mariusg

Front dome lights, map lights, vanity mirror lights, footwell lights and door lights suddenly stopped working on my 2003 E220 wagon. Rear dome lights work fine.

Pano roof also not working, but I think it's the switch on the overhead console that doesn't work and not the roof itself. Switches #009 and #040 are fine.

Any help? Tried all kinds of combinations with the buttons and switches on the panel but to no avail.

rustybear3

Have you checked the fuses?

mariusg

Ah, just noticed the typo in my post. Meant to write fuses #009 and #040 are fine. In my car that's the fuses for "roof unit" and "top switch panel". They looked fine, but I swapped them out for fresh ones just in case. Still, no lights

Any other fuses that could be the problem?

rustybear3

Have you check any fuses marked as light fuses? I would suspect a short circuit, but then you'd have some blown fuses. If all fuses check fine, then my next guess would be an open circuit somewhere in wiring.

rustybear3

Check your door jamb, usually a rubber boot covers it. The switch can then be unbolted or unscrewed. If you have a multimeter, you can test the switch by connecting to both terminals and checking for continuity. You can then activate the switch and check again. If the reading doesn’t change, then the switch is bad.

mariusg

Fuses check out, will have to borrow a multimeter later for the door...

Could the whole top switch panel assembly be defective? Would that affect footwell, door and vanity mirror lights?

rustybear3

Anything is possible, depends on how it's all wired. Yes, it could affect all those lights and perhaps your roof as well. The fact that both your roof and lights have failed at the same time really points to it. Certainly worth investigating and checking for open circuits in the assembly. Hopefully, the assembly is not terribly expensive or hard to get.

mariusg

Alright, I'll check it and come back if I figure something out. Thanks for the help!

konigstiger

Best to have someone check for fault codes using MB diagnostics for definitive diagnose i.e.: faulty OCP. DIY, could be moisture/corrosion. Pull overhead control panel (OCP) to check underneath, check CAN B connections, and ground.

mariusg

Thanks! Very helpful pictures
Pulled down the OCP, checked and reseated all the cables -- fine as far as I can tell. Quite a bit of rust (?) and lots of mint-green residue around the bulb sockets. Will check the CAN B connections tomorrow. Gonna try getting the error codes out of it before I pay for a replacement assembly.

rustybear3

That rust is very telling. Looks like a roof leak somewhere made it's way into the assembly. Most likely your problem is there.

mariusg

A leak is worrying in its own right...

But I have ordered a replacement overhead control panel from eBay. Will report back once it has arrived!

mariusg

Replaced the overhead control panel with a new one. All lights are now working, including footwell and vanity mirror lights. I suspect this was the reason it failed...