On my '92 300D occasionally upon braking the burned out bulb indicator light activates. I've had someone else hold the brake while I look for this phantom bulb to no avail. Today it did it and on a whim, turned on my headlights. Voila, the indicator went out. What's up?
..... learning all the time here. I have noticed in the past that the brass base bulbs do tend to corrode/oxidize quickly compared to the nickel coated bases... thanks for that Tiger
The American and German bulbs have slightly different wattage (resistance). The American draws a little bit more current which may damage the delicate German electronic over long period.
Also, the way to monitor the bulb-out is by comparing the current usage, either to a predefined value or left to right (depending on manufacturer design). So different bulbs on the left and right may trigger the bulb-out warning. On the other hand, no bulb-out warning in the left-right method when BOTH are out.
I suspect JD's problem is on the tail lights. One of the bulb may have a partial short (which changes the current) to the ground (for example, crossing filament). When the taillights are on, diagram is corrected and the current becomes normal.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.