Decided to pull the bulbs out and replace them, solved the issue, the old bulbs had to be pretty old, bases tarnished and contact points all scungy. replaced the bulbs, issue gone.

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

You dodged a bullet.......this time........tailight assembly was pricey buying the replacement from MB, when mine malfunctioned by melting. Why it melted, I don't know. I suspect it may have been because I used a replacement bulb from NAPA, when the original bulb burned out. Since then, I buy all replacement bulbs from the MB dealer.

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert