£560 for a new dip beam lamp!!!!!

[Clivew05]

Just to confuse both me and the suppliers of headlamps even further, what I have in my CLK has the base of an H7 but the bulb of a DS2, everyone is confused.

The bulb in the car has a metal circular base which has indents and lumps that fit the housing and then clips in via metal spring clip into the housing with a rubber coated connecter which fits over the two spade conectors on the base of the bulb, what I am describing is the H7 Base apparently as the DS2 has a black round base with a bayonet fitting ..... !!!!!!!

Now when I look at a picture of the DS2 the glass bit is the same as mine so is Xenon - plus as above the spec stated Bi Xenon - however the H7 base is close to the fitting.

can anyone help as I dont want to buy the wrong thing, I dont think that the glass bit of the bulb comes away from the base?

I do have a quote for the bulb and ecu that controls it from Merc at home and can publish that when I get home if that will help anyone clear this up for me ..

Trouble is that with a bulb out I cant drive after dark at the moment as its illegal and therefore needs to be fixed quickly as I leave for work at 5am on a monday morning and will need them soon :-(

Clive

 

[taffbrake@hotmail.com]

If its any help to you I have a dismantled headlight for a 211 xenon
you can have the bits if you want them
there're 2 aluminium units??
bulbs set complete
and a fisheye type lens

 

[Clivew05]

If its any help to you I have a dismantled headlight for a 211 xenon
you can have the bits if you want them
there're 2 aluminium units??
bulbs set complete
and a fisheye type lens

They do look similar to mine except mine is apparently a w210 model - I am checking at the weekend when I am back home - but if they are the same as mine then I would be very interested - PM me with price.

Thanks
Clive

 

[taffbrake@hotmail.com]

The post said you can have them

all I would want is a prepaid jiffy bag to post them on.

 

[toby1]

They do look similar to mine except mine is apparently a w210 model - I am checking at the weekend when I am back home - but if they are the same as mine then I would be very interested - PM me with price.

Thanks
Clive

Your car is a W209 CLK - a W210 is an old E Class.

Surely the lamps nearest the grille are main beam (halogen) and side light and the main lamps are Xenon?

 

[Clivew05]

Ill check this tomorrow - however - one thing that puzzles me is that when a bulb goes it goes doesnt it?

Twice I have had a problem with the Xenon bulb not on and the display showing Dip Beam Left - yet after leaving the car for a while and then restarting the bulb or light works!

This sounds more like the control unit - just my luck! Im swapping the bulbs over in the morning to see if it happens on the other side - if it is still left then it is the control unit so will have to source one of those cheap as Merc quote me £360 +VAT for the part plus fitting .....

Fingers crossed.

Clive

 

[Clivew05]

The post said you can have them

all I would want is a prepaid jiffy bag to post them on.

Great!

PM me with your address and postage cost and Ill get something sent off to you .....

Thanks
Clive

 

[Clivew05]

Im told by the indy that this is likely to be the starter - (igniter) and that this is about £45 to buy apparently the earlier model CLK when you twisted it it all came away an easy replacement but mine to the newer type and they say that the entire headlamp cluster needs to be removed in order to remove the igniter from the control unit ....

Has anyone tried this - the indy says that it is about a 2 hour job to fit the new igniter ??

Cheers

Clive

 

[Rappey69]

:? one of the first postings says about swopping the lamps over yet reading through 3 pages of posts your back to the igniter again without swopping the lamps over to see if one of the lamps may be faulty , or have i missed something?

 

[Clivew05]

:? one of the first postings says about swopping the lamps over yet reading through 3 pages of posts your back to the igniter again without swopping the lamps over to see if one of the lamps may be faulty , or have i missed something?

sorry yes I swapped the lamps over and there has not been a failure yet, however I am working away from home at the moment so have only driven in the dark on the way to the airport - the reason why i am back to the igniter is because I spoke to the indy who suggested that if the bulb works then it works usually if a bulb goes it has blown and will not work again but I have swapped them over anyway ... the thing that seems to "fix" them is removing the igniter from the back of the bulb and then attaching it again ... hence my questions ...

I am told again by the indy that it would be a good thing to swap the igniter over but this means removing the light cluster from the car to get at the unit to disconnect it which is about a couple of hours work ... it would be quicker to replace the igniter ....

Just wondered if anyone had done this (remove the light clusters from the car) and how easy it was?

Clive

 

[Rappey69]

Ahh, so a lamp either works or does not??
Have you read post No 10?

 

[Clivew05]

Ahh, so a lamp either works or does not??
Have you read post No 10?

Yep - and as a result I have ordered a couple of Xenon bulbs from ebay which hopefully will arrive by the time i get home - so will replace them anyway as the ones that I have ordered are 6K so slightly brighter ... they do not come as a kit though - the kit that I have been advised of is not oem and requires some modifications to the wiring which I did not really want to do ....

As I say they have not failed since I swapped them so more investigation on that if however the same side fails then it may not be the bulb but what is driving it - as a matter of interest where did you get the "kits" and were they a staight swap - or did you too have to modify something?

In any case that then brings me onto the update that I made - if I have to fit a "kit" then I need to remove the headlamp unit to replace the ECU and Igniter, so I was wondering if anyone had done this as how easy it was as the indy is quoting 2 hour for one replacement!!!

Clive

 

[Rappey69]

as a matter of interest where did you get the "kits" and were they a staight swap - or did you too have to modify something?


Clive

I got my kits from ebay and fitted them to a quad so that part is not really relevant?

 

[RobWheatley]

I had the same as Rappey, My nearside headlamp kept going out after varying times, swapped the bulbs and it was ok for a while but them to offside one stared doing it, changed the bulbs and its been fine ever since.
With these bulbs there is NO fillament to blow as in a normal bulb, the use 2 electrodes to excite the gas in the capsule, it could be that the electrodes (or gas) can break down and stop the arc, well thats my theory anyway lol....
Rob

 

[Clivew05]

Thats excellent news hopefully the new ones will arrive and the problem will go away ..

Thanks all

Clive