Colors of interior lights for heater levers

[n/a]

I just had the horror of having my heater levers replaced.....yes I started to do the job myself by must admit I did not have the patience for it.....anyway...after paying more than I wanted to I noticed that when I turned the headlights on at night and the dashboard lights up that I have one blue light on the upper left lever and the rest of them have a red backlight....is this correct??  I think I had one blue one white and 2 red backlights before....

Dan

[Cees Klumper]

I always thought it was the color of the plastic of the levers that gives the lights its color?

Cees Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[Naj ✝︎]

I just supplied a friend with these levers - 2 red, one blue, one clear.
Yes, the upper right lever (for air direction up/down) should be clear or smoke gray

naj

65 230SL
68 280SL

[hauser]

My '69 has the black levers but I have the two red one blue and one clear.  I must admit that the early levers were so much nicer looking.

1969 280sl 5 spd        1999 ML320          Gainesville,Fl.

[gwuisman]

The collor sceme is simpel. There are the two lower levers which relate to the hot air of the heating. They have red plastic caps. The upper left conducts the cold air inlet in front of the windshield. It has a blue cap. The upper right lever makes the cold and hot air flow up or down. Its cap is white. All levers are enlighted by white bulbs. Perhaps you can ask your mechanic to replace the upper right lever by the right one. He made the mistake and should correct it. In our country this would be question of guaranty.

Gerard Wuisman
1970 280sl

[rwmastel]

Dan,

What kind of car do you have??  In my 230SL, there are only TWO blubs.  One clear blub in a clear plastic cylinder around which the TWO left levers are attached.  Another for the two right levers.  The transparent (translucent?) plastic in the colored plastic levers produces the color.

Do 280SL's use 4 bulbs because the levers are not transparent/translucent?

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[Naj ✝︎]

Rodd,
280s have the same arrangement as the 230s with a bulb each in the two clear plastic barrels. The difference is the later levers which have the rubber knobs. Also, the bulb holders are somewhat more modern??
naj

65 230SL
68 280SL

[n/a]

I found out that the heater levers were installed correctly, 2 red on the bottom, one blue in the upper left and one smoke grey in the upper right however the smoke grey lever appears to be backlit in red when the dash lights are one.....the mechanic who installed them cannot figure out why....any advice from the pros??? I thought it might be the placement of the lightbulb in the clear plastic cylinder but he ruled that out.....any advice would be greatly appreciated

Dan

[Chad]

My 230 SL has the early levers.  At night NONE of them light up. I assume that either both bulbs are toasted and need replaced, or, that there is a fuse out that resulted in no juice to the bulbs.

My question:  Which fuse, on 230 SL, would be the one?  Or, is there a simple way of replacing the bulbs WITHOUT removing the levers and doing the half-day full-day job outlined in the Pagoda World winter article?  The levers work fine otherwise, they just do not light up.


-CD-
1967 230SL, 113.042 10
1983 300TDT, 123.193

[TA250SL]

I remember accessing the bulbs from the speaker opening.  Remove the grill and speaker, then you will find two black plastic caps that cover the bulbs in the center of the levers.  Easily removed and replaced.  Good luck.



Tom
1967 250SL
Los Angeles

[Chad]

Fantastic!!!!

Thanks Tom.

--Chad

-CD-
1967 230SL, 113.042 10
1983 300TDT, 123.193

[Chad]

Does everyone use 2W bulbs? Has anyone uprated to 4W?  

I can't wait to see the glow through the levers; hope I don't snap them somehow!

-CD-
1967 230SL, 113.042 10
1983 300TDT, 123.193

[114015]

Hello Chad,

Not sure whether the 4W bulbs will eventually burn the light domes within the heater levers, but the illumination might appear just too bright.
I know, these old-fashioned bulbs are not easily available everywhere; nevertheless, I recommend getting them from Mercedes-Benz. They're cheap.

Make sure to clean up (towels, Q-tips) as much of the "colored" plastic as possible, the better will the illumination of your heater levers be. It just looks fantastic. Put also a little drop of oil on to the ends of the wires attached to the levers. Makes using them easier.

Good luck!

Achim
(Magdeburg, Germany)