1998 E320 wagon, during repair of taillight housing I shorted the backup light to the brake light. It burned open fuse 11 which is a 15A, but when replaced neither one gained functionality.

When the brake pedal is depressed I receive in order, BAS, Lamp Defective, ESP, & Anti-Lock Brake warnings.

I can tap the brake quickly to get the car out of gear without any warnings and still have no backup lights.

I removed power for 24 hours with no effect.

I removed fuse 3 from under the seat 7.5A which is reverse gear recognition or something to that effect, and I get no new errors.

I removed fuse 11 (the one that blew) and I get no new errors.

I disconnected the stop lamp switch and activated the 2 circuits separately and they both have errors when activated.

With the engine running (before the brakes are depressed) I can turn on & off the ESP control, but it gets locked out once the errors show up.

It takes almost a full second of brake pedal depression before the errors show up.

I replaced the stop light switch, no change.

I joined all data to get more info, but they seem to be lacking a lot of info in the areas I need to know more about ($27 wasted).

My next step is to find a garage that can read the system codes ( I have no dealer in a 30 mile radius), so I might get a clue.

Anyone????