I just purchased my first MB but have an issue with the speedometer and tachometer working or sleeping! It seems either or both stay zeroed on occassion when starting out driving. Later at different times both will eventually start working. I understand both are electrical, is there any suggestions as to the problem or what to look for?

The problem lies in the peg. The needle rests on a peg. The paint MB used isn't very good and gets 'gooey'/.///

The only way to fix it is to take apart the cluster and put a little piece of shrink tube on each peg.

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Benzmac:
Donnie Drummonds
ASE CERTIFIED MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN
MERCEDES SPECIALIST 11 YRS

Thanks, I am sure my mechanic will get a chuckle after he has spent numerous hours checking our the electrical system. I appreciate the help very much. This is 1995 C220 for my daughter to drive and we purchased it on ebay. Yeah, I know but funds were limited - all in all I think it has turned out okay. She loves the car.

Next time when you start up the car and the needles are not moving, give it a tap on the dashboard right above the meters and they should start moving. If this is true, the pegs are sticky as Benzmac said. This happened to my C280 about 2 years ago. However it only happened couple of times during summer and never came back again.

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Harry (94 C280)

I get this problem every winter with my Tachometer and Temp Gauge. A good whack on the dash gets them up. Only in the winter though!!!

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2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

Thanks, but we tried agood whack and a tap - did not seem to matter. We have opted to install tubing, just a little trouble with dash or IC and we are woring through it.

Ths forum is a great resource -I found other items of interest last evening.

Try harder... sometimes i really need to WHACK the dash to get the needles to move. Probably not worth the risk, but try giving it a good smack, i mean a GOOD whack.
Good luck and I hope my advice doesn't cost you any real damage!

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2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

Installed shrink tubing today, all works fine. The only glitch is the tach takes about couple second delay to register afe strting engine - I can live with that!