A-Class (W168, W169) A140, A160, A160 CDI, A170 CDI, A190, A210 Evo, A180

Light sensor on A-class W169?

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Old Jun 25, 2011 | 04:04 PM
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crótach's Avatar
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A180 CDI
Light sensor on A-class W169?

Hi folks,

I think I'm having a problem with the light sensor on my car, but before I ring the garage on monday I wanted to check with other owners, to make sure I'm not imagining it

I've had the windscreen replaced last week, and I've noticed that my dashboard lighting is quite dim. I have it now at the highest setting and it's quite hard to read it when it's bright and sunny, and it's too bright at night. Also the headlights come on during the day at the "auto" setting. Before, at auto setting, the headlights would normally come on when entering tunnels or at night, and you'd have parking/position lights otherwise (whatever the first step is called).

If I remember correctly the dashboard lights would dim and brighten depending on the outside light, without having to tweak anything. Is this right?

The rain sensor seems to be working fine though, there was light rain the other day and it stopped the wipers when the rain stopped.

Is the rain/light the same sensor or are they two different sensors?

Are there any checks I can do to make sure it's not working properly?

It seems to me that the car thinks it's constantly dark out there, otherwise the lights wouldn't come on at auto during the day.

Any suggestions are welcome
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Old Mar 16, 2012 | 08:56 AM
  #2  
Laros's Avatar
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Ml 320 CDI
Newbie here. I have the same question as Crotach.

Just purchased an 08 ml after owning an 02 for 10 years. When I picked up the '08 last night, the dealer told me the auto light function worked, but there was a warning message on the dash and to just ignore it. It was sunny out at the time, so i could not test it.

Well, the auto lights don't come on in the dark. And the rain sensing wipers don't come on in the rain.

Are they controlled by the same sensor?
Is it easy to replace?
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Old Mar 19, 2012 | 12:33 PM
  #3  
crótach's Avatar
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A180 CDI
Originally Posted by Laros
Newbie here. I have the same question as Crotach.

Just purchased an 08 ml after owning an 02 for 10 years. When I picked up the '08 last night, the dealer told me the auto light function worked, but there was a warning message on the dash and to just ignore it. It was sunny out at the time, so i could not test it.

Well, the auto lights don't come on in the dark. And the rain sensing wipers don't come on in the rain.

Are they controlled by the same sensor?
Is it easy to replace?
It's different sensors but they're on the same cluster on the other side of the rear-view mirror. Mine had to be re-calibrated by the garage. My guess is they forgot to enable it in the software after replacing the windscreen.

It wasn't showing any warning messages though, and it was fixed in 5 minutes by MB. Why they can't do 100% of the work when they get paid 100% is beyond me, they always leave something out.
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