I had,similar problem in my 2005 E320. After MB Indy changed comand unit, ash tray was,stuck. They made it work but small plastic latch unit had to be replaced.
Dwight Giles Jr. Wickford RI On Wed, Jun 12, 2019, 8:25 PM Dan Penoff via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > So in my desire to have everything in order on the ML500 before I send it > off to long term storage, I decide I’m going to get the front ash tray > working (it sticks closed) and replace the light bulb in it, too. Little > did I know…. > > So I fight with the ashtray for a good 30 minutes. The insert comes out, > but the “push to release” function for the ashtray just doesn’t work. I get > the front cover off of it and start poking around. Within the area under > and around the ashtray, aided with some long hemostats and Mercedes cluster > hooks, I removed: > > 16 toothpicks > 3 small packets of salt > 2 business cards > Coins > > Now understand that this was just digging around the ashtray from above > and below it while it’s in place. Still no joy. > > I hose it down with brake cleaner. No improvement. > > Finally, I decide that it’s got to come out. What does that entail? > > Removal of the center console. Yup. In an ML, if you want to get to the > front ashtray to change the bulb or remove the ashtray itself the center > console comes out. Now while this does sound like a major undertaking, it’s > really not too bad. You can do it the first time in about 10 minutes, maybe > less. > > So out comes the console. I remove ashtray and take it to my outdoor > kitchen, where I hose it down liberally with degreaser and then rinse it > off. Pop it in the outdoor oven for about 30 minutes at 170F to dry it out. > Oh, yeah - more detritus. A VISA debit card for the IU Hoosiers, expired in > 2012. > > So out of the oven it comes. Then I spend a good 20 minutes trying to get > to the bulb in the cigarette lighter, which you can’t get to. Really, you > can’t. There are a number of people who have done it online on YouTube, but > they run very, very close to destroying the ashtray doing so. I finally get > it apart and get a new bulb in the socket. Button everything up, it’s > working great with the “touch and release” function. > > Put everything back together, all ready to go, and - the bulb doesn’t > work. Grrr. But hey, it’s not a total loss, as now the ashtray works like > it should. > > So I back the car out, turn it around to move it into place in front of > the garage where the finnie parks, and crack! > > I bumped the corner of the ML into the corner of the garage. A hole the > size of a softball in the right rear corner of the rear bumper. Dang thing > shattered like a piece of glass. > > Oh, well. I remind myself that it’s a $1400 beater. Still sucks. > > All that for a lousy light bulb. > > -D > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
