anybody know what the deal is with the dash lights in a 240d?

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Doc - 22 Feb 2006 20:50 GMT

i cant find a switch anywhere or find a fuse thats bad please dont tell
me ALL the bulbs burnt out

Reply to this Message

Richard Sexton - 22 Feb 2006 22:23 GMT

>i cant find a switch anywhere or find a fuse thats bad please dont tell
>me ALL the bulbs burnt out

It's the dimmer rheostat. Pull the dash (easy) and there;s a good
chance you can *repair* the rheostat. Or buy a new one, or just
jumper it so it's always full on.

Here's how:

http://articles.mbz.org/instrument/

Signature

Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org
Richard Sexton | Mercedes stuff: http://mbz.org
1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Home page: http://rs79.vrx.net
633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | http://aquaria.net http://killi.net

Reply to this Message

trader4@optonline.net - 23 Feb 2006 17:07 GMT

I rejuvenated the one in my 300SD by removing it, spraying it full of
electrical contact cleaner, and working it back and forth many times.
Good as new now. Instead of removing the instrument cluster, sometimes
you can move them around till you find a spot that works and leave it
alone. If you need a new one, they are available, though pricey, ~$65

Reply to this Message

Richard Sexton - 23 Feb 2006 17:32 GMT

>I rejuvenated the one in my 300SD by removing it, spraying it full of
>electrical contact cleaner, and working it back and forth many times.
>Good as new now. Instead of removing the instrument cluster, sometimes
>you can move them around till you find a spot that works and leave it
>alone. If you need a new one, they are available, though pricey, ~$65

I wiggled mine for years and it worked. When I finally took it out the
only problem was one end of the spring and come off. I putit back,
dabbed a bif of JB weld to keep it in place and it worked fine.

Of course that was AFTER I'd bought a new one. I'd never heard of
anybody fixing one before. But, uh, I'm not sure anybody had tried.

Signature

Reply to this Message

Hazey - 23 Feb 2006 18:50 GMT

I cleaned mine (a '72) with alcohol and a q-tip about ten years ago,
and haven't had a problem with it since. Mine just had a bunch of
cermaic dust piled up in the coil that was blocking its function. Never
heard of one having the end pop off. Glad that you were able to fix
it.

Reply to this Message

Richard Sexton - 23 Feb 2006 19:39 GMT

>I cleaned mine (a '72) with alcohol and a q-tip about ten years ago,
>and haven't had a problem with it since. Mine just had a bunch of
>cermaic dust piled up in the coil that was blocking its function. Never
>heard of one having the end pop off. Glad that you were able to fix
>it.

Me too :-)

See for yourself though:

http://articles.mbz.org/instrument/dimmer/

I wiggled it for years to make it work, but eventually it could
not be made to work any more. It was a really easy fix, should have done
it long ago. It's much much brighter now of course.

Signature

Reply to this Message