Dash light Rheostat

[PanzerSD]

I have a friend who is having some difficulty getting a car on the road (lack of time) One of his issues is that he has no dash lights. I gave him some bulbs in case he needs them, but then it occurred to me that it could be a roasted rheostat. I have one from my W116, will it fit a Euro '77 W123?

[meltedpanda]

might, but I would just bypass it, or clean up the one he has, most are not broken , just crud ladden

[Pooka]

I used to run into this a lot. Radio Shack has a 'contact cleaner' in a spray can that can eat away the crud that builds up on the coils.

There are easy to clean but it takes a bit of time. I guess you could buy a new one but I have never had to.

[PanzerSD]

I imagine i'd just Bypass it for him, who needs to dim their dashlights anyway?

[Graham]

Originally Posted by PanzerSD

I imagine i'd just Bypass it for him, who needs to dim their dashlights anyway?

That's the best bet - I did that on our 300D and the dash lights are still dim despite new bulbs. Probably a problem with reflectors fading to yellow?

Some have put in LEDs - should be OK I guess, but I read that you shouldn't put in higher wattage regular bulbs - they apparently get too hot.

[PanzerSD]

I upgraded to a type '74' bulb..it has a slightly larger bulbe section, but the same base. it's a bit brighter, but still a bit on the brown side. LEDS work best if you get ones with the right diffuser.

[LandYaghtLover]

I saw someone take foil tape and place it around the shroud. When I replace mine, thats what I will do too.

And an article about the dimmer. May not be the same, but I am betting they are very similar.
http://articles.mbz.org/instrument/dimmer/

[PanzerSD]

Sheesh! Why the h*ll didn't I ever think of that! I've been putting silver paint on the reflector! Thanks for that one!

[LandYaghtLover]

Ya, I think the foil will hold up better, and it reflects on both sides. So I also thought of putting it on the diffuser, or whatever that plastic cleat thing is.