mike
Member
How do i change the bulb behind the rotary heater controls?..got radio out and centre facia off.. but how to open the unit that holds the rotary heater controls i take it the bulbs are in there ?
Brian WH
MB Enthusiast
Mike there is a thread on how to do this, but I cannot find it.
However the details I think came from our man Shude. So if he doesn't reply PM him the question.
However the details I think came from our man Shude. So if he doesn't reply PM him the question.
mike
Member
Thanks i will do that ..i couldnt find a thred in search either got the heater control unit out but cant open it
VikJ
Active Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2003
- Messages
- 223
- Location
- Peterborough, Cambs.
- Car
- 2014 W246 B180CDi AMG Line Premium
mike
Member
Thanks for that thread i will try that...i hope its as easy as the thread suggests...
mike
Member
Unfortunately when you pull the dial off there is no bulb just a circle of clear plastic tube (fibre optic type thing) to spread the light around the dial from the bulbs further back..the bulbs must be inside the heater control box 
but it looks dificult to get apart tried but dont want to force it
but it looks dificult to get apart tried but dont want to force it
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mike
Member
Obviously i am getting old and going blind.....it was as explained in the thread, but on first looking i missed the little flap the bulb hides behind.once i saw it i slipped tubing over bulb and that was that ...just as i was told ...in earlier threads..( i am obviously clueless ) ..thanks for everyones help 
:
:
) ..thanks for everyones help ::
GregE240
Active Member
Mike, 2 questions if you don't mind, mate:
1) Could you use tweezers to get the bulb instead of tubing?
2) What are the bulbs? Is there a Type code or something? I need to do both of mine.
Thanks,
Greg
1) Could you use tweezers to get the bulb instead of tubing?
2) What are the bulbs? Is there a Type code or something? I need to do both of mine.
Thanks,
Greg
Better to use tubing. With tweezers there is a chance the glass will shatter, and there is also no grip to pull the lamp out.
Don't know any numbers or so, but small lamps about 20mm long and round 5mm. Wedge Base, T1 1/2-5mm.
Still looking for some blue ones of these
Don't know any numbers or so, but small lamps about 20mm long and round 5mm. Wedge Base, T1 1/2-5mm.
Still looking for some blue ones of these
andy_k
MB Enthusiast
the bulbs are available from the dealers -
I think this is the correct part number/description
MN072601 012230 / BA3 - 1.2W bulb
they cost 60p each inc vat
Your original ones may be "frosted" glass, they were on our W124, the new ones are clear so be prepared to replace them all or you get some showing brighter than the rest.
Andy
I think this is the correct part number/description
MN072601 012230 / BA3 - 1.2W bulb
they cost 60p each inc vat
Your original ones may be "frosted" glass, they were on our W124, the new ones are clear so be prepared to replace them all or you get some showing brighter than the rest.
Andy
mike
Member
just as a thought i took the bulb i removed down to a Vauxhall garage which is a lot nearer than the Merc dealer and they had exactly the same bulbs 60 p each so i assume they are a standard dash illumination bulb...and i agree about the tubing i used a bit of old windscreen washer tubing..just the job
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GregE240
Active Member
OK, got both of mine out last night with the wife's eyebrow tweezers (ahem!). Came out after a wee while.
They are a little bulb in a white holder, whole length must be less than a centimetre.
Is that the same as the W124?
Only thing was I broke one of the little "flap" covers off, hope it won't make any difference to the lighting of the thing.
They are a little bulb in a white holder, whole length must be less than a centimetre.
Is that the same as the W124?
Only thing was I broke one of the little "flap" covers off, hope it won't make any difference to the lighting of the thing.
GregE240
Active Member
Actually, one thing I noticed was that with both bulbs out coming in this morning, none of the three controls in the centre of the dash was lit (heated rear screen, EC, Recycle) - is this because the bulbs aren't working? Or is there a problem elsewhere?
