WANTED 500E fuel tank level sensor - Part number 124-542-03-04

[Steve Delves]

ADMIN EDIT: Corrected part number in thread title to 124-542-03-04. This "yellow top" sensor is unique to the 124.036 chassis, and is NLA as of May 2020.

Hi Everyone,

I am after a fuel sensor for my 1994 W124 E500.

The part number is 124-542-00-04

Has anyone got one for sale? Or can anyone recommend how I could go about getting one?

Cheers,

Steve

 

[gsxr]

WARNING: The part number you listed is NOT for the E500E, it is for the standard 124 sedan with 70L tank. The correct p/n is: 124-542-03-04
The 124.036 has a 90L tank, the sending unit has a yellow top and it shorter than the standard sending unit.

Appears to still be available new
EDIT: Now shows NLA in 2020, per MB Classic :
http://partssearch.mercedes-benz-classic.com/parts/A1245420304

If you are located in USA (your profile does not show your location), Naperville has it for $120 (list $162!) with free shipping using promo code 500EPROMO:​

1992-1994 Mercedes-Benz Sending Unit 124-542-03-04 | MB OEM Parts​

​

Or, ECSTuning for $151 delivered:​

Fuel Tank Sending Unit - (NO LONGER AVAILABLE)​

Are you certain your sensor is defective? They can be disassembled and cleaned internally. Make sure to also order the 2 large O-rings needed for sealing the retaining nut, and the oversize socket required for removal of the nut.

 

[imdbui]

It seems to be NLA now. Does anyone have a source? Would a sender from a diesel fuel tank work?

 

[LWB250]

It seems to be NLA now. Does anyone have a source? Would a sender from a diesel fuel tank work?

More importantly, have you determined that yours has failed? They are prone to getting dirty and becoming intermittent over the years. Things like the nichrome wires breaking can often be repaired, too.

The senders are matched to the gauge by resistance value. It might be possible to make another application work, however, as @gsxr has pointed out, the 500E sender is unique to the application.

Dan

 

[gsxr]

It seems to be NLA now. Does anyone have a source? Would a sender from a diesel fuel tank work?

Diesel sender IS NOT the same. Yes, the 124.131 (1995 E300) has a 90L tank, but the senders AND gauge are different.

As Dan said, it's unique to the M119 cars with 90L tank. It has a yellow top and is shorter than other sending units. You could use a "standard" sending unit and matching gauge in the cluster, but the reserve amount will be reduced from ~3.5L down to ~2.5L when the reserve light turns on.

Also as Dan said, usually the existing sender can be cleaned/repaired...

 

[imdbui]

Thank you both. I have not ruled out a dirty sender, of which I hope it is and I do plan to clean it to find out. I was just weighing options since I've recently had to replace my fuel tank after it rusted out from years of sitting. Sourcing a new tank was quite the unexpected cost.

 

[JC220]

There is a how to on this subject

HOW-TO: Fuel Sender Removal & Cleaning (fluctuating fuel gauge) | "HOW-TO" Tutorial Articles

I have a fluctuating / flickering fuel gauge in my car when I got to 3/4 tank and below. Short video of that is here: [video=youtube_share;GQBeo3paPjc] If was able to fix this problem by removing and cleaning the fuel tank sender. Sender part number: 124 542 03 04 (did NOT need to...

www.500eboard.co

 

[doctor_daimler]

ADMIN EDIT: Corrected part number in thread title to 124-542-03-04. Sensor is NLA as of May 2020.

Hi Everyone,

I am after a fuel sensor for my 1994 W124 E500.

The part number is 124-542-00-04

Has anyone got one for sale? Or can anyone recommend how I could go about getting one?

Cheers,

Steve

Hi everyone i have a fresh new from Mercedes in Stock and can ship it anywhere its not an aftermarket but an 100% OEM i got direct from factory

 

[Ricardo]

Hi everyone i have a fresh new from Mercedes in Stock and can ship it anywhere its not an aftermarket but an 100% OEM i got direct from factory

Ok, I realize this is an older thread.. but if still available, I will take it!!

message me...

 

[mercepor]

I have one for sale, the yellow one on the photo
1245420304
interesting to see the difference in length compare to a 70l gauge
(100usd + shipping)

thx

 

[gerryvz]

I will take it as a spare, thanks. Please advise on payment logistics via Private Message...

 

[Ricardo]

Gerry, are you stealing my thread?

 

[Ricardo]

Gerry would you be persuaded to part with your new spare?

 

[Ricardo]

More importantly, have you determined that yours has failed? They are prone to getting dirty and becoming intermittent over the years. Things like the nichrome wires breaking can often be repaired, too.

The senders are matched to the gauge by resistance value. It might be possible to make another application work, however, as @gsxr has pointed out, the 500E sender is unique to the application.

Dan

Since one can purchase nichrome wire.. has anyone attempted a repair of an old sender by replacing the nichrome wires?
If so, what guage nichrome wire and target resistance (top/bottom)?

thanks

 

[gsxr]

If your existing sender is not broken, you may be able to repair it as LWB250 mentioned. What exactly is the failure mode, and have you taken apart the old one to test / inspect?

