Information on buying and installing new ignition wires - Beru

[Glen]

My '94 has just over 120,000 miles and has the original factory ignition wires. Even though the engine runs great with no noticeable signs of ignition issues, I thought it was time to replace them as a matter of course.

I wanted to add a tiny bit of bling so instead of factory black wires, I opted for some custom made red wires. There's a guy in the Porsche 928 world that has been selling DIY ignition wire sets for 32V 928's for the past 6 years. I contacted him and he agreed to make me a set using my stock wire lengths as a template. I pulled my wires, unscrewed both ends and carefully measured each wire, including the two coil wires. I just finished installing them and wanted to let you know that I'm very happy with the quality and fit of these wires. He uses Beru wires and connectors with the proper crimping...in effect, these are identical to factory wires. He can provide red or black wires or even a non-Beru blue, I believe.

I purchased the number tags separately from Amazon but they are definitely not as nice as the factory tags. Good enough for me but if you want a 100% factory look you'll have to source them elsewhere and use black wires, LOL.

Anyway, here are some pix:
Stock wires...


New wires...

With the covers on, you don't see much...very subtle

More pix...from during the install.

 

[Glen]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Ok...if you are interested in purchasing a new set of wires to replace your factory stock set, contact Mark Robinson at porschesolutions@gmail.com

You will receive 8 spark plug wires plus two coil wires, all with correctly crimped ends.
Colors are Beru black or red, or non-Beru (but still very good) blue.


His price, which includes shipping to the lower 48, is $129.

Admin update June 2013: Price has increased to $145 shipped in USA.

Admin update August 2013: Price has increased to $159 shipped in USA.

Admin update November 2016: Price may be unchanged and still ~$159 delivered, see post #57.

 

[chicky]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Hello Glen,

Would my M119.960 wires be the same lenghts, as yours?

Thank you in advance,

Chicky

 

[Glen]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

The plug wires should be the same length but I'm not sure about the coil wires.

 

[szvook]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Glen, how's the original cables condition?

 

[Glen]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Glen, how's the original cables condition?

Considering, they are original they are in great shape. My car was running fine before, I just wanted to add some high quality bling. I'm keeping the old cables as spares.

 

[szvook]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Considering, they are original they are in great shape. My car was running fine before, I just wanted to add some high quality bling. I'm keeping the old cables as spares.

Good to know. My car just hit 120K and I was just curious on the condition of the original cables with same millage. Thanks, man.

 

[gerryvz]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

It's a good idea to replace wires proactively, even if the car doesn't have a lot of mileage on it. They do wear out with age.

I had a "miss" at under 50,000 miles about two years ago in my 1987 560SL. It turned out to be a slightly shorting plug wire. I purchased the MB wires and replaced them. Did the same a few years ago on my much higher mileage 560SEC. I guess the E500 needs to be next on this. Thanks for the heads up on this upgrade, and the reminder that I need to do this on the E500.

Plug wires from MB are not particularly cheap.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[samiam44]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

That wire routing looks nice- perhaps my 420 is wrong.

What wires on each bank go to which cylinders? I've got a cable on each side which is WAY too long.
The plug connectors being red plastic appear to be Bosch. Are you sure the old wires were Beru?

Michael

 

[gsxr]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Michael, the stock length wires for the early 90° plug boots are made such that the front plug on each side (#1 and #5)are several inches too long, and get wrapped around a neighboring plug. This is because otherwise, it is difficult to remove the plug boot, due to not enough slack in the wire. The later "orange" plastic plug boots can use shorter wires.

Note that the early-style 90° plug boots use different wire lengths than the late-style plastic orange plug boots shown on Glen's engine. The lengths for both are in the EPC. There is an engine number break for early vs late which seems to have occurred in mid-1994 model year production. (?)

The plastic wire trays have numbers in them so you know which plug wires go in each 'valley' in the tray.

