Introduction
The antenna motors on W123 cars tend to fail for a few reasons. Chief among them are the antenna mast jamming up, seizing the electric motor, or the internal gears that move the shaft break from lack of lubrication.
The motor used in this disassembly suffers from a jammed mast. After opening it, the plastic gears appear to be in good shape. They will be used to try and fix another motor that has a good mast, but likely broken gears, since the mast moves freely in the motor housing.
Learn to take your motor apart so you can diagnose its failure, and perhaps fix it.
What you need
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Begin by un-clipping the motor housing cover.
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There are a total of fourteen clips. Five on each of the long side, and two on top and bottom of the housing.
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The plastic of the housing and lid is very durable, however the thin plastic where the clips enter is an exception. The odds are that you will crack some of these areas as you remove the lid. Do not fret, as the lid will stay closed even with just a few of the clips. The fact that there are fourteen speaks to the over-engineering at Mercedes Benz.
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The basic internal components of the motor are as follows:
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Control board
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Electric motor
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Plastic drive gears
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Antenna shaft
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To operate the antenna up and down, the electric motor turns in the appropriate direction which turns the worm gear. The worm gear tuns the upper plastic drive gear. That spins the lower plastic gear which then moves the ribbed plastic cable inside the cable housing below the gears, all of which you will see later.
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
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9 Comments
Great guide, I would that this antenna fix also applies to the W201 (1984 190e) model as well. Also, if the small gear is worn (like mine was) it can be fixed by removing the old gear with a Dremel tool and using a #14 gear which can be found at Hobby Shop specializing in Radio controlled cars and planes.
Hu can u give the website of hobby shop since I'm having a similar problem like yours.....my small plastic gear has disintegrated into pieces. Contact on WhatsApp +27814517603
Great disassembly guide but when I get the cover off I find the rubber drive belt is missing. Where can I get this part to replace? The Badger
great disassembly guide for the mechanism but when the cover is off I find the rubber drive belt missing! Where can I get this part....assuming the motor still works and nothing else is wrong. The badger
The teeth on a small gear are broken off - everything else works fine - Where can I buy replacement gears ?
