[chuckindetroit]

Capacitors do indeed go bad. Overvoltage, possibly from a defective charging system can damage them. An electrolytic will explode with a high enough voltage. They all are stamped with a working voltage rating. Anyone with an old Predicta TV from the fifties will know that recapping the chassis is a normal restoration step. Abit, a manufacturer of computer motherboards, has been dealing with a class action lawsuit concerning bad electrolytics on their mobos which LEAK the electrolyte, causing a no-boot situation and can corode the circuit board. Luckily none of my Abit boards are defective. Even though they are "solid state" devices there are still physical forces involved inside them. There is slight movement of the layers and heat build up as they charge/discharge. Plus the hot/cold cycles of normal operation take their toll, especially here in frozen Michigan "Winter Wonderland"!!
I've got the same problem with my dash and will look at the cap in some warmer weather. A larger value would be good. There are different qualities out there. Rat Shack ones will work but you may want to look for better if there is an electronic store near you or through DigiKey. Remember, there is bargain basement quality and then there is Mil Spec.

 

[HMCGARY]

Mine is 1998 which has a different cluster!

 

[bayhas]

it has a digital ODO, but thats about it, is it different on the inside?

 

[HMCGARY]

I will open it up tomorrow and see!

 

[bayhas]

cool...let us know...

 

[Peter Guenther]

Mine kind of fixed itself, the seat belt light comes on and then goes off, sometimes the fuel guage just flickers, most of the time is when the turn signal is used, the other indicators just dont come on. I got the hooks, it just has not aggrevated me to the point of pulling it.

 

[hsumer]

Any body has pictures those links are not working

 

[miloking]

Hey guys sorry to beat up on another old thread but i need bit of advice, i have replaced the small Cap next to the big one (with red arrow), original was 100uF 10V and i have put in 100uF 60V ...what i was trying to achieve is to fix my broken clock (its very funky and works only sometimes).
Did i replace the correct Cap for clock or is there some other ones to replace.
there is another one on the other side simetrical to this one and it also looks like it has been leaking, so questions is anybody knows which CAP is powering the clock or does anybody have circuit diagram for cluster....

BTW... i already replaced the actual clock just to be sure bit it wasnt the problem anyway

 

[bayhas]

caps dont power things up, caps regulate voltage...

look into a mechanically broken clock, or open power circuitry to the clock...

 

[renelsisc]

sorry to bring up this old thread again...

but i have this same problem, and the stealership is charging me $1600 + labor to get a new cluster. Anyone know where i can get one for cheaper?

Also, if it's possible, anyone know if it is safe to drive around even if these lights are flickering?

 

[Brett San Diego]

sorry to bring up this old thread again...

but i have this same problem, and the stealership is charging me $1600 + labor to get a new cluster. Anyone know where i can get one for cheaper?

Also, if it's possible, anyone know if it is safe to drive around even if these lights are flickering?

This thread is all about replacing a capacitor and thereby renewing your current instrument cluster virtually for peanuts. Is there a reason you are ignoring the cheapest route by far to fixing your problem?

Brett

 

[miloking]

i have replaced one of the capacitors i assumed is for the clock (the connectors and the printed circuits were going from the CAP to the clock) also this cap was visibly leaking...but it wasnt my issue and my clock is still not working very well (intermittantly doesnt work at all) so yeh if you are going to fix you cluster get one of the specialist places to do it i think there is few companies who do "cluster recon" for around $150..and they will replace all of the capacitors
Unless of course you have cluster diagrams and can solder

 

[wndmll]

My cluster went out about a month ago... I replaced the cap and still inop... i sent it out to 4mercedes.com for r&r... They could not repair my cluster, but sold me a rebuilt one for $650.00

 

[Glide Ride]

I have a 95 S420 cluster

sorry to bring up this old thread again...

but i have this same problem, and the stealership is charging me $1600 + labor to get a new cluster. Anyone know where i can get one for cheaper?

Also, if it's possible, anyone know if it is safe to drive around even if these lights are flickering?

I bought a 95 S420 for parts last year. It has a cluster that I would be willing to sell for $350 plus shipping.

Good luck,

Frank

 

[bayhas]

if anyone wants to send me their gauge, i ll do it for ya...

 

[miloking]

if anyone wants to send me their gauge, i ll do it for ya...

Funny thing, yesterday i stopped for fuel and when i started the car up my fuel gauge didnt lift from "0" so i restarted the car and all the lights started to flash randomly and then cluster died completely!!! no warning at all... just dead. Tryed all sorts of things like checking fuse and unpluging battery etc....

Anyway longs story short i found a guy parting out S420, gave him a call and now i have beautiful cluster for $150,my car now has 130K kms "less" and FINALY MY CLOCK WORKS
(just had to swap my chrome rings over fro my old one)

Find it bit of an irony since we were just talking about this.....

 

[alexus.one]

hey I have W202 '97 and i have kind of similar problem. My IC arrows are not working ocassionally. Well its like tahomether arrow is shaking at 0 and speedo and fuel arrows have no signal at all. When I push thahomether arrow during cranking some times that helps... but now i'm less lucky with that trick. So I red all the post an all those 4 pages and maybe some one can advice me here. It semas thta capaciitors are for the clock but maybe they controll gauge arrows too. I'm kinda ok w/ electrical engreeniring but car car drawing to even fgure out how the gauges are controlled and what causing the problem... so maybe some one can help? I have no budjet even to buy new IC on ebay for $100... so my only option is to fix it myself.
Thanks!!

 

[Freakendorf]

Hi,

I'm trying to replace my capacitor on my 93 300SE cluster. I already put in Radio Shack 1000uf 35V capacitor (#272-1032) but as soon as I connected the cluster back, unusual sounds and smells came from the capacitor area, accompanied with some heat too.

One could assume the capacitor is now gone. The question is what happened?
- Is it the wrong capacitor? What should one look for in a capacitor?
- Has it been installed improperly? What is the proper way to install it? Is there a right and wrong way to do it?

Any help will be greatly appreciated?

 

[bayhas]

Hi,

I'm trying to replace my capacitor on my 93 300SE cluster. I already put in Radio Shack 1000uf 35V capacitor (#272-1032) but as soon as I connected the cluster back, unusual sounds and smells came from the capacitor area, accompanied with some heat too.

One could assume the capacitor is now gone. The question is what happened?
- Is it the wrong capacitor? What should one look for in a capacitor?
- Has it been installed improperly? What is the proper way to install it? Is there a right and wrong way to do it?

Any help will be greatly appreciated?

you probably installed the cap backward, these components are polarity sensitive...

It is actually safe to say your cluster is gone now, unless if you are really really lucky...

I mean if nothing, you have probably fried the PCB, and peeled/damaged most of its copper around the cap area..

The only thing I can help with at this time is to send me your cluster and I can see if it still can be saved...

I dont know if it's a seasonal thing, but I have recieved and fixed 4 of the these in the last week... it's been a while since the one before that...

 

[Freakendorf]

Thanks for your reply. Yes, it appears that incorrect polariy is the reason for what happened.

At close inspection, it does not seem to be any visual damage or peeling/discoloration of any kind around the area. This is encouraging and probably warrants another attempt at installing another capacitor the other way around.

Since you did not raise any objections to the type of capacitor I used (Radio Shack's 1000uf 35V), I assume it is an appropriate one to use here.

So, I'll try again tomorrow and let you know if I got lucky. If not, what is the time frame and expense expected if I have to send it to you.

Your help is very much appreciated.