Switching from US to European Tail Lights

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Mar 28, 2021 | 07:31 AM

#51

Alex79

Newbie

Joined: Mar 2021

Posts: 1

Likes: 0

From: România, Brașov

Mercedes glc 300

Who can help me With retrofit glc tail Lights from USA to Europe?
Which wires I must change în rear Sam?
Thanks

Mar 30, 2021 | 07:01 PM

#52

JakeW213

Senior Member

Joined: May 2020

Posts: 251

Likes: 67

From: North

W213 220d from 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mansoor324

hello dear
i have changed the rear tail light to European one and fit to the cable of US ,, so the turn signal works fine in Amber but when I press the break the turn signal in Amber is become consistent Amber and no blinking I made all the program in the work shop but they could not solve this problem. So please do you have Any Idea .
best regards

As I understand, the us code makes the rear lights both be blinkers and brakelights. In the rest of the world these are done on 2 different lights.

So it needs to be coded to work on 2 different lights, it sounds like you have just changed the wires... and now your amber lights works as both braking and turn signals.

Mar 27, 2024 | 12:17 AM

#53

Billyismyname

Super Member

Joined: Aug 2019

Posts: 594

Likes: 171

From: USA to Germany

W221/W222/W213/X290

I'm looking to ship my W213 US Spec out to Europe and to register it over there. Before I can do that I need to swap out the rear tail lights to the EU spec with yellow/amber turn signals. I was going to buy the ones off of eBay that another user posted on here (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-Be...s/153425496161) but know I need different cables/connectors and possibly to rewire. Any insight on this? Was anyone able to figure this out?

May 2, 2024 | 11:52 AM

#54

Vole2

Newbie

Joined: Apr 2024

Posts: 6

Likes: 0

Gls

Hi I was wondering if anyone can assist in locating and adding a wire in the rear SAM of a GLS X166. I have red blinkers and need amber. I bought some EU aftermarket lights but need to know where to look

Last edited by Vole2; May 2, 2024 at 12:16 PM.

May 2, 2024 | 07:32 PM

#55

Cao Black

Super Member

Joined: Nov 2013

Posts: 740

Likes: 175

From: NorCal

2015 ML350+2025 E350

Does anyone else find it ironic that when Mercedes "facelifted" the W213 they suddenly thought there no reason not to have amber rear turn indicators. What changed?

May 3, 2024 | 06:37 AM

#56

YYC53

Member

Joined: Mar 2024

Posts: 249

Likes: 49

2020 E53 AMG

Something worth considering is that Canadian cars have the LED headlights and the US spec rear minimum square cubits of red brake light area rear brake lights. If I understand this the coding would be a third version and different than US and Europe.

Jul 24, 2024 | 05:27 PM

#57

kelogs

Newbie

Joined: Jul 2024

Posts: 2

Likes: 0

CLE Cabriolet

What about those US-spec MBs that do not have coding option ?
There is solution making it easier to install than running two extra wires; only work inside the boot!
I'll be around

Jan 29, 2026 | 10:18 AM

#58

Rajeezy

Newbie

Joined: Jan 2026

Posts: 1

Likes: 0

2015 C63s AMG Edition 1

Which pin do I need to reconnect?

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Feb 1, 2026 | 02:09 PM

#59

kelogs

Newbie

Joined: Jul 2024

Posts: 2

Likes: 0

CLE Cabriolet

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rajeezy

Which pin do I need to reconnect?

6 pins - https://rearlightsbox.eu/

Feb 5, 2026 | 11:31 PM

#60

Billyismyname

Super Member

Joined: Aug 2019

Posts: 594

Likes: 171

From: USA to Germany

W221/W222/W213/X290

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freywaldau

1. You need to cut off parts of US connector so it fits into Euro lights
2. No wire has to be removed or added, but you need to reconnect to a different pin on Euro lights
3. Then coding rear sam unit and resetting it
This procedure was good enough for my car. The rear lights now flash in amber in the clear strip below red brake led.

Do you or anyone else on this thread who got the EU/ROW tailights to work have any pictures or how to reconnect to a different pin on the EU lights? From what I understand the actual connector shapes are different on the EU and US taillights. What exactly needs to be modified for the connector to fit?

Feb 6, 2026 | 09:05 AM

#61

trigital

MBWorld Fanatic!

Joined: Dec 2011

Posts: 1,693

Likes: 489

From: Spain UTC/GMT +2 hours

W213 All-terrain

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billyismyname

Pin 3 left taillight to Pin 3 Connector HL on Rear SAM module
Pin 3 right taillight to Pin 12 Connector HR on Rear SAM module

Now need to coding the Rear SAM BC_R213

The following codings are generic as almost each car is different.

