124 series - switch next to cigar lighter

[CabrioDave]

The cigar lighter is inside the front ashtray on my 1995 124-series cabriolet. Right underneath it is a "slider" - see pic. It's not mentioned in the handbook, so what does this do, please?

The socket comes live only with the ignition switch into the accessory or drive positions ... and the slider seems not to affect that. There are no lights to say that anything has been turned on (or off). The action of the slider (bearing in mind it's probably not been slid for twenty years) is not clear: it stays in either position, but doesn't have a very definite click into position.

Looking into the socket, and trying it with the lighter and a phone charger, I can't see that it has any mechanical effect (such as releasing the lighter or plug that's in there).

It's not stopping my use of the car ... but I hate such a mystery!

 

[d w124]

That's only to release the ashtray part

 

[CabrioDave]

Ah! Thanks for the quick reply.

It'll stay unslid for the next twenty years, too, then!

 

[neilrr]

I would have just slid it across to see what, if anything, happened.

I'm naturally curious.

 

[CabrioDave]

I would have just slid it across to see what, if anything, happened.

I'm naturally curious.

Well, so am I ... and I did. And what happened?

Nuffink, nil, nada, zero, zilch and zip! Hence the question

 

[roadhog]

What should have happened is that your ashtray insert should have risen majestically from it's resting place by a combined action of a spring and gear teeth.
Get it working. It really is the most marvellous example of over-engineering, the like of which you simply don't see anymore.

 

[CabrioDave]

Ooh, now I will investigate, and WILL be sliding that slider