DO NOT use 5 watt bulbs unless melting and making the lighting channels turn brown amuses you. The previous owner had 5 watt 194 bulbs installed. Fortunately I was able to replace the instrument cluster bezel with an un-melted one from a 1995 E320. Please use the correct wattage bulbs - Sylvania 2821 which are 3 watts.

Assuming that your lighting channels aren't melted, you can improve the illumination drastically by cleaning the channels and replacing the bulbs with NEW correct wattage ones.

Good tip! Thanks for sharing.