The message 'Lamp Defective' came up and when I checked it was both the brake lights that did not flash when the brake pedal was pressed, but the center brake light flashed ok.
I tried wriggingly the brake switch and it solved the problem for about 5 miles of city driving and then came back again.
I tried again with the brake switch and it was ok for a while and again the warning came back.
Any ideas what could be the problem.
I thought if the brake switch was bad then even the center brake light would not work.
Thank you anyone out there who could give some input to this problem.

Sam

On the W210 chassis there can be an issue with the lamp units themselves.

Many times the bulb connections get HOT & the bulbs make very little contact with the wires in the sockets.

Replacement of the complete lamp is the most common remedy.

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The brake failure sensor is a high impedance device and will see a bad connection as a lamp failure. The most troublesome type is a bulb filament break. The lamp still works but presents a high resistance to no current flow. Replace bulb!
Regards,
Leon