CHANGING TAILLIGHT BULB ON NEWER SPRINTER

Same situation with my '98 RT 190P. Have new bulb in hand, can't get the lens off without worry of breaking it. Following.

MB built the chassis not the coach,

danager wrote:
Try this site.

Thanks "danager" ... That is one site that I did find and got what little information I have. I just got a bulb this afternoon and will take a crack at it when the weather warms up here. Hopefully in the next day or two.

Thanks ...

For those that are interested ... it's a pain the the A$$ to change the light bulbs on the rear taillight. You literally should have three hands. That would be hard to do in my case as I travel alone.

After Advanced Auto sold me the wrong bulbs ... I figured I better try the Mercedes dealer to at least make sure I got the right bulb. I asked how much to install ... NO CHARGE. Just the cost of the bulb with was $2.00 and change. So far so good.

I asked to watch the technician change the bulb. No problem. He removed the three #20 torque screws from the lens cover. Then ... with some force he pushed, slapped, forced, pried the lens to the left (right for the right side) The three plastic pins on the lens popped nicely out of the body and there was the lens.

Now ... to get to the bulbs. That's were the three hands come into play. There are 7 tabs on the bulb housing unit that need to be released from the lens cover. Three on each side and one on the bottom. It was a little tense for fear of snapping these tabs and breaking them.

In the end ... it was done and only cost me a 20 miles drive to the dealer and $2.13.

BUT ... the story is not finished. When I went to leave the interior dash warning light was still on. The tech said it should have gone off. We checked all the lights again. Even the front and rear fog lights. High beams, all directional and marker lights ... the whole shebang. Nothing else was out. He drove it into the shop and put the scanner on it.

Bottom line ... make sure you check the damn licence plate lights as well. :o

The vehicle is over engineered and the trouble to change a simple $2.00 bulb is ridiculous.

In closing I would add ,,, that the Canadian chassis of the Mercedes Sprinter has all the headlights, taillights and licence plate lights on all the time the vehicle is running. This seems a little ridiculous. Instead of having a separate day-time running light Mercedes rigged it so that all the lights come on once you start the engine. Not sure if that is the same with the US chassis.

Don't try to remove the lens in cold weather ... you are guaranteed to break the plastic pins and/or tabs. The tech told me he has broken a few over the years.

Aside from the gum ball machine, you found the least expensive item at the dealership! Good to hear it worked out, sounds like great service.

Next time, ask to watch and pull out your phone to record it... ;)

danager wrote:
Aside from the gum ball machine, you found the least expensive item at the dealership! Good to hear it worked out, sounds like great service.

Next time, ask to watch and pull out your phone to record it... ;)

Actually danager ... I was in the process of recording when the tech needed my help. I do have a picture and a bit of video showing the pin holes on the side of van and also some of the clips on the bulb housing. But had to stop to help him.

Just put of curiosity, what does the chassis owner's manual say about changing the bulbs?

Jim, "Mo' coffee!"

There are directions in the Sprinter's Operator's Manual. I did it and had no problems doing so. Since you are dealing with plastic spring tabs it is best to do so in warm weather. Cold makes things brittle. I changed my left tail light last year. On our current trip the right tail light warning came on and then went off. So I may have a loose connection. I'm just hoping for a false reading but I have the second bulb ready and waiting and I keep a spare torx screw driver in the back door utility compartment so I don't have to hunt for it.

Handbasket wrote:
Just put of curiosity, what does the chassis owner's manual say about changing the bulbs?

Jim, "Mo' coffee!"

As Davidd mentioned the manual does give directions. However ... they make it sound a little simpler than it really is. You do have to use a considerable force to pry, pound, slap the lens cover off "in the direction of the arrow."

That can be a little intimidating for someone that has never done it before. You would almost expect that the lens would just slide gently off ... but I watched the tech do it and it most certainly did not.

Now that I have seen it done I will certain tackle it myself next time ... if I'm not near a dealer that does it FREE. :) I got a couple extra bulbs and also have the the torque screwdriver handy.

BUT ... doing it in the cold weather could certainly present an extra challenge for the plastic pins and tabs.

As a side note ... the damn headlight bulb burned out last night. This will be the third headlight bulb that I have replaced on this thing. As far as I'm concerned the problem with the vehicles manufactured for the Canadian market is that all the running lights ... headlights, taillights, and licence plate lights (2 of them) are on all the time that the vehicle is running ... thus reducing their life.

NOTE: For those not aware ... on the Canadian chassis ... ALL the above noted lights come on when you start the engine. You never have to turn the "headlights" on with the switch. The only time you have to use the switch it to turn the fog lights on. And when I do that ... I generally forget to turn the darn things off after shutting off the vehicle. I wound up with a dead battery once when I did that. :)

Thank goodness for the BATTERY BOOST switch. :) :)