Hi Jag-Lovers,

last week I bought a new cat (Daimler Super V8, X308 out of 2001) I am really happy with so far. The only two little problems I found yet are that PDC is not working correctly (One sensor is not connected as I found today, should be not a gread problem) an both of the back lights did not work.
So I started to check the bulbs, read the various threads about that (not so rare) problem, I strode across various cables, checked the control modules, studied the circuit diagrams and became more an more desperate as I could not find the fault. Lately, I even disconnected the audio system to check if there is something connected erroneous, but found nothing.....

Today, I talked to a mechanic who presumed a wrong bulb in any of the sockets, so I checked all the bulbs again and finally found the cause:

The bulbs for the tail- and brake-lights, as the other bulbs also do, have two little bolts to fix the bulb, but these one are not at the same height.
On the left side, this bulb was plunged the wrong way so that the lower instead of the upper bold was fixed in the little "tunnel" (excuse me for my bad english, don't know how to express this correctly) so that the bulb did not reach the contacts inside it's fitting.
This led to the effect that both (!) tail lights did not work. Just inserting the bulb the other way round (don't forget to check both of them) solved the problem for me.

Strange thing, but I'm quite happy that I found this problem after 4-5 hours of searching.
Maybe, this could help anyone finding the fault before disassembling half of the car

Kind regards from good old germany

Volker

 

Good job!

 

[QUOTE=
The bulbs for the tail- and brake-lights, as the other bulbs also do, have two little bolts to fix the bulb, but these one are not at the same height.
On the left side, this bulb was plunged the wrong way so that the lower instead of the upper bold was fixed in the little "tunnel" (excuse me for my bad english, don't know how to express this correctly) so that the bulb did not reach the contacts inside it's fitting.
This led to the effect that both (!) tail lights did not work. Just inserting the bulb the other way round (don't forget to check both of them) solved the problem for me.

Strange thing, but I'm quite happy that I found this problem after 4-5 hours of searching.
Maybe, this could help anyone finding the fault before disassembling half of the car

Kind regards from good old germany

Volker[/QUOTE]

Good job Volker!

There is nothing worse than fixing stupid mistakes by P.O. (Private Owner)
The globes as you have found, have 'offset' pins which means they will normally only go in one way....but some stupids find a way around that! ;o)=)
You will get twice the life out of these bulbs if you use a small file or emery board to gently file a flat spot on the solder lump at base of bulb and use a small dab of di-electric grease before inserting.
Use electronic contact cleaner on the light board plug before re-assembling.