Hi All,

The night-illuminating lights for my instrument panel have burned out (W123 1984 300D). I remember from way back there were a few varieties and some would melt the plastic as the wattage was too high. Is the 3 watt the correct one or is it something else? I just wanted to check before I order.

Thanks,

Dkr.

If all of the lights failed at once there is a good chance that the dash light dimmer (rheostat) has failed. Try turning the dimmer knob back and forth before replacing the bulbs. If the rheostat has failed it is possible to solder a jumper wire between the two pins on the rheostat. The rheostat will no longer control the brightness of the bulbs, but they will light at full brightness.

Yes 3W is the right bulb (Sylvania 2821) or if you want a brighter light without melting anything you can use a LED bulb

And check the dimmer too

The bottom lights work like the high-beams and glow plug indicator, but the panel does not illuminate when it gets dark. I would have to pull the thing out, but I think my rheostat on this car may already be soldered.

Dkr.

The glow plug light and the high beam light are separate from the dash illumination lights. It would be rare that all of the dash illumination lights would go out at once. I am not certain but there may be a separate fuse for the dash illumination lights. Worth checking.