Anyone know:

1. Are the icons around the exterior lamp switch supposed to be lit with lights on, so you know what position you are in at night (e.g. if you want to switch on/off fog lamps, go back to auto, etc)?

2. Most other cars I have been in have a rheostat to control dash and instrument lighting level. Is there one?

Rgds,
Norm

1) no

2) yes --> see owners manual

greetingz,

Finally found it in the manual. Not a very intuitive place to find that control.

Rgds,
Norm

About the the icons around the exterior lamp switch not being illuminated, I find even on our GTI (and previous BMW) they are illuminated. That's probably why it seemed more difficult when I tried to change the setting at night. I thought it was just the car being new to me, whereas if there was illumination it would have been quite easy. I guess every car manufacturer has some quirks in their designs and MB is no exception.

Rgds,
Norm

Nope they are not...they even had that on the older W124s...but never on the 202 or 203 C-classes...an illuminated headlight switch starts at the E-class level and up...

greetingz,

Actually, just to be clear, the switch itself is illuminated, just not the icons on the dash surrounding the switch to tell you what position you are in.

Rgds,
Norm

Noka,

Your front fog light and rear fog light should have independent icons that light up at night. When you pull out to position one, the green front fog lamp light illuminates and when you pull out to position two, the red rear fog lamp light illuminates and lets you know that that is on. As for clockwise and counterclockwise adjustments of the knob, these do not change illumination.

I hope this demystifies any confusion, and I hope that your panel is working properly.

Yes, my foglight icons do light. I was referring to the other adjustments that do not light. I guess I would just prefer that they do, as in other cars I have owned. No big deal.

Note: I originally thought one rear foglight was burned out but my Owner's Manual told me that there's only one bulb on the driver's side. I do think that's strange to only have it on one side. I would think people behind me would think I have a bulb burned out also.

Rgds,
Norm

heh Norm< Back from my run>>>>
The single rear fog light is the EURO standard and I think its just your break light initiated on the one side so if you had both on then people behind you wouldn't have any break warning>>>>>

It must be a different bulb (or filament) because the brake light also works when the rear fog is on.

Rgds,
Norm

[QUOTE=noka]It must be a different bulb (or filament) because the brake light also works when the rear fog is on.

U R correct. Single light is still the EURO standard though...

If one drives for a long time behind somebody who has both foglights in the rear on (regardless wether there is fog or not), it is hard to notice that that person brakes as both the brake lights and the foglights use 21amp bulbs and thus is it a lot safer to just use 1 rear foglight instead of 2 as it is easier to see the difference between the foglight and the brakelight for traffic from the rear.

greetingz,

Never having rear fogs on a car before, I found it a bit odd. However, your explanation makes perfect sense.

Rgds,
Norm