Weird problem with instrument cluster 87 560 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ukrmh88 · #1 08-22-2008, 10:59 PM

I must be the unluckiest Benz owner in the world! Today, while enjoying a nice ride in my 87 560 SL, the little round aluminum-finished center "button" on the instrument cluster (you know, the cluster that has the gas, temp, and oil pressure guages plus the "economy" vaccum guage) came unglued and fell down, and is now rolling around at the bottom of the inside of the cluster. It rests right in the center of the economy guage, just rolling around aimlessly as I drive. When I accelerate, and the economy guage moves clockwise, the needle actually bumps this round button to the right. When I shut the car off at idle, the needle really kicks to button a lot to the right. These actions mimic a pinball game: the needle is the flipper and the button is the silver ball! I guess to re-glue it, I will have to remove and disassemble the cluster. The question is, how difficult is this to do? Do I have to remove the steering wheel and disassemble the airbag? How difficult is it to remove and disassemble the cluster? Does my car have a speedometer cable, or is that function electronic? I have reasonable mechanical skills- can I do this myself? Has anyone ever heard of this happening before? I have attempted to attach a picture of the cluster with the detached button for purposes of illustration, so I hope this goes with the thread. The car was shut off, so the "flipper" moved the "ball" to the right, as you can see.

On a positive note, I bet I have the only "live" pinball game in a 560! I actually was able to learn how to move this button around today, through a combination of accelerating, decelerating, and stopping and starting fast while driving, and it was kind of fun! If re-gluing it is impossilbly difficult, or too expensive to have an expert do this for me, I may just enjoy this new game I have discovered! Maybe with a little ingenuity, I could incorporate this new game into a cell phone, and sell it to Nokia!
Bob

POS · #2 08-23-2008, 08:55 AM

Same thing happened in my SL about three months ago - my little button gets batted around by the Econ gauge every time I get on it. My research shows it's a simple fix - you have to remove the steering wheel, remove the cluster, open it up (easy), and glue it back on. I'd suggest 3M Super Trim Adhesive. I'm waiting for the fall and cooler temps to mess with it.

nhdoc · #3 08-23-2008, 10:05 AM

There is a specific procedure for removing the airbag on these which is detailed in the shop manual and on Alldata. Other than that, removing the steering wheel takes about 15 minutes (sometimes the hex bolt is very tight and I recommend using an impact wrench to break it free), then you pull the cluster and disassemble it which is pretty intuitive. There is no speedo cable, it is all electronic as I believe the oil pressure gauge is. I would recommend you clean all of the ground strap contact points very well before you bolt the cluster back together. It is common for them to oxidize and when the resistance through them gets high enough the traces on the circuit boards will burn up trying to carry all of the extra current. Good luck.