Defective Brake Light

[Jessica90]

Last week, I received a malfunction that said, "Lamp Defective, Check Lamps!" I was told my left brake light was out. I go to kragen, buy the bulbs, and replace my burnt one. Everything worked for about an hour till I got the malfunction again. I figured the connection was bad, so I pull the assembly out again, tighten the bulb, press the brake and all bulbs light up. I put everything back in the tailight, press the brake and once again, the malfunction pops up. I have no idea why it's acting up. This morning, it did not work. In the afternoon it worked, and in the evening, it stopped working. Everytime I pull out the assembly and press the brake, all bulbs light up, and once I put everything back in the tailight, I get the malfunction. Any ideas?

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[tbsi430]

With your car off, turn your car on. A few seconds then step on the brakes. If the warning lights come when you step on the brakes it's most likely the stop/brake switch. To confirm this, check to see if your brake lights are lighting up. If they're not it's definitely your brake switch. If this is the case be careful on the road because nobody will know that you're slowing down or stopping.

You can buy one at the dealer for about $20.00. Very easy to replace maybe about 10 minutes.

To replace the switch, you will first need to remove the 4 phillips head screws (see pic one) that hold the access panel in place. There are three along the sides of the panel and one near the hood release handle. You will then locate the stop lamp switch by following the brake pedal up until you find a black pastic switch with two small wiring harnesses connected to it (see second pic). Remove the switch by pushing the attached plastic lever and rotating it clockwise. It will then free itself from its position and you can remove the two harnesses. Installation takes place in the reverse order.

[Jessica90]

Originally Posted by tbsi430

With your car off, turn your car on. A few seconds then step on the brakes. If the warning lights come when you step on the brakes it's most likely the stop/brake switch. To confirm this, check to see if your brake lights are lighting up. If they're not it's definitely your brake switch. If this is the case be careful on the road because nobody will know that you're slowing down or stopping.

You can buy one at the dealer for about $20.00. Very easy to replace maybe about 10 minutes.

To replace the switch, you will first need to remove the 4 phillips head screws (see pic one) that hold the access panel in place. There are three along the sides of the panel and one near the hood release handle. You will then locate the stop lamp switch by following the brake pedal up until you find a black pastic switch with two small wiring harnesses connected to it (see second pic). Remove the switch by pushing the attached plastic lever and rotating it clockwise. It will then free itself from its position and you can remove the two harnesses. Installation takes place in the reverse order.

Thank you!

I got the problem figured out yesterday. At kragen, they didn't have the right bulbs that would work with my car. I went to the Mercedes Benz of San Francisco and they replaced 2 bulbs at no cost.