Hi ML,

What is wrong with these squirrels? Ihad the EXACT same problem with the CLK and the 190. Yes, they get in the engine compartment and start chewing wires! And what are they using the wire for? Its actually common.

You know, you don't necessarilyhave to "replace" the harness. Theexisting wires can be repaired with some soldier andvinyl tape. Usually the only time you need to replace the harness is ifthe wires have been melted.

MB will treat your car like an aircraft, so of course they want to replace the harness which is the most reliable repairpossible. It is true that a component could be damaged as well.

In my case, with the 190, they chewed the main power cable and short-cicuited the CIS computer; It cost me thousands. However, in the case of the CLK, they chewed the wire toa sensor, and all I had to do waswrap the wire with tape. Honestly, I hope it is something simple for you. Spraying the wheel wells with a stinky bug sprayhelps keep them away here.

Blue

 

to be specific, your VIN is needed to confirm the right part number and price of the cable harness. was it from "engine control unit - ETC control unit" ? if it is, then we are just talking of 1 wiring (in the harness) which relays P/N signal. the harness is a large wiring which is separated between left and right. $500 is not enough to purchase a new one. re-confirm with the dealer which witch is witch... you pay for the diagnosis and deserves the right to know anyway.

to repair a single wire for $300 is of course a bit too much and $1700 is ridiculous.

open circuit cannot cause any damage to other components. short circuit does... although the squirrel might feel a bit of tingling sensation while enjoying his dinner of copper and plastic. that poor creature must be having constipation by now.

take it to the local shop and have it fixed / repair if the damage isn't that serious.

 

Hi,
As BlueSilver states MB seek to make a 100%reliable repair....However not sureI agree with "will treat yor car like an aircraft" but I agree with his point.

Yes dependent upon extent of damage a "local" tape / shrink tube type repair COULD be made and if done well will be nearly as good as new. Certainly cheaper but it needs to be done well.

I GUESS we are talking damage to the harness that plugs into the gearbox which has something like 12 wires in it at the plug. To replace it is a BIG job because it doesn't go just from A to B but all overthe place.

If several wires have had the insulation chewed away and they have shorted...which is what i believe will have happened there is a RISK that some component somewhere on the circuit COULD have been damaged due to receiving voltage that was not intended.

I can think of better things to eat than a bit of iradiated plastic wiring sleeve!! Maybe its the warmth?

ASK to see the damage with your own eyes before they proceed due to the likely heavy cost.

You will then at least sleep at night knowing that they have not ripped you off. If they will not let you then I'd be suspicious. Of course they are likely to say "Health and Safety" prevents them from allowing you under the ramp etc. if they don't want you to view!!

Stuart

 

Hello all:
Simply put......my car was fixed by a local independent repair shop that specializes in German cars. In a nutshell, they confirmed that the squirrels had bitten the engine wire harness that liesatop the bell housing. (Actually, the owner said something along those technical lines but I'm sure he was more specific, but I was just happy that the car was fixed). He soldered the wires, got rid of all the codes and my BAS/ESP light and Check Engine Light is completely off. His total charge including the engine diagnosis was ORIGINALLY $410. I was pleasantly surpised. Some may think that was too high but after the dealer says $2,300 with apotential of $5,000, I feel I came out of this a winner.

Oh, by the way, the billincreasedby $50 to make the final bill $460 becauseafter repairing thewires I was informed that the radioneeded to be re-coded. He said that he put in the code and even looked at my manual for the serial number but the codes was not working. So he said that he would need to take out the radio to get the serial numberfrom the unit to getthe correct code because apparentlytheradio unit may have been exchanged/replaced while under warranty by the1st owner. I'mthe second owner and I felt that was a possibility. SoI eventually got the call that the radiowas now working and he showed me where he wrote the new serial number in my manual for future reference.

All in all, I'mhappy and please bythe shop's professionalism and treatment of me. I didn'thave the same negative feeling that I had with the Mercedes dealer which is "like a number instead of acustomer" andI would have thought the service advisor was supposed to make me feel comfortable. Anyways, one last question.......I believethe radio code was wiped out aftermy uncle disconnected the batter for about20 minutes based on one of the suggestion from this post.......with that said, what can my uncle do if he needs to install a new battery, etc so that the code doesn'tget wiped out again? By the way, I'm open to your advice/comments about me taking it to the independent shop.

Sincerely, thank you for all your suggestions and help.....oddly enough, Ialways felt it had something to do with the squirrels..... but what the heck, I was on their territory....those damn rodents... Michelle.

 

Hi,

Maybe I should charge for this advice if you think its good value.. 500 USD sound OK.

Only joking.

To avoid losing your radio code (and other memory settings) when changing the battery (or disconnecting) you need to keep a 12v dry cell across the car battery leads when the battery is disconnected. This maintains a 12v limited power supply to the various computers and as such they don't lose their data.

Simple as that!!

You can even buy proprietary devices that plug into the cigar / auxillary powersupply socket for this purpose.

OK?

A "good" shop does takes this action as a matter of routine so as to avoid any unforseen problems...especially if they do not have access to the emergency radio code key generator. Supposed to only be available to MB but thanks to the net it is availble to all.


Stuart.