Tool Tuesday: Berger Electronic D2B - Fiber Optic Network Tester ( 900 589 06 21 00)

Haven't done a tool Tuesday in quite some time... I think I'll dig through the collection a bit and start posting up some of the tools and what they do.

Early 2000's Berger D2B Network Tester

Tool is used to test the fiber optic D2B systems found in W220's, etc. Can be used to find either bad modules in the network The kit essentially sends signals down the fiber optic line to check for network breaks, or to eliminate a faulty module. A bypass loop is included with the kit as it will plug in place of a module on the fiber optic line. Cool set up for sure

This particular unit is for sale! Perfect opportunity to score a rare and extremely valuable tool.

$850 shipped US, $875 shipped Worldwide 

You can get in touch with me via the contact form on the right side of the page. If you have any questions about the tool, feel free to ask. It is NOT for rent. There are NO returns whatsoever....... Hopefully I get a W220 or something in soon so I can put the tool to work and demonstrate it's use.

Read More

OM603: OM603.971 Piston / Rod Identification ( Rod Bender)

So I was cleaning out the friendly confines recently and stumbled upon these pistons. These came out of a OM603.971 that was disassembled for a reason unknown to me. Obviously there was a plan to do something with these pistons or I wouldn't have saves them.... No real identifying part numbers, other than the 96 build date of the piston itself. Could anyone confirm whether or not these are updated pistons/rods or any combo of each? Let me know! 

 

Read More

W126: Transmission Front Pump Reseal 87 300SDL

Seems like I've been doing a lot of front pump reseal work on transmissions that work flawlessly, but are otherwise leaky.

This time, the specimen was an 87 300SDL - with some hopped up goodies under the hood. An intercooled, Helvina pumped, Holset powered OM603. Seems like it could do some damage in the speed department.

I've gotten into the habit of pressure washing the engine and trans as best I can before diving into the work. Not sure what it is, but for some reason I don't like getting too dirty when pulling these cars apart. Seems like I wear gloves just so the rest of my arms get dirty...

Anyway, with the trans up on the bench - the front pump assembly comes off with a series of 13mm fasteners.

 

Remove some seals and a circlip and you can pull the pump assembly apart with some tapping. The main leak this go around was the oring you see on the pump case on the right. It was cracked in a few areas and totally came apart with removal. A new ring, a healthy douching of trans fluid on everything, slip her back together and she's good. It's a perfect time to check for bearing wear, gear wear, etc. All the other seals get replaced with this work. 

No more pictures because trans work is clean, yet dirty work. I don't want anything unnecessary making it's way into the trans.

Total labor time WITH replacing the cars rear springs was 7 hours. I get these transmissions down in about 2 hours and about an hour or so in resealing. Not too bad. 

Read More

W211: The Most Ridiculous Battery Drain Problem Ever, 2003 E320, P.5 THE END

Figure I'll post up a closer here.

I believe we have success! Well, I know we have success lol Battery was shot from all the draining, but with a new battery the car hasn't needed a jump for the past couple days. No messages and draw is down to where it should be with the options the car is equipped with (roughly 20mA-30mA). Cars with the motion sensors will run anywhere under 70mA. 

A bit of a recap here: 

After SAM replacement, I was able to isolate draw location by removing the F81 power cable from the F33 pre-fuse box in the trunk next to the battery and getting an instant amp drop during testing, no other wire had the same effect. F81 feeds power to F34 driver side interior fuse box. This entire process was being initially thrown off by the fact that the system was fluctuating so greatly it was impossible to isolate. Rear SAM replacement came to be by isolating the CAN system connector by connector (first isolating IC/EZS, then go down the system) - I found the system would not fluctuate in draw with the rear SAM essentially removed from the CAN. Replaced and coded the SAM - no fluctuation. I removed the Teleaid from the car entirely with a MOST bypass cable, unplugging the module, and properly coding the AB/CGW/IC .... Now that everything in the car was working properly and had a steady amp draw, that was the first success.

So with installing the new SAM, making sure everything was coded properly, and NOT getting any ridiculous fluctuation, I went back and redid my quiescent drain testing to the isolated interior fuse box. [B]The problem? F023 - Passenger Seat Adjustment/Memory[/B] .... I got a good laugh out of it as I unplugged both seat modules in initial testing! DAS doesn't recognize amp consumers, though it does provide CAN test procedures to isolate major consumers. It's somewhat helpful, but you still need to get out your multimeter and have at it. This wasn't something that could have been found with a simple quiescent/parasitic drain test. A series of problems were cumulatively making this entire process more difficult than it should have been, but such is life. 

