I am wondering... how many owners here of the older Mercedes still have a properly functioning instrument cluster clock?

I hope I do not jinx myself, but when I got my 85' 380SE, I was amazed that the instrument cluster clock was still in perfect working order. As far as I can tell, it has never been repaired/replaced. I find it amazing, because out of all of the older cars I have owned with an instrument cluster clock, none have ever operated. Seems to be an extremely common problem on ALL older cars. Aside from the A/C systems on cars, this seems to be the next thing that typically goes out.

Knowing my luck, I just jinxed myself and the clock will now be on the fritz.

I have a 1979 300TD and a 1989 300SE--both clocks work perfectly.

Joe B.

You're obviously not used to German cars!

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Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
'07 GL320CDI, '10 CL550. '01 Porsche Boxster
Two BMW motorcycles

Oh, perhaps I am mistaken? Fool that I am , I gathered that it was common from a Mercedes site link that was posted here on the boards. Someone on the site was talking about "common problems" and this was one of them mentioned. Perhaps I should just delete this then..... sorry.

Now I feel like a fool.

Mine died (86 560sl) but I replaced the capacitors on it and it worked fine. I refinish instrument clusters and I had some spare clock mechanisms. I replaced caps on 4 others, and three were revived!

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86 560SL
With homebrew first gear start!
85 380SL
Daily Driver Project

http://juliepalooza.8m.com/sl/mercedes.htm

The clock/tach on my 82 300D works fine. The clock on my 83 240D failed and has been replaced.

all of my clocks work perfectly

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1998 E320 150,000
1980 300SD 240,000
1965 190D 79,000

86' 300E ...still tickin.

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-Marty

1986 300E 220,000 miles+ transmission impossible
(Now waiting under a bridge in order to become one)

Reading your M103 duty cycle:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/831799-post13.html
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/831807-post14.html

1987 300SE Euro. Judging by the accuracy of the clock in mine, one would think this is a Swiss car.

I noticed that STRIFE repairs clusters so I am expanding - not highjacking.. - the thread to ask about clusters in general. Hope nobody minds.

All the gauges on my cluster work properly , however at nighttime the light is quite dim. I did replace the bulbs and that helped a little. Would replacing (the old but working ) dimmer improve things ? Basically , is a dimmer a "work or no work" thingy - or does it become less effective after many years ?
TIA

Mine works fine. Only problem with my cluster is that the winshield wash tank light is always on. Then again, I never fill it. There could be a correlation.

Mine works fine. It stops working when I have to adjust it for the time changes, then it quits. There's a mechanical problem with the adjustment whatever that thing is called. I must have CRS syndrome.

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Regards

Warren

Currently 1965 220Sb, 2002 FORD Crown Vic Police Interceptor

Had 1965 220SEb, 1967 230S, 280SE 4.5, 300SE (W126), 420SEL

ENTER > = (HP RPN)

Not part of the in-crowd since 1952.

My '85 380SE clock works great. I had older Mercedes cars from the '70's with the round clock that never worked right though, and this was in the eighties- early nineties.

Re. the cluster dimmer, do a search, as there are threads discussing this at length. Basically, you can connect the 2 prongs and that will show you what the 'most' light looks like. Corrosion on the internals can reduce voltage, but the consensus here seems to be that the full-on position was not bright enough even when the car rolled off the showroom floor.

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1986 560SL
2002 Toyota Camry
1993 Lexus

mine doesnt work

The dimmer is a rheostat, basically a higher current potentiometer with a wire-wound resistance element instead of a carbon strip. It can get corroded and "noisy" (like a crackly radio volume control, except with light, not sound) or if the element or wiper breaks from wear or corrosion, just drop dead, but I don't think it can really get "weak" across the board. MAYBE, if the wiper arm loses its spring tension, it might not make a great connection and get weak across the entire travel, but I doubt it.

Those tiny bulbs can get weak, though - they develop failure modes other than just going dead with a broken filament. I have examples with "hot spots" that don't give out much light; I have others with darkened envelopes with diminished output.

I've put in the recommended brand new lamps, I know my dimmer is perfect, and I wouldn't say the brightness in my car is exactly overwhelming. This may be a difference in "taste" between European and US drivers. I'll bet at least 50% of your average US drivers have never touched their dimmer during the entire life of their car!

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86 560SL
With homebrew first gear start!
85 380SL
Daily Driver Project

http://juliepalooza.8m.com/sl/mercedes.htm

My clock is still working also. (1991 420SEL with 182,000 miles). Some of the above posters have talked about their clocks stopping after resetting the time. I think this may be due to the push-in reset mechanism not releasing fully when let go. I think someone even mentioned that they rapped on the reset knob and then the clock started moving again.

As for the dash illumination getting dimmer over time, I think I recall reading on another M-B forum that the bulb can actually develop a coating on the inside of the glass surface, basically a metal-film deposition of material from the filament. This would make the bulb itself dimmer over a long period of time. Of course, there could still be a problem with the dimmer potentiometer.