need help on a 123 merc

riggsi

just finishing off a light resto on my 82 240d w123 and i am having trouble with the heater fan,it doesnt work.it was working about a year and a half ago when i parked it up but wont work now i have changed the switch and still doesnt work anyone got any ideas.

3ps

common that the motor goes on these. it's a big dash out job

8~)

Never had an issue with one on the W123, but on the W124 I have - the brushes wear and the motor has to come out to get to them.

You could turn on the blower and either try giving the top of the dash a thump - it might shock it into action, or better, go for a quick spin - the airflow and bumps in the road might get it to spin up.

The only issue I have seen on the W123 is on one particular car where I have to turn the ignition key back ever so slightly to get the fan to kick in.

riggsi

cheers i will try giving it a slap so.do you know where the bleed screw for cooling system is on an 82 240d?

MercMad

Most of those motors are in fact the same, and they all suffer eventually, especially if used infrequently.

Take the above advice, and if that doesn't work I have the procedure for removing them ...........somewhere...................but its not pretty !!

shaywest

legendary problem with all 70s 80s mercs every one i had either whined or didnt work

8~)

Just to balance the discussion, I've had 6 w123s and not a problem with any of them, even after being parked for months at a time.

riggsi

yeah im not convinced that the motor is gone,can anyone tell me where the wiring connects to the fan,thought i could i could run a supply directly to the motor before i go ripping the dash out

Seweryn

riggsi wrote: »

yeah im not convinced that the motor is gone,can anyone tell me where the wiring connects to the fan,thought i could i could run a supply directly to the motor before i go ripping the dash out

Have you checked the fuses properly? If not, check them first and clean the contacts.

MercMad

Yes some of the old bullet type fuses suffer from poor connection. I regularly just rotate my fuses just to ensure that corrosion doesn't cause problems.

riggsi

yeah the fuse box was fairly grotty but it is getting contact

Stevo11

give the related fuse a quarter turn while in place and try it again.

some good info here :
http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=210867

riggsi

cheers for that link thats a great help

riggsi

problem solved.you dont need to take out the dash,you can get at the motor from the drivers side footwell bit of a squeeze but it comes out with just 3 8mm bolts.the fan housing was full of water and the motor had seized up.i have it running again and ready to go back in the car

8~)

Handy to know that for the W123.

By coincidence I took out a blower from a W124 over the weekend. Twice. The first one was toast. It's a 20 minute job, much less hassle than expected. To do it:
Open the bonnet, remove the rubber, plastic trim and shrouding at the bulkhead and around the wiper, unbolt the wiper mechanism (about 5 10mm nuts), undo the 3 7mm nuts on the blower casing, diconnect the wire and pull out the motor.

Even before removing the motor it's possible to test it. The motor can be tested by sticking two wires from its electrical connector to a 12v battery. Better to do that while at the scrapyard than to get the thing home to find out it's toast.

MercMad

riggsi wrote: »

problem solved.you dont need to take out the dash,you can get at the motor from the drivers side footwell bit of a squeeze but it comes out with just 3 8mm bolts.the fan housing was full of water and the motor had seized up.i have it running again and ready to go back in the car

...........that was a stroke of luck, thanks for letting us know.

I would also, as a priority, suggest that you clear the water drains before you have even bigger problems.

riggsi

yeah have done i think it just got filled up while i had the windscreen out for the respray

riggsi

just getting round to finishing the car off,started it up tonight for the first time since November and once the engine warmed up the car started filling with steam through the vents,ive taken out the dash tonight and will look into it tomorrow.
has anyone had this problem?

MercMad

riggsi wrote: »

just getting round to finishing the car off,started it up tonight for the first time since November and once the engine warmed up the car started filling with steam through the vents,ive taken out the dash tonight and will look into it tomorrow.
has anyone had this problem?

.........not on a W123 but on several others. You still have water collecting where the heater matrix is. The rainwater starts to boil when the thermostat opens and the heater heats up.

riggsi

That was what i was hoping but it was the matrix that was perished and leaking.Have it out and a replacement back in,bitch of a job.

pmg007

Show us a few pics of your car when its finished. Am restoring a '76 w123 myself and have a couple more. Body panels getting scarce for these especially doors. There will be a lot of w 123's and mercs in general at the Limerick show on sunday. Bring em on!

riggsi

heres a couple pics of painting it

riggsi

after paint

MercMad

That looks well, how did painting in the shed turn out for you ? I assume you didn't use water based paint, was there much refinishing afterwards, nibbing/buffing etc??

Why the white roof BTW ?

riggsi

The paint turned out fairly well but it did take a good bit of rubbing down afterwards.

I painted the roof white because i couldnt get any lime green.