last 2 photos

last 2 photos for brake light repair

 

last 2 photos for brake light repair

I had the same exact "high mounted stop lamp" problem with my 1996 MB E320. Could have bought a whole new assembly for $60 shipped but not sure if that was the root cause. I removed current assembly , soldered the corroded areas WITHOUT removing the metal contact strip from the housing. I used 60/40 alloy and it bonds quite well (63/37 alloy would work as well. I started with 95/5 alloy since I have it available at home but it did not bond well, so I bought the 60/40 alloy from Radio Shack, no flux needed). Once done, I just took time and filed it with minimum force until I liked what I saw. Put it back and I am back in business again. Thanks to "97NJBenz"

 

With the amount of light failures in the '97, this could be a prettyyyy useful thread haha.

Nice pictures, steps seem easy enough.

 

Well done. My brake light was out too. Took to Mercedez Workshop and was told that need to change the whole brake unit for a mere $780!!!! They said not the bulb fault, not the fuse problem, must be something wrong with the whole unit....... I told them not to worry, I can drive without the 3rd brake light!!!

 

Wow! One of the most useful links i've found here my third brake light has been out since i bought the car and it's the first time i've seen it in it's red shiny elegant glory. Thanks to the thread author!

 

very helpful. Mine works but is the space between the lens and the rear glass is really dirty. I spent a long time trying to figure out how to remove it.

 

Yea kudos to the poster! I was wondering how to remove the dust from behind the lens on the glass.............Thanks! :thumbsup:

Jeff

 

Give appraisal to 97NJBenz, I was in a constant state of confusion trying to force the third brake light to work.

I've tried nearly everything from sanding the wrong electrical contacts and re-routing electrical wire from the tail light assembly to the third brake light, which resulted in blowing two fuses and my brake light switch:thumbsup:.

Once again 97NJBenz, Thank you!

Now can someone assist me in locating a new third brake light cover? Mine was so brittle it fell apart as I placed it back, Thanks.

Ruben.

 

Thanks for the Kudo's

Glad I was able to help some people out.

Ruben,

Now can someone assist me in locating a new third brake light cover? Mine was so brittle it fell apart as I placed it back, Thanks.

My brake light cover also broke as I was taking it off for about the twentieth time while I was trying to figure out what was wrong with the light. I carefully super glued mine back together one section at a time.

I was not able to find a new cover and any used ones that are out there are now eleven or more years old, so I have to assume that they are as dried out and brittle as what you have.

If you find any source of replacement covers let us know.

Sean

P.S. I'll have to post the repair I did on the rear window lock switch (child safety window switch)

 

Glad I was able to help some people out.

Ruben,



My brake light cover also broke as I was taking it off for about the twentieth time while I was trying to figure out what was wrong with the light. I carefully super glued mine back together one section at a time.

I was not able to find a new cover and any used ones that are out there are now eleven or more years old, so I have to assume that they are as dried out and brittle as what you have.

If you find any source of replacement covers let us know.

Sean

P.S. I'll have to post the repair I did on the rear window lock switch (child safety window switch)

Thank you for posting this. It worked like a charm.

 

I had to glue mine too. I have seen used units come up here from time to time.

 

My cover is broken beyond repair. Dealership said no cover as separate part and wanted to sell me the whole unit.

The DIY is worth being sticky. Thanks!

 

97NJbenz - you're THE MAN! Thanks.

 

This thread is very helpful. Mine was not working. Upon inspection, I found that the buttom contact was not making good connection to the power assembly metal strips. I widened the buttom contact just a little bit. During the removal process, I broke the middle lift tab. I guess it gets brittle after 13 years. I had to use Quick J&B Weld to put it back together. It is now as good as ever.

I agree this DIY thread to be Sticky.

 

yeah you forgot to mention that the brake light cover will literally disintegrate as soon as you push the first tab. next thread: diy third brake light cover.

 

Do you know where one could find that plastic cover plate? The first part that you removed. My cover plate is missing. The car came that way when I bought it.

 

Me too! I am band-aiding the cover plate. Dealer wants to sell the whole unit not the cover plate alone.

 

There is a site that I have used before, uneedapart.com I sent the request for that part and will let you know if i get a responce. I have used that site before, for a sun roof motor and had success in finding the part. It sends a request out to many junk yards through out the country and they respond to you via email with a price and availability. It is pretty neat how it works.

 

I looked at it...

