300E - Dome Lamp Control Switch - Lighted?
 

I have a 1992 300E and was wondering:

Is the 4-position dome lamp control switch supposed to be gently lighted when the headlights are on (like the sliding roof switch, or window switches, etc..)?

And if so, has anyone tried to replace the bulb inside the switch?

Thanks in advance!

they are fiber optically lighted.

I think you take out the AC pushbuttons and you put a light in behind ther that goes up to the switches.

Austin

Thanks for the reply, but I'm talking about the 4-position sliding switch for the dome/reading light, it's located right next to the dome light on my car.

The switch for the sliding sunroof is also up there, and it's illuminated, but not the dome/reading light switch.

I've got the dome light unit out, and all there is is a 5-prong plug that attaches to the rear of the sealed switch. I don't want to tear into the switch if there's no bulb in there -- looks like a lot of little pieces. :)

Anybody else know?

Edited title and bumped to the top for one more try... somebody besides me must have a 300E. :)

Please look, up in the sky, is it a plane? A bird? An illuminated dome switch??

Hi Benzwood:

I have an87 300E. The dome light switch is not illuminated on mine. The owner's manual gives instructions on how to replace bulbs ('push the lamp assembly to the right, lift off the cover on the left side with a screwdriver and pull the assembly out').

However, the only bulbs they refer to are the 10 watt dome light, the 5 watt reading light bulb, and the 1.2 watt seat belt reminder bulb. No bulb for the switch. Funny, they put an LED in the radio fader knob, but nothing in this switch.

Hope this helps - I don't know if your 92 is the same.

Mine lights up just like all the other switches. There either has to be a fiber optic for it or a bulb in there. I'll pull mine when I gett he car back from the windshield replacement and check, since I have a 1992 300ce it should be the same.

alon

Thanks guys! (And nice cars!)

I looked up the part number for both of your cars, and it seems to be the same as mine, i.e. 124 820 05 01. So it seems like all 3 of ours should be the same, I guess 2 of ours are burnt out? Can't imagine that it would be different only for the coupe.

That part number is unfortunately for the whole dome light housing base, which includes the 4-position switch.

When I pulled mine, there was no lamp external to the switch, so it must be inside somewhere. It does look like the back will come off the switch, but there will then be various loose/sliding contacts.

I'm going on a road trip in a few days and will probably wait until afterward to keep obsessing about it. Maybe JCE will have the guts to try replacing his in the meantime? :)

Fastlane shows the part at $73.87, which makes for an expensive bulb replacement if the switch kibbles 'n' bits don't go back together.

In case there's some confusion, please see attached photo -- with the headlights on, my sunroof switch (on left) is illuminated but the 4-position switch (on right) is not.

Ashman (or anyone) can you verify that 4-position switch is what is illuminated in your car?

The reason I'm double-checking is because I finally had a chance to pull mine out. I completely dissasembled the 4-position switch, and there is NO lamp anywhere for illumination. Luckily, I didn't break off any of those little plastic tabs off like I usually do. :)

No, dome lamp switches are not illuminated on 124's.

Scott P.

I'll check I don't think my 4 position switch illumiates but I will double check.

Alon

Is it possible to also get 'toilet in use' and 'No smoking' lights to go next to the seatbelt lights? :D

later

Hehe -- actually there is a simple plastic insert over the seatbelt lights, hire a graphic artist and voila -- full airplane simulation!That would be pretty funny, actually. I'd pay $20 for one. :)

It's odd that MB went to so much trouble with other lights but didn't illuminate the one switch that needs it the most!

Do other models have the 4-position switch illuminated? Any chance of interchanging parts?

There is also just a little bit of room inside my switch, if you got really ambitious you could probably wire something up connected to whatever supplies the sunroof switch illumination. Don't know how you'd ensure nice faint/even illumination though.

