Hi, i read the removal instruction from Simmos and he said to : "Pull the knob, undo the big nut holding the unit in place and pull the unit out to check. Be careful when you unlip the plastic panel from the dash, it's clipped in and the plastic tongues break easily. The bulb holder clips into the back of the switch unit. If you have vacuum adjustment for headlight level, watch out you don't lose the hoses when you pull the unit out, the job can escalate from something simple to pull the dash nightmare if you are not careful.

You'll probably find the switch comes off in your hand when you try to pull it out to activate the rear fog. If so, you can get some relief by prising the two prongs of the switch unit apart slightly."

Can you elaborate on how you did the removal differently? i also have a gen 2 w126 (1991 560sel) and i don't really want to take out the whole instrument cluster just to get to this defective headlight switch.

Also wondering if a newer switch with the light on the center stalk will work on this car? Saw one on craigslist with the description: "95 - 99 Mercedes C230 C220 C280 W202 W124 W126 W29 Headlight Switch OEM 000 545 6004" I'll try to post a picture later.

Thanks!

Theo