please help...Tail Lamp Brake lamp left and right substitute bulbs on !!!!
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 54
Likes: 0
From: Central Indiana
2006 MB R350
please help...Tail Lamps & Brake lamps L/R not working, Substitute bulbs are ON!!!!
I keep getting this message on my dash and I'm getting tired of looking at it. I was trying to locate the problem over the weekend but couldn't figure it out. I have searched all over the forums and the web for answers but i did'nt find what im looking for...other then MB makes and fix kit for this problem and there is a TSB announment for this problem. I am looking for a DIY FIX so I can fix this myself because I'm pretty sure its something simple like re-wireing the hot wire to another location etc. So if anyone has had these issues with their taillights and could tell me what I can do to get it straightened out I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance!
Last edited by vwfreak; Jan 3, 2014 at 07:16 PM.
Member
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 99
Likes: 1
R500
The problem is the engineering of the bulb socket. There is a thread on it somewhere. I think the ground wire is not provided in the harness, or something like that. If the bulb is actually good, sometimes you can take them out and re-seat them and it will work. It's a bit of a pain to figure out which bulb is not working right. I had it happen twice, made little mod and it hasn't happened since. Use a known good bulb to test with so you know when you get the bad bulb. And they are a bit inconvenient to manipulate.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 54
Likes: 0
From: Central Indiana
2006 MB R350
The light that is giving me the problem is the tail lamp bulb. That's the only bulb that actually has a positive and ground wire coming off the socket. It is the bulb at the top that makes the taillight red when the lights are on, and the same bulb also plays the part of the brake lights when applied. I was testing the bulbs to make sure they were working so I swapped the bulbs from side to side and they worked fine... untll I touched the brake pedal then the same problem. I've looked up pictures of the fix kit on google and I don't see anything different with that socket and wires from what I already have. I might try tapping into the hot wire for the substitute bulbs and going from there... just a idea.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 279
Likes: 13
From: Western Canada
S320 GL350
I lived with the same problem for about 2 years (and my substitute bulbs on both sides) and finally fixed it - one of the controllers was fried - early models had a bad design (tin where the bulbs rotate into warps and doesn't make good contact anymore).
Anyway - My advice is to take the car to the dealer and have a new taillight installed - several hundred bucks but you get your tail lamps back as designed and I must say I prefer the wrap-around light rather than the sub bulbs.
(And forget about the earlier solution which was wired sockets for installing and de-pinning certain contacts). I still have one in a parts bag that I never used.
Anyway - My advice is to take the car to the dealer and have a new taillight installed - several hundred bucks but you get your tail lamps back as designed and I must say I prefer the wrap-around light rather than the sub bulbs.
(And forget about the earlier solution which was wired sockets for installing and de-pinning certain contacts). I still have one in a parts bag that I never used.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 54
Likes: 0
From: Central Indiana
2006 MB R350
I'm really looking for some insight on a DIY. I get a lot of satisfaction from fixing problems on my own. Hopefully I will have some time tomorrow to work on the lights some more.
Super Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 556
Likes: 4
2011 C300 4matic, 2015 Porsche Macan S, 2006 R500 (sold)
It is a known problem and mine was fixed by the replacing the wiring by the dealer. If you are able to figure out the solution, please post it here. Also, check out this post::
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w251...ml#post4592248
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w251...ml#post4592248
Member
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 141
Likes: 11
From: Mt. Sinai, NY
2013 E350 wagon cuprite brown; sold:2014 ML63; R500 Saks Edition; R500; more W124s than I can count
I just had this happen and the fix took me a total of 15 minutes and $45 for two factory repair harnesses [164 826 0007]...here is the DIY:
http://www.justanswer.com/mercedes/4...r350-stop.html
if anyone needs help with it after reading the explicit tutorial, let me know.
http://www.justanswer.com/mercedes/4...r350-stop.html
if anyone needs help with it after reading the explicit tutorial, let me know.
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Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 54
Likes: 0
From: Central Indiana
2006 MB R350
Sorry I never got back to this but I guess I got lucky on my problem. After trouble shooting some more I discovered one of the bulbs started to flicker. So I replaced the bulbs and haven't had a problem since. Fingers crossed
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