silverspecial

Hey all, my 07 R350 is approaching 35k miles and I've started getting some sporadic message center errors pertaining to burned out bulbs. It all started with my passenger side low beam headlight, got the message and replaced the bulb with Silverstars...problem solved. A couple of weeks later I got a message about the front left parking light being burned out, sure enough it was out. I went a couple of days without replacing it and then it magically came back on and the error stopped. Finally the same exact thing happened to the passenger rear brake light, it went off for a couple of days and then came back on. To boot, now my Ipod kit is saying "CD Error" for about 5 seconds every time I turn on the Ipod, along with a sporadic Check Engine light. Am I in electrical gremlin hell or what?

heron25

have you checked all the wire/cable connections to your bulbs? I noticed that on my front parking lights, the wires had loosened up on their own and gave me an error message.

silverspecial

Good point, I thought since it was happening on all corners of the car that wouldn't be the case with multiple lights and such. I'll still stick my hands in there where I can to see if there's anything loose.

Scotsman

Funnily enough, my tail/brake light warning came on. When I drove up to the shop to buy a replacement it dawned on me there was no longer a warning, so check it and it was working fine. It's happened a couple of time now, always with the same bulb though, luckily for me. Nothing appears loose and the bulb looks OK, so maybe it's on its way out, so I'll replace it anyway for all it costs.

avlis

I had similar bulb issues with my 2002 C-Class. Sometimes the contacts in the socket will grow an oxide layer that needs to be rubbed off with fine sandpaper or pencil eraser.

Sometimes the filaments inside the bulb will detach from one electrode. It will make intermittent contact and turn itself on and off.

pepperpot53

Our recently purchased 2006 had same issues with rear lights. I contacted local Mercedes dealer and they fixed it without any problems or cost. Seems it was a known problem with this vehicle.

dora

same messages on my 2002 C 240 !!! it happened when my CAR was at shop for wheel change, dealer said it may due to sensor issue and he will look into it next time as I was sechduled down just for wheel change and they were booked for the day

silverspecial

Turns out it's a known issue with the rear brake lights, the dealer will replace the whole light I guess to fix it. I've burned out my second straight light after only a month, don't waste your cash and just take it in.

dora

When its a known issue - should trigger automatic "RECALL" by MB

silverspecial

I agree, at least my service advisor knew about the issue and immediately brought up replacing the assembly to fix the situation

harnische

06 R-350 has sporadic tail light error.
I can usually fix it by just pulling the socket, cleaning and bending the pins and re-installing it.

Operation:
The bulb needs a connection to "+" and "-". The "wireless" socket picks up the "+" and the "-" from the light fixture itself. One pin on the socket touches a piece of sheet metal that is connected to "+", the other touches piece of sheet metal that touches "-". If both connections are good, the light comes on.

A poor connection basically tells the onboard computer that the light is burned out. It appears that if either the right or left bulb has a bad connection, the computer switches both sides to the emergency bulbs (You still have full running lights, and brake lights). This now causes you all the error messages: Left & Right Brake Light, Left and Right Running Light etc.

I inspected my fixture and noticed 2 things:
1. The light fixture sheet metal on my driver side tail light is somewhat loose, meaning is flexes. So it's not being held in place, which could allow it to move away from the socket contact, reducing contact pressure and hence provide a poor connection.
2. The socket itself, both contacts are pushed in and appear to be able to move further downward, than they should. This movement also causes reduced contact pressure and hence a poor connection.

Basically, in my assessment the poor connection is the culprit.
-> the computer thinks the bulb is burned out (open circuit) and goes into "emergency" mode and switches the functions to the backup light.

Your options:
Option 1:
Go to dealer, have them fix it. They may appease you and say they installed a new bulb, maybe charge you, maybe not. Or, they'll need to diagnose, charge you ~$100 diagnostic fee, tell you a fix and then charge you for the fix, and credit the diagnostic fee...
Based on some forum postings, this is anything from a new wiring harness to a new computer, wiring harness and other exotic repair explanations.
Option 2:
Get the repair kit from MB parts desk and install (~$15 per side). The kit takes the connection directly to the connector. You may need to ask which pins you need to replace. Basically you are by-passing the light-fixtures "+" and "-" sheet-metal leads and go back to the connector where the whole tail-light plugs into.
Option 3:
Figure out a way to improve the contact pressure: Check for corrosion at the contacts. I had no corrosion so I did the following:
Removed the socket, removed the bulb. Take a small zip-tie. Insert it at the base of the socket and make a loop, cut off excess zip-tie. This prevents the bulb contact from moving down-ward.
NOTE: If your zip-tie is too big, the two pins will touch when the bulb is installed. Your error will remain due to a short (instead of an "open" this time).
You'll notice the pins may protrude a bit further up, giving you better contact pressure. Reinstall the bulb. Reinstall the socket. Be sure to properly seat the socket, as you have more resistance due to the pins sitting slightly higher.
If you have the same message, inspect your socket with bulb, to see if they are touching, i.e. a short. Also, there a great variety of zip-ties, so you may need to double up, or step down a size. Also play with going around the side of the socket, or around the bottom. A multimeter can tell you if you're shorted when the bulb is installed. Also, the car seems to only recheck the bulbs for errors when the car is re-started. So install bulbs, start the car, and push on the brakes. Of the Errors are gone, you should be on your way.
So far, this works for me.
Use this fix at your own risk.