Hello,
I have an '81 240. Recently I realized that my brake lights don't work. When I push the brake pedal the lights don't come on. Only when I turn on the driving lights do any of them work, and it is just the one in the left light assembly. It stays on. The third light and the right side do nothing. I think that it may be a solenoid problem but am not sure. Where is the brake light switch or solenoid located? Any help with this issue is greatly appreciated.

J-man
'81 240 with 500,000+ miles :))

it may be an 82 or maybe the original owner installed the 3rd light. I have checked all of the fuses and they seem to be in good shape. does it seem odd that only the left brake light comes on only when the driving lights are turned on? Thanks for the help.

J-man

With no brake lights, I'd expect fuse problems. 240s are all afflicted by corrosion on fuse clips. Pull all the fuses and clean all the clips. Inspect eachfuse closely, because sometimes old fuses will crack and fail even though they look ok.
You have a separate fuse for left and right parking lights. Check those too.
As for the brake lights, an 81 did not come with a 3rd brake light. Someone added that if you have one. There could be problems with whatever wiring was added, or in the light socket itself. How do the sockets look? Any white oxidation in there?
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '87 244DL/M47- 221K, 88 744GLE- 202K, 91 244 181K, 88 244GL 145K