Subject: diesel-benz-digest V1 #1885 From: owner-diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net (diesel-benz-digest) Date: Thu, 07 Jul 2005 14:56:33 +0000 To: diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net diesel-benz-digest Thursday, July 7 2005 Volume 01 : Number 1885 Forum for Discussion of Diesel Mercedes Benz Automobiles Derick Amburgey Digest Coordinator Contents: Re: [db] Celsius to Fahrenheit on dash? [db] Becker Grand Prix, n'est pas? Re: [db] Becker Grand Prix, n'est pas? RE: [db] Becker Grand Prix, n'est pas? RE: [db] UH oh ........????? RE: [db] '91 300d lost instruments today Re: [db] Celsius to Fahrenheit on dash? {Spam?} Re: [db] '91 300d lost instruments today RE: [db] '91 300d lost instruments today Re: [db] Becker Grand Prix, n'est pas? Re: [db] '91 300d lost instruments today Diesel Benz Digest Home Page: http://www.digest.net/diesel-benz/ Send submissions to diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net Send administrative requests to diesel-benz-digest-request-at-digest.net To unsubscribe, include the word unsubscribe by itself in the body of the message, unless you are sending the request from a different address than the one that appears on the list. Include the word help in a message to stag-digest-request to get a list of other majordomo commands. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 06 Jul 2005 18:40:46 -0700 From: john meister Subject: Re: [db] Celsius to Fahrenheit on dash? nah, I just whip out my PDA, stylus and use Excel to calculate it... :) or not... my display reads in Fahrenheit already. ;) john Paul Brown wrote: >> I dare you to multiply anything by 9/5 while driving down the highway. >> Try doubling and subtracting 10%. Better yet, let SWMBO try each and >> tell you which is easier. >> >> john meister wrote: >> > >>>> and this is easier how? :) >>>> >>>> where's my sliderule... >>>> >>>> john >>>> >>>> Paul Brown wrote: >>>> >> >>>>>> To convert from civilized units, double the figure in the display. >>>>>> Subtract 10%. Add 32. Doubling and subtracting 10% beats >>>>>> multiplication by 9/5, if'n I'm doing it in my head. Of course, >>>>>> nobody under age 40 or 50 can do even this without a calculator. :-) >>>>>> >>>>>> Kevin wrote: >>>>>> >>> >>>>>>>> If you do change it, Ron will probably give you a bad time for >>>>>>>> switching >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> to uncivilized units :) >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> K ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2005 19:23:53 -0700 (PDT) From: bree kna Subject: [db] Becker Grand Prix, n'est pas? In the vehicle I had prior to my recent W126 acquisition I had a Sony MP3-capable CD Player that was a gift to me. I had intended to keep the gift, but recall the horrible time it was to remove every single little friggin screw and panel in the dash to install it. I have a dilemna...purchase a similar unit (the gift really meant a lot to me) or go with a Ipod-like device and transmit thru the FM section or tape section of the original Becker? The Becker and OEM speakers have held up very well, by the way. No problems whatsoever, other than >20 year old technology providing >20 year old fidelity. One concern is the amount of work / success ratio of overcoming the fader and power antenna controls. thus, i come to you... Brian passenger side of hood wobbles a smidge at the latch point, but livable Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 06 Jul 2005 21:20:58 -0700 From: john meister Subject: Re: [db] Becker Grand Prix, n'est pas? and thus I went to Car Toys... I started to do my own stereo swap in my '91 300D... picked up a nice JVC mp3/cd unit, I think it cost about $95 to have them install it... worth it... john bree kna wrote: >> In the vehicle I had prior to my recent W126 >> acquisition I had a Sony MP3-capable CD Player that >> was a gift to me. I had intended to keep the gift, >> but recall the horrible time it was to remove every >> single little friggin screw and panel in the dash to >> install it. >> >> I have a dilemna...purchase a similar unit (the gift >> really meant a lot to me) or go with a Ipod-like >> device and transmit thru the FM section or tape >> section of the original Becker? The Becker and OEM >> speakers have held up very well, by the way. No >> problems whatsoever, other than >20 year old >> technology providing >20 year old fidelity. >> >> One concern is the amount of work / success ratio of >> overcoming the fader and power antenna controls. >> >> thus, i come to you... >> >> Brian >> passenger side of hood wobbles a smidge at the latch >> point, but livable >> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around >> http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2005 23:23:22 -0500 From: "Alec Cordova" Subject: RE: [db] Becker Grand Prix, n'est pas? I used a cassette adapter with a CD Walkman for the Becker in my previous 85 300D, and it worked pretty well. My only complaint was that the DC power adapter for the Walkman used up the only lighter socket, so I had to get a bulky 2-to-1 adapter from Radio Shack if I wanted to use a radar detector. If you put in a different radio, as long as you don't mind the potential noise/loss introduced by the fader wheel, just hook everything on the new deck to the same wires used by the original deck (or even try to get a wiring