E-Class 1998 "Lamp Defective" warning system fault

[scotthope]

Hello,

I have a 1998 E280 V6 Avantgarde. I think there is a problem with the blown bulb warning system or lamp circuitry. Not always straight away but fairly soon into a journey, the system displays on the dash that a lamp is defective. When I check (leaving the engine running) the offside brake lamp is not working (nearside and centre are ok). However, the bulb is fine. If you cut the ignition, and restart, the lamp starts working again as if by magic. You then drive off and moments later (always when touching the brake pedal) the warning comes on again and the lamp has stopped working again ! I have tried swapping the nearside and offside brake bulbs around but this does not help - the fault stays on the offside.

I am tearing my hair out with this now :x and am dreading the thought of taking it to the dealer and just saying "fix it". That would be like writing them a blank cheque !

I would very much appreciate any comments from someone who knows a bit about the system or has had this problem themself and knows how to rectify it.

Thanks,

Scott Hope.

 

[sunil sood]

do a search using the title warning bulb.

you will probably find your answer there because it will have been covered before.

 

[scotthope]

Thanks for that Sunil, but I have not been able to find anything that relates to my problem in particular.

I did notice that someone said the lamp control unit costs around £100. Perhaps it is worth speaking to the dealer if this could be the fault ?

Last night, I swapped the bulb holders around from left to right and both lamps worked fine for a 20 mile journey with no warning being displayed.

However, when I started the car today, as soon as i put my foot on the brake pedal the warning displayed and when I checked, the offside bulb was not working again ! :x

Any more info from other people here would be apprecaited, thanks.

 

[dieselman]

Check the connections onto the lamp cluster and the tracks of the brake lamp. If the lamp holder has been making a poor connection it may have heated the plastic housing enough to have deformed it.

The problem is with feed to the bulb not the warninig module.

The bulb warning is a: quite simple and b; doing what it's supposed to, telling you a bulb is out.

 

[piestore]

bulb warning

Hi

I would agree with dieselman these lights have a very common fault the bulb holder makes a poor connection this then heats the contacts which melt into the plastic on the light itself a whole new light is the best fix (quite cheap) if you look at the contacts on the light unit you can usually see the melted plastic welling up from behind the contact