How to change brake light bulb on 2005 MB Cruiser?

halnet

New member
Thanks Coyote, SoCal, and Mike---seems we all have slightly different versions of "inaccessible brake lights"! My shower looks like Coyote's, which is, no removable panel and no screws. So I'm wondering whether anyone had success in cutting in from behind the spare tire. If so, pics would be nice ;-). Or at least advice on what not to do.

As for psgr side, I discovered when opening the door under the sink, that a hole had been cut to access the right brake light. But no removable panel over the hole, which is curious. Maybe the 1st owner (of my 2004 F.R. cruiser) did that surgery. So far, my brake lights have not failed, for which I am grateful to God and not Forest River! Pretty sloppy designing on their part.

As for the fridge---I have the 12vdc only---which is small but takes a lot of juice. So I at times put in a small block of ice---and a towel twice a day to soak up melting. Blue ice is a better idea.

Thanks for all the good help, guys.
halnet
 

JamesDane

2012 NAVION J Reno
I got side tracked with work which is about to slow down to normal so if the weather is not too cold next week I hope to tackle the left tail light next week. Fortunately my daughter and her husband own a body shop here in Reno so I have access to all the cutting wheels and tools to make the rear access surgery easy. I will post pictures after I get it done. I did go by the local dodge dealership and they let me look at the back of a sprinter utility van and once the access is complete getting to the bulb should be easy.

Yes, the 12 volt refrigerator is our biggest energy drain but stuffing two blue ice bags into the freezer section solved my issue of listening to the compressor all night going on-off. We don't make ice in the freezer anyway so it was waisted space and it keeps me from stocking it with popsicles. We use a small cooler in the shower to keep soft drinks and ice and it make a handy seat for showers.
 

halnet

New member
Thanks Coyote! I look forward to your soon progress.

BTW, who is your dealer in Reno and is he authorized by Daimler? I happen to be going thru there this week (Wed aft.)
halnet
 

halnet

New member
Thanks Coyote, SoCal, and Mike---seems we all have slightly different versions of "inaccessible brake lights"! My shower looks like Coyote's, which is, no removable panel and no screws. So I'm wondering whether anyone had success in cutting in from behind the spare tire. If so, pics would be nice ;-). Or at least advice on what not to do.

As for psgr side, I discovered when opening the door under the sink, that a hole had been cut to access the right brake light. But no removable panel over the hole, which is curious. Maybe the 1st owner (of my 2004 F.R. cruiser) did that surgery. So far, my brake lights have not failed, for which I am grateful to God and not Forest River! Pretty sloppy designing on their part.

As for the fridge---I have the 12vdc only---which is small but takes a lot of juice. So I at times put in a small block of ice---and a towel twice a day to soak up melting. Blue ice is a better idea.

Thanks for all the good help, guys.
halnet
 

JamesDane

2012 NAVION J Reno
We have only had one service done since we got the RV and had it done at Reno Dodge on Kietzke Lane. Not usre about authorization by Daimler but FedX takes all their Sprinters there for service. Good luck on getting here, we are supposed to get more snow Tuesday althought it is supposed to not amount to that much.
 

blan

New member
Thank you MBcruiser for the Forest River email link on the previous page. I emailed Susan and she responded immediately saying that she would send me the access covers used in the recall so I could do the access hole myself. It would be great if someone could post a picture of how they did it. I am going through the fiberglass boot and I hope there is room for access. Nobody has said positively that this is the case. Maybe they (Forest River) will send me some directions for specific areas to cut.
 

JamesDane

2012 NAVION J Reno
Well it finally got warm enough for me to change the tail light. First I cored a hole behind the spare tire to see if I could access it without tearing the shower apart but as you can see in the pictures attached there was no room for a hand to get to the bulbs. So then I surgically cut out the small panel at the bottom corner of the shower and there was the light panel. It appeared that a previous owner had replaced the bulb with a 50 cent standard 1156 bulb which was toasted so I installed the the $25 M.B. bulb and it works great now. I am guessing the the electrical system amperage was too much for the previous replacement bulb to handle. Put things back together with lots of sylicone and good as new. I will attach some picture which should help.
 

Attachments

KB2004

New member
We have a 2004 MB Cruiser and had the same problem. Our local dealer (MA) wound up cutting the right side panel out next/under the sink, extended the wiring harness so that the panel comes off far enough to reach the light bar that is in the back corner. It was then screwed back on and the screw heads covered. Did a very nice and clean job. There is not any other way that we were able to find,

Hope this helps. Get a good carpenter
 
I finally received the access panel from Forest River and had it installed at mcmahan rv in garden grove. But they just made a round hole that is a size of a baseball and I could not stick my hand to change the bulbs. So with help of my son we've cut a rectangle and the harder part was to cut out the thin wood panel that is after the fiberglass. After several wood scratches on my arms I finally have an access that is large enough to change the bulbs. If you bring it to a dealer to cut out, make sure to ask them to cut a rectangle.

I'd like to find out if there are led light bulb replacements. It will not only save power but also will have a long long life so we won't need to change bulbs to often. Let us know if any of you know of led replacements.
 

mbcruiser

05 Sprinter/06 MB Cruiser
There are a couple of web vendors that carry a long list of LED bulbs for various applications:
http://www.autolumination.com/
http://www.ledtronics.com/

A couple of years ago, I purchased a couple for dome lighting in my 06 MB Cruiser from autolumination with reasonable success. However, the voltage conditions for these "replacement" bulbs leaves them vulnerable to occasional malfunctions (pretty much on shore power only) where they won't work. The sales rep suggested another $15 "kit" to cure it, so I went without. In parked situations, the LED's do save on battery life, however.

As far as replacement for taillights and stop lights, in 7 years I've not had a OEM bulb go out, and with the access panel in place, I chose to leave them be. Original replacement bulbs cost less than a buck or two vs. the high price of LED's. The energy savings for running lights is hardly an issue in a 12 volt system when the vehicle is running anyway.

Just my $.02.
 

wendelltu

New member
I have the 220 model i think with the norcold 3 way refrigerator. This is the best unit for the MB cruiser... 110v , propane, or 12v... But no matter which one you have they didn't design the compartment well and it wont work without adding baffles...if its a ammonia absorption type refrigerator.
 

Top Bottom