harness adapter from Crutchfield.com so you can keep all the wires in their original multiwire plugs). Leave the fader wheel centered, and use the fader control from the new radio. Any power antenna feed goes from the radio through the antenna switch before it heads back to the antenna, so you'll keep the same functionality there as well. Both the Sony installed in my 89 300CE by the previous owner and the JVC CD/MP3 deck I replaced it with still have the fader wheel and the antenna switch in use, and both function just like with the original deck. For the hood, look for a screw-out stop on either side, mounted above the headlights. Screw in the driver side one, and screw out the passenger side one, or just screw out the passenger side one. That should put tension across the whole front of the hood against the latch and keep it from wobbling. Alec Cordova Taylor, Texas 89 300CE, 189K >> -----Original Message----- >> From: owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net >> [mailto:owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net]On Behalf Of bree kna >> Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2005 9:24 PM >> To: diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net >> Subject: [db] Becker Grand Prix, n'est pas? >> >> >> In the vehicle I had prior to my recent W126 >> acquisition I had a Sony MP3-capable CD Player that >> was a gift to me. I had intended to keep the gift, >> but recall the horrible time it was to remove every >> single little friggin screw and panel in the dash to >> install it. >> >> I have a dilemna...purchase a similar unit (the gift >> really meant a lot to me) or go with a Ipod-like >> device and transmit thru the FM section or tape >> section of the original Becker? The Becker and OEM >> speakers have held up very well, by the way. No >> problems whatsoever, other than >20 year old >> technology providing >20 year old fidelity. >> >> One concern is the amount of work / success ratio of >> overcoming the fader and power antenna controls. >> >> thus, i come to you... >> >> Brian >> passenger side of hood wobbles a smidge at the latch >> point, but livable >> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around >> http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2005 23:26:24 -0500 From: "Alec Cordova" Subject: RE: [db] UH oh ........????? Yes, these are known for stopping. If you don't want to pull the instrument cluster, just try poking the reset button several times while the car is stopped. It might kick things back into shape. I've also heard that these VDO units don't seem to handle resetting while moving very well. I don't know if it is true, but it's easy enough to avoid that risk. Alec >> -----Original Message----- >> From: owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net >> [mailto:owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net]On Behalf Of Paul Brown >> Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2005 8:22 PM >> To: dieseljohn-at-comcast.net; diesel-benz-at-digest.net; ndentzel-at-gmail.com >> Subject: Re: [db] UH oh ........????? >> >> >> More likely stopped because of too little friction, rather than too >> much. I wouldn't spray it with anything (although I share the >> philosophy that WD-40 and duct tape can cure much). >> >> If the speedo is working, the rightmost digit of the trip odometer is >> probably slipping on its shaft. If it doesn't move, then the rest of >> the odometer doesn't move. You can drive out the shaft with a suitable >> drift and roughen the surface where it contacts the 10ths digit wheel. >> Or (very carefully) put a drop of instant glue where the wheel meets the >> shaft. >> >> john meister wrote: >> > >>> > does the speedo still work? >>> > >>> > You might carefully take the instrument panel out and spray a light >>> > weight cleaning oil (like amsoil mp) into the mechanism >>> > and see if you can free it up. Otherwise it's failed, or you touched >>> > the reset button and it jammed... >>> > >>> > you didn't try to reset the trip odometer while you were moving did >>> > you? I've heard this will destroy a VDO odometer unit. >>> > (Never tried it personally. ;) >>> > >>> > john >>> > >>> > Noah Dentzel wrote: >>> > >> >>>> >> I was driving today, and I noticed something very unfortunate in my >>>> >> 300D :( >>>> >> can anyone please help. The odometer stopped working, it just stopped >>>> >> rolling today, both the regular and the trip. The regular is at 96669 >>>> >> miles >>>> >> and is not changing ahhhhh, please help. >>>> >> Thanks, >>>> >> Sincerely >>>> >> -Noah Dentzel >>>> >> S.B. California ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 06 Jul 2005 23:42:36 -0700 From: "Paul Kershner" Subject: RE: [db] '91 300d lost instruments today After pulling relays and nearly destroying them to get them apart to test for bad connections, I found a couple of broken cold solder joints on the "overload" relay. I fixed them, but that did not fix the problem, so I started back at the fuse box again. Re-reading the fuse locator legend, I discovered the fuse I checked was for the instrument panel illumination (!), not the actual gages... The one fuse for the gages looked funny. It could have simply had a sharp bend in the middle if you didn't look closely enough (like I did). It was broken. I popped a fuse in the slot and viola! ITS ALIVE! I proceded to bang my head on