£560 for a new dip beam lamp!!!!!

[Clivew05]

Hi all,

was driving home yesterday and a malfunction error appeared on my dash saying "Left dip Beam!!" I checked and sure enough the left dip beam was not on .... so I went to a local dealer and showed him the Xenon bulb - he went away and came back with one .... he said they are expensive at £156 each cos they are Xenon - and then he advised that before I go spending that on the bulb - I have to be sure that it is not the control unit as that is £515 each ... I said how would I check he said you cant you need to bring it in and we will put it on the STAR system and tell you - I said how much is that - he said its only £80 ....

So I said stuff it i only wanted a bulb not a new CLK!

Anyway when I went back out to my car I put the bulb back in and on checking both lights were working again and have done ever since ...

So it may well be the control unit - but im certainly not paying £500+ for one and will get rid of the car before that is forced on me .... or change them to standard bulbs at £25 each from Halfords!

Has anyone else with Xenon bulbs had this problem?

Thanks
Clive

 

[Miffy]

One thing to try is swap the bulbs over, see if the problem moves with the bulb, or stays with the light unit.

 

[television]

You can buy all of the parts on Ebay at under £100 if the igniter etc

 

[Naraic]

The lamps themselves are less than £20 now...dealers have not reduced the ridiculous costs though.

 

[Clivew05]

This is very intersting - where would I get one for that price? Just asked my indy and they are agreeing with the main dealer on prices for parts ... but ebay is an alternate solution if I can get the part numbers?

Clive

 

[Naraic]

This is very intersting - where would I get one for that price? Just asked my indy and they are agreeing with the main dealer on prices for parts ... but ebay is an alternate solution if I can get the part numbers?

Clive

Ebay indeed. You don't need the part number, the sites usually have fitment chart.

 

[television]

In most cases once again MB will tell you to buy a complete headlamp, that is fact, because they build the parts into the lamp they think that they can get away with it

 

[LAZZA]

I had similar with my 2000 S500,w220. Merc wanted £10000000 for a bulb...E-Bay was £14 for a pair with years gaurantee. Worked great since...No brainer

 

[television]

I had similar with my 2000 S500,w220. Merc wanted £10000000 for a bulb...E-Bay was £14 for a pair with years gaurantee. Worked great since...No brainer

Hello and welcome to you

 

[Rappey69]

My xenon kept going out after varying amounts of time,turning the lights off then back on made it work for a while..
A discussion on here pointed the control unit at silly money
Bought a pair of xenon bulbs @ 6000k from ebay for £20..
Fitted them and the problem has never come back, leading me to the conclusion that its the xenon that had reached the end of its life rather than the other components to make it work !
the faulty xenon was also slightly less white than working one.

I bought two xenon kits with everything for my quad from ebay, a whole £44 for the pair !!!

 

[100%Bitch]

I had similar with my 2000 S500,w220. Merc wanted £10000000 for a bulb...E-Bay was £14 for a pair with years gaurantee. Worked great since...No brainer

I've told you a million times not to exagerate.

 

[Clivew05]

After I took out and put back the lamp it started working again and has lasted 3 weeks - this monday it suddenly faulted again - the display shows that "dipped beam - Left" with a bulb symbol.

I am away at the moment - but I was just wondering ifI changed the bulb in the left dipped beam slot to the right dipped beam and vice versa - would the fault swap??

Merc dealer tells me I need to put it on STAR to find out - but i would rather not pay the £80 or (£50) Indy prices just to check if it is the bulb or not .

If swapping the bulb over changes the fault then I am hoping that this will tell me that the bulb is faulty!.. however the manual states strongly that these bulbs "SHOULD NOT" be changed by "YOURSELF" and insists that you need a dealer to change them - is this correct - I have already had the bulb out before and re fitted it without any problems?

-------- Update --------

Just checked the manual online from this forum which states that the xenon bulb is H7(55w) D2S-35W and I have found some on ebay for £7.99 a pair - considering these are quoted at £126 each from Mercs "and" the indy this seems incredibly cheap!!! Ill check the bulb when i get home Thursday and if the fault swaps then ill get some to see if they work!

My question is then is the bulb type as above correct as it seems that the online manual is US and not UK - will the type be different in the UK?

