I have a 2000 c230 that has been a great car. The other day the dash light came on signaling a faulty light. I checked the brake lights and they were blown. i replaced the bulbs and one blew 10 minutes later. I noticed when I put 2 more in they are burning bright like the brakes are applied the whole time. This is making them burn very hot and is showing signs of damagingind the cover. Has anyone had this problem or ideas what would make the brake lights burn bright (like your foot is on the brake pedal) the whole time.
Thanks
Benny

 

if you have the wrong bulb in there it will burn differntly. make sure the pins on the bulb are correct. the ones you took out might have been incorrect too. you could have a bad socket housing too.

 

I have double checked the bulbs and they are the correct wattage 21, and they are the dual filament. I did notice the back window brake light is on but does not get brighter when i press the pedal. I was not sure if this was because I had removed the 2 bulbs from the tail light assembly or if this was part of the issue.

 

I don't believe the back window light should be on if you don't press the pedal.......

Alan.

 

i would make sure all your bulbs are the correct wattage and the bulb pins are correct. all lights park, brake, rear fog. turn signals

 

I checked all the bulbs and they are the correct bulbs. I did go today and purchased both tail light bulb holders and the stop light switch. I have put ion the bulb holders and the tail light comes on, and is on high (again like the brake pedal is pressed). I am going to replace the stop switch this evening and I really hope this solves the problem. Thanks

 

something is wrong obviously...i hope you just didnt go on my word and go get the bulb holders...i feel bad now. seems you have a wiring issue someplace. or a bad fusebox someplace.

 

I replaced the stop switch by the brake pedal and this fixed the problem. I needed to replace the bulb holders anyway, they got hot when the switch failed and the brake bulbs burned on high so long. They were only 19.00 each so the total was only 69.00 for everything. Seems to be working fine now. Thanks for the responses.