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  #1  
Old 07-27-2019, 10:56 AM
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w123 headlights

I have noticed that my bright lights come on without moving the combination lever. You can just touch the lever a little bit either up or down and the bright lights are activated. Any ideas on tracking the issue.

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  #2  
Old 07-27-2019, 11:04 AM
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The lever switch is normally very reliable; however it sounds like you may have a defective switch, or it may be that the switch is dirty.
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  #3  
Old 07-28-2019, 04:21 PM
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I agree, seems like that'd have to be the lever/switch.
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'82 300CD
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'85 300TD, "Artemis".
'78 300D euro, "Ol' Red", mostly retired.
'85 300D, "Gandalf".
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  #4  
Old 07-29-2019, 10:21 AM
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I sprayed switch cleaner in there yesterday. I will see how that turns out. The cruise control lever works great. There is no problem there on it.
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Old 07-29-2019, 11:23 AM
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Touching the lever and replicating the behavior 100% condemns the switch as your fault. There are plastic pieces in there that can and do break, although it is not a common fault. My SD came to me with a combination lever that had a mind of its own, one of the plastic levers had broken internally and was floating around. All the functions worked, but it was a crapshoot which one would operate and when.
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  #6  
Old 07-30-2019, 12:55 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Guest987 View Post
I sprayed switch cleaner in there yesterday. I will see how that turns out. The cruise control lever works great. There is no problem there on it.
The cruise lever, while attached to the combination switch with a fastener, is independent of the combination switch mechanically and electrically.

Jim
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  #7  
Old 07-30-2019, 09:37 AM
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Surprise, Surprise! I took off in it early this morning. I had the lights on, and I decided to switch to high beams. Well, the lights went out completely. I moved the lever back to low beams, and the lights came back on. I tried this a few more times, but to no avail. What is kind of daunting to me is this happened on my return trip from purchasing it from the original owner(a decade ago). I was on a two lane road, and no traffic. I decided to switch to high beams. The lights went out. I immediately went into panic mode. Well, going back to low beams the lights came on again. I mentioned it to the owner after getting home. He was pretty noncommittal on it. I then changed out the control lever with a used one. That fixed the problem. The bright lights were now working. Now this is happening again, which I am puzzled about. I don't know if this is just coincidental or not?
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Old 07-30-2019, 03:22 PM
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[QUOTE=Guest987;3945165]I then changed out the control lever with a used one. That fixed the problem. The bright lights were now working. Now this is happening again, which I am puzzled about. I don't know if this is just coincidental or not?[/QUOTE]

No.

Jim
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  #9  
Old 07-30-2019, 04:24 PM
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I am not sure how often the OP changes their headlights from low to high beam and reverse, but these switches have been known to wear out and break internally. As stated before, while the cruise control switch and the turn signal / high beam switch are together they are two separate switches.
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  #10  
Old 07-31-2019, 01:21 PM
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I was just nearing the process of ordering a new dimmer switch, and I decided to look again. I still have the old one, that I replaced after purchase. So, I checked it, and found the place to clean. I did that, and I am now healed up. I have high and low beam headlights again. I guess, patience won out.
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Old 08-01-2019, 10:40 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Guest987 View Post
I was just nearing the process of ordering a new dimmer switch, and I decided to look again. I still have the old one, that I replaced after purchase. So, I checked it, and found the place to clean. I did that, and I am now healed up. I have high and low beam headlights again. I guess, patience won out.
Congrats on the repair.

During my 50 plus year ownership of MBs, I've found that replacing combination switches was not a rare occurrence. To the point that I routinely would save good combination switches whenever I was scrapping a car, knowing I'd be glad I had one in the shop when the inevitable installed one failed.

I have not had much of an issue with newer ones I've owned (W202, W211, W212), likely due to age/use factors.

Another unrelated component failure I've noticed, is W124 headlight switches. Never had problems with older models, but I've replaced several W124 ones.

If/when the opportunity presents itself, if I were you, I'd grab a spare combo switch on the cheap.

Jim

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85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles
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