Tail light pics needed w123. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Renntag · #1 02-19-2012, 09:31 PM

Hello Peachparts friends.

I was just pulled over by the Virginia State Police for having "no tail lights".
Surprised I asked to see and went to look. Yep. They are working.

He went so far as to say " the only reason they light at all is because my lights are shining on them. " I tried not to laugh as I didn't want a ticket.

I explained that the car was 30 years old (he wasnt yet) and they were this 'bright' as long as I have owned the car. I also mentioned it is inspected and passes every year. Never failing for tail lights.

I mentioned that I would check other cars of the same vintage and compare lumens.

I have a pic I took on the side of the road a few minutes ago it is too big to upload here.

Anyone interested, please post yours. No flash please.

Thanks.

t walgamuth · #2 02-19-2012, 10:25 PM

Reminds me of when I was stopped by a local gendarme for a similar beef in my 62 190c. The tail light portion was roughly the size of my thumbnail and I had a broken lense on one of them with a red painted bulb in it while waiting for a new one I had ordered. When I appeared in traffic court I was able to tell the judge that I had installed a new lense since the stop and he dismissed the ticket IIRC.

vstech · #3 02-20-2012, 12:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renntag

Hello Peachparts friends.

I was just pulled over by the Virginia State Police for having "no tail lights".
Surprised I asked to see and went to look. Yep. They are working.

He went so far as to say " the only reason they light at all is because my lights are shining on them. " I tried not to laugh as I didn't want a ticket.

I explained that the car was 30 years old (he wasnt yet) and they were this 'bright' as long as I have owned the car. I also mentioned it is inspected and passes every year. Never failing for tail lights.

I mentioned that I would check other cars of the same vintage and compare lumens.

I have a pic I took on the side of the road a few minutes ago it is too big to upload here.

Anyone interested, please post yours. No flash please.

Thanks.

You may want to pull the reflectors out, clean them, and put them back in.
as the steel ages, rust and dust significantly reduce the light's brightness.

MBeige · #4 02-20-2012, 10:57 AM

Is it the driver side? Maybe it's just sooted up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

You may want to pull the reflectors out, clean them, and put them back in.
as the steel ages, rust and dust significantly reduce the light's brightness.

It would be better to clean the lenses (inside and outside) first before the reflectors. Those reflectors (with the shiny chrome finish inside) are very sensitive to touch.

Might also want to put in some new proper nickel-base (as opposed to brass base) 10W bulbs for good measure.

Biodiesel300TD · #5 02-20-2012, 12:15 PM

Sounds to me like he was hunting for something more. My wagon's tail lights were dangerously dim, but never got pulled over for it. Unfortunately you can't take the lenses off the housings on the wagon tail lights, so they are hard to clean inside.

Might try cleaning all the sockets and putting in fresh bulbs as well. I'll try to remember to snap a pic of mine tonight.

Stretch · #6 02-20-2012, 03:04 AM

I was planning to experiment with a spray on chrome finish - perhaps you can give it a go too?

By the way you can also buy the reflectors separately here...

t walgamuth · #7 02-20-2012, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renntag

Hello Peachparts friends.

I was just pulled over by the Virginia State Police for having "no tail lights".
Surprised I asked to see and went to look. Yep. They are working.

He went so far as to say " the only reason they light at all is because my lights are shining on them. " I tried not to laugh as I didn't want a ticket.

I explained that the car was 30 years old (he wasnt yet) and they were this 'bright' as long as I have owned the car. I also mentioned it is inspected and passes every year. Never failing for tail lights.

I mentioned that I would check other cars of the same vintage and compare lumens.

I have a pic I took on the side of the road a few minutes ago it is too big to upload here.

Anyone interested, please post yours. No flash please.

Thanks.

The lights will of course look dimmer with his headlights shining on them from a few feet. Ask him to look at them with his headlights off.

shadetreemechan · #8 02-20-2012, 07:41 AM

So, did he actually give you a ticket, or did you get off?

Renntag · #9 02-21-2012, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

The lights will of course look dimmer with his headlights shining on them from a few feet. Ask him to look at them with his headlights off.

Well that was my thought too (obvious I thought at the time). He did actually say "The only reason they are lit is because my headlights are shining on them". It really took careful word choice to not say something insulting.

Anyway, this trooper's lack of practical knowledge of light and science was unimportant once we decided to drop it and let me go. Leaves me concerned though as this is a simple indication of a greater issue. (education).

junqueyardjim · #10 02-21-2012, 11:52 AM

Many of the W123 coupes and sedans have added another socket to the fixture to fill that one red square that doesn't have a light in it. It is easy to do and you can get the socket set up at the junkyard of PM me and I will sell you two of them. There are instructions here on the forum also for doing this simple job, and it is very effective.

Simpler=Better · #11 02-20-2012, 12:25 PM

you could always gut them and stick an oval LED assembly behind the lenses. They're like $15 each and are very bright-I have on e on my hackjob Ninja.