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2005 S500 headlight suggestions for bad assembly

5K views 22 replies 7 participants last post by  Dave2302 
#1 ·
Hello,
I bought an 05 S500 that I knew had a bad headlight. I thought the bulb was bad so I swapped it thinking that was the fix. It wasn't. Took it to a shop and they told me it's the assembly and OEM runs $1600. I am simply not going to pay that.

As I explore my options, definitely would appreciate some suggestions on what to go with. I found this set on Amazon for $900 which says it's OEM...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EQDG9I...TF8&colid=3UURJ8OMR603Q&coliid=I1CSY6RCMNKM8O

I know I can also so cheaper, chinese knock route from Ebay or somewhere like that but I've heard bad stories.

I also see local car shops that claim to go HID/LED upgrades.

Any advice, I'm willing to spend the $900 on the Amazon lights but since I'm not an expert, would love input from the forum. Thank you.

Nelson
 
#2 · (Edited)
It would be interesting to know more specifically what was wrong with that headlight assembly. Does the high beam work? Does the foglight work? Does the turn signal work? Is this headlight assembly a halogen unit or an HID (xenon) unit?

A few months ago, I did three headlight upgrades:

1.) the silver '03 S430, with factory halogens, which I upgraded with Depo's HID kit,

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w22...o-aftermarket-xenon-headlight-assemblies.html

2.) a rebuild of the blue '03 S600 TT's factory bi-xenon (HID) headlights, with brand new Morimoto projectors,

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w22...t-comparison-depo-vs-refurbished-factory.html

3.) and my former project car ('00 S500, came with factory *reflector* HID's) with standard halogen, pre-facelift, *reflector* assemblies, but LED headlight bulbs.

In order of performance, these options rate as follows.

1.) S600 TT's Morimoto-upgraded HID fixtures
2.) Depo aftermarket HID fixtures
3.) OEM halogen reflector housings with LED bulbs

The LED bulbs in the halogen fixtures do work OK. They don't seem to throw as much light down the road as the Depos, and definitely not the Morimoto-upgraded fixtures, but they're better than the stock halogens. With some careful shopping, you can get a single Bosch (that's the OEM) headlight assembly for $370, shipped.

If you just want to put new fixtures in there and be done with it, and you want the HID upgrade (recommended, now that I've tried them), I'd consider the Depos. While they're made in Taiwan (with German projectors), they've proved to be pretty good at lighting up the road. Their goal is to be as "stock-like" as reasonably possible. I do like them.
 
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#3 ·
Thanks for your reply. Those are actually great questions. Yes, the high beam, fog, and turn signal all work. It's just the low beam that doesn't. They are the Xenon headlights as well. Not sure if it may be the igniter, wiring, or anything else. Can't say electronics are my strong suit :)

I'll explore the links you posted, a rebuild may be in the works but for now, I'd just like to determine if it does indeed need the assembly. There's a car shop literally on the corner of my block that does HID upgrades, may just take it there and see what they tell me.
 
#4 ·
In that case, my first suggestion would be the ballast has finally given up the ghost. Fortunately, those can be found for a lot less than $800+. I would check out The Retrofit Source; they have reasonably priced ones, and they're pretty easy to replace on our headlight fixtures.

Alternately, they're available on eBay, often for less than $100.
 
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#5 · (Edited)
If there's a place near to you that does hid upgrades and provides a good warranty I would do that

Should be under $200 installed

Otherwise just find one used oem light on Craigslist or eBay . There will be no warranty unless defective and you'll need someone to install but it's way cheaper then $900

Probably under $300 including install labor if you find a deal
 
#6 · (Edited)
Piggybacking on cowboyt's suggestion in post 4, see http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w220-s-class/1712472-diy-bi-xenon-bulb-replacement-removal.html especially post 7 concerning prices and info on part numbers and substitutes. If you need an igniter, instead of a ballast unit, note that the exact same part is used in other manufacturers cars, and may be available at their parts counters for less. (post 1 in the thread).

