I gotta '84 300SD. Question: Is everyone elses outside temp readout on there instrument panel in Celcius? Can they be converted to read Farenheight? (Can I spell anything right?)

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past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

i just bought an instrument cluster out of an 85, and it's in celcius as well. I figure if i can learn how to make adjustments in my head to Farenheit quickly i'll be better at my acc system too..... Just kind of a unique trait/quirk that i think well have to live with..
Ryan

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83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

Yea, I kinda figured. The gages in my old Audi are the same story. Like the oil pressure gage reading in 'bars', whatever a 'bar' is. Must be a German thing, to send cars to us in the U.S.A., but make us live with their metric, european gages. Thanks for the reply!

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past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

The only car I've ever seen with temp readings in F was my 300SDL. This is because it was -only- made for the US market. The 300SD went to other countries including europe.

I had done an excel sheet with conversions from Deg C to Deg F and printed it for storage in my oddment tray. The key numbers are
-10 deg C is 14 deg F,
0 deg C is 32 deg F,
10 deg C is 50 deg F,
20 deg C is 68 F,
30 deg C is 86 deg F, and
40 deg C is 104 deg F. I did these in my head; there is a formula too. F = C * 1.8 + 32 = C * 9/5 + 32 (if I remember correctly.)

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

A bar is one atmospheric pressure at sea level: about 15 PSI.

P E H

I knew a very easy conversion but I forget it, It went something like this:

Lets start with 30 deg. C

Take the first number, 3 and double it, 6
Add 32 to 30, to make 62 then add the 6 to make 68. But 30C is 86F...

Good thing you didn't remember only the very difficult way!!!!!

My outside Temp readout just went out. What do I need to do to fix it?

Depends what “Went out” means exactly. You can do thread search for "Outside Temperature Display", "Ambient Temperature Display", or either with "Sensor" added and you should find a couple of threads that detail how to diagnose and repair problems with the sensor. The sensor is usually located under the front bumper somewhere. This would be the first step unless you can see a defective LCD panel.

This system can be divided into three basic system blocks. The sensor and its' wire leads, the electronic digital circuitry, and the LCD panel itself. The electronics and LCD are contained in one unit attached to the underside of the instrument cluster. You pull the instrument cluster and remove two screws, then pull the Outside Temperature Display unit free. You unplug a four conductor connector that provides the unit power, ground, illumination, and sensor connections.

If there is nothing occurring on the instrument cluster window then any one of the three parts could be at fault.

If you see anything on the display such as black blob appearance on all or a portion it may be the Liquid Crystal Display panel itself is physically damaged, cracked, or broken. The only solution is to replace the panel itself. The only place I have heard off to obtain the panel is another display unit from a salvage yard or the like, you wouldn't need working electronics just an intact LCD panel. You can disassemble the unit and carefully lift out your damaged panel and replace with an undamaged panel. Like wise if your electronics have failed you can find a unit with a damaged LCD panel and swap the parts up and put together the functioning pieces to create a functioning whole.

If you see partial numbers or intermittent blinking numeral segments it could be the electronics or the connections to the LCD panel. You could disassemble and look around or swap out known parts.

Do you have a C or F display? If what was said earlier is true, a C will be easier to find. The only place I’ve heard of for a new replacement unit is MBUSA at around $175! So it could pay to do your homework and ascertain exactly what went wrong. Good luck!
The F part number is 126 542 0227.

I recently had to replace my display after the LCD died. I could still see a partial reading but half the screen was a blue blob. The only place I could get a repalcement was a dealer (actually Phil got it for me and it was about $200...ouch!) The new LCD replacements also have a different 5 pin plug so if you have the older 4 pin plug like I do you have to juryrig the connections. Suppossedly there is a plug conversion you can buy but I couldn't find it. The new LCD works fine...the 5th plug is for a speed sensor (on later cars it stops reading at slow speeds so the engine heat won't throw it off...you don't need that feature to make it work). Make sure you need to replace to LCD before you buy a new one, they're expensive and probably can't be returned.

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LRG
1987 300D Turbo 175K
2006 Toyota Prius, efficent but no soul
1985 300 TDT(130K miles of trouble free motoring)now sold