The Mercedes-Benz 260E uses a P21/5W bulb size for front side marker applications and a 5008 bulb size for rear side marker positions. The replacement chart covers vehicle production spanning 1987 to 1989 with corresponding bulb size specifications.
The year-by-year compatibility chart below provides a quick reference to verify the correct bulb size for your vehicle.
The Mercedes-Benz 260E uses two distinct bulb standards across its front and rear side marker positions, with the front drawing from the ECE (European) standard and the rear from the ANSI (North American) standard.
The front side marker across the 1987-1989 model years takes the P21/5W, an ECE-rated dual-filament bulb operating at 12V with a 21W main filament and a 5W secondary filament.
The P21/5W uses a BAY15d bayonet base, a twin-contact offset-pin fitting designed to prevent incorrect single-filament bulbs from being seated in its place.
Because the P21/5W is dual-filament, substituting it with a single-filament bulb of the same base type would result in one filament function going unfulfilled, making direct replacement with non-dual-filament alternatives incompatible.
The rear side marker across the 1987-1989 model years takes the 5008, an ANSI-rated single-filament bulb operating at 12V.
The 5008 uses a BA15s bayonet base, a single-contact fitting that is physically similar to but electrically distinct from the BAY15d base used by the front marker bulb, meaning the two bulb types are not interchangeable between positions.
The 5008 is a lower wattage variant of the 1156 bulb family, sharing the same BA15s base but drawing less power, so the higher-wattage 1156 is not a direct equivalent replacement.
The front and rear side marker positions on the 260E require bulbs from different international standards, which means sourcing replacements from a single regional market may not satisfy both positions simultaneously.