Are there two different versions of high beam assist?

[Altamar]

Hi

My W212 doesn't have any form of high beam assist. My R231 SL does.

The latter's system has cornering lights, full LEDs and switches from dipped beam to full beam and back when there is no car approaching etc. It's not perfect but that's a debate for another day.

However, I had a 2015 W212 (Avantgarde/Sport?) on hire when mine was in for some warranty repairs a couple of years ago and the hired car came with a VERY clever version of High Beam Assist. The only way I can describe it is that it switched to full beam when appropriate but if I then caught up with the car in front it switched off the high beam BUT ONLY the parts which would have dazzled the car in front. It left the full beam on to illuminate the central reservation and left hand kerb/grass bank.

It sort of created a black square around the car in front which was the cleverest thing I have ever seen and I can't recreate the effect with my SL's system. It is definitely something I would pay extra for on my next car if I could.

So my question is does anyone know what this system on the hired car was and how is it different in spec terms to what is on my SL. Ideally, can my SL's high beam assist be set up to play the clever trick the hire car did?

 

[Botus]

its not really two - is old basic and new magic

circa 2006 cars started to have a basic sensor that picked light from other vehicles and basically switched the conventional high beam on and off for the user. It has rules about speed limits and is generally dangerous and a nuisance (I always switch it off)

then in came LED morphing lights, which can blank, dim, switch out various lighting elements by tracking other road users lighting, and produces moving greyed out areas that don't dazzle,

then on high end cars those 36 matrix boxes have recently moved to something like 30,000 elements and can I guess light around the specific shapes of a vehicle rather than just a box. they can even play video for children waiting to sell drugs on street corners

both the later two are a totally different design of lamp unit - often costing 4k each side, with half the worlds resources buried in costly control modules and cameras...

 

[Blobcat]

The loan car will have had the “intelligent lighting system” rather than high beam assist

 

[Craiglxviii]

High beam assist: switches high beam on & off automatically.

ILS Gen 1: moving black spot, witchcraft and wizardry involved. Mechanically scanned system. Upto 2018.

ILS Gen 2: moving black spot, magic subatomic-particle controlled. Electronically-scanned system (turning on and off individual LEDs in a 1024-LED matrix). From 2018- 2022.

ILS Gen 3: moving black spot, more magic. Capable of projecting a black & white HD movie if programmed right (no, I’m not exaggerating!) From 2023.

 

[Altamar]

The loan car will have had the “intelligent lighting system” rather than high beam assist

High beam assist: switches high beam on & off automatically.

ILS Gen 1: moving black spot, witchcraft and wizardry involved. Mechanically scanned system. Upto 2018.

ILS Gen 2: moving black spot, magic subatomic-particle controlled. Electronically-scanned system (turning on and off individual LEDs in a 1024-LED matrix). From 2018- 2022.

ILS Gen 3: moving black spot, more magic. Capable of projecting a black & white HD movie if programmed right (no, I’m not exaggerating!) From 2023.

Thanks for the replies, which have made me realise I was careless with my description, sorry. The SL also has the intelligent lighting system. The car was registered new in May 2015 so if there is any way I can activate the moving black spot I would appreciate knowing please.

The switching on and off of the high beam is very hit and miss - for example if the lights reflect off a sign it assumes there is an approaching car - and it certainly doesn't do the black spot magic.

 

[Davey]

I've got a 2015 E350 and it looks like this:

 

[sonic]

My 2011 E350 has intelligent lighting with auto main beam dip. The later systems are much more advanced, mine get confused with sharp deviation signs & dips.

 

[Ron240]

Multibeam LED is very clever and I still find it fascinating to watch it do its thing.
It is probably the single thing that impresses me most about my car.
Unfortunately it is one of the things that the global semiconductor shortage is affecting on new car production at the moment.

 

[Craiglxviii]

Thanks for the replies, which have made me realise I was careless with my description, sorry. The SL also has the intelligent lighting system. The car was registered new in May 2015 so if there is any way I can activate the moving black spot I would appreciate knowing please.

The switching on and off of the high beam is very hit and miss - for example if the lights reflect off a sign it assumes there is an approaching car - and it certainly doesn't do the black spot magic.

It works on relative brightness. Modern road signs have a very high reflectivity index and they’re a real problem in developing ILS.

Multibeam LED is very clever and I still find it fascinating to watch it do its thing.
It is probably the single thing that impresses me most about my car.
Unfortunately it is one of the things that the global semiconductor shortage is affecting on new car production at the moment.

Too right. Luckily the main developer of this system is Osram and they manufacture their own LEDs, so that’s somewhat mitigated. It isn’t only semis that are seeing problems. Power components and even bl00dy passives are short. Hell, I can’t get OE pricing on connectors until January!

 

[LostKiwi]

 

[LostKiwi]

Supply chains are likely to get worse before they get better.
China is currently experiencing fuel delivery issues and limiting HGVs to 100 litres at a time (about 10% of their capacity).

 

[Craiglxviii]

Supply chains are likely to get worse before they get better.
China is currently experiencing fuel delivery issues and limiting HGVs to 100 litres at a time (about 10% of their capacity).

Specialty steels are on 6-9 month lead times now. Talk about a seller’s market.

 

[Srdl]

China is currently experiencing fuel delivery issues and limiting HGVs to 100 litres at a time (about 10% of their capacity).

But we don’t hear anything about that in the UK media just the sensationalism about our own temporary problems.

 

[LostKiwi]

But we don’t hear anything about that in the UK media just the sensationalism about our own temporary problems.

It was on the BBC website...

China rations diesel amid fuel shortages

It is likely to contribute to the global supply chain crisis and inflation, analysts told the BBC.

www.bbc.com