WinterPark321

Hello, have a 2011 GL550 here.

I just removed the stock bulbs and put in new LED bulbs for both right and left license plate lights. When I start the car, the lights come on, but the front dashboard gives me a warning saying there is something wrong with the LED lights. It says "License Plate Right" and "License Plate Left". Please help.

I can select the "R" in front of the dashboard to temp reset it, but once I turn off and turn on the car again, the error message comes back.

joshd2012

The sensors work based on resistance of the bulb. LED bulbs have much less resistance than incandescent bulbs, which is what is triggering the error. They make "error free" LED bulbs that add a resistor, but they can damage the bulb housing due to excessive heat from the resistor.

You are better off with incandescent bulbs with a bluer color temperature (5000K).

AZN Optics

You unfortunately won't find any plug and play solution. 2008+ M/G classes changed the rear spec where a much higher resistance is required compared to other MB specs. The amount is high enough that built in solution would be unsafe with so much heat, hence you won't find any. What you'll need to do is tap in external resistors to work.

WinterPark321

So basically there is no way to clear the error?

AZN Optics

No. We've tried building up to spec where they wouldn't, but the high amount of resistance required caused too much heat for an embedded chip. You need to go with an external solution to separate it from the delicate LED components. We've already advised our customers this and the vendor you purchased yours from should have informed you of this as well as it's pretty well known change.

2010GL550

He speaks the truth. I've tried five or so different LED bulbs/brands with no luck. Even the ones that advertise "error free".

Kimo127

Okay boncing around this site I have some dumb questions like what's a SAM ? and What is Sticky ? Everything has Sticky on it and I don't know what that means?

Grape Ape

SAM stands for Signal Acquisition Module, which are the computers that control electrical functions. Also called body or chassis control modules on most other cars.

A sticky is just a post in the forum that stays at the top for quick reference.

EmilyMB

I tried replacing with LED bulbs, but didn’t work. Had to replace with stock ones.

Yup497

I bought the whole assembly with sealed LED lights made by iDJM toy and have never had any errors on the HUD nor any flickering. Going strong since 2018.

atraudes

I found some spare bulb sockets and wired up some incandescent lights inline with the LED license plate lights. I mounted them inside the tailgate in such a way that they weren't touching anything (they can get pretty hot) and were secure and not just flopping around. Certainly not plug and play or elegant, but it's been working great!