Why do the parking lights do this??
 

On my 1980 300SD, the headlight switch, which is the disc type that activates the headlights and parking lights by being rotated clockwise, there are two additional positions to the left of the off position. One to the left of the off switch turns on the parking lights on the right side of the car only. An additional turn to the left shuts off the right ones and turns on the left parking lights only. Oh, and this only works with the engine off. :confused: Is this a feature used in Europe or other parts of the world? And if so, what is it supposed to signify?

Yes it is meant for in Germany (and other parts of europe) they tend to not light their streets very well (I've been there, they sure don't....hardly any lights) so when your parked alongside the road you click on the parking lights for the side facing the road so others can see your car easier. It only turns on the 5 watt rear marker (one) and front orange marker, so it doesn't draw much power at all. These huge batteries in these cars can run the whole light system w/headlights for at least 4-5 hours w/out a prob, so running two teeny bulbs overnight has very little if any effect on the battery.

This was also not a new feature with the '80 models, as our '61 190D had it as well. On the 190D, the front light for this function was up on the fender near the windshield. Suspect that the MB's have had this feature at least since the first of the Ponton era.

Actually in Europe the 70s through 90s front corner lamps are only turn signals. The left, right and both park feature is done with a 3-5 watt bulb in each headlight reflector.

Sixto
87 300SDL

The above are called "standing lamps" and I sometimes use them in the suburbs. Now, if MB had only put the rear fog light on my '87, I would be a happy camper.

This is also useful when parking past the inside part of a curved road at night, where traffic from behind you might not see your car in time as they rounded the bend in the road. This is especially true if your car is dark-colored. If your left parking lamp is on, that gives them advance warning.

If you park on the correct side of the road here in North America, then you only have to use the left lamps. The right lamps are intended for use in countries where they drive on the left side of the road.

However, the right lamps can also be useful here in NA if the rear of your car is jutting out of the driveway a bit at night.

Thanks, that makes sense
 

I just couldn't figure out what the feature was for. I like some of those tips as well. I may use them. :) It is safe then to assume that the same feature is also available in other makes, such as BMW and Audi?

Sure they did. At most you need a bulb in the socket. The rear fog is pre-wired in just about all post-85 MBs. I don't know why. I've never seen it used in the fog. Only in clear weather.

Sixto
87 300SDL

The w113 chassis has these bulbs. Have used them several times. The euro lights on the w123 also caused no problems when running overnight. I would not let them run for more than one night without starting the car/charging, although I have never done that experiment.

One thing to note regarding fog lamps is the following.

The w123 chassis (in my experience) when stock will require that you activate the driving lamps in order to activate the fog lamps. This seemed to my somewhat problematic, you might imagine the same thing.

The older w113 chassis did not require this. Meaning, you could activate the fog lamps without activating the driving lamps, leaving you with fog lighting exclusively.

More Q's
 

What about the 2 detents of when you pull the switch outward? Is there a way to get my parks and fogs to work without the halogens coming on? Also is the orange dot on the switch supposed to light up?

In my 84 Euro 300D, I'm able to tun on the front fog lights, without turning on the Headlights. Doing so, however, always turns on the running lights. If I pull it out a second time, an orange light comes on, which I assume means "You have a blown / missing bulb somewhere".. since I don't have bulbs installed in my rear foglight sockets. What are those rear foglights used for, anyway? Never found a reason to install bulbs in it.

Neither my W116 nor my W123 have that light come on ever....I believe its to let you know the rear fog is on...but I am not sure of that.....I think its a European only feture and doesn't work on US spec cars.

Hi,
the orange dot indicates the rear fog lamp “on”, as a reminder.
The rear fog lamp (some other makes have 2 of them) has a 21 W bulb which is very bright together with the reflector inside the unit. It is not allowed to switch on with visible road more than 50 meters (fog) in Germany. Less 50 meters the max speed is limited to 50 Km/h.
It appears often that drivers have to slow down because of fog (you can see just a few meters) and switch on the rear fog lamp. Sometimes this is the only thing you can see from the car in front of you. After the fog area is passed they run along with higher speed and it is ugly to drive behind such guys with their fog lamp on without fog.
Therefore the reminder lamp below the switch.

Tom

The second detent encountered when the switch is pulled, as mentioned by others, switches on the rear fog lamp and the orange lamp indicates to you that the rear foglamp is on. It is on the second detent to ensure that you do not turn on the rear foglamp independently of the front foglamp.

Without the orange lamp, it is difficult to determine/remember just by looking at the switch, that the rear foglamp is on. Because it casts a narrow intense beam rearwards, it can be irritating to drivers following you in clear-weather conditions, and you must switch it off then.

Rear foglamps are necessary not only in dense fog conditions, but also in driving rain, especially on the highway. On the highway, even when it is not raining that hard, your rearward visibility is largely hampered by the spray generated by your tires and those of other vehicles, especially 18-wheel trucks. At elevated speeds, braking distance increases dramatically, and hence the need for enhanced rearward visibility.

Because my 1989 190e2.6 does not come wired for the rear foglamp, I use my hazard lamps (amber indicators) instead in really poor visibility conditions.