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mercedes part # 201 546 00 25 .....Where to find one?
Dealer says no longer available. Part is needed because centre console, window switches and temp guage do not light up but instrument cluster does. Can I bypass this fuse somehow and install just a fuse holder of something which is available.
Dolucasi, I did find that ebay item but the seller is in Albania and I was hoping for something closer. The price seems outragious also when shipping is added but I guess since MBin their wisdom no longer supplies the part we are hostages to outside suppliers who know the rarity of this part. Is there some way of bypassing this fuse and add a more practical one? Why would Mercedes install an expensive fuse like this and hide it behind the instrumnent cluster unless it was to make money for the dealer in labour fees. A fuse in the fuse box would seem to be a more logical location but MB is often impractical about such things.. Yes I am afraid it will blow again. My grandson recently replaced the radio with aan aftermarket one and I think somehow he shorted a wire so I will have to invesitgate that possibility when I next get to examine the car. Where exactly is this fuse located? Is it in the cluster? Can I test for a short by plugging a multi tester into the contacts of the fuse holder to see if there is a shorted wire or some other way to ensure the problem is fixed supposing I find the probem. Is the radio lighting wire part of this circuit? This might take a while considering the mess of wires in the console area. For all the times he drives it at night it might be best just to not bother fixing this.
190E 2.6L 1989, 190E 2.6L 1988, BMW 535dXdrive 2014, BMW 428i 2015
So I will post some pictures today however I'll describe in words.
Mercedes used a standard light socket for a fuse. They made this red so one can distinguish it. They inserted a single trace tiny PCB with a thin copper trace in it.
So you can easily McGuire this and short it out (by cutting a blank pcb and inserting in there, no soldering, nothing).
However, would you want to and risk other circuitry blowing up in case the short is still there. You can certainly get in there and measure for the short by inserting a couple of wires in where the tiny PCB goes. It is something like 3mm x 8mm. You can also convert it to a standard fuse by soldering or wedging your wires to the light bulb socket.
The biggest headache is taking the cluster out. Undoing the speedo cable , not hurting the plastic bits, etc. etc.
Laura-I've never seen that fuse blow before either. ACcording to this thread it's on the back of the instrument cluster http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...t-cluster.html
I've got a couple extra clusters lying around and would be willing to send you one. (just pay postage)
Most likely your grandson shorted the illumination wire on the radio which led to that fuse blowing
Laura, try the MB Classic Center in California. Hopefully they can help you. I recently found out that the MB dealerships can't order directly from the MB Classic Center but customers can. I recently went through this with parts for my W201 so that's how I know. The MB Classic Center had everything I needed but 1 part for which I found an OEM part at AutohausAZ.
Thank you for all your responses and information as well as the generous offer to provide me with one of these rare fuses. I will try to get my mitts on the car in a few days as see if I can sort out what kind of wiring job my grandson performed. I bought him the radio and a kit tfrom Crutchfield to connect it to the original harness so no cutting of wires was required which makes me wonder what could have gone wrong. I would like to find a proper fuse rather than bypass or eliminate the one installed. I recall that one time a few years ago my husband removed the instrument cluster to repair the clock so I will look online to see who that can be accomplished without damage. In the meantime the important lights all work so it is not essential that we get this issue fixed. Winter has begun and snow is on the ground.
Laura-I've never seen that fuse blow before either. ACcording to this thread it's on the back of the instrument cluster http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...t-cluster.html
I've got a couple extra clusters lying around and would be willing to send you one. (just pay postage)
Most likely your grandson shorted the illumination wire on the radio which led to that fuse blowing
Thank you for your very kind offer which I will most gladly and thankfully accept. Is there a way to send you a private message or must I post my email address on this site to reach you? I live in Ontario, Canada. I see you are also on
BenzWorld also like me so I posted a personal message to you there.
190E 2.6L 1989, 190E 2.6L 1988, BMW 535dXdrive 2014, BMW 428i 2015
As 355 is rushing you fuse, here I am posting the pictures I took for you. You should not need them but this is really for the next person having this issue.
- Cheers!
Red bulb base is the fuse Fuse removed. Make sure you twist before you pull The fuse has this single layer PCB with copper trace
Thank you both very much for your support with this. I am too old and frail to climb under the car so my grandson and his dad will have to perform the task. I will do the research and offer advice although it might not be appreciated :-) The GS is coming for a visit on Saturday and staying to help me with firewood splitting for next winter, and I will look at his radio installation job then and get back to you with the test of the various wires I can locate behind the radio. My fear is that if I (we) don't fnd the source of the short the replacement will do the same and blow immediately. Apparently the dash lights dimmer no longer adjusts and the ambiant temp gauge light is also out which I presume is caused by this fuse blowing?
190E 2.6L 1989, 190E 2.6L 1988, BMW 535dXdrive 2014, BMW 428i 2015
From the looks of it what Mercedes did is very logical with this fuse. The lighting it sources comes from the fuse and is either behind the center console or the dash.
The fuse is there for the exact same reason why it was needed in your case Laura, just to save an expensive equipment (instrument cluster) in case someone creates a short behind the dash/console. So it assumes someone has already gotten behind the dash/console to change/repair something. And no extra wiring is desirable for this fusing function. I assume there are multiple wires that come off the cluster so wiring all these to a fuse box would not be a good solution. Sounds like I'm defending W201 Electrical engineering team here but I would have done the same.