the garage floor while saying three times, "I will check fuses more carefully..." Thanks, pk - -----Original Message----- From: owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net [mailto:owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net] On Behalf Of Paul Kershner Sent: Tuesday, July 05, 2005 11:04 PM To: dieseljohn-at-comcast.net Cc: diesel-benz-at-Digest.net Subject: RE: [db] '91 300d lost instruments today Newest info: I checked the Overload Relay behind the Battery. It had a good 15 amp fuse in it. After I pulled it and checked the car out, I noticed all was still not functional except the Clock. The clock is still keeping good time (a Timex perhaps?). Fuel, Temp, Oil and Battery gages inop. Speedo and Tach, ditto. Next... I suppose I could take the relay apart - I've heard they have bad solder joints. I have a new Father's Day toy I'm itching to try out - a Cold Heat soldering iron... Should I drive it tomorrow or drive the Gas Guzzling Full Size Jeep Wagoneer? Going to sleep on it. pk - -----Original Message----- From: owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net [mailto:owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net] On Behalf Of john meister Sent: Tuesday, July 05, 2005 10:03 PM To: Paul Kershner Cc: diesel-benz-at-Digest.net Subject: Re: [db] '91 300d lost instruments today if you can swing by my place and you can borrow my spare overload relay, it's supposedly a common problem, didn't fix my ASD issue. that's what it sounds like, or a fusible link from the alternator... I'm off tomorrow (wed)... hopefully, I think my boss would like me at work tomorrow even after working over the entire weekend... I'm going back to sleep now... I may be up early, I'll give you a ring if you'd like. john Paul Kershner wrote: >> I lost all my instruments, tach and speedo today. (Luckily I had an >> extra pair of shorts when I lost the speedo...) But seriously folks, >> after it happened, I heard this low volume tone, sort of like the one >> that comes on when you turn your key on, only much quieter. >> >> I know I've seen posts about this problem before, so anyone have any >> idea on how to fix it? I already did the obvious and checked the >> fuses under the hood - they are fine. Are there any others under the >> dash or what? >> >> Thanks, >> pk ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Jul 2005 03:05:12 -0500 From: Jon Filina Subject: Re: [db] Celsius to Fahrenheit on dash? Big John wrote: >> and this is easier how? :) >> where's my sliderule... John, at our age we need to keep the brain active. How can you do that with your PDA or the solar powered calculator you keep in the glove box? Let's see....the display reads 32...times 2, it's 64...less 6...it's 58...plus 2, 60, and another 30 is 90. Just another cool Texas day... Besides, it would take you an hour to find your old sliderule. It might take you longer to figure out how to use it and a good portion of this list have never seen such a beast! I've got my old one from Capital Radio in the file cabinet next to my 'puter...I think... And furthermore...diverting your attention to the sliderule, calculator or whatever, would make you no better than those who use their cell phone while driving.... Don't get me started!!! Jon 1984 300SD "Bruno" Celsius temp gauge. "A celsius calculation a day keeps the alzheimer demon away!" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2005 09:04:44 -0400 From: "Renaud (Ron) Olgiati" Subject: {Spam?} Re: [db] '91 300d lost instruments today On Thursday 07 July 2005 02:42, Paul Kershner wrote: >> and viola Why not flute, or double bass ? Cheers, Ron. - -- [A computer is] like an Old Testament god, with a lot of rules and no mercy. -- Joseph Campbell -- http://www.olgiati-in-paraguay.org -- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2005 08:23:16 -0500 From: acordova-at-texas.net Subject: RE: [db] '91 300d lost instruments today Ahh, yet another gentle reminder from our cars that we really should change out ALL the fuses every ten years or so. Glad yours is working again, Paul. Alec Quoting Paul Kershner : >> After pulling relays and nearly destroying them to get them apart to test >> for bad connections, I found a couple of broken cold solder joints on the >> "overload" relay. I fixed them, but that did not fix the problem, so I >> started back at the fuse box again. Re-reading the fuse locator legend, I >> discovered the fuse I checked was for the instrument panel illumination >> (!), >> not the actual gages... The one fuse for the gages looked funny. It >> could >> have simply had a sharp bend in the middle if you didn't look closely >> enough >> (like I did). It was broken. I popped a fuse in the slot and viola! ITS >> ALIVE! >> >> I proceded to bang my head on the garage floor while saying three times, >> "I >> will check fuses more carefully..." >> >> Thanks, >> pk ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Jul 2005 07:19:15 -0700 From: Greg Fiorentino Subject: Re: [db] Becker Grand Prix, n'est pas? Brian: I have done this 3 times, 2 on W123s and once on my 300SDL. I used the same JVC mp3-CD as John in all cases. The antenna connection is a trivial matter. Simply attach the antenna wire to the correct terminal on the new radio. Pulling out the old unit and putting in the new is also easy. There is a pair of tools which will push in retaining clips. The