My dash bulb burnt out indicator comes on several miles after starting this car and having the lights on. I live in Florida where it has been warm --no light on dash. Now it is near freezing here and dash light comes on quickly after turning the lights on --seems like cold weather has effect on this problem. NO BURNT OUT BULBS--NONE!!! Any thoughts?

Thanks much.

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John B

John,
The tail lamps will get hot & then make poor contact. The system operates by measuring current draw from each bulb, many aftermarket bulbs don't draw the correct amps. ALSO the 2 inner front lights(parking) have been a problem since that car came out, so much so that MB designed a current drop cable to go inside of each headlight.

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MB Doc,
Thank you for your reply.
Is there a trick to finding out which tail light it is? All bulbs are lit. Can I buy the "current drop cable" for the two inner headlamps from MB or is this something that is put in the new wiring harnesses to take care of the problem on newer cars? How is it installed--I am mechanically inclined--just wire it in series with the existing wiring?

Thanks

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John B

The headlight voltage drop cable just plugs in series inside of the headlight, your car MAY already have them. Part number depends on VIN & type of headlight, xenon or std.

ARE all of your bulbs "Osram"?

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MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
44 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
Retired Moderator

OSHRAM BULBS?? Not sure what that is--both are GE replacements--need factory origionals?? The voltage drop cables just "dangle" inside the running lights or headlamps?

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John B

Have you checked the license plate bulbs?

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Steve
'93 400E

Bulbs from different suppliers with the same advertised wattage can have a difference big enough to trigger your "burnt bulb" indicator.
Replace you rear lights with identical OSRAM bulbs, after having cleaned the contacts (+ and -) where the light sit.

Yes--they are both lit.
Tonight, the light went on with just the parking and fog lights on --guess that eliminates the headlights.

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John B

John
I have alot of experience with this. What MB Doc says is very true, there is a problem on 210's with the rear bulb sockets getting burned and actually melting sockets. If you really can't find anything wrong, this is probably the problem, although if you've gone with non-OEM (ie not Osram) bulbs, this could be it.Osram is the brand name. Use bulbs sold by MB.

On the front inner lights, there are 2 small halogen bulbs in there, make sure these come on (they'd also come on in parking light position). NOT the same bulb as the highbeam headlights! Located lower in the inner lense.
Make sure the lights on the side of the front bumper are working. As someone else said, make sure both license lights are working, these are all monitored.

The MB "fix" for the front inner bulbs is easily installed, actually plugs into the harness where the harness plugs in to the headlight assembly, not inside the headlight. The also have a few other changes, namely to the socket the small halogens plug in to.
Gilly

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Do you have part numbers for the driving light and any other modification pigtails? What does Mercedes call these mods so I can refer to that with the Parts Dept. guy? What is the change to the socket that the small halogens plug into? Gilly, would you email me privately with your telephone # so I can talk to you directly about these mods? Email: johneb48@hotmail.com

Thank you all for your help.

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John B

No you're not going to call me, we discuss it here on the boards so it helps everybody.
The pigtail introduces a resistor to the circuit for the small halogens. The change to the socket for the marker bulbs is to make sure the positive and negative wire are powering up the bulb with correct polarity. The dealer should have the bulletin, I'm not sure if your car would be in the affected vin range or not. I'd concentrate more on finding the actual problem, and if the problem is with these fron marker bulbs, then pursue the bulletin.

Gilly

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The part number of the socket for the inner parking light with the current drop resistor is 210-826-05-82. The only reason I purchased this socket was because the H6W bulb burned out on the left side. When I attempted to remove the original socket from the housing it broke leaving a chunk of plastic in the headlight housing. When I examined the original socket, the plastic was paper thin and brittle. It almost appears as if it were designed for a quick snap in on the assembly line, and not designed to be removed. After replacing the socket with the update (the new socket is much more robust and fits properly), the bulb would only work intermittently. It turns out the section of wire with the resistor in it was not making contact at all times. I ended up removing the resistor from the wire. 2 weeks later the right side bulb burned out. As careful and gentle as I was, the right socket broke also, again leaving plastic in the lens. I didn't bother replacing this socket. I have what's left of the right side socket laying in the assembly. The entire headlight assembly has a cover to keep out road dirt, so vibration was my main concern. So far it's been working for 2 months. I hope you find the source of your "lamp failure" message.

Rex

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I think what you did is different than what I mentioned. Later on, the resistor was integrated into the internal wiring in the headlight assembly. The pigtail I am talking about plugs into the harness before the harness plugs in to the headlight.
Gilly

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Gilly,
Went to MB parts today and they don't find the pigtail assembly with resistor that plugs in series with the headlight. Is it possible for you to obtain a part number even if it isn't corect for my chassis so we can track the right one? That would be a BIG help to me. Thanks

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John B

This was available in a kit which included the new sockets, etc (I think someone else mentioned this earlier in this thread). I might be able to come up with a number for the kit, the dealer should be able to come up with the SI Bulletin.
Gilly

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