Mercedes w213 Ambient Light doesn't work properly
W213 ambient lights brightness stuck on 8%
I'm trying to give an answer here so that we don't look for another answer if this resolution of mine is beneficial to others.
I had the same problem and I started looking on the internet without realizing that I had changed the pollen filter. What I mean is that when you change the pollen filter on the right side of the driver, the plastic that will have to be disassembled will be 2 threadsOne is for the temperature sensor (the warm air that will circulate the car) and a second for the light under the feet. When disconnected it will turn off the lighting under the feet of both front passengers and half the lighting on the driver's side (as in the presentations above, It is seen that even the ambient light does not work at the feet anymore) Try to see if these 2 contacts are well put back in place, to me that was the problem and I would not have realized if I had not changed my pollen filter myself.
It is possible that sometimes after service B or A (when replacing air filters) some "craftsmen" forget to put back the two wires Excuse me if I made mistakes in expression
I had the same problem and I started looking on the internet without realizing that I had changed the pollen filter. What I mean is that when you change the pollen filter on the right side of the driver, the plastic that will have to be disassembled will be 2 threadsOne is for the temperature sensor (the warm air that will circulate the car) and a second for the light under the feet. When disconnected it will turn off the lighting under the feet of both front passengers and half the lighting on the driver's side (as in the presentations above, It is seen that even the ambient light does not work at the feet anymore) Try to see if these 2 contacts are well put back in place, to me that was the problem and I would not have realized if I had not changed my pollen filter myself.
It is possible that sometimes after service B or A (when replacing air filters) some "craftsmen" forget to put back the two wires Excuse me if I made mistakes in expression
I have w213 ..2018 model . Upgraded small screen and NTG5 host to wide screen digital and host to 5.5... Audio 20
Two problems.
Ambient lights change color but brightness only goes upto 8% then turns off .
Error :
Communication with one or several color generation and coupling modules on Lin Bus 7 is faulty
2nd issue .isnavigation sd card not reading
Can any one help
Thank you in advance
I'm trying to give an answer here so that we don't look for another answer if this resolution of mine is beneficial to others.
I had the same problem and I started looking on the internet without realizing that I had changed the pollen filter. What I mean is that when you change the pollen filter on the right side of the driver, the plastic that will have to be disassembled will be 2 threadsOne is for the temperature sensor (the warm air that will circulate the car) and a second for the light under the feet. When disconnected it will turn off the lighting under the feet of both front passengers and half the lighting on the driver's side (as in the presentations above, It is seen that even the ambient light does not work at the feet anymore) Try to see if these 2 contacts are well put back in place, to me that was the problem and I would not have realized if I had not changed my pollen filter myself.
It is possible that sometimes after service B or A (when replacing air filters) some "craftsmen" forget to put back the two wires Excuse me if I made mistakes in expression
I had the same problem and I started looking on the internet without realizing that I had changed the pollen filter. What I mean is that when you change the pollen filter on the right side of the driver, the plastic that will have to be disassembled will be 2 threadsOne is for the temperature sensor (the warm air that will circulate the car) and a second for the light under the feet. When disconnected it will turn off the lighting under the feet of both front passengers and half the lighting on the driver's side (as in the presentations above, It is seen that even the ambient light does not work at the feet anymore) Try to see if these 2 contacts are well put back in place, to me that was the problem and I would not have realized if I had not changed my pollen filter myself.
It is possible that sometimes after service B or A (when replacing air filters) some "craftsmen" forget to put back the two wires Excuse me if I made mistakes in expression
Thanks!
Senior Member

Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 497
Likes: 3
From: Ontario
2019 E450 Coupe 4Matic; 2018 Audi Q5; 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback
I had my car replaced the cabin filter last September. I did not notice the footwell lamp that was not "on" until today.
I removed the under dash cover and found out the wire was disconnected. I searched everywhere under the dash and I could not find the connector.
My car is the C238 coupe and the plastic panel is extremely hard to remove under dash (actually do not know how to remove)
I am taking it back to the garage which replaced the cabin filter and let them figure out where is the connector.
My driver side ambient light does not work as well.
Last edited by Ultraman; Mar 28, 2024 at 02:39 PM.
Back to this old thread, are we talking about the white color connector that connected to the footwell lamp?
I had my car replaced the cabin filter last September. I did not notice the footwell lamp that was not "on" until today.
I removed the under dash cover and found out the wire was disconnected. I searched everywhere under the dash and I could not find the connector.
My car is the C238 coupe and the plastic panel is extremely hard to remove under dash (actually do not know how to remove)
I am taking it back to the garage which replaced the cabin filter and let them figure out where is the connector.
My driver side ambient light does not work as well.
I had my car replaced the cabin filter last September. I did not notice the footwell lamp that was not "on" until today.
I removed the under dash cover and found out the wire was disconnected. I searched everywhere under the dash and I could not find the connector.
My car is the C238 coupe and the plastic panel is extremely hard to remove under dash (actually do not know how to remove)
I am taking it back to the garage which replaced the cabin filter and let them figure out where is the connector.
My driver side ambient light does not work as well.
Senior Member

Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 497
Likes: 3
From: Ontario
2019 E450 Coupe 4Matic; 2018 Audi Q5; 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback
I connected the connector to the footwell lamp and everything was back to normal now.
So, in the future if someone has this similar problem, check the footwell light connector first especially after the replacement of the cabin filter.
Thanks to the one who mentioned about the light connector in this thread.
Senior Member

Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 497
Likes: 3
From: Ontario
2019 E450 Coupe 4Matic; 2018 Audi Q5; 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback
Hi Guys,
Do the ambient lights even turn "ON" during daytime? How do you set them to turn the ambient lights automatically on when there is not enough lights outside?
Do the ambient lights even turn "ON" during daytime? How do you set them to turn the ambient lights automatically on when there is not enough lights outside?
Managed to fix it
FIXED THIS ISSUE !
So like others, my ambient lights stopped working all but the drivers door. I was very confused.
Simply fixed by replacing the fuse 468 in the fuse box located in the boot on the right hand side. The fuse *** is covered by a carpeted panel tnear the boot swing arm.
There is a paper leaflet with a full diagram in there and it shows you which fuse is which.
The fuse is a 7.5a nano fuse. I didnt have any to hand so I used another 7.5a fuse which controlled thw Parktronic system. Weirdly, the park tronic still works even though I swapped the 2. So I dont know if removing it fixed it, or swapping it fixed it. Fact is, its all sorted
So like others, my ambient lights stopped working all but the drivers door. I was very confused.
Simply fixed by replacing the fuse 468 in the fuse box located in the boot on the right hand side. The fuse *** is covered by a carpeted panel tnear the boot swing arm.
There is a paper leaflet with a full diagram in there and it shows you which fuse is which.
The fuse is a 7.5a nano fuse. I didnt have any to hand so I used another 7.5a fuse which controlled thw Parktronic system. Weirdly, the park tronic still works even though I swapped the 2. So I dont know if removing it fixed it, or swapping it fixed it. Fact is, its all sorted
I just spent 30 minutes remove the plastic panel and searched the connector for the footwell light and I finally found it behind the carpet. The guy from the garage forgot to plug it back.
I connected the connector to the footwell lamp and everything was back to normal now.
So, in the future if someone has this similar problem, check the footwell light connector first especially after the replacement of the cabin filter.
Thanks to the one who mentioned about the light connector in this thread.
I connected the connector to the footwell lamp and everything was back to normal now.
So, in the future if someone has this similar problem, check the footwell light connector first especially after the replacement of the cabin filter.
Thanks to the one who mentioned about the light connector in this thread.
Also changing the 468 fuse in the boot worked for me.
So you don't know if the fuse was bad? Did you test it or visually inspect it to see if the connection is broken? It's possible it just needed to be reseated. You should switch them back to see if it still works.
Fuse Nr. 417 reset ambient light controller
FIXED THIS ISSUE !
So like others, my ambient lights stopped working all but the drivers door. I was very confused.
Simply fixed by replacing the fuse 468 in the fuse box located in the boot on the right hand side. The fuse *** is covered by a carpeted panel tnear the boot swing arm.
There is a paper leaflet with a full diagram in there and it shows you which fuse is which.
The fuse is a 7.5a nano fuse. I didnt have any to hand so I used another 7.5a fuse which controlled thw Parktronic system. Weirdly, the park tronic still works even though I swapped the 2. So I dont know if removing it fixed it, or swapping it fixed it. Fact is, its all sorted
So like others, my ambient lights stopped working all but the drivers door. I was very confused.
Simply fixed by replacing the fuse 468 in the fuse box located in the boot on the right hand side. The fuse *** is covered by a carpeted panel tnear the boot swing arm.
There is a paper leaflet with a full diagram in there and it shows you which fuse is which.
The fuse is a 7.5a nano fuse. I didnt have any to hand so I used another 7.5a fuse which controlled thw Parktronic system. Weirdly, the park tronic still works even though I swapped the 2. So I dont know if removing it fixed it, or swapping it fixed it. Fact is, its all sorted
After I tried all the tricks I found in some forums I checked fuse No 417 in the trunk. My multimeter told me that it was fine but I pulled it out anywhy. Afterwards even the ambient light at the drivers door switches off. when I replaced the fuse 417 and started ignition all the ambient lighting was restored! So basically I think the controller crashed or was stuck in a undefinded status and it needs only to powercycle (what wasn‘t the case while the car is locked and parked for 24 hours).
I hope this helps somebody not to burn a lot of money for a new LED Controller or whatever…
greetings
Same thing happened in my car, dealer said it was a faulty ambient light under the wood panel, once they replaced it, it completes the circuit and all the lights work again including the footwell, costs 1600 USD.
yes what can you do though, its not that bad, most of it was the labor, and i dont have the time or the patience to do it myself.
Offers a 2 year warranty so if it happens again i just bring it back and they fix it again.
Offers a 2 year warranty so if it happens again i just bring it back and they fix it again.
Last edited by DKNYC; Oct 17, 2025 at 07:19 AM.
Super Member



Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 620
Likes: 248
From: Suburban Maryland
2023 E 450 Sedan. 2018 GLC 300. 2013 E 350 Coupe (retired)
No way it took them that long to figure it out and do the work. If they have to replace within two years, I assume you get the bulb free, and again have the pleasure of paying 4 hours labor for thirty minutes of work.
Understood, but again not much more i can do and just prefer spending the money and picking up the car fixed, if i have more problems will just get a new S class next and the 4 year warranty on the car. Got a great deal when i ordered the car as well, MSRP was 66k and bought for 55K, now you cant get a new E350 with the same options for less than 80k.
Ambient light near steering wheel and front passenger well light fix
My local MB dealer installed new cabin air filter (passenger side foot well) but did not reconnect wire harness. I noticed issue because LED ambient light under steering wheel area and the regular white light in passenger side foot well wasn’t on. Sure enough, I reconnected and problems solved. Hope this helps others.
Had the same problem after a service B. They installed the cabin filter and just shoved the connector back in but not secured it. Footwell light was off and so was the ambient lighting right and left of the steering wheel. Once connected properly everything was back on. Didn’t bother to go back to the dealer…






