I've really really been trying to avoid posting this, I know it's been posted and covered many times, I've been reading posts for months
My drives side ( RHD car) low beam xenon has a mind of it's own, it sometimes comes on, mainly stays off.... I've replaced the bulb, put a new ballast box in it, tried other ballast boxes, cleaned all the connectors, sprayed them with crc electrical cleaner, yet it's still random will come on, then won't, once I took it to my workshop, jacked the front of the car up to take the ballast out, and it worked perfectly,,
The only thing I haven't changed it the igniter , I have read that this can cause flickering when they are going bad, but I'm not getting flickering, if it comes to replacing the igniter (. Breaking the seal on the headlight and pulling them apart) I would rather look at other options, like trying to hook up more modern, aftermarket xenon setup if possible
I've dug out this WIS procedure from an old version.
There appears to be a method of replacing the igniter from a kit by snipping the 3 wires from the module and re-soldering them. Applicable to 2003 CLK.
Hey Keyhole, I wonder of you could do that repair kit, but with either another factory igniter, or an aftermarket igniter, as the factory repair kits seem to hard to get nowadays
The repair kit was only produced because of a known design fault with Hella ignition modules before the date of 28/04/03. What is the date on the sticker on your module?
If you do cut & resolder the 3 wires, make sure that you insulate the joints correctly with electrician's tape.
I'll check the date on the module on the weekend, I want to go over the connections one more time just to be sure, if it's the igniter , I might try and fine a similar spec aftermarket type, or off another model with the same wiring and hook it up on the inside and maybe strap it to the inside the black cap., it will be all soldered connections, with tape, or shrink wrap ,
I have a few bulbs and other ballasts, all seem to do the same thing,
Hi. Yes I've replaced the ballast with a new one.tried a few secondhand ones i have that i know work. Changed bulbs with new ones ... done all the usual stuff
If you are comfortable with baking your headlights you can easily take the igniter out which looks like this: See attached image.
It's held in my two t-20 or t-25, I can't remember off by heart. Unplug the 3 wire harness and remove, plug new one in and put the headlight back together again.
You can find OEM ignitors and ballasts on ebay all day long. 99% of them are OK. I just purchased two hella ballasts from this seller for my w211 bi-xenon retrofit: nycunitedgoods | eBay
Note that when I had my bi-xenons it looks like the previous owner of the lights had MB do a fix because I had the same end cap that keyhole posted where they snip the wires and the ignitors screws into the back of the cap. This is fine but messy looking. It's best to remove the headlight from the car, bake it, pull it apart (which is really super easy... 200 degrees in the oven for 12 mintues and it will take 30 seconds to pull the halves apart) then you can replace the necessary part without having to cut any wires and then be done.
I brought a new one off ebay, plus I have a spare that works,
I've just ordered an igniter..I put my i980 scan tool on the car, it come up with " headlight failed to ignite".. I've replaced the ballast, bulbs, it's all that's left really :eek
good luck-- I fought a fog light on an SL intermittent and finally found a loose connector prong on the receptor plug. It would go on and off if I rapped it on the lens.
I got the new igniter. I ended put cutting a rectangle out if the light cap. Fitting the igniter. Screwing it into place. And smeared clear silicone around it .. joined the green. Red and black wires. Soldered the joints with heat shrink over it...
Cut off the out igniter plug from inside. . Works perfectly
Whatever it takes...lol..... I really enjoy solving problems on the car, the more I learn about it :angel:angel
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