Taillamps are not working

05 with my taillamps not working. Turn signals, hazard, brake, and reverse lights all work. The top and bottom running lights don't work on either side. I checked fuse 1 and 11. Both were blown. I replaced the fuses but still nothing. Bulbs seem to be ok as well. Odd that the brake lights work but not the running lights. Any ideas?

The metal plate that the lights all sit on can corrode. This can break some of the links or cause a short as you seem to have found (blown fuse).

Thanks. One side is corroded. The other is not. I unhooked the the corroded light panel and now the uncorroded side works. I assume they must be tied together in some way.
Is there a way to fix the corroded panel or should I buy a new one. Also wondering if I leave the 2 running bulbs out of the corroded panel and plug it back in if it will short out again. I would like to be able to use the turn signal on that side until I get it fixed.
Thanks again.

I assume you could clean it up. Maybe with baking soda cleanser like a battery. Once the corrosion is off, the short should go away. After cleaning, Maybe some WD40 or other type product would help prevent future corrosion. Someone once posted that they soldered across some missing sections of their tail light.

ECU said:

I assume you could clean it up. ...

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I agree. A visual inspection should reveal the problems.

There's some info here from my problems which may help to follow what goes where.

The top running lamps should be 5 watt, not 21 watt as some use by mistake.

vic


https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showthread.php?p=99430#post99430

Distilled Vinegar does a good job of removing corrosion. You can use it in conjunction with the baking soda or not.

One of my circuit cards or whatever they are called was corroded so badly that there simply was not enough material to be serviceable any longer. And the van wasnt rusty, just nasty circuit cards.

The problem came back. I cleaned everything again but it didn't help this time. Breakers are fine. Bulbs have been replaced with new one's. Still not working. It's odd that all of the other lights work. Blinkers, back up, and even the break lights (which are the same bulb as the running lights) are working fine. Just not any of the 4 rear running lights are working. I'm stumped at this point.

holdem,
Did you buy genuine Mercedes or Dodge part number bulbs...or something from your local auto parts store that they
suggest is the same?
Might make a big difference.
They need to be the correct contact configuration, the correct wattage, or the ECM will find fault with them.
Roger

I had the same problem but only on the drivers side rear stop light. My fix wasn't very technical I'm afraid.

At first I thought the bulb had gone but it hadn't, so I fiddled with the metal plate that the bulbs all sit in and suddenly the bulb sprang into life. All I did was pull the metal slightly towards me and it worked. So obviously there was a bad contact. I replaced the whole light assembly carefully back into position and it's been fine since.

So even though fiddling aimlessly with things rarely produces a fix, on this occasion it did. So from my experience I'd recommend a bit of fiddling and wiggling.

I just bought bulbs from the local auto parts store.

Mike. Did you bend the wires where the bulb plugs in or the one't that runn to the different bulbs.

Thanks

holdem said:

I just bought bulbs from the local auto parts store.

Mike. Did you bend the wires where the bulb plugs in or the one't that runn to the different bulbs.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Shamelessly borrowing ECUs photo, the places marked by the red arrows were slightly indented. I pulled one of them (the top one I think) back a bit and the bulb started working again. It was as simple as that. Of course it may not be a permanent fix! Your problem may be a bit more technical than that but it's worth a try, good luck, Mike

Thanks,
When I pulled on the metal on one of the light consoles it actually broke. I wired it toghether. Now 3 of the 4 lights are working. So thanks for the help. Problem solved for now.