1998 Mercedes-Benz CL420 (C140)
Discussion
Climate control report: All was well about an hour into the journey back to Cambridge but then the right hand vent again started pumping out really hot air. Despite it being over 20°C outside the diagnostic still said 20°C so I suspect Stegel could be on to something and it has defaulted to that value. A quick trawl on the internet has a couple of ideas:
1. Set it to high and gradually reduce the temperature
2. It's a sticking mono/duo valve. Tapping it might free it.
I am driving back to Newbury tonight so I will try no.1 first.
MB Newbury has called and the outside temperature sensor has arrived.
1. Set it to high and gradually reduce the temperature
2. It's a sticking mono/duo valve. Tapping it might free it.
I am driving back to Newbury tonight so I will try no.1 first.
MB Newbury has called and the outside temperature sensor has arrived.
I can happily report that no warmth was felt on the return trip. Everything stayed nice and cool. Perhaps it's an early warning sign so it's a 'monitor for now'
The spanner symbol is flashing so I checked the service book. I've done about 7,600 miles since the last one - in 2018. I'm due an A service so I think it will be a good opportunity to book in with Star and have the gearbox serviced at the same time.
Someone recommended MyAlloys in Basingstoke for the AMG IIIs to be restored. A quick search and it seems to have a good reputation and not too far.
The spanner symbol is flashing so I checked the service book. I've done about 7,600 miles since the last one - in 2018. I'm due an A service so I think it will be a good opportunity to book in with Star and have the gearbox serviced at the same time.
Someone recommended MyAlloys in Basingstoke for the AMG IIIs to be restored. A quick search and it seems to have a good reputation and not too far.
I think he said £388 but I was slightly hungover. I've asked for the rim edge to be a polished finish and the colour he will use as the main body is a fairly standard silver but on the alloys in the showroom it's quite bright so should be a close match the AMG original.
My only other concern is if it will match the centre caps as the ones I have are NLS with the chrome edge and star. The current caps on the 16" alloys are the superseded part so will fit if required.
My only other concern is if it will match the centre caps as the ones I have are NLS with the chrome edge and star. The current caps on the 16" alloys are the superseded part so will fit if required.
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It may as well have had slicks in the wet.
I was camping with friends the weekend before last near Swanage. These are not very good pictures and I lost my phone for a few days.
The flies liked 744
Kimmeridge Bay was nearby and a nice walk
We took the steam train to Swanage and back
Bovington Tank Museum is recommended and pretty big. I was there 4.5 hours and didn't see everything
The abandoned village of Tyneham is worth a nose around
The flies liked 744
Kimmeridge Bay was nearby and a nice walk
We took the steam train to Swanage and back
Bovington Tank Museum is recommended and pretty big. I was there 4.5 hours and didn't see everything
The abandoned village of Tyneham is worth a nose around
I am back from three nights camping in Swanage at a different site nearer to town. £12 a night at Quarr Camping, decent showers and toilets but a bit hilly. All-in-all a nice break apart from the hellish traffic yesterday coming back.
On Saturday I walked roughly 6 miles to Swanage and along the coastal path back to The Square and Compass pub in Worth Matravers. That wore me out so I called for a lift back to the campsite.
I can't remember which is which but here are Seacombe Cliff, Dancing Ledge and Blackers Hole
On Saturday I walked roughly 6 miles to Swanage and along the coastal path back to The Square and Compass pub in Worth Matravers. That wore me out so I called for a lift back to the campsite.
I can't remember which is which but here are Seacombe Cliff, Dancing Ledge and Blackers Hole
How difficult is it to fix a failed headlamp bulb? Easy peasy one should think.
My RH headlamp failed the other day. I had a couple of new H1s in stock so I swapped it over and no change. Hmm. I tried another and no change.
I swapped over the working LH bulb and no change. I put the new bulb into the LH headlamp and it worked. I noted that the bulb does not illuminate unless it makes contact with the slot in the back of the headlamp unit.
It's time to open the multimeter box! 11.7V at the working LH side and 10.1V at the duff side, engine off. I have no idea if that is relevant.
What about the fuses (11 and 12 for you C140 fuse enthusiasts)? I swapped them around and no change. I checked continuity on the fuses and both good.
Rag about to be lost I put everything back and the RH headlamp worked and the LH didn't! FFS!
To be continued...
My RH headlamp failed the other day. I had a couple of new H1s in stock so I swapped it over and no change. Hmm. I tried another and no change.
I swapped over the working LH bulb and no change. I put the new bulb into the LH headlamp and it worked. I noted that the bulb does not illuminate unless it makes contact with the slot in the back of the headlamp unit.