 

[gerryvz]

Gerry, are you stealing my thread?

I had not seen that you had specific "dibs" on the advertised part by mercepor -- the seller could easily have contacted you via PM if he saw your request? In any case, if there had been a post from you between mine and mercepor's saying you wanted it, then I would not have asked for it. It's forum policy -- whomever is first in line and says they want dibs on something after is listed, gets it. In this case I did not see that.

Gerry would you be persuaded to part with your new spare?

I have not received anything, so don't have it in hand.

And as FYI -- based on a number of recent negative experiences with people with regard to me selling parts and such, and being very demanding and "why isn't my part here?!" after postal delays that I had zero control over, my charitable days of being nice and either giving way parts, or discounting parts, or making reasonably priced custom things like Lamin-X and the data cards, are OVER.

 

[Ricardo]

I had not seen that you had specific "dibs" on the advertised part by mercepor -- the seller could easily have contacted you via PM if he saw your request? In any case, if there had been a post from you between mine and mercepor's saying you wanted it, then I would not have asked for it. It's forum policy -- whomever is first in line and says they want dibs on something after is listed, gets it. In this case I did not see that.



I have not received anything, so don't have it in hand.

And as FYI -- based on a number of recent negative experiences with people with regard to me selling parts and such, and being very demanding and "why isn't my part here?!" after postal delays that I had zero control over, my charitable days of being nice and either giving way parts, or discounting parts, or making reasonably priced custom things like Lamin-X and the data cards, are OVER.

No issues Gerry, he had PM'd me and we had started a separate thread.. but I asked for a couple of days to exhaust local options.. so forum rules should apply...
As for you selling parts.. I have purchased a number of parts from you (and spark plugs were a good one) and had nothing but excellent experiences.. (In the last 6 months Amazon has failed to deliver some pretty basic orders on multiple occasions.. things can and do happen)

When you do get the part lets talk...

 

[Ricardo]

If your existing sender is not broken, you may be able to repair it as LWB250 mentioned. What exactly is the failure mode, and have you taken apart the old one to test / inspect?

Indeed, wires broken and falling apart im told (going to look at it in person today)...

 

[gerryvz]

No issues Gerry, he had PM'd me and we had started a separate thread.. but I asked for a couple of days to exhaust local options.. so forum rules should apply...
As for you selling parts.. I have purchased a number of parts from you (and spark plugs were a good one) and had nothing but excellent experiences.. (In the last 6 months Amazon has failed to deliver some pretty basic orders on multiple occasions.. things can and do happen)

When you do get the part lets talk...

I was not aware that you had already corresponded with him (privately) about this. How was I to know ?!? That would probably take preference over my purchase if you already had dialogue going. I will honor that, even though it was private dialogue. The forum rule generally applies for those who publicly claim dibs on something in direct response to a listing.

Given this new information, I will let you have the part, but for exactly what I have into it for shipping, and then shipping it to you. I will let you know when I receive it.

My other statement continues to apply -- I really have gotten disgusted with some peoples' actions and attitudes with regard to me shipping them parts. There is not a single case here on the forum (and I ship out parts all over the world, often daily) of me cheating or reneging on a deal or not honoring a warranty if a part turned out to be faulty, or refunding a payment, no questions asked. That being said, I started getting blamed by multiple people for them not receiving their "stuff" when in fact I had shipped it, and the US Postal Service was delaying the delivery of things, in a number of cases by 3-4 WEEKS. I will always be the first to admit if I did something wrong or make it good if I erred, but the demanding attitudes sort of got to me. So it's "by the book" from here on out as far as I am concerned with parts pricing, and shipping.

 

[skikrazey]

I'll second that Ricardo! I, too, have bought parts from Gerry with no issues at all. I was appalled to read that members treated Gerry with such disrespect! Shame on those people for their thoughtless acts! The E5E community, along with a few others, owes Gerry a debt that could never be repaid for creating this forum, the best on the web, selling parts, the data cards, etc.!!! It is always the few that ruin good things for the many!!! Simply saying thank you to Gerry for everything he has done for our community in my mind does not even come close to covering it!!! That being said, I will say a million thanks again to Gerry, as I have said to him every time I have purchased parts from him!!! I live 2.5 hours north of Annapolis and hope to get to thank Gerry in person one day!

 

[Ricardo]

Agree.. Gerry we all owe a debt which cannot be repaid for your efforts organizing and running this community...
Skikrazey.. Maybe we should organize a meetup one day so that some of us might meet those we have communicated with in person...
Pin that one on the board for when covid passes and we are all yearning for a drive ( location/date TBD)

 

[Jouser]

If anyone has a NOS or good used yellow top sender for the E500E they are willing to part with I would like to buy a spare in the event that cleaning mine does not help (or worse) I accidentally man-handle it and break a wire.

 

[nocfn]

As a workaround, Fill tank to capacity, my light for fuel will illuminate around 225 miles driven since fill up. YMMV (I have e420 first gear valve body)