LED third brake light for c280
 

I have done some searching and it appears there is a third brake light available for a w202 c280. does anyone know the years it is available for and if it can be adapted to a 1994 model? according to my mitchell manual there are 3 part numbers, one for 94-95 one for 96-97 and one for 98-00. my lense is melted pretty good from the heat and i would like to replace it with one that won't do the same.


thanks in advance

bump

ok, the lense only come from mercedes as a whole housing unit that cost closer to 140... does anyone know anyplace I can just get the lense and not the whole housing??? I cannot find a salvage yard that will sell parts under $50 and the lense in a wrecked car is really only worth $10-$15 (imho) in good condition. maybe i should find a glass shop that can cut a piece of fogged red glass???

Try these guys:

http://www.europeanautomotivegroup.com/

They will probably charge about 30. But then you have to add shipping.

It seems strange that your lens melted. It shouldn't be on that much.

"It seems strange that your lens melted. It shouldn't be on that much."


I'll try to get a picture, i would guess everyopne else has had the same problem. you would think it would be a fire hazard! I still think its rediculous you cannot just buy the lense from mercedes... I wish i knew if i could convert it to the new led third brakelight without to much work to the wiring...

My '98 has a standard bulb as far as I know. Is it LED? Anyway, changing these to LED has been discussed before and the main problem was making it compatable with the bulb-out circuit. Some people suggested you could fix it with a resistor which is probably possible. It could be a little tricky since the resistance of incandescent bulbs is different when on vs when off. You would have to have some idea what the bulb out circuit is looking for to make the LED act "right". Or you could just use trial and error. Have you done a search?

You may want to check the bulb, to see if someone installed an incorrect one ( wattage too high ).
With the correct bulb, I would say the only way you could get a meltdown, would be if the brakelight switch was sticking " On ". :confused:

i replaced the bulb about 2 1/2 years ago with one from my local mercedes dealer and it continues to slowly warp. I have never noticed the light to stay on. if anyone has one of these junked just sitting in the back yard let me know. they only take about 45 seconds to remove and would fit nicely into a bubble wrapped envelope:):):)

got word back from the parts place in the thread and the one they have also have a burnt (melted) spot in the lense... must be a more common problem

There is a thread "wierd mod" mentioning a wrecked '97 W202. Maybe you can get the part from them.

here are photos of the warped lense...

You could heat it up and flatten it. It would be a little tricky but you could do it. The bulb must be too close to it. Maybe you could space the bulb away a bit or use a slightly lower wattage, or a smaller bulb.

i thought about moving trying to heat the lense but it is bubbles and toasted like a marshmallow on the back side. the bulb is in a receptical that doesnt move. i could drill some holes in it to let the heat escape but i dont know if that would do enough. thanks for the tips though!!

I believe that the LED third brake light came on the 98-00 models. My 99 has it.

FWIW the part number for the LED fixture is A2028200856. I'd love to get a hold of one of these to see how it would work in the W126.

-J