A few tips for those looking to find battery drain problems

- With the car in SLEEP (wait 6 minutes) and you're reinstalling a fuse it will take a few seconds for the car to re-enter that sleep state. Do NOT continue pulling fuses immediately after reinsertion as you will get false readings. Avoid removing the fuse for the central gateway in F34 fuse box as it will freeze consumers and maintain whatever draw was on the car. You can isolate CGW problems using CAN isolation.

- As with seemingly everyone else's battery drain problems on the forum - most problems can be found with simple quiescent drain testing. If that proves to not be successful, isolating systems via the X30 CAN connectors found throughout the car would be the next course of action. 

- Short of that, you can directly remove individual SAM power suppliers via the pre-fuse box in the trunk or the passenger footwell fuses. From there, it's very easy to direct your attention to specific locations/modules. 

In my case, after all that testing, the major consumer was the passenger seat module which is a VERY common failure on these cars. Coupled with SAM and coding problems, it sure was a fiasco. 

Thanks for reading!

Read More

W123: NOS European Headlight / Corner Marker Set IN BOXES FOR SALE

SOLD $580 SHIPPED FOR THE PAIR.
Please get in touch via the contact me form on the right side of the blog! Thanks!

Have a gorgeous set of european headlights AND european dark amber corner markers that are in their original boxes for all 77-85 Mercedes W123 chassis cars. Fits all sedan, coupes, and wagons.

Lights have been sitting on a shelf in shop for better part of 35 years (33 in one, 2 in mine). Please note, I didn't clean the lights, how they look is how they've been sitting around. I'll take a blow nozzle and blow off all associated shop dust and spider webs before sticking them in a shipping box though! 

There is an interesting story behind the lights - a US spec car was bought in europe by a gentleman stationed in Brussels. Apparently, they wouldn't deliver the car unless he had e-code lights (front AND rear), so he had to buy them, put them on the car and then remove them when the car was ready for the US. I've already sold the taillights, please don't ask. For what it's worth, the build date on the taillights was 1980. The passenger side light glass is absolutely flawless. The driver side has a tiny chip (which I've pointed to) and it seems like there's a possibility it took a small bit of road rash or even sparks from inside the shop. I couldn't tell you. For how little time they were on a car, I doubt it's seen any rocks hitting the glass. Take it for what it is - it's still AS clear and perfect inside as the passenger light! I took a lens off one of the lights to take a picture of the reflectors inside - perfect all around. 

Original lightbulbs from 1981 - I mean, if that doesn't get you concours points I don't know what will. 

Thanks for looking! Any problems? Send them back money back! 

Read More

W211: The Most Ridiculous Battery Drain Problem Ever, 2003 E320, P.4

An update...car's still draining lol

Now that I've got an occasional break to check out the car, I believe I've got it fairly well isolated.

Car got a new rear SAM, as through some testing, I've found a few options on the car non-OP. With a new SAM in the rear, everything on the car is A-OK and isn't showing any coding problems which it seemed to be doing before. I've also got a MOST bypass where the teleaid module was and coded the teleaid out of the system. If you simply remove the teleaid you'll get an SRS warning light on the dash, because the teleaid runs through the instrument cluster and airbag modules on the car. Code everything to "Not Present", reset the optical loop and you'll have a perfect functioning MOST system without the teleaid being on the consumer circuit.

After running through the Mercedes canbus isolation tests (completely disconnect x30/4,7 etc) from the system - everything is in working order! Go figure - BUT, through some nonsense testing, I've completely isolated the battery drain to the interior fuse box (F34). How? Keeping the multimeter set up for parasitic draw, I've disconnected the rear pre-fuse box (F33) power wires one by one to see if any major systems were draining. F81 red cable apparently feeds the entire F34 fuse box.. when disconnected, there is no battery drain present - connected, drains like an open artery at a steady 1.5amps. Mind you, removing individual fuses would NOT give me a result! Car is apparently going to sleep as well, as when immediately shut off, it sits at around 3.8 amps and will steadily drop down to the 1.5amp draw. No more fluctuation with the new rear SAM, so progress is being made it seems.

Now, when I get some more time, I'll figure out exactly which circuits the F34 fuse box powers and run through unplugging the modules themselves and see where we go. I noticed the central gateway is part of the F34 circuit, so it's a possibility that it's keeping some consumers awake. We'll see with time I suppose!

Read More