I've noticed that I have no lights for the symbols behind by headlight switch. Is this normal or do I have lights out? When I drive at night, the only thing that lights up is the headlight switch knob. Also when I pull out the headlight switch the fog light indicators will come on. Everything else is blacked out....

I always have the light on "auto" so it doesn't really matter but I noticed if I ever wanted to see what the other options are, I wouldn't be able to.


Lastly... what's the point of the far left "parking" light options?

If you you turn the headlight switch to the far left and second to the left.
The first position just lights up the left front parking light and the second position just lights up the right side front parking light.

 

Unfortunately the light switch indicators are not backlit, so at night, you can't look at the dial and see what setting your on. However - there is a headlamp indicator on the dash so i'm guessing thats what the germans figured would suffice - plus once you drive the car a while you will memorize the settings by "feel".

As for moving the switch to the far left, isn't that the rear fog lamp or is that two clicks pulled out???

Aceman

 

AJU_E350, my car is the same; no lights illuminating what position the light switch is in. Based on your other questions, you probably didn't read the owner's manual very carefully. No problem. I have learned that there are people who love to read manuals and instructions (like me) and others who don't. Most are like you. Both strategies have advantages and disadvantages.

The positions to the left of center are standing lamp positions. They can only be activated when the engine is not running (I don't want to get into the details of the exact ignition switch position).

Standing lamps are a European thing (or any other congested narrow street place) that no Red-Blooded American uses (I'm joking). Besides, if any of our European or Asian friends would love to comment on how they use the standing lamps, I would love to be "illuminated" by their information.

I think the standing lamps are for making a parked car more visible at night. This is needed because European cities developed way before cars did. Hence the narrow streets and lack of parking. So people sometimes have to park their cars in the road.

The first positon to the right of center is for the passenger side. It should illuminate the lights on the front and REAR of the car. If your car only lights up in front, then there is something wrong. If you turn one more position to the left (the leftmost position), then the drivers side (left side) of the car illuminates. So depending on what side of the street you park on, you choose which side of the car to light up.

Only those front and rear lamps illuminate without illuminating anything on the dasboard like the regular parking lights would. So the standing lamps can be left on all night without draining the battery to the point were the car wouldn't start in the morning (at least that is what I think the idea is).

Since I am operating on the assumption that you did not read the owner's manual carefully, I would also advise you to activate the Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) if you have not already done so. You will know if the DRL are activated if your headlights (if your car has regular lights) or fog lamps (if your car has Xenon lamps) turn on when the car is running even with the headlight switch in the off position.

The DRL setting can be changed by scrolling to Settings, then Lighting, and selecting Lights Always On.
Enjoy your car and discovering all of its hidden secrets.
William
2003 E320

 

Yup.... Not back lit... I guess MB figured if you keep the switch in "auto" you never have to worry about it. As far as those other settings... Its a euro thing..... Guess when your parked on the side of the road you need to put them lights on.... leftside of the road, right light on, right side of the road, left side on......

 

The side parking lights, as stated above, are for (both front and rear light) parking in narrow streets where sometimes your car sticks out a bit into the driving lane.

This is not a bell and whistle that Mercedes decided to put in their cars, it is required in Europe. The difference is that Mercedes has NOT removed this feature from their US production cars like BMW, Audi and some Porsche cars. In Europe, the way you turn on these sidelights on cars is you turn on the blinker switch on the side you want to have the parking lights on. When the key is out of the ignition, the wand turns on the side parking lights.

BMW and Porsche have also removed the rear fog lights on the US cars. I sometimes wish people would use the rear fog light correctly and stop blinding me at night, but I am glad that my cars have them. I have had to turn on t he rear fog light about 5 times last year on my E. This is when I was in blizzards (but could be anything that reduces visibility bellow 50 meters). However, I always see Audi drivers with their rear fog lights on on perfectly clear nights! This is illegal, but no US cop would ever stop you.

Steve

 

Hey Steve, thanks for the info! I didn't know how the lamps worked with the other car makers.

As far as front and rear fog light use in the USA, it is a completely lost cause to expect all people (or even most people) to use them for their designed intended use. At least in the urban areas (like Miami), it is for all practical purposes extra lights to turn on to draw attention to how cool the car and its driver are. I really don't blame the individuals too much either; it really is a collective decision on priorities. Driver education and enforcement of traffic rules (except for very unevenly applied vehicle speed infractions) are not priorities in the USA. I love the USA, but I am also willing to admit that we certainly have flaws. I know some of you out in the Western states don't like the red light cameras. Here in Miami, I absolutely never assume someone is going to really stop at a red light. I really think that we could use the red light cameras here.
William