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Advice for side amber lights on W209 clk350 FAILED SAFETY INSPECTION

Old May 3, 2017 | 10:32 PM
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CLK350
Advice for side amber lights on W209 clk350 FAILED SAFETY INSPECTION

Im sure this has happened to many of you and now its happened to me, both

my side bulbs have gone out and when I was at the dealer they were showing

me that replacing the bulb wouldnt fix it but the problem is deeper than that

and it would bascailly cost 500 to fix it YIKES 500 to fix a pair of bulbs that

dont really do anything seems crazy. im sure many of you have had this issue

before what is a cheap way to get this fixed? ( and yes ive tried changing the

bulbs myself it doenst work and i live in VA so my safety inspection requires these useless *** bulbs to work
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Old May 3, 2017 | 10:40 PM
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It's probably either the socket or wiring has become aged and brittle. Wiring can be spliced, a new socket is cheap:

http://www.mboemparts.com/oe-mercedes-benz/0005400966
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Old May 3, 2017 | 11:50 PM
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how easy is this job? im going to take it to an independent mechanic.. and i want to make sure i dont over pay how much would something like this cost for both sides?
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Old May 4, 2017 | 08:48 AM
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Too hard to say what it may cost because we are not sure exactly what the problem is. Assuming it has anything to do with the plug itself, or wiring near the plug, then as repairs go it should not be much. The light pop out in seconds. I prefer to push them out from behind because they break easily, but even that can be done in two minutes. The wild card here is that both sides are out. A failure of that nature might not affect both sides at once, so the issue could lie further up. MB gave you and estimate, but did not tell you what was wrong?
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Old May 4, 2017 | 09:38 AM
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Rodney, where on that site did you find bulbs and sockets and such? If I put my car in, I do not see any category that covers such things, whether it's side markers or third brake lights or whatever. Those electrical things do not appear to be included in the breakdown of the part where they reside - bumper, trunk lid, etc.
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Old May 4, 2017 | 10:17 AM
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It's under electrical>signal lamps. However, it's unlikely that both sockets/wire harnesses have become damaged at the same time? I would check further up...maybe check with SDS and pull the codes.

Also, maybe it's time to find a new inspection spot....they shouldn't be giving you issues over that.
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Old May 4, 2017 | 05:46 PM
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The bulbs are generic and can be bought at any auto parts store for next to nothing. To pop the lights out you will need to remove the front fender liner, which is quite easy. A few screws accessible from inside the liner and you can push it out of the way.
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Old May 4, 2017 | 08:10 PM
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You could use a volt meter to check what, if any, voltage is at the connect point in the socket for the bulb.

No voltage would, of course, be expected. If there is a low (much lower than 12V) corrosion within the socket base or where the wires are connected could be the issue; clean or replace the socket.

If no voltage is at the bulb contacts, cut away a small bit of insulation from the wire/s before they enter the bulb holder/socket and check for voltage. If you get 12V here the socket is bad: replace it...... If no voltage here you will need to go the point in the fuse box that supplies voltage to the side marker. I doubt that they would be on a dedicated fuse. (Which means something else also doesn't work)
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Old May 4, 2017 | 08:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Yidney
Rodney, where on that site did you find bulbs and sockets and such? If I put my car in, I do not see any category that covers such things, whether it's side markers or third brake lights or whatever. Those electrical things do not appear to be included in the breakdown of the part where they reside - bumper, trunk lid, etc.
I always just lookup the part in EPC, then search mboemparts by part number (drop the "A" prefix).
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Old May 4, 2017 | 09:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Rudeney
I always just lookup the part in EPC, then search mboemparts by part number (drop the "A" prefix).
Rudeney: Does this mboemparts sell genuine Mb parts? The website states replacement parts, not sure what they mean by this?

Last edited by mis3; May 4, 2017 at 09:17 PM.
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Old May 4, 2017 | 09:20 PM
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MBOEMPARTS is a dealer - Mercedes-Benz of Naperville. They are selling genuine MBZ parts.
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Old May 4, 2017 | 09:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Rudeney
MBOEMPARTS is a dealer - Mercedes-Benz of Naperville. They are selling genuine MBZ parts.
Ok. Thanks. Any free shipping there? I did not see this in their site.
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Old May 4, 2017 | 10:07 PM
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There are codes they issue periodically. I seem to remember someone posting one recently on a forum, but i can't find it! Another site is mbdirectsparts.com. I think this is a dealer in Lincoln, NE. I usually order from Naperville, though, as shipping (for me) is a bit less and a day faster.
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Old May 4, 2017 | 10:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Rudeney
There are codes they issue periodically. I seem to remember someone posting one recently on a forum, but i can't find it! Another site is mbdirectsparts.com. I think this is a dealer in Lincoln, NE. I usually order from Naperville, though, as shipping (for me) is a bit less and a day faster.
I usually order from oediscountparts which offers free shipping to Continental US. They only sell genuine Mb parts.

