? Coz sometimes it will light-up and at other times it just refuses to. :evil:

Hope anyone can shed some advice on how to deal with it. BTW, I read somewhere here that some models come with self-levelling suspension. How do I know if I have one? Thanks for any advice and sorry for the long post.

 

[andy_k]

to check if you have self levelling suspension look under the bonnet/hood.

If there's a hydraulic reservoir at the front of the car (next to the ABS control unit) then you've got hydraulic self levelling suspension.

the other place to check is the rear shock absorbers, if they have a pipe feeding into the top of them (rubber flexi hose) then they are the self levelling ones

as to the dodgy light at the rear I'd be looking to blame a broken length of wiring somewhere - finding it would be more of a problem.

Sorry cant be more helpful than that

Andy

 

[MIKE236]

Hi Andy.
Thanks for that piece of info. I definitely have the reservoir which you mentioned and hv checked there is a rubber hose in the rear shocks. Therefore, I assume I have one. However, the car seems to sag under heavy loads and need to adjust driving light at night (level 3). Where should I start looking to identify the prob :?:

Guess as much regarding the lights? Any ideas for a quick solution other than having to re-wire the whole thing :cry: Any suggestions for the auxillary fan :?:

Thanks for your help and regards.

 

[Erop]

--> All the W124 station wagons have a hydraulic rear suspension

--> Try to check the ground for your lights problem - just use a separate cable from the engine/body to the lamp

-->Auxilary fan is switched on by a two-pin thermoswitch on the top of the engine. Check it for correct operation. You'll find more information here:

http://pages.prodigy.net/jforgione/MB_CTS.html

Good luck and mail me if you need a wiring diagram

 

[MIKE236]

Hi Erop.
Thanks for you reply and link regarding the AF. Will have a go at it this weekend and try to figure out the prob. Will report results later.
Thanks again all for your help.

 

[MIKE236]

Greetings all!
Had a go at my prob over the weekend and am already at wits end regarding the auxillary fan. Changed both the switches for the rad and AF fans on the engine (already brittle and seems time to change anyway). However, the prob is still there. It is still running on all the time. Tried following the wires but seem to "dissapear" somewhere beneath the oil filter. Hope someone out there has any ideas or what else should be done.
Could it be that the fan itself has gone Kaput!

As for the rear lights, tried erop's suggestion and seems to have worked wonders. Light seems to come on whenever you need it. Guess, must have been a poor earth connection.

Thanks in advance for any further suggestions. Regards.