This smells like a design flaw of some kind. I've had the rear brake light circuit boards replace twice already. The rear right brake light keeps going out (the bulb itself is completely fine) but there's no light. Dealership couldn't find anything wrong and ended up replacing the circuit board. But after a few months, the brake light would go off again for no reason.

Does anyone have a fix for this? The dealership replaced the circuit board twice while the car was still under warranty. But i'm not sure if i want to shell out big bucks to get that board only to have the thing go bad on me in a few months time.

Much Obliged!

Mars

Its actually rather cheap, maybe that is why it fails so often. I have never had two on the same car though.

__________________
Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician

My 98 E320 developed a small hole (from arching) in the metal plate on the tail light assembley for the right rear brake light which created occassional lamp failure messages.

The temporary fix was to slightly turn the lamp socket so that it comes in contact with the good portion of the metal plate.

I might consider filling in the small hole with solder.

__________________
Ray
1998 Mercedes E320, 200K Miles
2001 Acura 3.2TL, 178K Miles
1992 Chevy Astro, 205K Miles

hi rjnonnie. that sounds like an easy fix. unfortunately mine wasn't solved using that trick. the bulb is good, and the contact point is there, but the lamp just won't turn on.

hi steve, do you know how much the board costs? if so, which part number is it?

TIA!

Mars

My 96-E320 has exactly the same problem. I occasionally get the "lamp failure" message because the right brake light would not come on during braking (the bulb is perfectly ok). The problem is solved most of the time by switching the 2 bulbs, or removing and reinstalling the bulb many times (sounds like a bad contact problem doesn't it?). Sometimes, you need a new bulb.

My '99 E 320 has the same problem. The lamp failure light comes on about once every few months. The right rear brake light does not work. When I check the light: the light bulb is fine. I have found that if I turn the light socket only halfway into the light assembly it will work fine. Eventually, from vibration, it slowly moves around and the problem occurs again. I have tried to bend the contact for a tighter fit and also have cleaned all of the electrical contacts.