Ambient lighting MERCEDES-BENZ E500 2005 W211 Owner's Manual

29 At a glance
Overhead control panel
Overhead control panel
Item
Page
1
Rear interior lighting
on/off
139
2
Automatic interior lighting
139
3
Front interior lighting
on/off
139
4
Temperature sensor
5
Right reading lamp on/off
139
6
Tilt/sliding sunroof* or
tilt/sliding panel*
223,
226
Item
Page
7
Tele Aid (emergency call
system) button
271
8
Rear view mirror
186
9
Reading lamps
139
a
Garage door opener
279
b
Tow-away alarm button
95
c
Ambient lighting
165
d
Interior lighting
e
Left reading lamp on/off
139

134 Controls in detailLightingManual headlamp mode
The low beam headlamps and the parking
lamps can be switched on and off with the
exterior lamp switch.
Automatic headlamp mode
The following lamps switch on and off au-
tomatically depending on the brightness of
the ambient light:

Low beam headlamps


Tail and parking lamps


License plate lamps


Side marker lamps

Turn the exterior lamp switch to posi-
tion U.
With the SmartKey in starter switch
position1 or the KEYLESS-GO* start/stop
button once, only the parking lamps will
switch on and off automatically.When the engine is running, the low beam
headlamps, the tail and parking lamps, the
license plate lamps, and the side marker
lamps will switch on and off automatically.
Daytime running lamp mode

Turn the exterior lamp switch to
positionM orU.
When the engine is running, the low
beam headlamps are automatically
switched on.
In low ambient light conditions the
parking lamps will also switch on:

Tail and parking lamps


License plate lamps


Side marker lamps
For nighttime driving you should turn the
exterior lamp switch to positionB to
permit activation of the high beam head-
lamps.
Warning!
G
If the exterior lamp switch is set toU,

the headlamps may switch off unexpect-
edly when the system senses bright am-
bient light, for example light from
oncoming traffic.


the headlamps will not be automatically
switched on under foggy conditions.
To minimize risk to you and to others, acti-
vate headlamps by turning exterior lamp
switch to B when driving or when traffic
and/or ambient lighting conditions require
you to do so.
In low ambient lighting conditions, only
switch from position U to B with the
vehicle at a standstill. Switching from U
to B will briefly switch off the head-
lamps. Doing so while driving in low ambient
lighting conditions may result in an acci-
dent.
The automatic headlamp feature is only an
aid to the driver. The driver is responsible for
the operation of the vehicle's lights at all
times.

136 Controls in detailLightingLocator lighting and night security illu-
mination
Locator lighting and night security illumi-
nation are described in the “Control sys-
tem” section, see (
page 163) and
(
page 164).
Fog lampsFront fog lamps

Switch on the low beam headlamps
(page 50).

Pull out exterior lamp switch to first
stop.
The front fog lamps are switched on.
The green indicator lamp‡ in the
exterior lamp switch comes on
(page 133).

Push in the exterior lamp switch.
The front fog lamps are switched off.
The green indicator lamp‡ in the
exterior lamp switch goes out.
Warning!
G
In low ambient lighting or foggy conditions,
only switch from position U to B with
the vehicle at a standstill. Switching from
U to B will briefly switch off the head-
lamps. Doing so while driving in low ambient
lighting conditions may result in an acci-
dent.
iFog lamps will operate with the parking
lamps and/or the low beam headlamps
on. Fog lamps should only be used in
conjunction with low beam headlamps.
Consult your State or Province Motor
Vehicle Regulations regarding permis-
sible lamp operation.iFog lamps cannot be switched on with
the exterior lamp switch in
positionU. For switching on the fog
lamps, turn the exterior lamp switch to
positionB.

139 Controls in detail
Lighting
Interior lighting in the front
1Left front reading lamp on/off
2Rear interior lighting on/off
3Automatic control on/off
4Front interior lighting on/off
5Right front reading lamp on/off
6Ambient lighting
7Interior lighting
8Front reading lampThe controls are located in the overhead
control panel.
Automatic control
Activating

Press automatic control switch3.
The Interior lighting switches on in
darkness, when you:

unlock the vehicle


remove the SmartKey from the
starter switch


open a door


open the trunk
The interior lighting switches off automati-
cally following an adjustable time delay.For more information, see “Setting interior
lighting delayed shut-off” (
page 165).
Deactivating

Press automatic control switch3
again.
The interior lighting remains switched
off in darkness, even when you:

unlock the vehicle


remove the SmartKey from the
starter switch


open a door


open the trunk
iLeaving an interior light switch in the
ON position for extended periods of
time with the engine turned off could
result in a discharged battery.
iIf the door remains open, the interior
lamps switch off automatically after ap-
proximately five minutes.