Otherwise, cowboyt's post at 2 and tusabes' post are very good advice.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Hi,

/\ +1 to all the above advice............

Just one more thing, before you spend money :wink

The Right Dip Beam on Xenon cars is controlled via the Left Front SAM and vice - versa.
I'd get the car read on SDS first, as if it is a Ballast or Igniter, there could well be a code stored, also look in the actuations, and follow any symptom related tests, this will take a good operator to the faulty component first time :wink

If you just try replacing parts it could get far more expensive than an hour on SDS :wink

Finally, beware of installing aftermarket HID kit's in an HID car, they may be "Can Bus friendly", but they aren't all "Mercedes SAM unit friendly", you could end up with a permanent message on your dash or worse :wink

HTH,

Cheers Dave
 
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#8 ·
Dave's got a point. I cannot tell you how glad I am to have listened to the advice on this forum about getting a STAR unit. That thing has saved me probably $20,000 so far, mostly in labour, but also in parts since it tells me what to buy. This is *especially* the case on the S600 TT, but on just the former project-car S500, STAR has probably saved me about $5,000. On the silver S430, it's probably saved me about $3K so far.
 
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#9 ·
Thank you everyone for the excellent tips here. I actually went back and looked at the diagnostic report the mechanic did for me. Here is what is listed for my headlight

B1003 One of the cables to component E1n2 (Xenon headlamp ignition module) has Short circuit

Does that mean it's a wiring issue? If so, how would I begin to test that?

I guess I would explore this before installing a new ballast.

Would a used headlight have the ballast already installed?
 
#10 · (Edited)
Thank you everyone for the excellent tips here. I actually went back and looked at the diagnostic report the mechanic did for me. Here is what is listed for my headlight

B1003 One of the cables to component E1n2 (Xenon headlamp ignition module) has Short circuit

Does that mean it's a wiring issue?
Hi,

The Ballast is the larger Metal Module fixed onto the underside of the Headlamp, and the Ignitor is the smaller module, found under a rectangular removable Cover at the rear of the Headlamp.

The Wiring between the 2 is inside the Headlamp, and I suspect will be the culprit :wink
Remove the Headlamp and carefully un clip the Lens, and strip it down, to get at the Wiring inside :wink

Note on the centre right of the second pic, there is a wire wound choke, in the wiring between ballast and headlamp plug, also the short wiring between the base of Headlamp, (Ballast), and Ignitor....... I suspect one of them will be the wiring with the fault.

A cheap, (perhaps slightly damaged lens or casing), but complete s/h Headlamp will be the best way to procure the parts to fix this :wink

Here's one I stripped earlier :-

:laugh
 

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#11 ·
Thanks so much for all the details. I think I have a plan of attack now. This has been really helpful.

I assume that if I can find a cheap enough working headlight assembly I can just swap it as all the wiring is inside the headlight?

Just curious, as I mentioned just starting to learn about electronics as it pertains to this car.

Much appreciated!

Nelson
 
#12 ·
Nelson, where are you located? I may have a spare around that you can use for this.
 
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#14 ·
OK, I'm in Virginia, so it's yours if you'll cover the shipping.
 
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#17 ·
Indeed, I do. Will PM you.
 
#19 ·
You will need to give more information to get a meaningful reply.
Is the car a W220 S-Class sedan?
What year?
What model?
Which headlamps?

HID Xenon Systems
HID stands for High-Intensity Discharge. Xenon is the type of gas inside the bulb. Xenon bulbs can produce a brighter, whiter light than a halogen car, and tend to have a longer lifespan. The bulb works in a different way to a halogen. Instead of a filament heating up and glowing, xenon headlights use electrodes to discharge the gas inside the bulb. This produces the light you see on the road. In order for xenon bulbs to work they require electronic ballasts, and ignitors to generate the high voltages required to discharge the gas.

HID xenon headlight systems come in two different types, xenon and bi-xenon.