Dome Lamp Control Switch Lighted?
 

dddddd

Funny, this switch on my 87 300D is lighted and on the 92 2.5 300D, it is not. I was stressing about this also.:D I wonder if it's worth taking apart and losing things for?:eek:

Dome Light Switch Lighted?
 

I had to go and check. The newer car (the 92) has the light and the older one does not.

What? The 4-position switch indicated by the ? in the photo below is lighted in your 1992 300D?

In my 1992 300E it is not lighted. If your same year 300D is, that's really bizarre.

Dome Light Switch Lighted?
 

On my 87 there is no back light on the four position switch and no light on the roof switch. I have a back light on the roof switch on the 92 and will check on the four position switch when it comes home this afternoon.

Dome Light Switch Lighted?
 

The 92 has the roof switch lighted (a line lit by fibre optic), but not the four position switch.

About that safety belt sign....
 

Once I went all out on my stereo system, the time came for me to stop the annoying rattling inside the car. When I played music softly, I kept hearing a small buzzing noise that got VERY annoying...it turned out that the safety-belt plastic sign up top had fallen off and vibrated with the plastic holding it in. I took it off, and not wanting to buy a new one, I decided to make my own, hehe. It was simple. I just printed out a nice MBZ symbol, and some other things behind a black background and printed it on transparency film. I had the Kappa insignia along with ///MBZ\\\\ I also had my name up there with the two slots on the left and right as "///MBZ\\\"--my friends were surprised and wondered how I did that. It looks pretty cool at night because I chose blue for the writing, comes of as indigo-like...and in the daytime you can barely tell it's there (when not lit).


-Tony

morrib, thanks for checking, that's the same as mine then. You have to wonder why MB thought it was more important to illuminate the roof switch than the overhead light switch.

PoloBenz, you're nuts! That's a compliment. :) Can you take a photo of your modification?

While were on the subject does anyone have any spare clips that holds this thing in? Mine have been missing since I bought the car and this thing is driving me nuts! :)

... the '91 300E and the '95 wagon both do not have illuminated 4-position switches

-Benzwood,
I finally had some time to take a few pics and upload them. I have had problems linking the jpeg with the IMG thing, but you can see pictures here:

I'm still working on getting the background much darker, and replacing the inner light bulbs with "xenon-like" bulbs.

-Tony

PIX

Hah! That's cool. :)

Your Euro lights and wipers look great too. That's going to be my next project.

What brand lights and sidemarkers did you use, and did you get a whole new wiper assembly or modify your old one?

Just a simple question: If one wants to upgrade to illuminated sunroof swith you also have to get the fiber optic from the central dashboard, right?

Just thinking it would be nice to have a illuminated one in my w201...but I haven't got ac nor pushbuttons for the fan.

There is no fiber optic coming into the switch assembly, so you'd "only" need to be concerned about the physical compatibility and the electrical connections.

If I remember correctly, the sunroof switch isn't sold separately, though you could carefully swap it out if you had a replacement.

I think it was about $90 for the whole assembly. Kind of expensive just to obtain a mildly illuminated sunroof switch. Now if the 4-position light-switch was illuminated, that'd be different. :)

If you are thinking about replacing the whole assembly, there is also a suction tube that attaches to the back of the little air intake, used to suck air in for the thermostat sensor. I don't know which cars have that.

Hi Benzwood,
The lights are BOSH factory lights, the lenses are HELLA, and the clear corners are HELLA. The wipers are all European...everything from the motor to the shaft and blades. Got them for DIRT-cheap when I was vacationing overseas, hehe...I wish I had more room in my suitcases, I would of bought a TON of stuf there fore cheap.
Good luck with your euros...let me know if you need help with the install, even the euro vacuum adjustment set up (I put that on my car, hehe, it's tight!)

-Tony

Sunroof switch
 

The sunroof switch is, I believe, sold separately. Performance Products has it listed in the 124 catalog as part 82-190...$23.20. Mercedesshop.com may also have it...just checked..they do have it for $20...part number 07010-24778.