exterior light failure bulb on for 2-3 seconds

[lizem100]

I have an 87 300E and warning light #18 per the owners manual came on for several seconds. Per the manual it is supposed to turn on when an exterior light fails(and the switch for that light is on.) When I got home I read the manual and tried all the exterior lights and could not get the warning light to light. Any thoughts? Loose/dirty connection and where?
Thanks

[Hatterasguy]

You have a failing light builb or a bad connection. Don't worry about it the build will fail. My light came on for a few seconds every day for 3 weeks before the light finally died and I could fix it.

[nglitz]

I've got an '27 260E and that stooooopid light came on every other time I drove the car when I first got it. I found it was mostly loose/corroded connections inside the tail lights. A lot of wiggling of bulbs did the trick. I also very slightly bent some center contacts to add a bit more pressure to the bulbs' center contacts.

A way to figure out which bulb is not working: turn on every light switch one at a time, including the brake pedal. The warning light will come on when you hit the lucky switch. If it only comes on for a couple of seconds, it's probably a loose contact.

There is hope,

[lizem100]

I have not seen the light since though I tried what you suggested the day of the problem.

[nglitz]

Originally Posted by lizem100

I have not seen the light since though I tried what you suggested the day of the problem.

Sometime just threatening to fix them works.