As I mentioned previously, we were having electrical problems with our 1982 240D/3.0 in Iowa and on the way back to New Mexico. I finally took things apart today and found the actuating tangs on the lock assembly that turn the electrical switch were broken.
I took pictures so those interested might see the process. Lt. Don (aka Wonko) graciously put them on his web page at http://don.homelinux.net/~don/craig/ The captions are: Picture 01 Disconnect battery Safety first! 02 Remove underdash cover The rest of the removal is harder. 03 Push instrument cluster out Easy, once the underdash cover is out. 04 Remove instrument cluster Instrument cluster already out. Required disconnecting speedometer cable, disconnecting oil pressure line (10 mm), electrical wires, indicator lamp sockets for seat belt (green/black) and glow plugs (blue/white), and plug at left side of cluster. Note the brown wires just to the left of the bottom center of the opening - those are the ground connections that cause flaky instrument operation. Now's the time to clean them. 05 Remove ignition lock Turn to position 1 and insert special "tool". 06 Reinstall cylinder without cover Needed to make sure lock assembly stays in position 1. 07 Loosen lock assembly clamp Underneath dash, 10 mm as well. 08 Depress locking pin Secures lock assembly to steering column. Can only be depressed with ignition in position 1. 09 Remove vacuum lines When reconnecting, which one goes where is important. The one with blue strip is closest to lock. 10 Lock assembly out You're supposed to be able to get the plug off the back with the lock assembly still in place, but I couldn't get it off. Some fiddling to get the thing in the right orientation to drop out below the dash. The vacuum switch bumps up against the heater box. 11 Lock assembly disconnected Note the oblong-shaped hole in the middle of the connector. This fits a rotating projection in the ignition switch (shown in picture 12) so the connector can be removed with the switch only in one position (off? position 1?). If the plug is not fully inserted, the rotating projection could snag the edge of the hole and cause the damage observed later. 12 Switch end of lock assembly Notice the oblong nylon projection in the middle of the switch. This rotates as the key is turned. 13 Switch removed from lock assy The three screws the factory manual mentions. They are not, however, accessable with the electrical plug on the back of the switch. 14 Broken actuating tang The reason we were having problems getting the electrical switch to function properly as we were coming back from Iowa. The piece in the far slot is actually supposed to be attached to the lock assembly (as shown in picture 15). 15 Switch Actuator-broken tangs The broken part of the switch actuation mechanism. This requires replacement of the entire locking assembly. Craig --- Craig McCluskey Present: 1982 240D/3.0 (Euro 1984 617.912 engine, 4-speed) 238 kmi Past: 1964 190Dc 1972 220D/8 1972 220/8 1987 190E/2.3 /"\ \ / ASCII RIBBON CAMPAIGN "Friends don't send friends X AGAINST HTML MAIL HTML email." / \ AND POSTINGS http://www.fred.net/tds/longrange.html http://pruffle.mit.edu/~ccarter/I_do_not_use_microsoft.html _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
