Center Instrument Cluster

[n/a]

I have taken the center instrument cluster partially out. How do you remove the braided wire line that goes to the temp conector on the back ?? Also is there a way to remove the electrical connections? I had to take the unit apart, and leave the half with the litebulbs attached to the wire. Also the bakelite backing seems to be broken, Are they available seperately? Thanks

[Naj ✝︎]

SD,
You can NOT remove the braided wire. It is a capillary tube and very fragile! You can remove the temp gauge from the cluster as you have already removed the bakelite cover. If you need more working room, you can undo the bulb at the cylinder head, release the clips and pull the tube into the cabin.
If you follow the harness for about a foot, it ends up in a plug, which can be unplugged and you can then take the bakelite cover out of the car.
New covers (2 types) are listed in the parts manual - depends on your model/chassis #.


naj
'Kloines Scheisserle'
65 230SL
68 280SL

[ja17]

Hello SD,
Remove the steering wheel if you have not already. It is easy and will make the job sooooooo much easier. If you need the description of the procedure just let us know!


Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

[n/a]

Thanks for the advice, Yes please let me know how to remove the steering wheel, also how do you remove the light switch (does the rubber knob come off?) and the also the ignition switch.

[W14]

When I wanted to remove the temp. bulb from the cyl. head, I couldn't turn the bulb independently from the braided wire.  Rather than take a chance of ruining the braided wire, I ended up removing the casting from the head, and then turning the casting to un-do the temp. bulb.
(Hey, a joke: how many Pagoda drivers does it take to screw in a temp. bulb?     )
Even with the assembly removed, I couldn't make the nut turn independently from the braid, and it didn't look like it was corroded or anything.
Could mine be a one-piece unit, or should I have tried harder?


Will W14
1965 230SL 4spd
Victoria,BC

[ja17]

Hello SD,
Remove the center upholstered hub on the steering wheel by pulling straight off.  A 22mm nut, (7/8" works fine), holds the wheel on. Use a 1/2" drive socket and extension to remove it. A second person may be needed to hold the steering wheel while you break the nut loose. Use a breaker bar. The wheel will pull straight off. A special puller is NOT needed. Notice the index mark on the steering column for re-assembly. Use a little masking tape to hold the nut on the 22mm socket during re-assembly.
The ignition switch has a few tricks. I will take some  photos and post. Stay tuned!

Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

[n/a]

I went to purchase a new Chrome ring for the center cluster, Palo Alto Speedometer has it for $125, which seems outrageous. Any other places where we can purchase one for a fair price?

[TA250SL]

Today I brought my center instrument panel to North Hollywood Speedometer (818) 761-5136.  They replaced the chrome trim ring in 20 minutes for $65.00.  They also rebuilt my speedometer and tachometer, and also changed the bezels.  They do clocks and quartz conversions as well.

Tom

[Benz Dr.]

The switch plate on the back of the center gauge is a bit interesting. I ran into a problem that no parts dealer or MB, could or would help me with. I got into a real argument with this one guy ( imagine that) but I knew I was right.
 I was told that there's only 2 different ones - early for 230 and some 250's and the rest for 280Sl's. Well..... that's just not so. There's 3 for sure and maybe even 4 different ones and they're all different. The plugs are a different size , the pins are smaller on the late ones and the wires are all different . None of this stuff will match up. I made the mistake of selling the one I needed and then not being able to replace it. I had to pull the entire wireing harness and replace it with a 230SL system just to make it all work in a ' 69 280SL. And I knew I was right about this because I had two cars with the same system - both '69 280'S. So it wasn't a fluke. Frank Mallory was the only one who knew about this and clued me in before I went nuts.
 Never loose parts , you might never get there.
Dan c

Daniel G Caron