Can anyone tell me how to wire up a high level brake light on my W124 E280 1995 (saloon) RHD!.

I've read of problems with the "bulb out warning light" on the dash.

Can I just tap into the wiring behind one of the rear lights? or will that make the warning light glow?
I don't suppose there's already a spur wire somewhere under the back shelf (as these lights were fitted for some markets).

Can anyone help?

Also, Eurocarparts and others advertise a pollen filter element for these late W124's with A/C. Where is this unit to be found? - I've looked everywhere with no success!!!

Thanks in advance,

Doug

 

Doug-
(Maybe the two Dougs can help each other out, as my name is Doug as well )
You can tap into the rear lights but that may dim the rear lights and/or light the warning lamp that says that there is a light out. I sure wrote a lot of "lights" that sentence. Anyway, their should be a wire running where the third light usually is. If not, go to www.adsitco.com and check out their information about a third brake light, I think they sell them and may have instructions. If not on their website, give them a call.

Your 280, I assume, as rear fog lamps. These were banned in the US until the late 90's. I was wondering if you could describe that wiring harness back there to me. I was going to install rear fogs, and actually did, but they were installed into the cigarrete lighter. I may end up just putting strobe lights in the fog slots anyway because I will be volunteer policemen of sorts.

Speaking of that...

Anyone have any idea how to install an American headlight intermediate flash relay into a German car? Thats the one where the headlights flash once left once right once left and so on. Like a cop car...

Good luck Doug!

 

Late 124 filters [ 2 of them] are located under air intake under hood. [ bonnet ? ]
Just below wiper assembly

 

Thanks Arthur,

Am I to understand that there are two (identical) pollen filters?

Do I have to remove the windscreen (windshield?) wiper to remove the covers?

Your previous help with regard to the A/C fans has proved to be 100% correct and I have now fully functioning A/C - without overheating!

Regards,

Doug

 

The rubber below wind screen and all the plastic parts
There are two filters, side by side..

 

Hi,
in order to connect the high level brake light, you should use the standard kid sold by the Mercedes dealers. This wires directly onto the pedal switch, and runs directly to the H.L braeklight. Doing this prevents problems with the bulb failure indication relay. You can also do it w/o using the official kid, but you need to connect to main brake switch (and lay a wire from the front to the back) and not to the wiring in the back of the car.
About the pollen filters I have only one experience with after market products, which is not good because it reduces the air flow dramatically. I have no experience with originally equipped cars.

 

Thanks for that. Please forgive my idiot level of electrical know-how but would this work?

Instead of taking power from behind a rear light (and thereby upsetting the power-draw and causing the dashboard warning to glow), could I double up the wiring, run one to EACH rear light cluster, and therefore take power from BOTH lights - powering the new light equally from each back light.

Will this work, or am I way off the beam?

 

This option wont do you any good. The thing is that the bulb failure indication works on the symmetrical load of the all the lights which are exisiting in pairs (head lights, brake lights, turn lights....) If you now just add one light on one side, the symmetry is disturbed and the indicationlight goes on. If you run the wire directly from the pedal switch than the center brake light is not part of the symmetry check.

 

Hi,

I have installed an additional brake light that is made of some 20? LEDs straight in line onto the rear windscreen. I just soldered the the wires to the right side rear brake lamp. So far, no problem with the brake lamp failure indicator.

 

Hi Tazo,
this might be ok, since those LED's are drawing much less current, and the asymmetry of the circuit is still acceptable to the monitoring device.