 

[Glen]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

That wire routing looks nice- perhaps my 420 is wrong.

What wires on each bank go to which cylinders? I've got a cable on each side which is WAY too long.
The plug connectors being red plastic appear to be Bosch. Are you sure the old wires were Beru?

Michael

Perhaps my wires were replaced prior to my ownership. I've had the car just over 10 years now. And yes, the connectors are Bosch.

I didn't look that closely at the old wires so maybe they are not Beru but the new ones definitely are. As far as wire length, mine all seem to be exactly the right length with no single wire wrapping around any other plug. The vendor made the wires to the lengths I gave him so if you were to order a set they would match mine.

 

[Benzer]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Glen,
Could you post a link to the number tags..? I can't find them in Amazon..

Thxz..

 

[Glen]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

I used these:
http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Gasket-4472-Wi ... 963&sr=1-1

But I think these might be better:
http://www.amazon.com/Spectre-4244-Spar ... 291&sr=8-1

Or these, which comes with two of each number so you don't need to order two sets:
http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Cable-4106 ... sbs_auto_5

 

[8899]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

I just contacted Mark regarding wires. His price is still the same. He indicated that he is in the process of making another set for you... I suppose the length/fit for all '94s would be the same, yea?

 

[Glen]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

I just contacted Mark regarding wires. His price is still the same. He indicated that he is in the process of making another set for you... I suppose the length/fit for all '94s would be the same, yea?

Hmm...not for me. The set he made for me last year is still working great. No complaints at all.

 

[gsxr]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

I suppose the length/fit for all '94s would be the same, yea?

Length/fit will depend on the plug boot style. The early-style 90° plug boots use different wire lengths than the late-style plastic orange plug boots shown on Glen's engine. You need to check what's on your car and get the appropriate set. And measure the plug boot resistance to see if they are still around 2k ohm.

 

[samiam44]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Does anyone know how many meters of cable are needed to make a set? I think the big hangup is having the proper crimping tool. At MB tech sessions, I ussually have access to factory tools(if it's at a dealership) and it might be worth it if I can get the cable and connectors for $50-75 to just crimp up a set (or 2).
Like Dave mentioned, I would at a minimum like to not loop cabling around a spark plug due to excess length.


Michael

 

[spleuba]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

I just bought a set of these from Mark and I am very happy with them. They work great. I recommend him if you are looking for a set.

 

[emerydc8]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Michael: I bought the crimping tool from Mercedes about 15 years ago. It will fit in a Priority Mail envelope. If you want to borrow it, I would be happy to mail it to you.

 

[Mejnoon]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Just ordered a set and the price is now $159 shipped in the US. Still a great deal...thanks for posting Glen!

 

[Glen]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Does anyone know how many meters of cable are needed to make a set? I think the big hangup is having the proper crimping tool. At MB tech sessions, I ussually have access to factory tools(if it's at a dealership) and it might be worth it if I can get the cable and connectors for $50-75 to just crimp up a set (or 2).
Like Dave mentioned, I would at a minimum like to not loop cabling around a spark plug due to excess length.


Michael

Were you ever able to determine how much cable is needed? I would guess you would need 12 to 13 meters...

 

[gsxr]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

It's a bit over 9 meters according to the lengths in the EPC.

 

[Glen]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

It's a bit over 9 meters according to the lengths in the EPC.

Does that include the coil wires?

In any event, you'd need to buy a minimum of 10 meters to make your own. I didn't look very hard but I only found one supplier of Beru cable...which coincidently is within 10 minutes of my house...and they want $165 for 25 meters. Considering the time and effort, I'd still rather buy a set from Mark.

 

[gsxr]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Yes, with coil wires. Don't forget you should to buy the ends too, which are a bit spendy. It's a shame the wire only comes in 25m spools, since you end up with a bunch of excess and only two sets.

Remember that the later "orange" plug boots use different wire lengths compared to the original ones with a 90° fitting on top.

