W124 Instrument Cluster Lighting Disaster
 

Last week one of the light bulbs burned out on the instrument cluster in my 1992 300D. So, last night I went to replace the bulb and found an absolute mess. Obviously, the previous owner thought it would be an awesome idea to brighten up the instruments with higher wattage bulbs. Everything around the bulbs was melted and the one that burnt out actually broke off and stayed stuck to the melted prism. Also, the boards that the gauges are attached to were singed.

Luckily I had a spare cluster out of a 1995 E300 with good prisms and I had already bought a pair of the correct light bulbs. I just had to swap my speedometer into the E300 cluster and now all is well. Also, now my instrument cluster is way brighter than it used to be! I actually have to use the dimmer!

Always use the correct bulbs! Mercedes Benz part # N072601-012240 or you can use Sylvania 2821 bulbs.

I borrowed the last picture to show what a good prism should look like.

Go LED, bighter, cooler, less amps. You'll never have problems again, May need some easy custom work.

I'm happy with the stock setup. I just couldn't believe how much havoc putting the wrong bulbs in could cause. It had the wrong bulbs in it since before I bought the car.

Right bulbs are kinda like right fuses. Both are reeeeaaallly important.

For 123's, a full new proper fuse set from fleabay can be delivered for under $10

Melted Tubes
 

What wattage were the bulbs that did this? My W124 E300D has 2821 3W and 2721 1.2W.

yes those are the right bulbs for your E300D it uses only 2 bulbs on the top. I cleaned the prism lenses of my car's cluster with a q tip and some glass cleaner, They shine good.

The bulbs that caused the damage were 5 watt bulbs. I'm not sure what brand they were.

Just use the 3 watt bulbs. They are plenty bright for me.

Just cleaning the prisms and replacing the old bulbs with new 3 watt ones can make a big difference as the bulbs can blacken over time with use.

Also, if you have an instrument cluster from before 1990, then you may want to upgrade the cluster to one from a 1990-1995 W124, as they have larger prisms. You just have to swap your gauges and the little strips with the warning symbols into the new cluster.

Can you get the small bulbs in three watts? If you have ever been on the Osram site you'll know why I am asking.

Which bulbs are you referring to?

There are only 2 bulbs for instrument cluster illumination. The are a wedge type bulb that plugs into a brown socket that is put into the back of the cluster. They can be found at almost any auto parts store.

Actually their are 14 bulbs (1single, 7 of another and 6 other) in there. The 2821 3W are larger. The 2721 are small 1.2 W some frosted some not. This includes the warning lights glow plug light etc. Look at the EPC.

That is all accurate, but I was just referring to the bulbs that are used to light up the gauges for driving in the dark.

The other bulbs are used to illuminate the turn signal arrows, reserve light, and all of the warning lights.

I'd recommend just using the bulbs that Mercedes recommends for any of the lamps on the car.

I never understood the need for frosted bulbs - they shine pretty much the same as the regular micro fish bulbs. however I ordered bulbs about a year ago with another parts order (had to get the w210 LCD bulbs too) - and out of the 10 1.2 watt bulbs I recieved 8 of them frosted - mishandled shipment maybe?

Some folks paint the bulb case gloss white or silver to increase reflection into the prism/light pipe. Maybe it's only in 123s and 126s that there are black surfaces in the bulb case.

I agree with BenzEnthusiast. I don't like the gauges glaring at me at night so with a later gauge housing I had to dim the illumination in my '87 300D with basic 3 watt bulbs.

Sixto
MB-less