[Chris]

I recently had an opportunity to discuss the melting SLK tail light issue with an owner who had both tail light housings replaced. Note this was on a 2002 model so I still think this may be an issue with the newer SLKs.

He showed me his old tail light housings. Stangely enough only one was damaged, but the dealer replaced both housings under warranty. What I observed was a light browning of the blue brake light bulb holder. The holder was not melted, but it obviouly was exposed to a lot of heat which caused the discoloration. I did not notice any corrosion or melting of the metal contact points. The heat from the bulb holder caused the hole in the housing which takes the brake light bulb holder to melt and deform which made it difficult to remove from the housing. The heat also resulted in bulb failure and the failure of the brake light to work even after the bulb was replaced. However all other lights in the assembly continued to function.

I find it strange that only one light assembly had the problem. I wonder if the wattage on all the larger bulbs (that is all bulbs except the actual tail light bulb) generates too much heat if used continuously (possibly only in warmer climates or possibly only on those cars with automatics since I assume these owners have to keep their foot on the brake when stopped). The tail light assembly design looks fairly simple, but I do wonder if there is a design flaw. Could some kind of arcing cause the problem, and will Oxy-Gard prevent the problem?