Confirmed.

I want about 7 of them.

no, nO,NO! The really big question is....

Will they fit in the light sockets behind the little "hoods" in the top of the instrument cluster of the W123 - the ones that provide the light to read the gauges?!? Now that would be SWEET! To be able to significantly increase the light on the gauges by just swapping bulbs!

No, they're too small, but a reflector on those two (larger) bulbs would be a great idea (why don't you invent one!).

Maybe back then, those light bulbs needed a reflector...

Answer:

After exploring numerous cars at the local Pick and Pull, I found several instrument clusters with a reflector bulb in the same place: the light that tells you the emergency brake is on.

I hypothesize that Mercedes was getting complaints from people who were in the habit of driving off with the e-brake still on because they didn't notice the little light, especially on a bright sunny day with the driver wearing sunglasses. The reflector makes the warning brighter, an easy fix (if it works) and a good excuse (we tried) if it didn't.

Edit: Since these things don't show up in EPC, it's possible that Mercedes gave the reflectors to dealers to use when customers complained that the brake warning light wasn't bright enough.

Also: I made a comment in an earlier post about the low-fuel lamp being different. I discovered that many of the clusters in the junkyard cars have bulbs that are slightly longer than the others, although the same wattage. It may be that this longer bulb was used specifically because the path from the lamp to the little triangular warning window is relatively long and somewhat oblique.

Jeremy