My wife just returned home in a tizzy. Seems she heard a "pop" sound from the "front" of the car then all the guages went dead. she drove on in from Pittsburgh, but was rather upset. seems everything works BUT the guages. #11 fuse is good, all lights work, engine starts & runs fine. 1988 300SEL. I did a search, but nothing seems to address this type of problem.

I would start with re-checking all the fuses! even if they "look" good, and sometimes even if they test good with a multimeter, they can have a hairline crack that cuts the current. On my '87 300E, #5 (white) is the instrument fuse, and it buzzed, then popped when it went out.

problem solved
 

guess I'll reply to my own problem, since no one else has. Seems I was checking the wrong fuse, 'cause when #6 was examined, a hairline break was found (therefore replaced) and all is well in Bellaire again.

my apologies to JCE
 

please accept my apology-seems you were in the process of sent your reply while I was still typing, and I got my reply sent just after yours-but all is fine now-I appreciate tour response- nick

No problem - just glad your back and running!