Thanks again all

Clive

Thanks in advance

Clive

 

[Clivew05]

Ok now I am confused - I didnt know there was a choice of lamp for dipped beam - I think that I have xenon bulbs but I have been asked are they halogen?

I have no idea how would I find out?

Thanks for any pointers in advance

Clive

 

[toby1]

Put your VIN up and I'll decode it

 

[Clivew05]

Put your VIN up and I'll decode it

Hi VIN = WDB2093652F042251

Thanks for your help!

Clive

 

[toby1]

It would appear you have Xenon headlamps:

CHASSIS WDB2093652F042251
ENGINENO 11295531475445
POWER 218
BRAND 095=Mercedes-Benz
TRANSMISSIONTYPE A=automatic transmission
MODEL CLK 320 Coupé AVANTGARDE
BODY 3=Coupé
WHEELBASE 2715
MAXTOTALWEIGHT 2060
ENGINETYPE 2=Petrol
FUEL S=Super
NUMBEROFDOORS 2
CYLINDERCAPACITY 3199
CLASS CLK
BRANCH 0
FINALDATE 22/01/2003
STOCKNUMBER 0353787133
FUELCONSUMPTION 10.4
EMISSION 250.0
UPHOLSTERY 831=Leather anthracite
PAINT 197=Obsidian black metallic
OPTION M32
OPTION 053=Modification year 02/2
OPTION 241=Front seat,electr.adjust.left w/memory switch
OPTION 249=Automatically dimming int.and ext.mirrors
OPTION 275=Memory package el.adjust.driver's seat
OPTION 326=Telephone compartment in front armrest
OPTION 352=Comand control and display system
OPTION 354=Telephone antenna
OPTION 423=5-speed automatic transmission
OPTION 461=Instrument with mileage reading
OPTION 500=Electrically folding exterior mirrors
OPTION 551=Anti-theft warning system
OPTION 600=Headlight cleaning system
OPTION 618=Bi-xenon headlamps f. left-side dr. traffic
OPTION 638=Light-alloy wheel 5-spoke design 17
OPTION 668=Prod. prot. f. freight pkging with tie-down hooks
OPTION 673=High-capacity battery
OPTION 690=Emergency wheel (mini spare)
OPTION 803=Technical modifications
OPTION 810=Harman Kardon® Logic 7® Surround-soundsystem
OPTION 819=CD changer, MP3-capable, for 6 CDs
OPTION 854=Mobile phone (Nokia)
OPTION 860=TV tuner analogue
OPTION 873=Heated front seats
OPTION 875=Heated screen wash system
OPTION 882=Interior motion sensor
OPTION 926=Emission control EU4 technology
OPTION 954=AVANTGARDE
OPTION 984=COC paper - no registration certification
OPTION 989=Identification label under windshield
OPTION 010=Power windows
OPTION 011=Headlight assistant
OPTION 069=Exterior mirror heated and electr. adjustable
OPTION 280=Leather-covered steering wheel/shift lever
OPTION 290=Windowbag
OPTION 291=Airbag for driver and front passenger
OPTION 292=Sidebags for driver and front passenger
OPTION 343=Air cleaner with fill level indicator
OPTION 440=Cruise control
OPTION 472=Electronic stability program (ESP)

ALL OPTIONS M32/053/241/249/275/326/352/354/423/461/500/551/600/618/638/668/

 

[Clivew05]

WOW - Thanks didnt know I had all of that - is there any way of decoding further for the options?

I was not aware that I had:

OPTION 819=CD changer, MP3-capable, for 6 CDs I knew that there was a CD changer but not that it was MP3 compatible - but then i have a BOSE system and not the Harmon Kardon?

OPTION 343=Air cleaner with fill level indicator cant find where this would be and what it is for - I guess this is a pollen filter or something similar - but no idea where a fill level indicator would be...

Thanks for the info

Clive

 

[toby1]

That's all I can provide. It's probably 99% accurate, but as models become out of production, I think some option codes can be used again and changed on newer models - but that's just a guess.

*edit* My option codes on my car also show an MP3 compatible CD changer but it's not working so I've never been able to test it!

 

[Clivew05]

Ill give mine a go at the weekend and let you know then

Clive

 

[EuroCarParts]

I believe Philips make the Xenon bulbs for OE applications - These are aprox £80 each in the aftermarket!