141 Controls in detail
Lighting
Interior lighting in the rear
The overhead control panel is located
above the rear seat bench.
1Ambient lighting switch, to brighten
2Rear reading lamp
3Rear reading lamp on/off
4Rear interior lamp
5Ambient lighting
6Ambient lighting switch, to dimRear reading lamps

Press desired rear reading lamp
switch3 to switch on the correspond-
ing rear reading lamp.

Press respective rear reading lamp
switch3 again to switch off the corre-
sponding rear reading lamp.
Ambient lighting

Press ambient lighting switch1or6
repeatedly until ambient lighting5
has reached the desired intensity.
You can switch the ambient lighting on and
off, using the Control system
(
page 165).
Trunk lamp
The trunk lamp switches on if the trunk lid
is opened.
If the trunk lid remains open, the trunk
lighting switches off automatically after ap-
proximately ten minutes.

156 Controls in detailControl systemThe table below shows what settings can
be changed within the various menus. De-
tailed instructions on making individual
settings can be found on the following pag-
es.INSTRUMENT CLUSTER
TIME/DATE
LIGHTING
VEHICLE
CONVENIENCE
DYNAMIC SEAT*
Select temperature dis-
play mode
Synchronizing the
time
Set daytime running
lamp mode
(USA only)
Set automatic lock-
ing
Activate easy-en-
try/exit feature
Set level for dynam-
ic seat, driver
Select speedometer dis-
play mode
Set time (hours)
Set locator lighting
Limiting opening
height of trunk lid*
Set SmartKey-
dependency
Set level for dynam-
ic seat, passenger
Select language
Set time (minutes)
Ambient lighting
Set parking position
for exterior rear
view mirror
Select display (speed dis-
play or outside tempera-
ture) for status line
Set date (month)
Exterior lamps de-
layed shut-off
Select display (speed dis-
play or outside tempera-
ture) for basic display
Set date (day)
Interior lighting de-
layed shut-off
Tire pressure unit dis-
play*
Set date (year)

162 Controls in detailControl systemLighting submenu
Access the
Lighting
submenu via the
Set-
tings
menu. Use the
Lighting
submenu
to change the lamp and lighting settings on
your vehicle. The following functions are
available:Setting daytime running lamp mode
(USA only)

Move the selection marker with
buttonæ orç to the
Lighting

submenu.

Press buttonj ork repeatedly
until you see
Lamp circuit headlamp
in
the multifunction display.
The selection marker is on the current
setting.

Press buttonæ orç to select
manual operation (
manual
) or daytime
running lamp mode (
constant
) activat-
ed.
With daytime running lamp mode activated
and the exterior lamp switch at
positionM orU the low beam head-
lamps are switched on when the engine is
running.
In low ambient light conditions the follow-
ing lamps will switch on additionally:


Parking lamps


Tail lamps


License plate lamps


Side marker lamps
For more information on the daytime run-
ning lamp mode, see “Lighting”
(
page 133).
Function
Page
Set daytime running lamp mode
(USA only)
162
Setting locator lighting
163
Setting night security illumina-
tion
164
Setting interior lighting delayed
shut-off
165
Setting ambient lighting
165
iThis function is not available in coun-
tries where the daytime running lamp
mode is mandatory and therefore in a
constant mode.

165 Controls in detail
Control system
Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO*:
Press the KEYLESS-GO start/stop but-
ton on the gear selector lever
(page 35).
Setting interior lighting delayed shut-off
Use this function to set whether and how
long you would like the interior lighting to
remain lit during darkness after you have
removed the SmartKey from the starter
switch.

Move the selection marker with
buttonæ orç to the
Lighting
submenu.

Press buttonj ork repeatedly
until you see
Interior lamp delayed
shut-off
in the multifunction display.The selection marker is on the current
setting.

Press buttonæ orç to select
the desired lamp-on period.
You can select:

0 sec.
, the delayed shut-off feature
is deactivated.


5 sec.,
10 sec.
, 15 sec.
or
20 sec.
, the interior lighting de-
layed shut-off feature is activated
with the desired lamp-on period.
Setting ambient lighting
Using this function to adjust the brightness
of the ambient lighting.

Move the selection marker with
buttonæ orç to the
Lighting

submenu.

Press buttonj ork repeatedly
until you see
Ambient light Level
in
the multifunction display.
The selection marker is on the current
setting.

Press buttonæ orç to select
the desired brightness of the ambient
lighting.
The setting 1 represents the darkest
level and setting 5 the brightest level.
The ambient light is switched off at set-
ting 0.