SeaCoupe

What brand and wattage are you guys using for your tail light, stop and turn signals?

I'm tired of getting bulb errors on the dash when the light is actually working.

E

C230 Sport Coup

Ed, pull the bulbs, pull up on the tabs that make contact with the bulbs.
Clean then with a pencil eraser till shiny, lightly sand the contacts on the bulbs, or do as I do lightly grind them on the concrete in the driveway a bit till shiny. Not too much, don't want to take the contact surface off.

Your problem will be gone. It's not the bulbs it's the the stupid bulb holder.
Slightly increased resistance from less than optimal electrical contact causes the errors.

splinter

If C230 Sport Coup’s technique does not eliminate the bulb malfunction warning…

7528 = tail - P21/5W
7506 = stop, back-up, and fog – P21W
7507 = turn - PY21W (amber)

It’s best to go with the OE Osram Sylvania brand, IMHO. An “LL” suffix after the bulb number designates long life, which ostensibly doubles their useful service life. When I got the C, it had a mishmash of various bulbs installed by the previous owner’s technician. The lights worked, but they would trigger random spurious warnings, much like yours are doing. It doesn't do that anymore.

7528 and 7506/7507 specifications. Osram catalog.

Don's Bulbs site for cross reference and additional intel, courtesy of Moviela.

SeaCoupe

You guys rock.

I'm tired of pressing buttons on the steering wheel to remove error codes from bulbs.


How is the C32 running?

E

Moviela

I use a "prep pen" to clean the contacts in lamp sockets and on the lamps themselves. It is made of fiberglass and makes a brite shiney finish without scratching,

http://www.toolsource.com/preppen-ad...g-p-93556.html

e1000

how did i miss this thread.

Yeah I'd imagine a lot of the 7506/7507 bulbs get replaced with 1156 and 1157 bulbs. While similar it may be enough of a difference to cause issues. Also, MB's are very sensitive to current draw to detect a failed light bulb.

Hey Ed, if you replace all the bulbs with new, correct bulbs and you still have issues, let me know.

SickSpeedMonte

Great post, thanks! I have a rear fog light out.

jogger

our car only uses one rear fog light.

Moviela

That is because it is only foggy on the left. Republicans are clear thinkers.

SickSpeedMonte

...you're kidding, right?

If thats true... thats pretty retarded.

Although, I did see another C on the road with only one rear fog light on... so maybe thats true afterall.

Glyn M Ruck

The European standard requires a single rear foglight. - Ever noticed a Beetle has one red & one white light in the rear bumper? White for reversing. Red for FOG!

SickSpeedMonte

No, I never noticed that. I'll have to pay closer attention the next time I see a beetle. Interesting.

I never drive with the rear fog's on, are they intended to be used on the highway in foggy conditions, or only when reversing?

Glyn M Ruck

They are intended for use only in foggy conditions to make your vehicle more visible. Like the Euro authorities insist on self leveling for BiX so you don't blind oncoming motorists. The single rear fog is extremely bright & testing has lead them to believe that 2 of these blinds following drivers. Particularly a problem when idiots use them when there is no fog. Running your rear fog in Europe when there is no fog is a traffic offence. Same in South Africa, Australia etc.

Glyn M Ruck

Not intended for use when reversing! only reverse light but in foggy conditions most people would just leave them on even when reversing.

SickSpeedMonte

There's some odd reasoning going on there. I think I'd just lower the wattage in that situation. Maybe they didn't want it to look too close to a brake application?

SickSpeedMonte

Understood, thanks for the info!

e1000

lower the wattage? like your normal running lights?????? lol.

Glyn M Ruck

Yes I agree with you but it was a result of a lot of testing - Your speculation could be correct. It's years since I read it all and I simply don't remember. I might get enthusiastic and try & read it again if I can find it.

advans

Thinking about it... I still have the OEM pre-facelift bulb housing thing for the tail lights. If any OG coupe owners with pre-facelift tails want it. PM me, and just either send me a shipping box, or pay for shipping

splinter

Replaced a defective license plate bulb with another Osram 6418. No sexy Lexus pieces on mine.
Darn thing lasted eight years – build date 7/’01. Never one to tempt fate, I swapped in a fresh pair.

Extinguishing the MIL for $3 is a fete in itself.

MW_ATL

My observation: Rear Fog-light on (in the US) = dingy driver to be avoided at all cost (they will do something *else* stupid soon). See this all the time in Atlanta, in the summer...during the day (clear and 95+).

I've just gotten in a habit of replacing all the rear bulbs about once a year - usually January. I got tired of fighting the stupid warning because of the resistance, and my service adviser will give them to me to put in.

bdgdl08

I was driving around last night, and I was given the ricer fly-by by a black w202 230 kompressor... thing sounded like crap, completely stock, other than some sort of muffler tampering (or maybe it was just old and rusty), and he had his rear fog light on. He also sounded like he was a bad manual driver on an auto car. My friend and I laughed so hard!

eliterobc

Hey guys, I just got an 01 C320 w/ 88k miles. Love the car so far. I did a good amount of research before hand, and I have been a "car-guy" for quite some time.

Long story long, my passenger side tail light, and brake light do not work at all, under any circumstance. The blinker works fine, but the light on the passenger side of the bottom trunk lights (2 clear circle lights) does not work either.

-I replaced both the brake light and tail light bulbs with the exact same brand new unit(s).

-I also checked fuses 21 and 22 in the driver door/ dash area.

-All the other fuses in the under hood, and trunk area Appeared to be fine, but I could not, and did not want to just arbitrarily pull ALL the fuses. I have heard bad things about doing this.

**************UPDATE*******************

OK I called Phil Smart In Down Town Seattle, and left a message for the Service Manager regarding Technical Service Bulletin TSB P-8210-217. It deals with Lighting, more specifically Parking/ Tail Lamp on 01 C320. If I get any help from them I will be sure to post it here. I suggested they simply print out the info that the factory supplies the Techs with; and I would pick it up the next day. Apparently the guy I was talking with could not make that call by himself, so I had to leave a message for the Service Manager.

Unfortunately I am most likely not the only one dealing with this in their w203. Ill keep y'all posted.

- As per the advice of some other folks on-line, I also checked the plug that goes into the "plate" which holds all its respective bulbs. I did not have a chance to pull all the bulbs, and pretty/scuff up the contact points with a pencil eraser.

I really hope this is something I can fix. I bought the car from a one of those smaller lots, not a Mercedes Pre-Owned or anything, but the price was right, $7800 for an 01 C320 Sedan w/ 88K Grandma/ Grandpa miles. It was the parents of the Fellow who owned the lot. There are no error codes on my instrument cluster, so I am at a loss here. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Rob

samaritrey

ok so the lights don't work but no errors that is wired. gl no clue if no errors but no light either.

LILBENZ230

Do you know this "fellow" personally? If not, you just bought the most common used line of BS from dealers. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard "The car belonged to the mom/dad/granny/sister/aunt of the CEO/Founder/GM of this dealer."

Classic.

Also, at the mention of "granny" miles, I would run. A car gently driven on only short trips to the market and church is bound to have issues. They're made to be driven, not to sit.

/soapbox