VCD_OLC_Allgemein
Diagnosepin Blinkfunktion change Bremslicht 1 to Fahrtrichtungsanzeiger

VCD_OLC_Blinker
PLSM_HW_FRA_HL change off to on
PLSM_HW_FRA_HR change off to on

VCD_OLC_Blinker_HW
Freigabe_FRA hinten links change disable to enable
Freigabe_FRA hinten rechts change disable to enable
Kanalabschaltung_FRA hinten links change disable to enable
Kanalabschaltung_FRA hinten rechts change disable to enable

OLC Bremslicht Write
PLSM_FRA_auf_BLS1_enable change on to off
PLSM_FRA_auf_BLS2_enable change on to off

Hard Reset!

Feb 6, 2026 | 06:19 PM

#62

Billyismyname

Super Member

Joined: Aug 2019

Posts: 594

Likes: 171

From: USA to Germany

W221/W222/W213/X290

Quote:

Originally Posted by trigital

sounds like a lot of work 🤣

Feb 6, 2026 | 06:21 PM

#63

trigital

MBWorld Fanatic!

Joined: Dec 2011

Posts: 1,693

Likes: 489

From: Spain UTC/GMT +2 hours

W213 All-terrain

Yes, like 20 minutes
2 wires and 5 minutes of coding, welcome anyway

Last edited by trigital; Feb 6, 2026 at 06:22 PM.

Feb 9, 2026 | 07:58 PM

#64

Billyismyname

Super Member

Joined: Aug 2019

Posts: 594

Likes: 171

From: USA to Germany

W221/W222/W213/X290

Quote:

Originally Posted by executiV

The ones I am looking at:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-Be...s/153425496161

The seller says they are Plug and Play

Did you end up buying these?

Last edited by Billyismyname; Feb 9, 2026 at 07:59 PM.

Feb 9, 2026 | 08:00 PM

#65

Billyismyname

Super Member

Joined: Aug 2019

Posts: 594

Likes: 171

From: USA to Germany

W221/W222/W213/X290

Quote:

Originally Posted by executiV

For someone considering this mod, does anyone know which UK part #s are a best match for installing into a 2018MY US spec W213?

A2139067900 and A2139068000

or

A2139067700 and A2139067800

or are they the same?

I know your comment is about 6 years old but for anyone wondering I did some digging and found that the first set is for RHD vehicles and the second set is for EU (Germany, France, rest of Europe). Europe/LHD: A2139067700 / A2139067800.

UK/Ireland/RHD: A2139067900 / A2139068000.

That being said, does anyone have any pictures or a step for step on how to accomplish the wiring/plugs? I can disassemble an entire engine and put it back together but when it comes to wiring I’m completely lost.

Apr 25, 2026 | 09:47 AM

#66

Zhyper13

Newbie

Joined: Nov 2017

Posts: 5

Likes: 4

2004 Mercedes-Benz S500 4Matic

Life saver

Quote:

Originally Posted by trigital

Trigital, you’re awesome. I bought the EU taillights and updated the rear SAM coding, and everything worked perfectly. I also went a step further and picked up the EU taillights with the proper connector so the setup looks more factory.

The install was pretty straightforward. I did have to adjust a few additional parameters in the stop_light coding beyond what you mentioned. Basically, I disabled anything related to the turn signal in that menu; otherwise, the car kept throwing a “check turn signal” error even though everything was functioning correctly.

I did have to run the two extra wires, but since the SAM is right in the trunk, that part was easy.

Thanks again, I’m really happy with how it turned out. I’ll post some pictures later.

Apr 25, 2026 | 09:55 AM

#67

Zhyper13

Newbie

Joined: Nov 2017

Posts: 5

Likes: 4

2004 Mercedes-Benz S500 4Matic

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billyismyname

I can try to take photos later, but the process is very straightforward. Look for the HL and HR connectors on the rear SAM, which is located on the right side of the trunk. You’ll need to remove the trunk lining on that side; the SAM sits behind the fuse box.

I definitely recommend getting your hands on a used Mercedes connector so you can add the pins directly into the factory plug. Four pins should be enough. The right taillight is very close to the SAM, so running the wires there is simple. The left side is a bit farther, but still easy once you locate the connectors — just run the wire across and plug everything in.

For the coding, a Topdon scanner worked perfectly for me. There are probably other options besides the Xentry system that can handle the coding as well.