On most of the MBs I park I notice something about the headlight selector knob; there are stops to select either the left or right parking light…not flashing on and off to signal a left or right turn, but just a steady on.
What is the purpose of selecting the lights like this?
A “leftover” German parking signal law thingy? :dubious: :rolleyes:
Other german cars have it too. I don’t know if it is mandated by law (I don’t think so). It is useful for when you have to park the car at akward places. You can leave that light on so other cars won’t fall onto you.
When parking at the side of the road you can just leave on the parking lights on the side of the car out in the road, the pavement side doesn’t need lighting up. It must be a German thing. British cars don’t have this option, if you are parked up at night you are supposed to have all your parking lights on.
It makes sense, to me at least. If you’re parked in a dark street, having dim lights on on the road-side is not a bad thing.
I remember that this used to be on the turn signal stalk instead of a separate knob, i.e., you left the turn signal engaged to the left or right position to illuminate the corresponding parking light. Obviously if the key is in the ignition on position, you would get a blinking turn signal.
Modern reflectors are so good that I don’t understand any current need for parking lights of this sort, though. And if I were really worried (maybe changing a punctured tire on a dark highway) I’d have my four-ways flashing rather than any parking lights. And if it were Germany, I’d also have a set of safety triangles spaced out according to their relevant standards and practices.
I had a M/B a few years ago, and thought that parking light was a good idea. So, I’d turn on the left ones when visiting somebody at night and parking on the street. After several instances of nice people coming up to the door to tell me I left my parking lights on, decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. 