Well my passenger side tail light bulbs went out over the weekend and I figured I could just change the bulbs and I would be fine. Nope. So I wen tto mercedes to buy the piece that the bulbs screw into. Cant buy it seperately. No wbefore I buy a whole taillight does anybody know what the problem could be? It would really suck if its something simple and I order the whole taillight or even worse, if th enew taillight doesnt fix anything. FYI: the turn signal works and the brake light works only when I push the brake pedal. Thanks in advance.

 

maybe a loose contact point? or a burned fuse? not sure. you might try and find a salvaged clk and just buy that part. best of luck.

 

Ok first thing, most of the people in the parts department are mentally retarded. It took me about 4 tries to get the right stop lamp out of them even with the burned one in front of them. Are you sure you have the right bulb? Why would you need a new assembly?

 

Yea I'm sure I have the right bulbs. I even swapped from left to right and it still didnt work so I know its not the bulbs. I THINK its the socket or whatever its called where the bulbs twist into. They dont sell that piece seperately and I have to buy the whole assembly. I didnt see any fuses for taillights, maybe i'm blind though. I'll wait til monday and see if anybody comes up with something and then I'll bite the bullet and buy the assembly.

 

It may be a crimped/pinched wire. If you change the whole assembly and you've still got the problem, you've probably got a wiring issue. Do you have a friend willing to let you take their's out and pop it into yours (just to see?) Maybe you can buy one, take it home and try it. If it works keep it. If it doesn't, you've got some other issue and take that sucka back!

What about taking it to Biz and seeing what they say? By the way, I was checking out his E500 (rare) with the flared fenders when I was over at the shop a couple of weeks ago. Nice! And have you seen his father's new S550 AMG? Amazing!

 

Well, I guess I could borrow one and test it. Good idea. I'd really hate if it was a pinched wire cuz I dont want to tear my car apart for something so small. By the way, Biz' dad has the S65 not S550 and yes, its SICCKKKKK!!!!!

 

check for 12vts at the contact points inside the socket with a test light or voltmeter and for the wire use a needle to pierce the insulation and check along the wire. I think it could be the ground wire,relay or fuse. good luck

 

I have a working drivers side assembly and a complete passenger side tail light with a crack that has a working assembly. I know youre in Md so if you can get someone in NY to pick it up from me or meet up with me and mail it its yours free of charge.

 

Thanks, thats a very generous offer but I found out it wont fix the problem.

Bit the bullet and bought the taillight, still same problem. WTF?!?!?!?!

 

No problem. This may sound stupid and I am sure that you checked your fuses but I have come across bad fuses that looked fine but were still blown. I dont know off hand which fuses control the tails but replace them all even if they look good.

 

I had a similar problem 2 months ago. I got the message "Defective Lamps" Tried changing the bulb and nothing happened. My mechanic told me I needed to re-wire all the electrical wires. I guess it maybe the same problem for you.

 

Damn man. That bites bigtime. I guess it's narrowed down to a fuse, a relay or the wiring? Let us know when you've got this issue licked and what the culprit is.

 

What wires did you rerun? If the wires were bad, wouldnt there be NO power? The brake light works and the turn signal works. This sh*t is drivin me nutz! I dont want to take my car to the dealer because I know they will **** something up trying to get it on the lift or pulling it up on a steep incline and not accept responsibility. Plus I know the porters go for joyrides. Last time I took my car to the dealer (years ago with my last car) I picked it up and all the radio stations had been changed (the presets) and no its not cuz the battery was dsconnected, they were actual stations. Arghhhh

 

its simple just squeeze the contact points inward it may take a few times just keep testing cause i had a similar problem wiht my sisters slk.

 

Thanks, I'll try this as soon as I get off of work.

 

It didnt work

 

alrighty then !! first check the two gnd wires on hte passenger side wheel wells and move them around a little but dont disconect!! do the same on the drivers side ground. both are brn. now trace the gry-pink wire all the way to the pnuematic system equipment control module move the wires around a little AND SPRAY wd-40 !! from there that wire goes to the Ilumination control module thats on the left side of the dash and part of the head light swicth !! just see if the connectors are lose. it might be that pnuematic ECM or related sub-system because a i followed the wirering schematic and thats the only wire that deviates from the other wires that go directly to the Ilum. control module !! good luck !! or try a ECU reset

 

Great info and thanks! Unfortunately I dropped the car off at the dealer about 2 hours ago. Stupid service advisor asks me "Are you sure you changed the right bulb?" Idiots, and they charge $115/hr! I asked for a SL65 loaner at that price. Now I'm pushin a slow *** C230 sport loaner. Should be fixed by the time I get off work. I also warned them that if I see my car off the dealership lot, there will be HELL to pay!

 

hope its something simple !! I was looking at the diagrams and theres a lot of relays and gadgets on these monsters !!! good luck

 

Ditto on the good luck part. Let us know what the problem was!

 

Ok, I'm back from the dealer and I've never appreciated my car more than I do now . After 3 hours of searchin by a tech for the problem guess what the problem was? "Fuse #7". I checked ALL the fuses but I guess this one looked good but really wasnt. ClkE20 was right. Unfortunately there is no fuse thats marked as taillights and I didnt want to replace all the fuses so if anybody has this problem, save yourself 150 bucks(thats outrageous to change a fuse!) and replace fuse #7, even if it still looks good.
Whodat- come to rockville tonight.

 

The stealership actually charged you $150 to change a fuze? I know politicians can be crooks but that just plain wrong! Do they not care to keep a person's business?

 

Yup, $150 to change a fuse.

 

man it is good to know that the electrical brake system is good to go.you did the right move !!

 

I told you it was the fuse *****. Im glad you fix it dog call me in the morning and see if i come to meet up with you guys to go in the big cruise; BTW do you know Brad is having a party tomorrow at his house i hope you do come to his home and chill sorry iim writing like this but im so drunk.