Hope your GS can get behind the cluster without breaking plastic. The most critical one being the side vent one that is wedged in there pretty tight. It has 4 tabs that need pried open with a plastic shim. I would get a heavy clear plastic like for AA battery packaging and cutting four 5mm by 50mm pieces and folding them. Pry the vent plastic and wedge this clear plastic in there on all 4 sides. Then pull the vent out (after taking the fins out of course). I have removed my cluster multiple times for cluster replacement, speedo cable replacement, dash replacement, etc. etc and have managed not to break the side vent in this manner.
Good advice from Dolucasi on pulling the cluster without breaking plastics. I've done the same procedure as him for yrs with no issues. Hopefully your GS doesn't have huge hands, as there's limited space down there.
It's also possible to use special cluster hooks, but you run the risk of scratching things or breaking plastic. Over on the R129 side there are a lot of people that have broken their plastic cluster window using them.
Thank you both. an old woman living the bush of northern Ontario with a long ago nursing degree shouldn't be critical of the engineers at Daimler-Benz and I am sure they had the reasons you suggest as being the reason the fuse is where it is. I will pass on the instructions for removing the cluster when the time comes. I was thinking about how to test the wiring at the fuse so try to avoid a repeat of blowing this unicorn fuse again. With a multi meter I assume that it should read 12 volts when lights are on and the amps reading should be quite low. I guess the amps reading is the most important and the reading should be "0" with the lights off although with the Day time lighting it would be best to test with the ignition in the accessory position. Is this correct?
190E 2.6L 1989, 190E 2.6L 1988, BMW 535dXdrive 2014, BMW 428i 2015
BTW Laura, this may end up being harder to diagnose from the cluster side then we can imagine. Unless you have the dash out (which we are not planning on here) the cluster will have limited access for measurements. Plus the fuse connection is inside the cluster as you can see from my photo. So you can not probe it.
When your GS brings the car, I would just check the connections carefully and do the probing on the radio side. Most likely the lighting signal coming off the cluster is shorted to ground at the moment. To test this before replacing the fuse with 355's good one, stick a 500ohm - 1/4W resistor in there. Then turn on your parking light that powers up the lights. This should protect the cluster traces/circuit from damage in case of a short. Then remove and check how hot the resistor got after 20 seconds or so. If it got very hot, you know the short is still there. Also, if the lighting did not come on or is super faint all the voltage drop is at the resistor.
I'm pretty confident though that this lighting signal is shorted to ground at the new harness crutchfield shipped you. Hopefully you can figure that out even before the cluster is out.
Well the car arrived in my yard this afternoon and we had a close look at the radio installation and the illumination wire from the vehicle radio harness was hanging loose although it was cut off very clean with the only copper showing held with the insulation. I suppose that it is possible that the wire end grounded somewhere such as the radio chassis. The grandson said that he did hear the fuse pop when he pushed the radio into the dash. I don't see where any other harness wires behind the radio are interfering although the radio is longer that the factory with more wires such as the rear speaker and two others that are described as RCA connectors. We reinstalled the radio after I covered the wire end in hockey stick tape, taped it to the radio harness and then pushed all of the harness down and into the space behind the cigar llighter where there seems to be room.
I was wonder if someone with small hands (me?) might be able to reach behind the left side vent after it is removed from the dash and replace the fuse? It might be worth a try once the fuse arrives. To his credit the grand son is keeping the car very clean and he did a good job connecting the Crutchfield harness wires to the radio with solder and then covering the connections with heat shrink tubing. Thoughts?
Sounds like found the problem. Illumination wire is hooked to that circuit so that would definitely cause a short and the fuse to blow. You should be good now since you've taped the end of the wire (love the use of hockey tape!) Had a similar issue on a friend's Honda Accord yrs ago, the illumination wire on the harness wasn't connected properly and shorting out cluster illumination.
To replace the fuse, it's going to be best to just remove the whole cluster. Otherwise you won't be able to see what's going on and there's barely any clearance.
By the way the fuse went out in today's mail, so it should be there in a couple days.
355, Thank you so very much. I t will be very tense when the fuse has been installed the first time the lights turn on. Those fuses are like hen's teeth. There is alreday about 6" of snow on tth ground and cold so I won't be doing any car work at my place until April. The grand son David lives in Thunder Bay and has a better garage and with heat so it will be up to him to get the fuse in the dash. I will let you know when t happens. I want he boy to get his own account here also so he can communicate without Grandma also doing the typing although it is a pleasure to come here also.
190E 2.6L 1989, 190E 2.6L 1988, BMW 535dXdrive 2014, BMW 428i 2015
The fuse is on the correct side of the cluster Laura for a small hand to reach in, however there will be many wires/harnesses in your path as you can see from my photo, I think it will be very difficult without removing the cluster. The only complication with removal is undoing the speedometer cable but that is a lot easier to remove then the fuse in my opinion. Just make sure a small hand get's in there to undo the speedo cable and not yank it to damage the cable.
Reviving an old thread here but my grandson finally got around to changing the fuse behind the instrument cluster on the 190E. Thank you once again 355190e26 and Dolucasi for sending me one and for all the good advice. Apparently he had quite a struggle getting the cluster wires back in place and attaching the speedometer cable. He has big hands.. I have not seen the car in a while but the GS says it is running and starting instantly when cold or hot and he is caring for it. He is happy now that the console lights are once again are lighting which is nice now that days are once again getting shorter here in the north.
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