It seems the power for these is independant of the dash lights because when you have the ignition off and switch the lights on, this part of the console doesn't light up. However, as soon as the ignition is on, these light up.
It seems the power for these is independant of the dash lights because when you have the ignition off and switch the lights on, this part of the console doesn't light up. However, as soon as the ignition is on, these light up.
djcheung
Active Member
Dear all,
Can anybody provide some pictures in how to remove the centre facia and the bulbs?
Thanks,
David.
Can anybody provide some pictures in how to remove the centre facia and the bulbs?
Thanks,
David.
andy_k
MB Enthusiast
tell us which model car you have David
Andy
Andy
djcheung
Active Member
Andy,
Mine is a 98' E240 Elegance.
David.
Mine is a 98' E240 Elegance.
David.
GregE240
Active Member
David,
Same as mine mate!
Easy...just pull off both heater control knobs (or whichever one the bulb has blown behind). You'll see the black plastic that the knob is mounted on, with a white opaque surround behind it.
Looking at the heater, the bulb on the fan speed is behind a little white platic flap on the LHS at about 9 o'clock. Lift this flap (with a small flat blade screwdriver) and you'll see the bulb. The heat output knob's bulb is on the RHS at about 3 o'clock.
To remove the bulbs, you have two choices. I pinched my missus' tweezers and managed to pull one out whole, the other broke as I got it out.
Replace the bulb and reverse removal procedure to put back together.
Hope this helps.
ATB,
Greg
Same as mine mate!
Easy...just pull off both heater control knobs (or whichever one the bulb has blown behind). You'll see the black plastic that the knob is mounted on, with a white opaque surround behind it.
Looking at the heater, the bulb on the fan speed is behind a little white platic flap on the LHS at about 9 o'clock. Lift this flap (with a small flat blade screwdriver) and you'll see the bulb. The heat output knob's bulb is on the RHS at about 3 o'clock.
To remove the bulbs, you have two choices. I pinched my missus' tweezers and managed to pull one out whole, the other broke as I got it out.
Replace the bulb and reverse removal procedure to put back together.
Hope this helps.
ATB,
Greg
djcheung
Active Member
Thanks Greg,
It is much easier than I thought!
Thanks very much for all your help.
I will try it this evening.
David.
It is much easier than I thought!
Thanks very much for all your help.
I will try it this evening.
David.
GregE240
Active Member
Small Job That Turned Into Big.....
Why does that always happen?
Got my 3 replacement bulbs (thought: I'll get an extra bulb in case I bust one). Went to MB parts this lunchtime, none in stock so went to Hellfrauds on the way home. Saw *something* that resembled the bulbs but couldn't be sure, so I strode along to the Vauxhall (!) dealer up the road and asked them "Why, no problem at all sir. How many do you want?" the assistant trilled. I took three at a cost of just over two pounds. Thought I might have time to do it before it got dark.....
First bulb went in a treat. Wrapped bulb (..now just a "capless" bulb a la Hellfrauds BTW - could have got them there) in tissue just in case, and the first one clicked straight in. Easy I thought, thinking of that beer can with my name on it. Second one wasn't so co-operative, but I persevered. It slipped into the annals of the heater controls, leaving my with tissue and tweezer in hand. B*gger! Oh well, got one extra for this reason. Wrapped in tissue. Placed in tweezers. Aligned with holder. ZAP! Lightning struck twice.
Great. So I've got a half done job, and a heater control box that would probably remind me of my clumsiness every time I took a corner a bit keenly. With dinner almost ready (and darkness fading fast), there was only one solution: the heater control unit *HAD* to come out. Then, it had to come apart.
