1998 E320 Wagon - Replace Third (Middle) Brake Light
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Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 40
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From: San Diego, California
1998 E320 Wagon 253K miles
1998 E320 Wagon - Replace Third (Middle) Brake Light
My wagon's third (middle) brake light went out, and looking at the inside of the tailgate, figured there had to be an easier way than removing the whole interior panel. There is!
Pull gently outward the top middle of the interior fabric panel (first photo) so that you see a semicircle shaped metal plate. Mine had the numbers 187 915 on it. At both ends of the long side you'll see two red plastic tabs. Using a small flat screwdriver, carefully pry each tab so that the ends come loose.
After I did the tabs, I couldn't quite figure out how to untab the two metal tabs at the bottom of the plate, so I just had to force the plate out. The downside is that I couldn't get the plate back on later, Oh well.
Now that you've got the plate off, the bulb (just one) is right there in the center. Push and twist until the bulb pops out. You might get a better grip if you use latex gloves, which I didn't. Be careful not to drop the bulb or the plate because it will fall down into the tailgate and will be somewhat of a pain to get out.
So the new bulbs I got at Carquest read 7506LL. Installing the new bulb seemed a bit harder to me. Had to try a couple times to make sure it was in there securely, but finally got it.
Test the light first before you reattach the metal plate. Depending how you got your plate off, you'll have to secure the metal and red plastic tabs.
Good luck!
Pull gently outward the top middle of the interior fabric panel (first photo) so that you see a semicircle shaped metal plate. Mine had the numbers 187 915 on it. At both ends of the long side you'll see two red plastic tabs. Using a small flat screwdriver, carefully pry each tab so that the ends come loose.
After I did the tabs, I couldn't quite figure out how to untab the two metal tabs at the bottom of the plate, so I just had to force the plate out. The downside is that I couldn't get the plate back on later, Oh well.
Now that you've got the plate off, the bulb (just one) is right there in the center. Push and twist until the bulb pops out. You might get a better grip if you use latex gloves, which I didn't. Be careful not to drop the bulb or the plate because it will fall down into the tailgate and will be somewhat of a pain to get out.
So the new bulbs I got at Carquest read 7506LL. Installing the new bulb seemed a bit harder to me. Had to try a couple times to make sure it was in there securely, but finally got it.
Test the light first before you reattach the metal plate. Depending how you got your plate off, you'll have to secure the metal and red plastic tabs.
Good luck!