 

[Zuffenhausen]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

what do the oem cost?

 

[gsxr]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

what do the oem cost?

There is a factory ignition wire kit which is not in the EPC... it's an "accessory" part number, Q-4-15-0036. Although it is not in the EPC, it is on the MBNA price list: $488 MSRP, ~$360 from Naperville (click here).

There are good quality (Bosch / Beru) aftermarket wires available for ~$200/set.

 

[chicky]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Hi Dave,

What is your opinion on the Kingsborne brand of cpark plug cables? They have a set for the M119 engines, that's about US$188 + taxes?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Glen]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Kingsborne is a major Beru distributor so it's possible their ignition wire set use Beru wires, in which case it seems like a great deal...especially if the connectors are Beru as well. I can't promise when, but I will try to visit Kingsborne in the near future as they are about 10 minutes away from me.

 

[gsxr]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

+1. I think they are good stuff, and at least some of their wire sets have Beru ends.

 

[chicky]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Hello Glen,

I'll wait for your update on your future Kingsborne plant visit, as I was planning to order 2 sets from them. A set for my M119.960 and for an M117.967.

Chicky

 

[clarkz71]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Michael: I bought the crimping tool from Mercedes about 15 years ago. It will fit in a Priority Mail envelope. If you want to borrow it, I would be happy to mail it to you.

Same here, used mine twice. made 2 sets.

For sale if someone wants to start making sets.

These are OE Mercedes crimpers I ordered from my parts dept.
Even with my employee discount they are pricey.

 

[clarkz71]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Example of a wire done with the correct tool.

 

[Christian_K]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Get the complete Beru wire+plugs Set for the M119 engines with distributors:
BERU ZEF 635. Costs aroun 200€. Perfect fit all-silicone cable set (10pcs), recommended around German Forums by German M119 Pros (like myself) since years. And especially by Bernard, the M119 pope.:
http://www.w140forum.de/showthread....-sind-die-Besten&p=56512&viewfull=1#post56512

The reference Part:

Als Zündkabel ist es wichtig keine Mercedesteile zu nehmen, da diese nur in Einzelteile lieferbar sind und die Kabel erst konfektioniert werden müssen. Und genau da liegt das Problem! Der eine crimpt die Hülsen mal stärker der andere mal schwächer und somit ist schon vorprogrammiert das es zu Zündschwierigkeiten kommt. Bei Zündkabel verbaue ich nur von Beru. Die sind schon komplett fertig konfektioniert und der Satz für den M119 Motor besteht aus 10 Teilen (8 Zylinder + 2 Zündkabel von den Zündspulen). Die Bremi Zündleitungssätze sind Schrott! Die hab ich zuhauf in letzter Zeit raus geschmissen. Deutlich merkt man das mit den Bremi Zündleitungssätzen gut 100 U/min im Leerlauf fehlen. Gut zu erkennen wenn der Leerlauf bei nur 450-550 U/min liegt.

english:

For ignition wires it is important NOT to use Mercedes Parts, as they are delivered only in parts and need to be completed/crimped. And there is the problem! One guy sometimes crimps them stronger, one less, and its therefor already pre-programmed that it will lead to ignition problems. For ignition wires i only use Beru, they are already completely finished/crimped out of the box and the whole kit for the M119 Motor consits of 10 cables (8 Cylinder + 2 wires to the coils). The BREMI Ignition wire ets are JUNK. I have thrown them out alot lately. You notice it clearly, that with the BREMI Wire Set, you are missing around 100RPM at idle. Good to spot when the idle is only around 450-500RPM

Apart from his statement about the good quality BERU ZEF 635 Set, notice something else:
The Bremi Kit would take away around 100RPM from idle... Well, isn't that exactly what happens when people insert 5000ohm Resistor Sparkplugs? I heard that a few times already that with some strange ignition parts, M119s with LH injection have a lower idle...


