If you are noticing dark areas of our instruments at night, likely you have one of the backlight bulbs burned out. To replace these bulbs, unfortunately, the instruments must be removed from the vehicle first. The standard bulb which comes stock with the unit is an incandescent or filament-based light bulb, as shown above. The life expectancy of these bulbs is estimated at about 2,500 hours, thus replacement of these bulbs during our repair procedure is highly recommended. Our replacement bulbs are higher quality than the originals, named "Long Life"; they can expect to provide about 10,000 hours of service.
A relatively new introduction to the automotive market are LED based bulbs. LEDs have several improvements over the old standard bulb design including longer life, little heat output and lower power usage. Most newer cars are equipped with LEDs and are rapidly becoming standard issue with car manufacturers. MBCluster is now able to replace the standard bulbs with new LED type bulbs to give your instruments a fresh new look.
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The LED that replaces the standard large #194 bulb in Mercedes gauge lighting, and reproduces correct dimming functionality is the 8mm super bright LED. The comparison can be seen below.
Standard Filament 194 Bulb
Type: Standard "LL" bulb
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Single-LED (custom)
Type: 8mm LED
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Standard Filament Bulb
Type: Standard bulb
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LED Replacement Bulb
Type: LED bulb
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Temperature LCD - standard bulb |
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Temperature LCD - white mini-LED bulb |
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Temperature LCD - blue mini-LED bulb |
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Temperature LCD - ultra-violet mini-LED bulb |
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Temperature LCD - green mini-LED bulb |
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Temperature LCD - red mini-LED bulb |
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LED Upgrade for 1991-1994 W140/R129 S-Class/SL-Class
The 1991-1994 W140 and R129 design require a custom modification for the LED LCD lighting. Most other later years and models have a bulb dedicated to the LCD, but for this application, Mercedes used a sub circuit with built-in lighting which cannot be easily replaced.
The modification requires disassembly and custom circuitry integrated with the OEM circuitry to provide both the dual night and day light levels, with the dimming functionality. NOTE: the LCD backlight bulb replacement is not reversible! Once it has been replaced by MBCluster, it can only be undone by MBCluster!
LED Upgrade for 1994-1996 W140/R129 S-Class/SL-Class
LED Upgrade for 1996-1999 W140/R129 S-Class/SL-Class
LED Upgrade for W124, W123, W126, W201
Older Mercedes instruments like the W123, W124, W126, etc., suffer from failing rheostats. These are ceramic wire-wound variable high current resistors that dim interior and instrument lighting. If this item is damaged, as pictured below, then it needs to be replaced. A damaged or burned out rheostats provides little to no instrument lighting.
Newer Mercedes instrument gauges are translucent, and can be lit from the rear, making the numbers appear to look like light sources, which illuminate themselves. Older Mercedes instrument gauges are opaque, and cannot be lit from the rear. Instead they redirect the light from bulbs inserted in the rear, travel through plexiglas channels on top of the cluster, and diffuse the light over the gauges. This method of illuminating provides a trickle of light which many owners over the years have reported to be insufficient. The image below is a W124 application, the two bulbs are located in the rear, and the plexiglas channel with the housing cover removed, can be seen on top.
The LED modification for the W123 and all older instruments involve replacing the light redirection system with 4 to 6 mini-LEDs that point downwards, and directly light the gauges from the top. They are wired into the dimmer with the correct proprietary circuit that will give superior brightness, and yet still retain the ability to dim. This service requires sending in your entire unit for modification. Colour option for this mod is best using white, but blue and ultra-violet are also possible.
As an added feature, MBCluster can include a light coat of paint to freshen up the usually faded appearance of gauge needles. Over the years, as needles become weathered, the OEM orange turns from an orange colour to a dull yellow colour. A variety of colours are available to choose from, as can be seen below :
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Old weathered needles |
Freshly painted needles, OEM orange |
Flourescent orange |
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OEM Orange |
Flourescent Orange |
Flourescent Yellow |
194 Bulb Replacement - Standard "LL" bulb (each) |
$2 |
194 Bulb Replacement - custom 8mm Single-LED (each) |
$12 |
mini-bulb Replacement - Single-LED bulb (each) |
$10 |
LCD module bulb Replacement - Standard bulb |
$25 |
LCD module bulb Replacement - mini-LED bulb |
$29 |
194 mini-LED backlight Upgrade for 1986-1991 W124, W123, W126, W201 |
$100 |
Needle paint for 1986-1991 W124, W123, W126, W201 |
$10 |
Custom work for 1986-1991 W124, W123, W126, W201 |
$49/hr |
