Replacement bulb for defroster/heater lever

[Xhafer Orhan]

The bulb in the heater lever  control on the Defroster and passenger temperature side of the control unit has burned out on my 1967 230 SL.  The driver's side bulb is fine.  They are both 12v 2watt bulbs.  Very small base diameter in fact the 12v 2w bulb in the defroster switch, which is also good and which I tried to put into the defroster/heater lever has  a diameter  to large to fit.  SoI know that I can't just get a 12v 2w bulb but must get one with a proper size base diameter.  Anyone know what the proper size description is for this bulb and how I identify the proper size bulb.   I'm going blind looking at 12v 2w bulbs on the internet.. Any help is appreciated.  Thank you. Jeff.............. 

[Paul & Dolly]

Xhafer

The bulbs have a 7s base, but you can remove the top "lid/lampholder" of the heater "turrets" and fit a larger diameter bulb  with a 7s base from the underside of the turret lid, so it did not have to poke it through the small hole in the lid.
The standard 2w are very dim, and you do not want to put any extra heat into the perspex turrets, so I fitted larger LEDs to my heater turrets and they light up really well in the night.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dw6X6Ceydwvk54GU2

Have fun

Paul

[Xhafer Orhan]

Paul,  Thanks for the reply and photos.  However you might as well be speaking a foreign language as I don't understand any thing you said.  Entirely my lack of knowledge and ignorance on the subject.  Can you repeat what you said as though you were talking to a 2 year old.  Maybe then I'll understand what you are saying.  Sincerely  Jeff..................

[Paul & Dolly]

Jeff,

If you look in the Technical Manual here on Heater Slides,( or on  SLS catalogue Section 83 Heater System Part 88)

www.sls-hh-shop.de/main/en/mercedes-230-280sl-w113-83-heater-system-c-3_96

you will see in some pictures that the slides are illuminated by bulbs inside what look like perspex turrets, the lamp holders (88) are the tops of the turrets, and are removable.

Hope this helps

Keep well

Paul

[mdsalemi]

These particular lamps have a funny story for me.

When my car was in restoration, I was assisting the restorer, and often taking back assemblies and sub assemblies for my own work or outsource. So, for example, I took back a box of nasty old brake calipers and had them locally rebuilt at $40 each (this was 1999!!) and delivered the restorer fully restored brakes and all the requisite hoses to go along.

I also worked on the heater levers, cleaning them up, and sourcing new levers, and reassembling. I changed all the lamps. I took one of the old ones to the brand-new local MB dealer; so new, they had ONE SHELF in the parts department with just a few items on it. The parts guy looked at the bulbs, looked them up in the EPC, went to this barren shelf and found them!  More curiously than them having them--in stock--was they were less than USD $1.00 each.

Xhafer Orhan, this was at the then new MB of Novi, MI.

[Xhafer Orhan]

Thank you one and all.  Lucky to have such support.  I can happily report that while my local MB dealer could not locate the proper bulb (or as he said "I can't lookup MB parts for a 1967 anything") I was able to give him  the MB part number  because Mike Ochoa at Millermbz.com has MB parts numbers. I found this out because I called him about the heater lever clamp I'd ordered (which arrived today as he said it would).  Great source.  Thanks again all.  Jeff..........

[mdsalemi]

Thank you one and all.  Lucky to have such support...because Mike Ochoa at Millermbz.com

Ahh...rarely mentioned, (Mike Ochoa) but he was THE SINGLE MOST HELPFUL person I've dealt with when I did my restoration back in 1999-2000. Though the company (Miller's) has changed hands, Mike remains. I spent more money with Miller's than any single supplier. When I told him, for example, what I was going to do, and I went to order the parts to rebuild/repair/replace some system or part or assembly, he often told me of other parts needed to do the job properly. At that time this forum did not exist. Mike Ochoa is the best.