EDIT: The major difference in the BOSCH and BERU Sparkplug Boots is that the BOSCH ones are junk. People on the german W140 board showed that.
http://www.w140forum.de/showthread....ekt-auswirkungen&p=75383&viewfull=1#post75383

BERU:


Bosch:


So dont get BOSCH AFtermarket ones. They are not fitting tight enough and causing severe, even audible, missfires.

 

[clarkz71]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Already being sold by a member here. $179.99 US

 

[clarkz71]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Remember that the later "orange" plug boots use different wire lengths compared to the original ones with a 90° fitting on top.

Yes, I used the OE 90deg suppressors (2K ohm) so I just matched my original wire sizes.

 

[2phast]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

I picked up a set of SMP (Standard Motor Products) spark plug wires (#9905) which was NOS from a seller on EBay. I almost passed, but saw the package said Beru, so happy to say that the 90 degree ends are Beru 2k ohm and the cable is Beru as well. Product description says they are specific to the .034 and .036 chassis. Haven't installed yet, but I am hoping the coil wires are the proper length. Cost me $150 shipped.

 

[Glen]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Rik,
Have you had a chance to install these yet? Were the wire lengths correct?

 

[gsxr]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Most of the aftermarket sets I've encountered have incorrect lengths which results in sloppy wire routing either at the valve cover, or the distributor cap, or both. This seems to particularly affect the sets with Bremi distributor cap connectors/boots, for whatever reason. (??)

The factory-spec wire lengths (in the EPC) are very good, although I modified a couple of them (adding 1-2 inches to certain wires) for even better appearance (IMO). I have one new-old-stock set of Kingsborne wires with Beru plug boots that matches the EPC lenghts, however I'm not sure if their current/new sets are the same way.

Glen's photos above show a nice layout for the late-style plug boots. Below are photos of my custom sets with the 90° plug boots, along with a couple photos of the factory-original, 20-year-old wires (which were still working fine, btw, sorry Eric.)

 

[gsxr]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

BTW, these are the heat-shrink wire numbers I used:
http://www.taylorvertex.com/spark-plugs/index.cgi/productListing?id=220385

WARNING: Because you have to slide these over the bare end of the wires, these heat-shrink type markers ONLY work for the OE factory-style wires which you can unscrew from the ends/boots at the spark plug or distributor cap. Some aftermarket wires cannot have the ends/boots removed without destroying them. Be careful out there.



UPDATE, Nov-2016: The new wires are NOT always easy to thread into the boots; a special lubricant is used, otherwise the wire sticks to the rubber boot and doesn't spin easily. I also found that the crimped ends often were tweaked slightly, sometimes enough to prevent threading at all. Took me HOURS of fighting with a few before I figured out the root cause. I tore the rubber off an old defective boot to easily test each crimp straightness, before inserting into the new boot. Bent threaded ends can be carefully straightened. No, it wasn't user error crimping, I tried various crimp methods and always had the same issue. I believe the factory wires are crimped in a die, not with the hand-held pliers, which is why the factory ones are perfectly straight.

While installing new wires, you may want to also buy new boots for the spark plug (8 required), distributor end (10 required), and coils (2 required). If also replacing the caps/rotors, go for the full Monty and also replace the insulator behind the rotor bracket (has been known to cause issues despite appearing OK visually), and consider new Bosch coils as well. Do everything at once and you should not need to touch this stuff again for another 20 years. If the plugs aren't recent, do those too, F8DC4 only!! Not FR8DC, no resistor plugs, no exotic platinum/iridium/yttrium elements.

 

[2phast]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Rik,
Have you had a chance to install these yet? Were the wire lengths correct?

Yes, the lengths were different from what was on my car (Bosch), a couple of the Beru wires were shorter, which was good. So I think the Bosch set had a couple of cables that were too long.

Since the SMP set was specific for the .034 and .036, all the wires were the perfect length (same for the coil wires). I ended up with a similar routing scheme as Dave's.

