A brief history of my 1985 Mercedes Benz W123 230E

[Peter C]

My original thread about this car is long gone, hence this little reminder. 

I bought the 230E back in November 2009, about 16.5 years ago. I bought it sight unseen via eBay and upon collection found it to be exactly as described - remember those days? 

The 230E was pressed into regular daily service, rain or shine. And even snow.

It was good for carrying large objects.

But it was always the subject of my desires and I took many arty photographs of it at every opportunity.

I took it across Europe to Poland and back, twice. That was fun.

Throughout my ownership it received plenty of attention and repairs. 

Some done by others.

But mostly by me.

In 2012, I had a lovely brand new C204. 

It, briefly, donated its front wheels to the 230E.

I removed those wheels very promptly following the photoshoot. 

Many other old Mercs came and went but the 230E is still with me.

This is just some of them.

About five years ago, the 230E sprouted a proper W123 Taxi roof sign and this is how it still stands today.

It's pretty mint and over the years, it only FTP on route once, when the fan belt snapped.

Five years ago I wrote an article about it, which got published in issue 4 of Classic Retro Modern magazine.

I only use the 230E in good weather, when the roads are dry and I am very fussy about where I leave it.  It always comes home and stays garaged overnight. 

A couple of months ago, I replaced the original head unit with modern ICE (which I removed from the Sierra). That wasn't the first time the 230E was fitted with a silly sound system. Since then, the battery became weak and I fitted a replacement, sourced from GSF. The new battery went completely flat a few weeks ago. I got the engine started with a booster, took the 230E for a long drive  and all seemed well. I also disconnected the ICE, in case that was causing the problem. A few days later, the new battery was completely flat again. 

My auto electrician friend gave the charging system a once over and couldn't find any problems. His meter didn't note any significant drain with everything switched off and with the engine running, the meter showed a healthy 13.5V, which confirmed that the alternator was charging just fine. He reckoned that the new battery was faulty.

So, I went back to GSF and asked them for a replacement battery. Their policy is to charge allegedly defective batteries and test them the next day before offering an exchange battery. Fine with me. This morning GSF called me to say that the battery has taken and retained a full charge and that they will not be offering a replacement. Hmm. I collected my battery and re-fitted it in the 230E.

I did a bit of Google AI research. The results were completely generic but one significant issue was raised - current drains can be caused by aftermarket electrical installations. I remembered that, many years ago, I discovered that the heated rear window wasn't working, which I traced down to a faulty relay that is a bitch to access and I ended up fitting a separate switch and relay. When I stopped using the 230E as a daily, I had no need for a heated rear window system so I relocated the switch to a space under the dashboard, where it has lived ever since. 

I popped into the garage, removed the bottom dashboard panel and found the switch (with an internal light) glowing red.

For the past couple of months, the heated rear window has been permanently switched on. I am pretty sure that was my battery drain problem. I suspect that I accidently flicked the switch on whilst swapping head units. Twat.

I asked my auto electrician friend why his clever tester didn't spot what must have been a significant battery drain. He's not sure. Not to worry, all being well the 230E is back to full health. I will let you know if not.

Not sure that I will be adding much to this thread for the foreseeable future, as the 230E doesn't need any significant repairs. But you never know.

 

[bangernomics]

What a lovely thing and I can confirm a source of envy on my part. Always wanted a 123 or a 115 but fear they are becoming a little too expensive for my lemonade pockets these days.