i have a c200-w202-1997 car.
can i fit a third brake light on the rear windscreen window?
Are the wiring and connectors already in place in the car or will i have to fit extra wires/connectors?

i know that the newer models -1998 onwards come with the third brake light as a standard fitting.

I doubt the the wiring would be in place if the car wasn't ordered from the factory with the third brake light.

By 1997 year model, the third brake light was mainly only standard in the U.S. market. All other markets could have one fitted at extra cost.

Also, to achieve the "original" look, I guess you will have to order also a new rear parcel shelf.

A. Rosich
S320, 1998
E320T, 1995

Canada too, but I don't know any other market. Probably going to be expensive...

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

Oh yes, I forgot about Canada, which almost always follows the safety guidelines imposed by the U. S.

In 1995, Costa Rica also mandated that a third brake light be installed as a safety device.

Today, many other countries do require them.

A. Rosich
S320, 1998
E320T, 1995

In some cases, we lead the way, and others we follow. We never had mandatory passive restraints as we buckle up at something like a 90-95% rate. So no monkey-motion seatbelts for us.

The third brake light was, if memory serves, a "joint" study that was done in Canada and the US with test groups of CMHSL equipped cars. Both gov't agencies found reduced rear collisions, so we made them mandatory. Since many car makers sell in both markets, it made sense to introduce the legislation at the same time.

We didn't get rid of 5 mph bumpers like you Yanks. Still got 'em.

We have DRL's since 1990.

I don't believe airbags are mandatory, but just try selling a car without them. Of course, we may have made them mandatory by now, but for years the US made them standard, and we didn't.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

No the wires are not there. But you can tap into the left side brake light with a wire tap like I did with my euro W124. You can also buy the complete third brake light unit from the dealer or a US junkyard. On the W201 and W124 the third brake light is held down by four round clips. All you have to do is drill 4 holes in the correct place to hold the feet of the unit. A fifth hole will be needed for the wire. Get your hands on a w202 third brake light unit to see what I mean.

One question:

Tapping into the brake light to add a third brake would cause the light-out warning lamp at the dash to come on permanently?

I always wanted to add a rear right fog lamp into my E320T, but avoided the change since everyone suggested that this may cause the warning lamp to come on.

A. Rosich
S320, 1998
E320T, 1995

thank you all for your comments/suggestions.
i am now better informed and enlightened about the third brake light
this forum is a great place to share ideas!.