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#1
03-28-2003, 08:08 PM
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dash light potentiometer
My dash lighting is very poor on my 82 300D turbo. All the bulbs are good but the dash light dimmer switch is acting very odd. I spin it and it simply flickers the light. I suspect the potentiometer (rheostat?) is shot. Somehow I get the impression that these cars have pretty dim dash lighting even when the switch is working. If this is true maybe it would be best to simply bypass the potentiometer so that I get maximum dash light intensity whenever the headlights are turned on. I wouldn't mind saving on the cost of a new switch. I would guess it costs at least $50 as it's a dealer only item.
Has anyone done this? Also does anyone think this is a bad idea? Thanks, Elliot 
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#2
03-28-2003, 08:33 PM
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erubin,
That is a common event, and bypassing the potentiometer is a common solution. The dash lighting even with the unit bypassed is just acceptable. Go for it. Jim
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Own: 1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles), 1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000, 1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles, 1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles. 2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles Owned: 1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law), 1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot), 1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned), 1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles), 1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)
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#4
03-28-2003, 10:45 PM
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I've done three of these now and there are two tricks to getting the maximum lighting (which still is not that impressive)
1. solder the two posts together (bypassing the potentiometer) 2. paint the inside walls where the bulb reflects.....paint them glossy white. After a few years, they yellow. In one of my cars this helped dramatically but in the other two it wasn't so impressive. Don
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DAILY DRIVERS: '84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's) '99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's) '97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's) '97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's) '96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's '84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion) SOLD: '82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed 
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#5
03-30-2003, 01:12 AM
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Same theory as Diesel Don's #2, I took some Q-tips (soaked in rubbing alcohol) and cleaned the carbon or whatever that is which gets inside the prism in my dash in both the 83 & the 84. Swapped a couple bulbs, and cleaned all of the bulbs in the cluster with rubbing alcohol. The 83's backlighting wasn't that bad in the first place, so I don't know if it improved much. But the backlighting in the 84 is ~5X better!!! My 84 also has a flickering potentiometer, but I tested the resistance on it and it isn't that bad so I left it in.
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Jeff M. Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here. 1983 / 1984 300D Sold 2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold 2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k
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#7
03-30-2003, 11:04 AM
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You have to remove the cluster in order to get to it, after that it is very simple as the two bars are looking right at you after it is uninstalled.
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Jeff M. Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here. 1983 / 1984 300D Sold 2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold 2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k
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#9
04-01-2003, 09:03 PM
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I believe it is the same procedure, next time I think I'm going to build this:
 And a link about rebuilding the rheostat http://instrument.articles.mbz.org/dimmer
__________________
Jeff M. Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here. 1983 / 1984 300D Sold 2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold 2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k
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