I am brand new to this forum. I have owned my '86 560SL for almost two years and in that time have only added about 800 miles to this garage queen. I only take it out for the occasional Sunday spin with the top down or routine run to circulate the fluids and charge the battery, etc. Last night I took it out for a special occasion with my wife and all in one outing the turn indicators stopped working, the dash gauges including Fuel, Oil Pressure, Engine Temp, Speedo and Tach as well as the Outside Temp all stopped working. The Clock still works though. The AC/Heater stopped working. The Power Window Switches failed and to top everything else, the power steering started spewing hydraulic fluid. I know the car spent most of its life in Palm Springs and was well maintained. I have a full file of service records. I can see some of this as brittle rubber from life in the desert but everything at once on a 40 minute ride? Crazy coincidence? Is all this fairly easy to remedy or am I looking forward to a major hemorrhage in my wallet? Do all of the gauges work off a single fuse? I am a somewhat adept DIY driveway mechanic and have worked on my own cars since I was a kid handing wrenches to my Pop under his Edsel. I am new to Mercedes though and I understand that they can be fussy if not handled meticulously. Maybe this is just mystique created by certified Mercedes wrenches to keep their invoices inflated and idiots like me off their squeaky clean floors?
Any assistance, encouragement or information is appreciated in advance.
Thanks!
Bluesl560

 

Sure enough, after a little digging I discovered that the instrument cluster as well as the power window relays and AC/Heater controls all are supported by a single 8 amp fuse. Position # 5 to be precise. Who knew? After getting no replys to my initial post I am left to hope I did not offend with my sad attempt at humor. I mean no disrespect to the gifted certified technicians with the uber clean shop floors and the handsome star neatly embroidered over their shirt pockets. They deserve what they charge for the service and maintenence of our beautiful beasts. I am still having problems with my turn indicators, though, and I am also dismayed by the ugly film of hydraulic fluid and road grit that is now coating most of my engine compartment. When I bought the car it had been detailed within an inch of its life and there was not a speck under the hood. I will be paying a visit to my local Benz mechanic for the power steering leak but will need some advice from you folks as far as best practices for cleaning up the mess in my engine compartment. Steam, solvents or both? It may seem elementary to you folksbut as I said, I am new to the world of fine german engineering. I have a list of to dos on this beauty such as replacing the steering box and refurbishing the horsehare in the seats, replacing the leather as well as replacing the walnut on the console.

Thanks for looking and I apprecaiate and welcome any replys even if just to say welcome to the forum.
Bluesl560

 

Well, I got the SL into the mechanic and he replaced the High Pressure hose between the reservoir and the power steering pump. The turn indicator lights issue was apparently solved by replacing the emergency flash switch in the center console.

Now, my next task is to clean the engine bay of all the hydraulic fluid film. This car is 21 years old and looks like it rolled out of the showroom. She's a beauty and an absolutethrill to drive. Strong, agile, and responsive. A little TLC to keep up the details is part of the joy of owning one of these classics.

Thanks for looking.

BlueSL560


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I am sorry to hear that you have only put 800 miles on it!

Mine is a 1988 with 159K and I drive it back and forth to work every day its decent out!

The records from mine indicate that the PO had a mouse issue that caused various fuses to constantly blow. Sad to say that after a new harness and 3K worth of work the problem was apparently fixed because I have no issues with the car in that way. So if it continues, consider a moust trap! I also had the flasher switch problem.

Best of luck, this forum is a good one, I like www.mercedesshop.com a bit more because Phil has been about the best parts guy around!

John

 

We just bought an '89 560sl, and were giving it a spin around town. We were at our next to the last stop when multiple electronics shut off.

Took a look at your forum, and resolved the issue in 5 minutes with an 8amp fuse (at position 5).

You've put the fun back in our top-down touring. A million thanks.

James T.