hmm i didnt even think to check my euros for the elements. ill have to check today.

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have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it

I understand (based on minimal info.) that the OE system was intended only for temporary lowering headlights when carrying heavy loads (car tilted up). When the beams are temporarily lowered, vacuum is constantly bled. I dont like the constant bleed. In the system I devised (which is quite simple contrary to the comment above), it doesnt constantly bleed vacuum at any headlight position....instead you add a little vacuum as you need, to raise lights up, by pushing the "up" portion of the window switch. When you want to lower, you momentarily push th e switch the other way to bleed just the right amount of vacuum from the system. At all other times, the headlight vac. system is closed, with no vacuum bled into or out of the system. What ever level you choose, the lights will stay there permanently, whether operating vehicle or parked overnight.

Contrary to the original system design (beam lowering for heavy loads), I use mine just the opposite....I set standard headlight position (to pass a vehicle inspection) at the bottom of the range (no vacuum), and I use the system to raise the beams to various levels for various driving conditions as appropriate. My system is probably illegal, but I believe our euro headlights fall into that same category.

Mark

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1984 300TD Wagon, 407,800 mi (current daily driver)
1985 300DT Sedan, 330,000 mi (gone to that great autobahn in the sky)

The factory setup has check valves so that the lights stay in their adjusted position when the car is not running.

My setup doesn't have the check valves, but I can't see how that makes any difference. When my engine is stopped it makes no difference how high the lights are aimed. The rotary wheel has like 3 detents. You set it where you want the light height. When you start the car the lights rise to that point and stay there. Nothing temporary about it. The amount of bleed is very very small.

Steve

Steve, I agree. I'm not sure why MB used check valves. The later system found on 1990 and up Euro 124's had an entirely different switch that had check valves integrated into the switch itself.

i am sure i have posted these pictures before, i have 2 vacumm valves if any one still needs them, one picture is early and one is late. if the pictures are too small, let me know i can email the original ones.

MB has SLS on many different chassis. MB has adjustable lights on these same chassis. The amount of load therefore has little bearing on the lights position on the road. Raising or lowering the lights is the goal of adjustment, and the reasons could be many. Like others who believe they have a better idea for the SLS on W123 wagons I don't think that there is a improvement in changing the original engineering in adjustable eurolights. I and others have several eurolight switches with vac. adjust. Cheap. Easy. Original. Want one?

I reread Steve's post and see that he has his set up with lowest position normal driving, then raise above when needed. He says it works like a charm...sounds good to me.

Where does the vac. switch mount and how big is it....would I need to cut or will it mount into an existing place in a 300D. I may be interested in purchasing a setup if you are really interested in parting with one.

Thanks,

Mark

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1984 300TD Wagon, 407,800 mi (current daily driver)
1985 300DT Sedan, 330,000 mi (gone to that great autobahn in the sky)

On the 123 cars the switch goes in one of the holes in the center upper portion of the dash where the row of switches is located. You simply push out one of the little cover panels and push in the switch. On every Euro car I've seen with one from the factory it was in the hole all the way to the left.

On the 124 cars they have a different escutcheon plate at the headlight switch. There is a hole just to the right of the headlight switch in this plate where the vac switch goes.

Hope this helps,