Why does c230 headlight only work when door is closed? HELP!!
 

One of the headlights on our 1998 C230 stopped working when the lights are turned on. The other one works fine. The strange thing is when I turn the lights switch off and then turn the car off and get out of the car and close the door then both lights come on as they should. What would cause the one headlight to not work when turned on. By the way, both high beams work fine. :confused:

I think the fog lights come on as the courtesy feature after you get out of the car. That is why they both come on. Check if the main bulb (H7) is burned out.

I didn't say the fog lights come on when I close the door. i said the headlights come on when I close the door. This car does not have fog lights. I know its part of the courtesy feature. If the headlights come on as part of the courtesy feature then the main bulb is not burnt out because it works during the courtesy feature.

CAN malf.
 

Probably a fault with the CAN bus. As I understand, the 98s incorporated a CAN, and someone posted on here recently about (I believe) the power windows only working under a certain condition, like yours. Do a search for CANBUS 98 230, or something like that. I know that MB DOC chimed in about the issue; maybe send him a PM.

Well mine does. When you pull out the headlight knob that turns on the fog lights. And I believe it is the fog lights that come on after you close the door. I think Ali might be right.

Mike

I have confirmed that on my car it is the fog lights that come on after you close the door. Also, the fog light bulb is in the same reflector housing as the main lights so it is hard to tell the difference (took me a couple of tries before I was sure). I checked the diagrams on AllData (always a pleasure...) and it does not appear that the headlights are on the CAN bus. Only other thing I can say is that when my headlamp bulb burned out, the "bulb out" lamp on the dash went on right away. It is an orange lamp near the bottom of the cluster with a picture on it that looks sort of like a light bulb!! Do you have that on? Another question is does the high beam work on that side?

Mike

I can confirm that I don't have fog lights. The high beams on the same side work fine and yes the orange warning lamp in the dash cluster is on indicating a problem. I notived when my wife came home last night the headlight was now on. I did remove the bulb from the back of the headlight cluster and then put it back in but it still did not work when turned on. Strange.

You are telling me that when you turn the headlight knob 2 clicks clockwise and then pull it out, it does not pull out and additional light does not come out of the lamp housings? An your lamp out indicator is on and you don't think that you have a lamp out? When filaments go bad they can have a small crack. They can come and go for a while before being gone all the way. Close inspection with a magnifier will show the fracture in the filament, if you don't trust your dash indicator.

MP

On the C-class, the fogs are integrated into the same housing as the headlights. Don't know if you realize this or not, but you should indeed have foglights, they are the lamps closest to the grill. At least my parents' '97 and '00 C230s both have fogs.

Try replacing the bulb on the problem side with a new one. It may be a faulty connection. If that doesn't work, then maybe you do have a problem with the CAN bus.

Halogen Fog lamps built into the head light housings were standard on the 98 c230's. These are what come on when the courtesy feature is activated.

It's most likely just a burnt out headlight, hence the "light out" warning light on the dash.

EDIT: Try swapping the h7 head light bulbs (passenger - driver, and vice versa), if the same headlight still doesn't work, you have a problem. If the problem migrates with the bulb, it's just a burnt out bulb ;) .

Yes. Swap the bulbs. That should settle it!! And it is possible that you have an odd 98 C230 that was built without fog lights. I have even seen some that apparently were built without turn signals...

HEY,, I HAVE FOG LAMPS LOCATED IN THE SAME HOUSING AS THE HEADLIGHTS!! AND THOS ARE THE LIGHTS THAT COME ON FOR THE COURTESY FEATURE, NOT THE HEADLIGHTS!! Thanks everyone for the info. Now I know how to turn on the fog lights. It was the halogen bulb for the headlight. Swapped the other side just to make sure. New bulb and everything works fine. Thanks again to all.

Congratulations on solving the puzzle!

I'm surprised this information isn't in the owner's manual.