So, out I trudged, torch in hand. Stereo came out, bit of a job with the cage as M-B obviously didn't think some butter fingered goon of an owner would want to take it out so soon, but this was the only real challenge. This exposed the two Phillips screws that held the wood finish over the radio/heater/switch bank. Away it came, the switch cable feed concertina'd around the binnacle for the hater controls. After that, the heater control box came out by pushing two locating lugs to the left and right, out it came, freeing itself from the Universal Joints that control what vents the air comes out of (always wondered how it did that). A quick release of the quick-release cable block on the heater box, and away we were. Common sense prevailed - I wasn't going to take this baby apart in the darkness of the car interior: this baby was coming in with me!
A quick reccy of the heater control unit (I'm going to call it HCU from now, should have done earlier...) showed about 8 recessed plastic tags holding her together, 4 at the top, 4 at the bottom. My thinking was that if I could "loosen" the bottom 4, I could pull it apart enough to liberate the bulbs trapped inside. Then, I could put it back in the car and have another crack at it. SCREEECH!! Hang on, silly billy: why not put it in with the HCU OUT of the car? That way, if I sacrificed another bulb to the HCU God, I could remove it easily. Good idea, that man.
Well, 4 bottom lugs gently separated and much gentle pulling apart later, what should pop out onto my study desk but 2 capless bulbs similiar to those I'd lost earlier - hoorah! Now lets go to work: Tissue round bulb, tweezer round tissue, hold the HCU up to the light, left a bit, right a bit....FIRE! CLICK! Yes! Its there. Remove tissue and tweezers, a quick shove to make sure the bulb is home, and we're ready to go out to the car again. This should be a walk in the park. After all, its just the reverse of getting it out....right?
Well, kind of. Apart from the fact you have to reconnect the two controls for the ventilation control part of the HCU, and I can only compare it to trying to do a Rubiks Cube with your arms behind your back, i.e. not bloody easy at all. But, we'd come this far and I was determined to clear my passenger seat of clutter before dawn, so eventually I got it working. I could just about get my hand behind the HCU to locate the male and female parts of the controls. A quick fire up of the fan and a full turn of the vent knob to make sure all is hunky dory, and y'know, it seems smoother than it was before. Maybe I was destined to take this damn thing out. Maybe its a placebo effect. In truth, I'll never know.
Then came the big switch on, would my new bulbs be okay? In all honesty it was a total anti-climax what with all the other drama, sorry challenges that had been thrown at me. They worked. No white bits where one of the little covers had snapped off. Just the HCU lit in all its glory. No gentle prodding to light the bulbs, just lit straight up. Heck, I even had a spare bulb. Not that I needed it.
Top bank of switches went back in with the wooden panel, screwed back in. Wrestled the radio cage back into place, got a bit bent but placing the radio back in it soon straightened it up again. Placed all the radio wiring back in, front back on the stereo, job's a good 'un.
So, if one of your bulbs goes in your heater control unit, don't worry. Its a piece of cake.
Off for that beer now. Better late than never.
ATB,
Greg
Why does that always happen?
Got my 3 replacement bulbs (thought: I'll get an extra bulb in case I bust one). Went to MB parts this lunchtime, none in stock so went to Hellfrauds on the way home. Saw *something* that resembled the bulbs but couldn't be sure, so I strode along to the Vauxhall (!) dealer up the road and asked them "Why, no problem at all sir. How many do you want?" the assistant trilled. I took three at a cost of just over two pounds. Thought I might have time to do it before it got dark.....
First bulb went in a treat. Wrapped bulb (..now just a "capless" bulb a la Hellfrauds BTW - could have got them there) in tissue just in case, and the first one clicked straight in. Easy I thought, thinking of that beer can with my name on it. Second one wasn't so co-operative, but I persevered. It slipped into the annals of the heater controls, leaving my with tissue and tweezer in hand. B*gger! Oh well, got one extra for this reason. Wrapped in tissue. Placed in tweezers. Aligned with holder. ZAP! Lightning struck twice.
Great. So I've got a half done job, and a heater control box that would probably remind me of my clumsiness every time I took a corner a bit keenly. With dinner almost ready (and darkness fading fast), there was only one solution: the heater control unit *HAD* to come out. Then, it had to come apart.
