What you describe is exactly what I did - like I said, I removed the fixture and tested at the contacts, and there was no voltage there with my wife stepping on the brake pedal. My VOM is functioning properly as tested at one of the tail bulbs.

The purpose of my post was to find out why there is no voltage at the terminals.

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08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280