Same burning contact. I never looked if the third light was working or not, I do some repairs on it now. Really good post.
Well done :thumbsup:

 

I fixed it, I fixed it
Thank you :bowdown:

I didn't do the welding tho, I looked at the piece and break what was only held by a thread and curl it back, I had enough to manouver.
I never knew this light was not working

 

Good idea. thanks. Sometimes, I forget about checking for stuff locally, because I've got used to using the internet for finding everything.

 

97NJbenz thanks again for the pictures GREAT HELP! I didnt even know this part came off. Now I can get my car inspected. I love guys like you who post pictures. What a help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Third Brake Light for 2000 E320 Wagon

I fixed mine in the following way:

1. Removal was very difficult but I finally accomplished it by using plastic cards similar to credit cards (actually grocery store loyalty cards) to depress the clips in order to push the light fixture out the tailgate.
2. One of the resistors looked a bit burned, so I plugged in the light outside the car and shorted across the resistor and the light burned. Took the unit to Radio Shack and had the technician measure the resistance (22 ohms) of one of the good resistors, bought replacement resistors (5 for 99 cents) and soldered in the new one (tedious task).
3. Reinserting was easy. After gluing the broken rubber seal back together, pushed it in and it snapped into place.

Hope this helps someone.

 

Thanks to the incredible post by 97NJBenz - it helped me figure out my issue when my middle brake light went out on my 1998 E320 Sedan. I did get the LAMP error when it went out but I assumed it was a bulb, bought a new one (for only $1.90 at NAPA), but when I took the old one out I saw it wasn't broken. Led me to this thread and I discovered I had the same issue as others - a total burned out contact. I went to the dealer to see if they sold just the contact and of course they did not, could offer me only the entire brake light assembly ($59). Here is my FREE fix that may help some of you with the same issue. I researched and found that aluminum soda cans are quite good conductors of electricity. My basic idea was to create a metal "sleeve" that you can then slide over the remaining piece of the contact. Parts and tools needed: 1 empty soda can, 1 pair of scissors, and 1 pair of needle nosed pliers.
1. I took an old Pepsi can and cut out a small piece of metal about the length of the original piece (about 3/4") and almost 3 times the width (about 1/2"). (You can cut a soda can using a decent pair of scissors.)
2. I folded the metal piece about one third of the way by pressing it against my granite countertop (but any hard material with a fairly square edge will work, like a brick).
3. Then I fold the metal again about two thirds of the way by doing the same thing.
4. Sorry I didn't take a picture but if what I'm describing is not clear, imagine you have the small piece of metal 3/4" by 1/2" lying on the table.
5. Looking at the from ground level, you want to shape it so it looks like an upside down staple but one that is 3/4" deep with the middle part still on the table about 1/6" in width, and the two folded up sections about the same. (But make sure it will fit around the contact so the 1/6" may not be exactly right.)
6. Now that you have the metal folded into thirds, you are ready to fit this "sleeve" onto the contact.
7. If there is a piece of metal hanging by a thread on the old contact, you can tear it off or straighten it out.
8. Slide the sleeve under the contact.
9. Fold each side down using the needle nosed pliers to help make the folds tight and secure.
10. Finally reshape the new contact so looks like the original one by giving it a bend at the end about 1/4" from the end. This will make it look like the original one and also prevent the metal sleeve from sliding off.

As long as there are no other issues and electricity is making it to the unit, your middle brake light should start to work!

 

That is some heritage mercedes know-how! This is how we keep our cars running until the cows come home. Very brainy approach andyinNC! My compliments )

 

Great Post! I had the same problem and fixed it with solder. One bit of advice for others thinking about using solder. The area where the metal was burned and eroded from the contact would not hold any solder. I am not sure why, I even tried additional flux with no luck. The only way around it was to clean the areas on both sides of the hole and apply solder to each. Then, little by little, build up globs of solder between them until you fill in the gap. Once it's done, use a file to smooth out any rough spots and match the contour so you don't have any re-installation issues. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks

I been wanting to remove my third break light and get it cleaned out for years now but couldn't figure out how to remove the darn assembly until I saw you post. Thanks!

 

Add me to the growing list of members who have benefited from this thread. Contacts under unit were not "making contact". Little bit of sandpaper and bending on contacts on the removable unit solved the problem. Thanks!!

 

:thumbsup: cheers this helped me out alot with my intermittent third brake light issue. Thanks alot great fix.