R129 dome light housing disassembly
 

Hi,
1st post in a great forum!

My dome light housing is disintegrating. The rubber is sticky and it looks like crap. Besides the drivers door is not triggering the interior lights even though the door switch is known good so I guess it must be something wrong in there.

I was wondering how to take this dome light assembly apart?
Is here somewhere a step by step manual?
I took off the interior lights and unscrewed the screws underneath them. The thing is kinda loose now but somewhere must be a trick to get it off.

I have the motorized mirror in case that makes a difference.
Thanks - Dirk

Just take a good hold and pull. I have had mine off a couple of times to try to figure out why some of it works intermitantly,,, never did figure it out.

You have to yank it hard enough to dislodge it but so hard to rip the wires attached. Mine ( 1990 500SL ) also got gunky. Scrubed it with paint remover, primed and repainted. Now it looks perfrect, it even has the origional grain impressions. I wonder why that specific part gets like that?

So just to make sure:
Do I grab that disgustingly gooey housing and pull it down? Or horizontal? Whats about the mirror, does it stay in place?

@ Brian123: I was thinking doing the same. Did you spray it? I have the light beige interior (Champignon?) ... where did you get a matching color?

I have the theory that someone treated the housing with some too aggressive cleaner, I never saw something like this before. Or its perhaps just German rubber VS Californian sun.

Cheers, Dirk

NO you grab and pull the mirror..........
Look for three screws on the housing. ;)
aam.
Califirnia sun cooks it. :(

So I pull down the mirror, good to know!

Though I found two screws under each interior light, where is the third one? Buried somewhere under the goo?

Mine did the same thing.

Yes, snap hard down on the mirror, but not too hard there are wires.

Three screws and the cover comes out. I bought the replacement from Mercedes Shop, F'ing expensive, but it looks nice.

FYI, the control module for the light with the door is somewhere under the dash.
And as I recall the switch controls it in some way too.

Hope it's a burned out bulb.

Sorry, mines tucked away so I can't check it.

Just found http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-benz-sl-discussion-forum/154406-interior-light-cover-removal.html?highlight=interior+light+cover+removal

That should do it.
Any hints for a known good 3rd party color for beige interior?

I heard of those guys: http://www.yourautotrim.com/semdye.html

Thanks y'all. Dirk

Removed the old color with Acetone, its just washing away.

Cleaned everything and sprayed with Dupli Color Vinyl and Fabric coating.
I used HVP108 Desert Sand which blends in very well (not 100% though) with my MB Creme Beige interior. Not too bad for a 5$ fix.

BTW when removing the dome light assembly and taking out all the electrical components, cleaning the A/C sensor and its little fan is not a bad idea.