96 w210 e300 no power to 3rd brake lite

[satyr]

Hey everybody,
I searched on this and couldn't find a solution, so I'm asking for some suggestions. The 3rd tail light abruptly quit working the other day on the e300, all other tail lights work fine. So, I have removed the cover, and checked the bulb (works fine.) I removed the housing from the rear package shelf by prying up on the little fragile plastic tab and there is no corrosion. (I cleaned it and applied bulb grease anyway.) I hooked up a multimeter and I'm getting zero volts between the contacts where the housing mounts. I checked the fuses to the right of the turn signal lever and all were good. Is there another fuse somewhere for the third tail light? Is there anything else to check? I did have a "bulb defective" display a few days ago, but I don't know if this is involved in that disasterous system, or if it could cause zero power to the 3rd brake light asembly. Any suggestions are appreciated- J