It's time to open the multimeter box! 11.7V at the working LH side and 10.1V at the duff side, engine off. I have no idea if that is relevant.
What about the fuses (11 and 12 for you C140 fuse enthusiasts)? I swapped them around and no change. I checked continuity on the fuses and both good.
Rag about to be lost I put everything back and the RH headlamp worked and the LH didn't! FFS!
To be continued...
No issue with the sensors and it's all working fine. I think I had a replacement a few years ago but I'd have to scroll back a fair bit.
The headlamp bulb issue was resolved with a pair of new bulbs so I assume my spares were shot as well.
Otherwise not much to report. I haven't driven it anywhere for ages though I am in Cambridge next week so I'll use it then.
The headlamp bulb issue was resolved with a pair of new bulbs so I assume my spares were shot as well.
Otherwise not much to report. I haven't driven it anywhere for ages though I am in Cambridge next week so I'll use it then.
A bit of a pre-Scramble clean today. Regular readers will recall how the Romanian valeters' door jumped out and scraped my front bumper. Using Lidl's finest acetone nail varnish remover (thanks W00DY), I achieved a decent result
Before
After
Fallen star. My sponge was too much for the boot badge
But it looks pretty OK now.
Before
After
Fallen star. My sponge was too much for the boot badge
But it looks pretty OK now.
I had nothing better to do one day so I decided to have a look inside my spare vacuum pump, which failed and was replaced with a used one from W140 spares (which has also since failed). I was curious to see how it worked.
Over on the YouTube channel vsandvs, Viktor can renew the motor though with what I am uncertain. There is a Chinese eBay seller of a new motor for £40-odd which may be an option.
However, this is not worth doing until checks for leaks in the vacuum hoses have been carried out as if the motor has to work too hard to compensate for a leak, it will fail again. This is what I suspect has happened to mine.
Remove some screws and the cover comes off. The motor/pump is the round thing. The year code is assumed to be '98 ad not '86, though my car rolled off the line late December 1997.
The motor just rests on some rubber feet with the cover keeping it in place. Looking at the numbers on it, brief interweb search suggests that this spins at 6,900 RPM and is 855W but don't hold me to that.
Three screws hold the end cap cover of the stator to the motor body.
There are 4 'wedges' which freely slide into slots in the concentric (possibly the incorrect word) wheel. As it spins the centrifugal force throws the wedges against the edge and as the spindle is offcentre, it creates airflow (picture a wankel engine rotating). I forgot to take a picture of the inside of the cap which would have helped.
Make sure you don't forget to put them all back in otherwise it rattles
I would like to buy a 12V bench power supply and test it as per Viktor, see video example
Over on the YouTube channel vsandvs, Viktor can renew the motor though with what I am uncertain. There is a Chinese eBay seller of a new motor for £40-odd which may be an option.
However, this is not worth doing until checks for leaks in the vacuum hoses have been carried out as if the motor has to work too hard to compensate for a leak, it will fail again. This is what I suspect has happened to mine.
Remove some screws and the cover comes off. The motor/pump is the round thing. The year code is assumed to be '98 ad not '86, though my car rolled off the line late December 1997.
The motor just rests on some rubber feet with the cover keeping it in place. Looking at the numbers on it, brief interweb search suggests that this spins at 6,900 RPM and is 855W but don't hold me to that.
Three screws hold the end cap cover of the stator to the motor body.
There are 4 'wedges' which freely slide into slots in the concentric (possibly the incorrect word) wheel. As it spins the centrifugal force throws the wedges against the edge and as the spindle is offcentre, it creates airflow (picture a wankel engine rotating). I forgot to take a picture of the inside of the cap which would have helped.
Make sure you don't forget to put them all back in otherwise it rattles
I would like to buy a 12V bench power supply and test it as per Viktor, see video example
Edited by tobinen on Friday 1st April 15:31
Edited by tobinen on Friday 1st April 15:32
It might be possible the motor has been swapped out before. The 140 was launched in 1993 so it's unlikey to be 1986 I would say, unless it's come from something else and transplanted? It's definitely been opened before I took a look. Perhaps a 126 but I am not familiar with that.
Yours also has the hose connecting at the top. One day I will have a look at the replacement fitted in the car and open it up as that has failed too.
Here's a typical Chinese motor on eBay
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/383310379521?_trkparms=...
Yours also has the hose connecting at the top. One day I will have a look at the replacement fitted in the car and open it up as that has failed too.
Here's a typical Chinese motor on eBay
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/383310379521?_trkparms=...
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