HID Xenon Headlight Systems
HID xenon headlight systems use two separate bulbs for the high and low beam illumination. The main high beam system uses xenon bulbs, electronic ballasts, and ignitors. A separate conventional halogen bulb is also fitted for low beam.

HID Bi-xenon Headlight Systems
HID bi-xenon headlight systems use one bulb for both high and low beam illumination. To achieve low and high beam illumination with a single HID bi-xenon bulb, it is used in conjunction with a lens projector which has a solenoid/motor that is attached to a cutoff plate or shield. When the 'high beams' are activated a signal is sent to the solenoid and the motor will lower the cutoff plate/shield allowing more light to shine above the shield; hence high beams.

Halogen Systems
Halogen headlight systems use separate low beam and high beam bulbs in different locations. Sometimes dual filament bulbs are used to produce both high and low beams in one bulb. Halogen bulbs are cheap to manufacture, plus they’re very simple to replace. Inside the bulb is a filament made out of tungsten and halogen gas. The bulb lights up when electricity reaches the filament, heating up the tungsten which begins to glow.


What doesn't work in the headlamp?

What does work?
 
#20 ·
You will need to give more information to get a meaningful reply.
Is the car a W220 S-Class sedan?
What year?
What model?
Which headlamps?

HID Xenon Systems
HID stands for High-Intensity Discharge. Xenon is the type of gas inside the bulb. Xenon bulbs can produce a brighter, whiter light than a halogen car, and tend to have a longer lifespan. The bulb works in a different way to a halogen. Instead of a filament heating up and glowing, xenon headlights use electrodes to discharge the gas inside the bulb. This produces the light you see on the road. In order for xenon bulbs to work they require electronic ballasts, and ignitors to generate the high voltages required to discharge the gas.

HID xenon headlight systems come in two different types, xenon and bi-xenon.

HID Xenon Headlight Systems
HID xenon headlight systems use two separate bulbs for the high and low beam illumination. The main high beam system uses xenon bulbs, electronic ballasts, and ignitors. A separate conventional halogen bulb is also fitted for low beam.

HID Bi-xenon Headlight Systems
HID bi-xenon headlight systems use one bulb for both high and low beam illumination. To achieve low and high beam illumination with a single HID bi-xenon bulb, it is used in conjunction with a lens projector which has a solenoid/motor that is attached to a cutoff plate or shield. When the 'high beams' are activated a signal is sent to the solenoid and the motor will lower the cutoff plate/shield allowing more light to shine above the shield; hence high beams.

Halogen Systems
Halogen headlight systems use separate low beam and high beam bulbs in different locations. Sometimes dual filament bulbs are used to produce both high and low beams in one bulb. Halogen bulbs are cheap to manufacture, plus they’re very simple to replace. Inside the bulb is a filament made out of tungsten and halogen gas. The bulb lights up when electricity reaches the filament, heating up the tungsten which begins to glow.


What doesn't work in the headlamp?

What does work?
My apologies, thank you for your reply.
my car is W209 2003 CLK55 AMG with Xenon HID
The low beam driver side is not working, everything else is working on the driver side. Passenger side is all working including the low beam Xenon HID
Using i car soft MB2 I got the same message

2691108

I replaced the headlight module ballast that’s attached to the headlight but that didn’t change the message or get it working. Then I got another headlight (with different igniter) but the same ballast and tried few bulbs but still didn’t work. I checked the wiring from the driver side headlight to the SAM and i didn’t catch a discontinuity or a short in the wire (but I could be wrong I am just a diy-er that’s poking around not a pro).

thank you for your help
 
#21 ·
Okay - You are in the W220 Forum, so not too many of us will be familiar with the problems and wiring of the W209. Hopefully, someone will see this who can help you.

I have no idea about the W209, but on the W220, the left low beam is powered from the right SAM, and the right low beam is powered from the left SAM. With this setup, a failure in one SAM will kill the low beam on one side and the high beam on the other.
 
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