 

[clarkz71]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

SMP must be a re boxer, those are OEM Beru Mercedes wires.

 

[2phast]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

SMP must be a re boxer, those are OEM Beru Mercedes wires.

Very well could be true. Quality is excellent and so was the price, although I don't know what these sell for retail, my set was from EBay and appeared to be sitting on someones shelf for a while.

 

[ghm]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Thanks for the heads-up re. rockauto. Just purchased a 9905 set, $177.99 for Beru 10 wire set. Discount covered shipping. One remaining at wholesaler closeout price. Will probably need new distributor caps/rotors soon and will install new wires at the same time.

 

[Mejnoon]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Are the Beru boots available on their own? Can't seem to find them anywhere.

 

[gsxr]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Are the Beru boots available on their own? Can't seem to find them anywhere.

Yes, the old-style Beru boots are available via aftermarket sources, part number is 000-156-68-10 for the metal-shielded, 90° Beru boot (ZLE-225) as seen in post #35 and #36 above. Don't try to order that from parts.com as MB has superceded to the newer/cheaper style with plastic top. Here's a link to the correct ones at AHAZ:
http://www.autohausaz.com/search/product.aspx?sid=tofioo45noth1s55vgikfzu3&partnumber=000-156-68-10

Remember that the newer style boots with plastic top (usually orange color, as seen in post #1) require different length wires.

 

[8899]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Thanks for the heads-up re. rockauto. Just purchased a 9905 set, $177.99 for Beru 10 wire set. Discount covered shipping. One remaining at wholesaler closeout price. Will probably need new distributor caps/rotors soon and will install new wires at the same time.

I think I picked the last remaining set of these back in January at their wholesaler close-out price of $178. The nice thing about these is that they include the 90° Beru boot. Still need to get them installed!

 

[clarkz71]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

I have an update on wire sets, I'll start a new thread

 

[RicardoD]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

I just completed changing to my spark plug wires with a Bosch set. They are a little shorter in some of the wires and the only place it gets tight is Spark plug #4.

Access to the coils:
Thanks to Dave for the tip to remove the left front headlight. I also had to remove the left front headlight wiper motor from the headlight before it would come out easy. Picture attached.
Instructions to remove headlight here 82-4730: http://www.w124-zone.com/downloads/MB CD/W124/w124CD2/Program/Chassis/82-4730.pdf

Coil hookups.
The right most coil goes to the right cylinder bank 1-4
The left coil (the one under the ABS unit) goes to the left bank (5-8)

Also, as reference to others I numbers the spark plug wires from shortest to longest. In addition for my Bosch set I bought two sets of ignition wire labels from Amazon. They come with a handy little applicator tool as they open up and then close back down around the wire. I put numbers on both ends of the new Bosch wires to help me during install and in the future.

If I ever have to change again I will order the custom set being offered here. I paid nearly double for a Bosch set via Pelican Parts (see attached photo). The reference photos here were were invaluable so that I could route the wires properly. The Bosch set is fine except Cylinder #4 wire is a probably a bit too short but I got it to work by taking all the slack out it.

I have Mercedes spark plugs and these new Bosch wires and car runs great now.

 

[Jlaa]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Ok...if you are interested in purchasing a new set of wires to replace your factory stock set, contact Mark Robinson at porschesolutions@gmail.com

His price, which includes shipping to the lower 48, is $129.

Admin update June 2013: Price has increased to $145 shipped in USA.

Admin update August 2013: Price has increased to $159 shipped in USA.


You will receive 8 spark plug wires plus two coil wires, all with correctly crimped ends.
Colors are Beru black or red, or non-Beru (but still very good) blue.

Hello - Does anyone know if Mark Robinson is still offering these? I tried emailing him at the above address and the address bounced. Thank you.

 

[samiam44]

Re: New ignition wires - Beru

Try clark