C230 Panel Lighting
 

Greetings,

I'm new to the forum and purchased a 2000 C230 Kompressor Sport today. I noticed some of the instrument cluster LEDs were not functioning, and the dealer has ordered a new cluster from Germany to replace it at no charge to me.

Today, I drove it for the first time at night and noticed a few additional minor things that I wanted to ask you guys about.

First off, when the headlights are on and the interior panels are illuminated, there are no lights around the light dial. The entire area left of the steering wheel is pitch black. Are there lights in the panel there? I would think that there would be....

Secondly, the factory radio does not illuminate the LED screen. It works fine, just doesn't light up.

Thirdly, the left side of the manual AC controls (rear defrost button, driver temperature wheel, and fan speed knob) are dark as well.

All other lights in the car work just fine.

I was wondering if anyone has had these problems before and knows how easy of a fix they are. The car is fully warrantied for 2 years for everything except wear and tear items, but I'm not sure if these constitute that.

Thanks for your help!

RE: C230 Panel Lighting
 

I assume you just have a bad bunch of bad LEDs. Mine all light up just fine. If the dealer has offered to replace them for you, the hopefully all should be well.

RE: C230 Panel Lighting
 

there is a small knob called rheostat or dimmer switch.

RE: C230 Panel Lighting
 

I had a similar problem when I had my 1997 C230. I took it to my mechanic, and they had to take off the entire front dash panel. My husband is very knowledgeable about cars, and he did not want to attempt taking the dash apart, so I would suggest taking it to the dealership, or better, your mechanic. It ended up costing me around $165 to have the lights in my dash panel replaced (because of the labor). One piece of advice, if you do decide to take it in and get the lights fixed, make sure to have them replace all the bulbs, even the ones that are working fine. You don't want to have to take it in again another 6 months down the road because another light went out.