Which Brand Combination Switch (Turn Signal, High Beam) Is The Lesser Of The Evils?
 

The high beam indicator light is suddenly now always on in my roommate's 1991 W126 350SDL whenever the headlights are on. When the stalk is pushed forward, the indicator light gets a little bright and one headlight gets a little brighter. When pulled back in flash to pass position, the lights get a little brighter, as does the indicator light.

Anyway, a genuine Mercedes combination switch (1265453124) is $302 MSRP. Not going to happen. The other brands (which are in the $60-$80 range) I've seen are as follows: URO, Meyle, Febi, MTC, and SWAG. The problem is, URO and Meyle have a reputation for being junk. Febi seems to often be a reboxer of random brands. I thought MTC was good, but it seems that most of the switches I see for sale list the brand as being URO/MTC like it's one and the same? I've not heard of SWAG before.

Which brand should he get? Has anyone here had success or failures regarding new combination switches?

Try unplugging both headlight units and see if the high beam indicator still lights.

1: check fuses for good contact
2: check ground
3: check resistance through switch circuit

The original switch can probably be fixed by cleaning the contacts with De-Ox-It or something similar.

Yours may be very similar to mine. It's pretty well sealed so I don't know if you can do much cleaning. However, Since it is really simple to replace, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Some parts, drivetrain, etc.... maybe, but I don't believe you will see much difference in something like this.

I guess URO brand it is, then. Hopefully it works and lasts. Apparently these plastic switches crack and it makes the contacts not line up correctly.

This has been my view as well. For anything related to the mechanical operation, I would be very critical of using Uro. On door seals and the like, if you can get it to fit, it will probably be fine. I haven't had any problem with their switches, although I will gladly spend more to avoid them when possible.

Dkr.

I'm going to make a wild guess that in this case, all these brands are manufactured on the same line. Why? Because it's an expensive, complex part, not hugely in demand. The cost of tooling up and creating an assembly process is too large to justify for half a dozen competitors. It makes much more sense for there to be one source and many labels.

Hi guys, just an FYI that we had a recent production run of Turn Signal Switch 126 545 3124 that has a defective pin output, which results in the windshield wiper spray not working. If anyone purchased one of these, email us at "sales at uro parts dot com" with your purchase details and we'll either get you a proper replacement from the next run, or if you no longer need the switch, reimburse you with a different part of similar value (we're flexible).

when i was having some high beam issues I order a generic one from Ebay

The angle of the stalk was wrong and I could not use the high beam "flash"
pulling the stalk towards the steering wheel.

turns out the unit did not solve the high beam issue
so I put the stock unit back in.

it was a crossed wire at the headlight plug