So, out I trudged, torch in hand. Stereo came out, bit of a job with the cage as M-B obviously didn't think some butter fingered goon of an owner would want to take it out so soon, but this was the only real challenge. This exposed the two Phillips screws that held the wood finish over the radio/heater/switch bank. Away it came, the switch cable feed concertina'd around the binnacle for the hater controls. After that, the heater control box came out by pushing two locating lugs to the left and right, out it came, freeing itself from the Universal Joints that control what vents the air comes out of (always wondered how it did that). A quick release of the quick-release cable block on the heater box, and away we were. Common sense prevailed - I wasn't going to take this baby apart in the darkness of the car interior: this baby was coming in with me!
A quick reccy of the heater control unit (I'm going to call it HCU from now, should have done earlier...) showed about 8 recessed plastic tags holding her together, 4 at the top, 4 at the bottom. My thinking was that if I could "loosen" the bottom 4, I could pull it apart enough to liberate the bulbs trapped inside. Then, I could put it back in the car and have another crack at it. SCREEECH!! Hang on, silly billy: why not put it in with the HCU OUT of the car? That way, if I sacrificed another bulb to the HCU God, I could remove it easily. Good idea, that man.
Well, 4 bottom lugs gently separated and much gentle pulling apart later, what should pop out onto my study desk but 2 capless bulbs similiar to those I'd lost earlier - hoorah! Now lets go to work: Tissue round bulb, tweezer round tissue, hold the HCU up to the light, left a bit, right a bit....FIRE! CLICK! Yes! Its there. Remove tissue and tweezers, a quick shove to make sure the bulb is home, and we're ready to go out to the car again. This should be a walk in the park. After all, its just the reverse of getting it out....right?
Well, kind of. Apart from the fact you have to reconnect the two controls for the ventilation control part of the HCU, and I can only compare it to trying to do a Rubiks Cube with your arms behind your back, i.e. not bloody easy at all. But, we'd come this far and I was determined to clear my passenger seat of clutter before dawn, so eventually I got it working. I could just about get my hand behind the HCU to locate the male and female parts of the controls. A quick fire up of the fan and a full turn of the vent knob to make sure all is hunky dory, and y'know, it seems smoother than it was before. Maybe I was destined to take this damn thing out. Maybe its a placebo effect. In truth, I'll never know.
Then came the big switch on, would my new bulbs be okay? In all honesty it was a total anti-climax what with all the other drama, sorry challenges that had been thrown at me. They worked. No white bits where one of the little covers had snapped off. Just the HCU lit in all its glory. No gentle prodding to light the bulbs, just lit straight up. Heck, I even had a spare bulb. Not that I needed it.
Top bank of switches went back in with the wooden panel, screwed back in. Wrestled the radio cage back into place, got a bit bent but placing the radio back in it soon straightened it up again. Placed all the radio wiring back in, front back on the stereo, job's a good 'un.
So, if one of your bulbs goes in your heater control unit, don't worry. Its a piece of cake.
Off for that beer now. Better late than never.
ATB,
Greg
sym
MB Enthusiast
Well done Greg !
After removing and replacing the HCU several times during my COMAND install, I sympathise !
The trick to the universal joint thingies, by the way, is to locate the left one in first (which has a longer insert), push it in slightly, and then line the right one up and insert it.
Bit easier when you have a double din size hole in your dash re-inforcement, rather than a single din radio hole to squeeze your hand through though !
Enjoy the Beer !
S.
After removing and replacing the HCU several times during my COMAND install, I sympathise !
The trick to the universal joint thingies, by the way, is to locate the left one in first (which has a longer insert), push it in slightly, and then line the right one up and insert it.
Bit easier when you have a double din size hole in your dash re-inforcement, rather than a single din radio hole to squeeze your hand through though !
Enjoy the Beer !
S.
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