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Instrument Cluster LED lamps ...

13K views 56 replies 13 participants last post by  bcraske98 
#1 ·
I purchased some T5 and T10 LED lamps off Ebay.
I am having a problem removing the old lamp from the
small plastic based lamps - see red arrow, these are the
Turn Signal, High Beam, etc lamps.

Do they pull out? Or, do I need to purchase an LED Lamp that
if fitted with the plastic base?
 

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#3 ·
on your Leds. Have a few spare fuses. Tried to replace the indicator lights with those style (the white base colored ones) , and all I did was replace fuses. The background running light were all that worked. And to answer the question, the light should slide out of cluster
 
#4 · (Edited)
I would be concerned about more than fuses if the new bulbs require more amps than the originals. The traces on the cluster circuit board can blow before the fuse. The fuse should only blow if you have a dead short.

I had a short on my 300D and it fried the circuit board traces. Load on circuit should be well below the amperage of the fuse. Need to look at wiring diagram and add current draw of all the bulbs.

Leds should draw less current than incandescent. So fuses shouldn't blow, but I read about this happening when leds first came out.
 
#8 ·
I can't get the T10 incandescent lamps out of the black plastic base.
Wondering how you guys got the bulbs out.
 
#13 ·
I pulled pretty hard. The incandescent bulbs just won't come out.
Tried wiggling. Tried using sugurcial pliers - don't want to crush the glass bulb.

The black plastic is engraved on the bottom with "OSRAM 12/1.2"
 
#14 · (Edited)
#16 ·
I am working with my spare Instrument Cluster - the one with 26,000 miles
on it. I was hoping to figure out all the issues and have the appropriate
parts before pulling the Instrument Cluster in my 1986 560SL.

I can easily extract the top two T5's and all the T10's.

Looks like I need to pull that Instrument Cluster and see if they are like
the black ones. I can easily remove the Incandescent Bulbs in all the
other positions on the Instrument Cluster - just having trouble with all
the T5's along the bottom including the white base right turn signal.
 

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#19 · (Edited)
Further discovery ... on mine I had to press down on some tabs to extract
the Incandescent Bulb. And, its tack soldered.

These were not designed for bulb replacement.

BTW, this Instrument Cluster is from a 1987 560SL.
 

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#20 ·
I bench tested my Instrument Cluster with some colored LED T5 lamps.
With T5 LED's, they have to be inserted such that the positive voltage
is on the Anode of the LED. Unfortunately, its basically trial and error.
Below is a photo of my Instrument Cluster on the bench with a 12 volt
power supply and two clip leads to test the LEDs.

A second LED shows the instrument cluster with 2 green LEDs - not as bright
as I would have expected but the green color is an interesting effect.

I had to use a file to trim down the plastic shoulder on one LED in order for it to insert
properly.
 

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#22 ·
LED lights: White, Red, Green, and Amber.
The intensity falls off with color -- but these photos were not
in a night time situation.

Have not received my Blue LEDs yet.

I'm kinda preferential to White and Green.
 

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#23 ·
From the pics I would say those are your only options. The others are just too dark. But pictures can be deceiving. I do like the look of the green although some may say it's too "modern" for a 107.

I am quite interested in your project as in a month or two I will be doing the exact same thing.
 
#25 ·
Interesting, but what really caught my attention was the speedo that maxed out at 85 mph, that is less than 140 km/h. My 280SL did at least 220 km/h on the speedo and I have clocked 245 km/h without pushing it to the limit in the 500. Were US cars that restricted?
 
#28 ·
My 1983 380SL Speedometer maxs out at 160mph.
My 1986 560SL maxes out at 170mph.
 

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#29 ·
The Blue T5 LEDs came in today.
Yes, I like the blue LEDs - especially the way they accentuate the orange
on the Speedometer:
 

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#34 · (Edited)
Interesting ... My 1983 380SL uses the larger T10 lamps for turn signals, and all
the other indicator lamps -- unlike my 560SL which uses the smaller T5 lamps.

I inserted a white LED T10 lamp in the left turn signal and compared the brightness
with the incandescent lamp in the right turn signal -- I could not tell a difference.
I never had an issue being able to see the Turn Signal in my 380SL but have trouble
seeing it blink in my 1986 560SL which uses the smaller T5 bulbs. I guess Mercedes
was tinkering with the design in small ways over the model run.

Here is my 1983 Instrument Cluster with blue T5 LEDS for illumination:
 

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#35 · (Edited)
Replaced some incandescent lamps in my 1986 560SL.
This one I used white LED back lights.
Blue LED for the Hi Beam.
Green LEDs for the Turn Signals.
Red LED for the Emergency Brake.

Wanted a bright LED for the eBrake as I am bad to forget to release it.

You can definitely see the difference -- note the difference in the
following photo - the SRS and the lamp failure lamps are incandescent
and much lower in brightness intensity.
(The lamp failure is lit because I have a wiring issue with my right headlamp
in that the low beam part of the headlamp turns off on high beam.)

This is a big improvement.
 

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#36 · (Edited)
I have never had the cluster out on my 350SL, but have on my 300D.

On W123 it is easy to remove, but don't you have to remove the steering wheel to get cluster out on 107s? Thinking about old threads read here, I am sure you do. After 43yrs I suspect mine may be kind of set in place. Don't drive car much at night, so don't know if dash lights are all on or not!
 
#37 · (Edited)
Oh yeah, you do have to remove the Steering Wheel to remove the
Instrument Cluster. When you do remove your Steering Wheel, do turn your
ignition key to the steering UNLOCK position. You don't want to damage the
locking mechanism when you wrench the bolt holding the Steering Wheel.

I did figure out a way to bench test the Polarity of the LED's before reinstalling
the Instrument Cluster. I use a 12volt Power supply and an ohmmeter. You
can use a 9volt battery instead of a Power Supply. Apply +12v to the
rheostat that controls panel brightness and Power Supply ground to the
Instrument Cluster metal back. This will allow you to view functionality of the two
backlight LEDs.

To verify the correct orientation for the other LEDs like the Turn Signals, I hooked
each LED to my Power Supply and when I got the LED to light up, I noted which
side had the +12V and then marked that side with a red marker. Then I
inserted the LED in the Instrument Cluster ... using my Ohmmeter from the metal
Instrument Cluster ground to the side of an LED, I looked to find where I had
continuity. If I got Ground continuity on the LED red marked + side, I rotated
the LED 180 degrees.
 
#38 ·
So, whats the verdict: blue LEDs, or White LEDs:
 

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#39 ·
Credit to all of you who are experimenting to change the look of your instruments - it's just not for me. At night my stock lamps are damped to a point where the needles are just visible thereby preserving as much outside vision without distraction as possible. What does one need to see on the panel except for the general position of the pointers?
 
#41 ·
Credit to all of you who are experimenting to change the look of your instruments - it's just not for me.

Didn't want to spoil the fun, but I feel the same way.

I have an aftermarket Sony radio in my SL. It looks fine during daytime, but at night lights up like a Christmas tree :( As a result, I shopped more carefully for the radio in my 85 300D. It is an Alpine and has subdued (blue) lighting.

I seldom drive my SL at night, so not even sure if the cluster bulbs all work :eek:
 
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