new radio will come with a sheet-metal box that fits into the space and similarly has spring-retainers when it is all the way in. The electrical contacts are a little more complex. My research shows the recommendation to eliminate the fader in the console. That's the only way to utilize all 4 channels. Also, I have heard that the fader will not take the power of the higher output units and will burn out soon after installation.. IIRC the Becker only puts out about 13W. The JVC for example puts out 50W/channel. Use a AA battery in a radio shack holder to identify the speaker wires. They are in the console, the rear are connected to the front inside some wiring bundles. Feel for the bump of a connector. Attach a short length of wire from there to the dash, and work it through. Using an mp3-CD you can have 5 or more CDs without dealing with a trunk-mounted changer. I love mine. I have just ordered new speakers for the wife's 300 TD. We'll see what an adventure that turns into! Greg bree kna wrote: In the vehicle I had prior to my recent W126 acquisition I had a Sony MP3-capable CD Player that was a gift to me. I had intended to keep the gift, but recall the horrible time it was to remove every single little friggin screw and panel in the dash to install it. I have a dilemna...purchase a similar unit (the gift really meant a lot to me) or go with a Ipod-like device and transmit thru the FM section or tape section of the original Becker? The Becker and OEM speakers have held up very well, by the way. No problems whatsoever, other than >20 year old technology providing >20 year old fidelity. One concern is the amount of work / success ratio of overcoming the fader and power antenna controls. thus, i come to you... Brian passenger side of hood wobbles a smidge at the latch point, but livable Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Jul 2005 07:56:09 -0700 From: john meister Subject: Re: [db] '91 300d lost instruments today welcome to the world of german fuses... I got bit by the same monster not too long ago, and so did johnny from jim startups... our motto in the Diesel Benz world is this: fuses? just change 'em. in the FSJ world, vacuum lines? just change 'em. :) john Paul Kershner wrote: >> After pulling relays and nearly destroying them to get them apart to test >> for bad connections, I found a couple of broken cold solder joints on the >> "overload" relay. I fixed them, but that did not fix the problem, so I >> started back at the fuse box again. Re-reading the fuse locator legend, I >> discovered the fuse I checked was for the instrument panel illumination (!), >> not the actual gages... The one fuse for the gages looked funny. It could >> have simply had a sharp bend in the middle if you didn't look closely enough >> (like I did). It was broken. I popped a fuse in the slot and viola! ITS >> ALIVE! >> >> I proceded to bang my head on the garage floor while saying three times, "I >> will check fuses more carefully..." >> >> Thanks, >> pk >> >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net [mailto:owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net] On >> Behalf Of Paul Kershner >> Sent: Tuesday, July 05, 2005 11:04 PM >> To: dieseljohn-at-comcast.net >> Cc: diesel-benz-at-Digest.net >> Subject: RE: [db] '91 300d lost instruments today >> >> Newest info: I checked the Overload Relay behind the Battery. It had a >> good 15 amp fuse in it. After I pulled it and checked the car out, I >> noticed all was still not functional except the Clock. The clock is still >> keeping good time (a Timex perhaps?). Fuel, Temp, Oil and Battery gages >> inop. Speedo and Tach, ditto. >> >> Next... I suppose I could take the relay apart - I've heard they have bad >> solder joints. I have a new Father's Day toy I'm itching to try out - a >> Cold Heat soldering iron... Should I drive it tomorrow or drive the Gas >> Guzzling Full Size Jeep Wagoneer? >> >> Going to sleep on it. >> pk >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net [mailto:owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net] On >> Behalf Of john meister >> Sent: Tuesday, July 05, 2005 10:03 PM >> To: Paul Kershner >> Cc: diesel-benz-at-Digest.net >> Subject: Re: [db] '91 300d lost instruments today >> >> if you can swing by my place and you can borrow my spare overload relay, >> it's supposedly a common problem, didn't fix my ASD issue. >> >> that's what it sounds like, or a fusible link from the alternator... >> >> I'm off tomorrow (wed)... hopefully, I think my boss would like me at work >> tomorrow even after working over the entire weekend... I'm going back to >> sleep now... I may be up early, I'll give you a ring if you'd like. >> >> john >> >> Paul Kershner wrote: >> > >>>>I lost all my instruments, tach and speedo today. (Luckily I had an >>>>extra pair of shorts when I lost the speedo...) But seriously folks, >>>>after it happened, I heard this low volume tone, sort of like the one >>>>that comes on when you turn your key on, only much quieter. >>>> >>>>I know I've seen posts about this problem before, so anyone have any >>>>idea on how to fix it? I already did the obvious and checked the >>>>fuses under the hood - they are fine. Are there any others under the >>>>dash > >> >> or what? >> > >>>> >>>>Thanks, >>>>pk ------------------------------ End of diesel-benz-digest V1 #1885 **********************************