I replaced the transmission shifter in my 2000 CLK cab. When I put it back together, I found I had lost all instrument light and console switch lights. The panel lights (information LED's) all work, just the panel illumination and switch lights (including radio and heater control) are dark. I checked all the fuses in the big fuse panel on the driver's side in the engine bay. I checked the fuse panel in the trunk (it's a 2000 CLK 320 cab). I see someone posted that there are actually three fuse panels, but I don't know where they are.

The only "bad" thing I did when I tore apart the shifter was I didn't disconnect the battery before I disconnected the switch connectors above the shifter. I then disconnected the batt before I disconnected the transmission module and went any further.

To me, it seems like a fuse thing. Everything worked just fine before I tore the shifter apart. Any thoughts?

Thanks for your response.

 

OK. This is another of my famous, "look hard enough and you'll find the answer" efforts.

To help others who may be as dysfunctional as I, here is what I discovered:

1). There are four locations (that I know of) for fuses:

1). The main one under the hood, rearward, in front of the driver.
2). One under the hood, rearward, in front of the passenger, under the data entry port.
3). One in the trunk to the front-right of the spare.
4). One on the driver's side of the dash right next to the door.

#4 is the one I needed to find as it contained a burned 7.5 amp fuse that goes with the instrument panel lighting.

I replaced the two license plate bulbs to get rid of the idiot light and replaced the trunk light that never worked.

I'm good.

 

Hi I have the same issue I no it's a long time since you posted this but did you solve the problem thanks Rob

 

Yeah, it's an old thread, but at the time, I was in the throes of bad electrical passion. I actually don't remember how I came to fix it, but here's the jist of that "passion":

I struggled for a number of years to try and find out why, at the most inoportune times, the car would leave me stranded. Nothing from the key switch, no clicks, no crank. If I let it set for up to an hour, it would start and run as normal. Someone on this forum suggested the trans module was the culprit. It wasn't. I finally had someone suggest I look at the K40 relay board as they were built in China with inferior parts and pieces. I found a used one on Ebay for $30 and swapped it out (after spending $1K on that problem, $30 seemed like a bargain). Problem solved and the car ran without incident for three years until I sold it. I don't remember if the K40 board fixed the dash light problem, but it may be worth a look.

I also remember I had a problem with a license plate wire that kept shorting out if I had the trunk packed such that the cargo hit the underside of the deck lid. Come to think of it, after futzing around to secure that wire better (or some other wire underneath there), I think that may have done the trick. I think the license plate lights are on the same circuit/fuse as the dash lights. This is dragging up some old memories so I'm sorry if my response is a bit disjointed.

Anyway, after putting 200K on the CLK, I figured it was time to get a new rig. I couldn't find another car - BMW, Audi, Mustang, Camaro - in which I actually fit (6'5" and 300 pounds). I kept looking at the top of the windshield frame, or my knees were up to my eyebrows, or my head hit the roof, or I couldn't drive it safely because my knee didn't fit between the steering wheel and the console. The CLK and subsequent E version actually fit me comfortably, so, in 2019 I found a 2011 E550 cab with 4,600 miles on it (I figured I deserved the V8 because of all the pain the CLK caused and because there's more to life than gas mileage). I've been driving the **** out of it ever since.

A side note: I actually fit comfortably in a MINI, but I couldn't bring myself to be driving a car which made the top five on the New York Times Best Gay Car List. Besides, I live in the Columbia River Gorge where the wind howls all summer long and it would have been blown all over the road.

Good Luck, Rob.