Clk 320 inner trunk lights not working
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 20
Likes: 1
From: Baltimore,MD
99 CLK 320
Clk 320 inner trunk lights not working
Hello all,i have a clk 320,my lamp defective warning is coming on and im trying to figure out exactly what the culprit is. I have realized that these particular lights under my reverse lights do not come on. I also realized that inside of the trunk there is no harness to insert a bulb into them. Since the harness that goes into the reverse hole looks the same size,i put the harness from the reverse light into the empty spot for these lights, and still they didnt light up,whether i turned the lights on and pulled the fog light switch. Ive checked all the fuses and replaced any blown ones, and cant figure it out,any help is helpful.
Newbie
Joined: Nov 2023
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: Kelowna, BC
2001 CLK 320
"realized that inside of the trunk there is no harness to insert a bulb into them. Since the harness that goes into the reverse hole looks the same size,i put the harness from the reverse light into the empty spot for these light"
By harness, I'm assuming you mean "socket".. I also assume it's just the left light not working, but the right works.
Ok, first step for diagnosis:
Disconnect taillight assembly from the electrical connector coming from the car. From memory, that taillight is easily accessible by removing a few plastic anchors in the trunk liner.
Next, take a multimeter, switch it to DC. Turn on the lights from inside the car, use the multimeter to check for voltage between the (2 or 3) pins within the electrical connector. You should get somewhere between 12-13v. If not, you'll need to do some more research about where that wire leads and look for a short.
If you get 12v or so in the electrical connector, attach it to the light assembly. Now use the multimeter between different sections of the metal "plates" within the taillight assembly. Im not going to upload a photo or explain further.. I'm just some dude killing time at my chick's volleyball game. Im sure you can figure out which pins from the electrical connector line up to which metal part of the light assembly. If you have voltage in the electrical connector, but it's not getting passed to the metal plates within the taillight assembly, you have a corroded connection between electrical connector and light assembly (this happened to me last week). If this is your problem, the connector portion of the taillight assembly can be accesses by snipping off 2 or 3 plastic tabs on the light assembly. It should be obvious which ones.. Simply open the connector and clean with 400grit sandpaper. Tada 🎉
Let me know if that still doesn't work and where you're noting voltage.
By harness, I'm assuming you mean "socket".. I also assume it's just the left light not working, but the right works.
Ok, first step for diagnosis:
Disconnect taillight assembly from the electrical connector coming from the car. From memory, that taillight is easily accessible by removing a few plastic anchors in the trunk liner.
Next, take a multimeter, switch it to DC. Turn on the lights from inside the car, use the multimeter to check for voltage between the (2 or 3) pins within the electrical connector. You should get somewhere between 12-13v. If not, you'll need to do some more research about where that wire leads and look for a short.
If you get 12v or so in the electrical connector, attach it to the light assembly. Now use the multimeter between different sections of the metal "plates" within the taillight assembly. Im not going to upload a photo or explain further.. I'm just some dude killing time at my chick's volleyball game. Im sure you can figure out which pins from the electrical connector line up to which metal part of the light assembly. If you have voltage in the electrical connector, but it's not getting passed to the metal plates within the taillight assembly, you have a corroded connection between electrical connector and light assembly (this happened to me last week). If this is your problem, the connector portion of the taillight assembly can be accesses by snipping off 2 or 3 plastic tabs on the light assembly. It should be obvious which ones.. Simply open the connector and clean with 400grit sandpaper. Tada 🎉
Let me know if that still doesn't work and where you're noting voltage.
Last edited by WithoutWarranty; Nov 23, 2023 at 10:51 PM.
