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Submitted byCategoryChassis
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Ken K. Yee
on 12/26/2002 at 03:03 PM
DIY, Known ProblemsW163
Dirty E-Box Fan


This is a known problem. The E-Box under the hood in the driver's area has a boxer fan that makes noise when it gets dirty. It's been described as anything from a high pitched squeal to a whine.


From Sam Truong (Sam_Truong@adc.com):

Ok, here are the step by step (from Tom DeTemple) with some minor modification and the pictures:

1. The front of the fuse box has a cover with two tabs. Press down heavily on the cover and flip the tabs off. Remover the cover exposing the fuse board.



2. From the front of the car, you will see two screws at the front. Unscrew the back pair until they are loose using the correct Torx or a 7/64" Allen wrench.




3. From the side of the fender, you will see three more screws on top of the black plastic cover with the emissions tags on it. Unscrew these until they are loose.




4. The cover should now easily come off.




5. From the side, look down towards the rear of the box and you will see a black cylinder (motor) with a Bosch sticker on it. That's the fan motor attached to the squirrel cage assembly below it.




6. Access to the fan you need to make room by pushing all cables to a side (see pictures)




7. Push back two clips. You need to wiggle the motor out of the inlet/outlet air hoses (see pictures)








8. I vacuumed dirt from the motor and inlet/outlet air hoses using my shop-vac. I also lubricated the bearings (per Wolfgang)









9. I tested the motor prior to reinstall by turning your ignition to the last position prior to start your trunk ( I don't know the correct terminology for this position).






Pictures
http://homepage.mac.com/koolimacsam/PhotoAlbum6.html

Result:
The noise went away and I didn't have to spend $80 to $100 to replace the motor. This task took me about 20 minutes.



Drew Ling found out that there is a new E-box fan that uses ball bearings instead of brushes for contacts. Part number is 129-545-00-95.



According to Wolfgang, Pabst's RV40-18/12L is the replacement one:
http://www.ebmpapst.com/templates/reddot/media/RV40_D.pdf



YuCrew on MBWorld found this out from Pabst:

I've checked with the technical folks at ebm-Papst and they say that neither the H nor the L is the correct part. The Merdedes application is somewhere in between the High and the Low performance parts and they further say the part for Mercedes has additional moisture protection. Upon further analysis and comparison of the Bosch and the ebm-Papst fan curves, I believe their statement about the performance difference is accurate. However, one could argue the L is better than NO fan running. And from the looks of the Bosch item, it's pretty clean and protected in the fusebox itself. While the RV40-18/12L and 18/12H are both readily available at around $50, they do not have the plug so you will have to use your old one.

The ebm-Papst part number on the exact Mercedes replacement part is RV40-18/12GU-015.

For $60.49, free shipping, I bought this exact part (MB#129 545 00 95).



scottbordo on benzworld found this Radio Shack replacement:

I just replaced the motor in ebox fan for $5.49 plus tax. You need high-speed 9-18vdc (18,000 rpm, 1.98A max) motor radio shack part # 273-256. Solder old one off and new one in and re-assemble.

ok...well, we will see on this one....the fan might spin a bit fast. you can kind of hear it. i am going to give it some time and see if it quiets down.




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