Confirmed.

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

I want about 7 of them.

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1985 300TD Turbo Euro-wagon
1979 280CE 225,200 miles
1985 300D Turbo 264,000 miles
1976 240D 190,000 miles
1979 300TD 220,000

GONE but not forgotten
1976 300D 195,300 miles
1983 300D Turbo 175,000 miles

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e485-1-2-1.jpg

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!

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1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown

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

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

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

__________________
Current Garage
2008 Mercedes GL320 CDI 188k mi Repair/Work in progress
1994 S350 160k mi Garage Queen & prepping for repairs
2005 E320 CDI 203k mi Healthy & Daily Driver
1994 S350 357k mi Retried as parts car
1984 300TD 214k mi Blown OM617 Poss OM603 Swap??

Sold
1987 300SDL 200K+
1994 S320 181K mi
2008 E320 Bluetec 127k mi
1999 S420 130K mi
1980 240D 360k mi
15+ Others that has come, stay and gone

GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
1995 E320 SE 220k mi
1984 300SD 350k mi

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

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970