Well after chainging the timing chain, water pump, hoses belts etc. I took it for a test drive and It ran great. Then I decided to clean off all of the oil and smuges from the job. I took it to one of those self service spray wash places and cleaned up the engine with the hi pressure spray. Now the A/C does not blow cold air. I looked for any connectors that may have been blown loose, checked for blown fuses, and looked for anything else out of the ordinary. Nothing, everything looked fine. Any ideas???

thanks
bob

I have no answer to your question but I did want to mention that using a public car wash to spray out your engine compartment is illegal in California and carries a fine of (up to) $10k.

You'll get a better-looking result having it steamed for $60. And since steam operations are required to have water-reclamation and processing capabilities on-site you won't be poisoning Sacramento's (read: YOUR) groundwater.

Does the auxiliary fan kicks in as soon as you turn the car on, and wont go of? I had the same problem and the cause was a temperature sensor on the head which is linked with the a/c and the auxiliary fan. It is the sencond sensor from the fire wall ( I'll have to check on the location). I think I didn't dried the car well enough and short it out. Also some other problen arised from that, which I can not remember but got fixed a few days later after, I think it was the a/c relay behind the battery. Anyways it got fixed when it got dried a few days later and I tried not to mess with it for that time.

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'86 300E
'87 300SDL
'92 190E 2.6

Bob - I saw a resolution to this a couple of yrs. ago @ www.royfieldsmercedes.com. He's
located in Maryland. There's a switch/relay up towards the front of the engine/fan area.
It's blue in color. If you can't find the answer in the archives, go to the web site above and call these guys. Regards.

Mike Murrell

Thanks for the help! You were right on the money. The Aux fan runs constantly and if I unplug the 2 brown wire conector from the sensor the fan stops and the AC works. Unpluging the single wire conector does not help. So.... how do I determine if it a bad sensor or something else? Is there a way to test the sensor? thanks again. As far as the car wash goes, I did not know it was a crime, futhermore there were no signs posted about it.

If you are lucky just wait until it dries off by itself. Mine did, in 1-2 days. If problem still there, pursue it further.
Good luck!
J.H.
86 300E

[This message has been edited by J.HIDALGO (edited 06-23-2000).]

Makakio,

I hope you're kidding about the $10,000 fine. That's the craziest thing I ever heard. If that's the case, I'll bet California has the dirtiest engine compartments in the world.

Thanks,
Larry

Frankly,

It is no crazier than a state with bars that you can't light a cigarette in.

I will keep washing whatever I please here in the land of freedom. (and don't tell anyone about that can of DDT that I inherited years ago and haven't quite finished using, yet.)

Oh, and if the AC/Aux Fan circuit doesn't dry itself out nicely...start looking for water corrosion (from that high-powered spray) on your AC condenser switch (and pre-resistors), the 212 switch on the block and even up by the relay near the fusebox.

Cheers,

John

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John J. Meadows
'83 300D 260k mi.
'85 190E 2.3L 99k mi.

Bob, I really couldn't tell you how to test the sensor, I don't have the circuit diagram to figure it out iether. I changed mine since I had an extra sensor sitting in the garage. I do remember I had to take the valve cover off to change it.

I think the sensor is there to shut the compresor off if the engine temp is to high, and so it would turn the auxiliary fan on. This is I think the only link between the aux fan and the compresor so it probably means the sensor is stock on one position. I am sorry I can't help you here but I am sure the anwer is in this forum somewhere, just gotta look for it.


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'86 300E
'87 300SDL
'92 190E 2.6

Thanks all for the help. I will let it dry a couple of days then start checking everything.
A note on the oil in the carwash...do you know how many thousands of barrels of oil seep into the ocean naturaly from the shale along the Santa Barbara coast each year?? More than all of the oil slicks ever spilled by tankers. I dont think the car wash will impact the overall picture much. O well another topic for another forum.

Bob,

Thanks for the shale oil info. Just more evidence that nature is much more powerful than man.

Larry