Recent Posts

41

Electrical and Instruments / Re: Riddle Me this

« Last post by BobH on November 19, 2024, 16:51:43 »

From what i can deduce, this looks correct for the relay to bypass the ballast

Wire 1 feeds the coil of the relay, only when cranking, relay energises
Wire 5 from ignition switch feeds +ve to one side of the ballast, during running, ie not cranking, then the ballast is in circuit, and feed the ignition coil on wire 4
Wire 3 connects this same +ve feed to one side of the relay contact, when the relay is energised, (only when cranking) this connects the +ve to the ignition coil on wire 2, thus bypassing the ballast

Did you say you added a jumper wire as well, where was this connected?

42

Electrical and Instruments / Re: Riddle Me this

« Last post by Harry on November 19, 2024, 16:17:39 »

All very interesting.  My understanding of the power to the coil based on the Tech Manual is that during starting, the coil gets full battery power.  Once started the coil is fed through the ballast, providing reduced voltage.  Based on what I see on this car, the relay is fed 12v directly from the starter ("1" in my diagram).  I had assumed that during starting, the battery voltage was provided through the relay directly to the coil ("2" in my diagram).  Once started I had assumed that the wire from the frame bundle ("5" in my diagram) or the wire from the relay ("3" in my diagram) provided power to the ballast.  This reduced run voltage was fed from the outlet side of the ballast to the coil ("4" in my diagram).

RECALL: In the photo I have the outlet side of the ballast connected to the input side of the ballast.

When the ignition switch is in the run position, the wire from the bundle shows 12v, while the wire from the relay shows 0v.  But the "3" wire from the relay also shows 0v during the start cycle?  So what is the purpose of this wire from the relay to the ballast?

I never understood the apparent duplicity of wires "5" and "3"?  It would be nice to know what this relay is actually for on this car.

Thanks again for the help,
harry

43

Drive train, fuel, suspension, steering & brakes / Re: Offset woodruff for camshaft timing sprocket

« Last post by stickandrudderman on November 19, 2024, 16:13:49 »

I wouldn't worry about it; just make sure you leave the cam trailing not leading the crank in terms of timing.
Many years ago I built race engines and would spend hours fussing over details like this but it never made the slightest perceptible difference.

44

Drive train, fuel, suspension, steering & brakes / Re: Manual Steering Box Oil and Adjustment

« Last post by mdsalemi on November 19, 2024, 14:45:10 »

Welcome, Joe!

If you are new to the W113 you should consider investing the $30 and become a full member.

I recently replaced the entire steering system (steering gear or box, PS pump, hoses) in my 280SL. The recognized rebuilder of these parts is C&M Hydraulics out of Las Vegas:

https://candmhydraulics.com/

Though they list power steering gears and pumps as their specialty you may consider contacting them to see about any rebuilds they do with the manual gear--or if they have any recommendations. They used to never deal with end users but now they do; however stalwarts such as Pelican Parts and Autohaus AZ both supply their rebuilt units.

On the power steering gear, as similarly pointed out by Chuck Taylor, the instructions for rebuilding is many pages with complex instructions. Though my mechanic offered to do it (and has done it), I thought it best to just give him a fully rebuilt unit. It was more cost effective and a pretty much guaranteed result.

45

Drive train, fuel, suspension, steering & brakes / Re: Manual Steering Box Oil and Adjustment

« Last post by ctaylor738 on November 19, 2024, 13:31:04 »

It's all in the BBB.  The adjustment process requires special tools.  Here is the process for checking the oil level.

Cheers,

CT

46

Electrical and Instruments / Re: Riddle Me this

« Last post by Pawel66 on November 19, 2024, 08:53:42 »

The wiring you have is wrong, someone hooked something to power supply after ignition in a wrong way.

As Cees states, in-series resistor has to wires: one from fuse NO.2 and one to coil. These 2 you just connect together when omitting the resistor.

It looks like the wire from the harness is the one from fuse 2 (pls check it) and this one should stay.

The other one, from cold start potentially, I think you need to check what it is and wire it as per the diagram. Pls check if it is powered with ignition off - it can be anything...

47

Electrical and Instruments / Re: Riddle Me this

« Last post by BobH on November 19, 2024, 08:34:43 »

Hello, there were two methods of bypassing the ballast, either with a relay, not sure where this would be located, or by upgrading the starter, with a later starter that has a +ve bypass connection going directly to the ballast.  Either method bypasses the ballast, but only when the ignition is on or the engine is cranking.  I'm not clear when you say you connected a jumper wire across the ballast, is there literally a wire shorting out the ballast?  if so then maybe there would be a route for a +ve backfeed

Have a look on here for the correct two methods

https://www.sl113.org/wiki/Electrical/IgnitionCoil

48

General Discussion / Re: New Old Name in the MB Restoration Business?

« Last post by Josephsullivan on November 19, 2024, 08:15:37 »

Thank you very much for the warm welcome, it's much appreciated.

49

Electrical and Instruments / Re: Riddle Me this

« Last post by Cees Klumper on November 19, 2024, 08:02:56 »

On my car the ballast resistor only has/had two wires, one on each terminal. Are you sure your setup conforms with the applicable wiring diagram?

50

Body, interior, paint, chrome, and cosmetic items / Re: California Coupe Style Configurations - Pagoda California

« Last post by Tx246 on November 19, 2024, 04:38:23 »

Maybe I sounded a bit Cray-Cray, I read it now and think so...

My only real question is can we create an area or sub-forum or whatever....

The “California Coupe” has quite a few separate parts that are not shared unless in this format.

Searching for parts/items gets hard when there is no database for reference.

What seems crazy to me is no idea how many of these specs there actually are. I have heard anywhere from 2-3% to up to 20%.

No way there is anywhere near 20% when NO ONE know how to get the rear deck rubber. Literally no one. Rear upholstery, yeah, no one. Any other aspect..... YEAH NO ONE.....