Hi There,
I am new to this forum and to the W116 world. I got a '79 280SE last week. When testing the car I did not notice in daylight that none of the dashboard lights are working - only the light of the speed selector is working. I have checked the dimmer button and this is unfortunately not the cause. All fuses are OK. Incidentally, the cigar lighter does not work either (no volt at the connection) although the fuse is also OK.
Any clues at what my be the issue and the solution ?
Many thanks!
An update: looking at an old post on this forum, suggesting to rotate the dimmer back and forth for a couple of minutes, I did it and light finally came back - possibly some oxydation on the wires. For the cigar lighter, it was a different problem . The fuse looked OK but it was not. I replaced it with a new which was burned as soon as it was powered. The issue was solved by isolating the inside of the metal case of the ashtrey around the lighter with tape. Not sure it would be safe when operating the lighter, but it is most likely OK for my use of it as a plug for other things.
What you can do is bridge the terminals at the back of the rheostat. This will give you max bright and no more risk of the dimmer giving you fits.
I for one like my dash max bright but I know some folks like to be able to dim when needed.
Thanks Daniel, indeed I prefer full bright than the risk of no lights.
Easily obtainable. (https://www.ebay.com/itm/140647886676?epid=1123041314&hash=item20bf446f54:g:PlYAAOSwtfhYrBqK)