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Cascading Failure in Rear Light System

1K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  Deutsch100 
#1 ·
I just bought a CPO 06 ML350 and am new to the brand. Today, as I was driving home from work, I got 4 failure messages from the vehicle. First I was informed that the left license plate bulb has failed, then the right and left brakelights had gone and the "substitute" bulbs were on.

Is this cascading failure indicative of a larger problem here? I am warrantied to the gills, but don't have the time to bring her in to service... Later on I will ring out a couple of bulbs to see if the bulbs actually failed or there is a short in the wiring. I read on another string that this may be a known ML problem for the 06 model year. Has anyone else ever seen this?

Thanks,

Sean
 
#2 ·
Just traded my 06 ML500 for a 2010 ML550 a couple of weeks ago. Had the 06 for a bit over 4 years and never had your issue nor have I heard of it before. Perhaps the incorrect bulbs were used before you purchased it. Do not think its in the wiring but could be high voltage from the voltage regulator however you would think that other items would go also. I would replace the effected bulbs, clean the sockets and contacts and be certain to use the bulbs from an MB dealer or the same buls that they sell. Do not believe that bulbs are covered by the CPO warranty.
 
#3 ·
Yep...I rang out the bulbs and they did fail. Everything looked very clean and dry. Still I cleaned all the electrical with contact cleaner and replaced the bulbs. I expect that if some control module failed (voltage spike?) that it will fail again and then there will be a trip to the shop. Thanks for the help!
 
#4 ·
I have 06 ML 350 since May this year. So far got "head left light" twice and "front left turn ligt" once. All this happend just after start engine. Bulbs were OK and fault message gone after restart engine. I think it's fancy electronics fooling, so don't care. If you fount that bulbs were busted it might be voltage regulator.
 
#5 ·
My '09 model messaged me that I had a both reverse lights failed. The message stayed on my entire drive, but once I turned the car off, let it sit for a while...it went away, and has never returned.

I used to get this kind of s--t all the time in my '07 X5 and '08 X5 4.8i, my '06 Range Rover and most off all in my '03 E320. Modern electronics are a vivious, double edged sword!!
 
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