Brief rest at St. Marc’s Square in Venice
Mercedes SL500 evaporator temperature sensor replacement
One common cause on R129 (SL500 included), as well as W140 S classes is the HVAC shutting off. Without much to go on it is hard to diagnose. If the HVAC modules reads an incorrect temperature it will shut off as a failsafe. Little known fact is that a temperature sensor exists for the evaporator. A simple $35 replacement part could end up causing thousands in repair troubleshooting and possible unnecessary repairs.
There is a way to troubleshoot faults for the AC within the actual AC panel in the newer versions without the need of special DAS Mercedes multiplexer and software.
You can see what the original looks at the top and the OEM replacement under it. No need to get the Mercedes part for three times the cost.
To get to the sensor can be a bit tricky. You have to remove the soft cover under the steering column. This is a picture with it off.
The sensor can be seen in the picture below. Simply pull it out and replace it.
If you have a DAS engine faults reader, make sure to clear and HVAC codes, temporary and stored. The AC should start and not shut off now as the correct temperature is measured.
Life’s crosswalk
BMW 328i (F30) OEM filters
Below is a list of the available OEM filters for the F30 328i with the N20 2.0L turbo engine. OEM are original equipment manufacturer parts, often those are sourced to the car maker brand. When that part is labeled Genuine BMW part it gets a BMW part number.
BMW genuine parts can change the manufacturer but will remain labeled BMW. Therefore, having an OEM part is just a good even though it’s missing the BMW logo and part number.
Below you will find the most common filters for the F30 N20 engine and the part numbers. I am including OEM only, no third party brands.
| Air Filter | Oil Filter | Cabin Filter |
| MANN C24025 | MANN HU816ZKIT | MANN CU25001 |
| Mahle LX 2077/3 | Mahle LAK812 | |
| Hengst E1079L | Hengst E61H D215 | Hengst E2991LC |
Here is what the OEM Hengst air filter looks like:
Maribor
A shot of Maribor, Slovenia on Kodak Ektachrome E100 film with Zeiss Ikon ZM + Voigtlander Color Skopar 35mm f2.5.
Upgrade Bose woofers on Mercedes SL500 (R129)
The R129 Mercedes-Benz SL class comes with some good Bose speakers and AMP. I decided to start the upgrade process with the door woofers. The stock ones are 1 Ohm and there is almost nothing on the market with that resistance. Based on other retrofits I opted to go with a 2 Ohm woofer. The system I bought is the JBL GTO608C. It comes with separate woofers and tweeters.
To avoid cutting wires an adapter was used.
The fit was perfect in depth and diameter.