I just sent an email to mboemparts to ask if they ship to Canada.
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Old May 4, 2017 | 10:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Rudeney
I always just lookup the part in EPC, then search mboemparts by part number (drop the "A" prefix).
I figured that's what you did. Wasn't Naperville the dealer on Parts.com? Is that still active? I like this site better because you can email the dealer directly.
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Old May 5, 2017 | 12:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Rudeney
There are codes they issue periodically. I seem to remember someone posting one recently on a forum, but i can't find it! Another site is mbdirectsparts.com. I think this is a dealer in Lincoln, NE. I usually order from Naperville, though, as shipping (for me) is a bit less and a day faster.
Mboemparts responded and unfortunately, they do not ship to Canada.

As for free shipping to continental US, they said the promo code is in their Facebook page.
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Old May 5, 2017 | 03:44 PM
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the lights did not go out at the same time, the right one went out 2 years ago and the left one went out only a few weeks ago..
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Old May 5, 2017 | 03:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Yidney
Too hard to say what it may cost because we are not sure exactly what the problem is. Assuming it has anything to do with the plug itself, or wiring near the plug, then as repairs go it should not be much. The light pop out in seconds. I prefer to push them out from behind because they break easily, but even that can be done in two minutes. The wild card here is that both sides are out. A failure of that nature might not affect both sides at once, so the issue could lie further up. MB gave you and estimate, but did not tell you what was wrong?
they did and they mentioned something like that but i cant remember i do remember the mb tech saying something about it being common that moisture building up in those areas...
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Old May 5, 2017 | 03:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Anker
The bulbs are generic and can be bought at any auto parts store for next to nothing. To pop the lights out you will need to remove the front fender liner, which is quite easy. A few screws accessible from inside the liner and you can push it out of the way.
are you sure? i just popped out the amber light from the outside and replaced the bulb that way... not that it worked..
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Old May 5, 2017 | 03:51 PM
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Originally Posted by megacrazy
It's under electrical>signal lamps. However, it's unlikely that both sockets/wire harnesses have become damaged at the same time? I would check further up...maybe check with SDS and pull the codes.

Also, maybe it's time to find a new inspection spot....they shouldn't be giving you issues over that.
yes i agree considering it does nothing.. actually the right bulb has been out for over 2 years and i never failed inspection (i live in VA) but one of the mechanics mentioned something about the cops starting to get more strict on the inspections.. though idk if id take his word for it...
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Old May 5, 2017 | 04:23 PM
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Originally Posted by zejj
are you sure? i just popped out the amber light from the outside and replaced the bulb that way... not that it worked..
That's what MB claims. Good new to me if they can just be popped out, 'cause I need to replace the left bulb.
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Old May 5, 2017 | 06:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Anker
That's what MB claims. Good new to me if they can just be popped out, 'cause I need to replace the left bulb.
There are spring clips that retain the module in place. You can just push the lens forward and pull outward on the rearward end.
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Old May 5, 2017 | 06:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Fatz
There are spring clips that retain the module in place. You can just push the lens forward and pull outward on the rearward end.
This is how I remove the side marker lens.

To the OP, the socket may have been corroded, try spraying brake cleaner to the socket. It happened to me a few times and the brake cleaner did the trick.
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Old May 6, 2017 | 12:21 AM
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@Yidney: Yes, mboemparts (Naperville) is who part.com was using for my orders. I just cut out the middleman and saved a few dollars from parts.com's handling fees. I have had very good service from Naperville - a few times, they have sent the wrong part (happens when I order for more than one car and they don't look at my notes regarding different VINs) and every time, they have paid return shipping and shipped the correct replacement overnight. Now, I just call and :remind" them when I order for multiple cars. Last order, I noticed they added separate lines on each part for VIN, so this must have been a way to solve this issue (which is something I can appreciate).

@mis3: Brake cleaner might work, but why not get some actual electrical contact cleaner? I bought some at Advance Auto (one of their stock brands) and it's a miracle! I use it on all sort of dirty electrical contacts. Brake parts cleaner usually has kerosene which can leave a residue where electrical contact cleaner is oil-free.
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Old May 6, 2017 | 09:52 PM
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I used brake cleaner just because I have some at home.
Good to know about this electrical contact cleaner. I will get some.
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