Bulb sitting high on low beam

[SirHobs]

Hi all,

So the low beam on my 2011 C180 Blue efficiency died recently and I had the mechanic replace it. Problem is, the bulb is sitting high. (Pic 1) Previously, the beam was sitting level.

I took it back to the mechanic but he seems to have re-aligned the lights. Now the low beam is sittig level but the high is pointed to the ground. (Pic 2 and 3).

I'm positive that the it's either the way the bulb is sitting or the bulb itself that is the problem. Is there anyone who knows how to fix this?

 

[V6Matty]

This may sound daft but it’s likely the bulb has been put in inside down and then adjusted down to compensate

 

[DREAMER NO2]

V6Matty my very same thought .And if its is that the bulb is not in the right location . then i would do away with said garage forthwith .I would take my love and joy to a reputable garage right away, Get it fixed , and send the people that did itin the first place the bill to fix it . This is an easy job even Halfrauds could have done it

 

[EmilysDad]

This is an easy job even Halfrauds could have done it

Do they have a branch in Zimbabwe?

 

[Blobcat]

This may sound daft but it’s likely the bulb has been put in inside down and then adjusted down to compensate

I managed to put a H7 in my smart upside down… Mercedes refitted it for free for me…

 

[EmilysDad]

I managed to put a H7 in my smart upside down… ...

how? they have a peg on the bulb that locates on the back of the headlight

 

[grahamcol]

how? they have a peg on the bulb that locates on the back of the headlight

If it was a Smart Fortwo l can't understand how it was possible to change the headlight bulb at all. My neighbour used to have one and the access was unbelievably tight.

 

[Craiglxviii]

how? they have a peg on the bulb that locates on the back of the headlight

Brute force solves many things

 

[Blobcat]

how? they have a peg on the bulb that locates on the back of the headlight

If it was a Smart Fortwo l can't understand how it was possible to change the headlight bulb at all. My neighbour used to have one and the access was unbelievably tight.

Carefully, and yes it is a ForTwo so yes going in at such a crazy angle I couldn’t tell I’d not lined it up. I take the whole headlight out when I need to do it now.

 

[EmilysDad]

Carefully, and yes it is a ForTwo so yes going in at such a crazy angle I couldn’t tell I’d not lined it up. I take the whole headlight out when I need to do it now.

a likely tale .....
I changed one on mine not that long back

 

[davidsl500]

I managed to put a H7 in my smart upside down… Mercedes refitted it fir free fir me…

I tend to do jobs just standing normally rather than doing tricks....

 

[SirHobs]

WOW. Okay, so many messages.

This may sound daft but it’s likely the bulb has been put in inside down and then adjusted down to compensate

I actually tried to flip it the other way thinking exactly the same thing, but it seems there's only one way to install it.

V6Matty my very same thought .And if its is that the bulb is not in the right location . then i would do away with said garage forthwith .I would take my love and joy to a reputable garage right away, Get it fixed , and send the people that did itin the first place the bill to fix it . This is an easy job even Halfrauds could have done it

Problem, the garage I'm using is one of the best in the area. The mechanic is really good and hasn't done me wrong yet. This is the first time there's been a hiccup.

Do they have a branch in Zimbabwe?

Nope, closest we have is Zimoco. But I'd rather not sell my kidney for their stupidly expensive services.


I've raised the issue to the mechanic, and he's asked me to bring it back in which I'll do hopefully later in the week. If there's a solution I'll let you guys know.

Things I've tried so far:
• Take out the bulb from it's housing, remove and spin 180°. Seems that there's a flat bit of metal that prevents this. Only one way for install.
• Jiggle the bulb in the connector. No change
• Remove bulb from housing and reinstall WITHOUT connector, then install connector. No change.
•Use a bit of paper between the bulb plate and light housing to forcefully push the light down. While successful in pushing the bulb down, it was pushed down too much and triggered some sensor or another in the on board computer.
• Bought an off brand H7 to test, turns out the off brand has 3 connectors while the merc brand has two connectors.

 

[EmilysDad]

....
• Bought an off brand H7 to test, turns out the off brand has 3 connectors while the merc brand has two connectors.

that sounds like a H4 bulb ie combined dip & main beam ???

 

[Craiglxviii]

WOW. Okay, so many messages.

I actually tried to flip it the other way thinking exactly the same thing, but it seems there's only one way to install it.

Problem, the garage I'm using is one of the best in the area. The mechanic is really good and hasn't done me wrong yet. This is the first time there's been a hiccup.

Nope, closest we have is Zimoco. But I'd rather not sell my kidney for their stupidly expensive services.


I've raised the issue to the mechanic, and he's asked me to bring it back in which I'll do hopefully later in the week. If there's a solution I'll let you guys know.

Things I've tried so far:
• Take out the bulb from it's housing, remove and spin 180°. Seems that there's a flat bit of metal that prevents this. Only one way for install.
• Jiggle the bulb in the connector. No change
• Remove bulb from housing and reinstall WITHOUT connector, then install connector. No change.
•Use a bit of paper between the bulb plate and light housing to forcefully push the light down. While successful in pushing the bulb down, it was pushed down too much and triggered some sensor or another in the on board computer.
• Bought an off brand H7 to test, turns out the off brand has 3 connectors while the merc brand has two connectors.

An H7 by definition has two connectors only. One element to illuminate.

Agreed, it does sound like an H4- two elements hence three connectors:

 

[DREAMER NO2]

Bulb will have three tabs on , and the bulb can fit one way only . The bulb location will not change the hight of the beam its only the deflector that can do that . Do you have headlight beam adjusters on your car ?

 

[grahamcol]

I wonder if the new bulb has somehow been assembled incorrectly?

 

[SirHobs]

that sounds like a H4 bulb ie combined dip & main beam ???

An H7 by definition has two connectors only. One element to illuminate. View attachment 80110

Agreed, it does sound like an H4- two elements hence three connectors:

View attachment 80111

Both of these, as I've come to find are correct. The off brand bulb I bought was indeed an H4. Whoops.

I wonder if the new bulb has somehow been assembled incorrectly?

New bulb got put into storage. Still using the old two pin bulb. It doesn't *look* like there are any defects on the bulb/plate/pins, but then again I'm not really sure what I'm looking for.

Bulb will have three tabs on , and the bulb can fit one way only . The bulb location will not change the hight of the beam its only the deflector that can do that . Do you have headlight beam adjusters on your car ?

You mean the little slidey thing that allows the beams to move up and down? Yes I do, however before the bulb was replaced there was no issue, it's only after the new bulb got installed that it was pointing high. So I strongly doubt it's the light housing itself.

 

[DREAMER NO2]

There is a small shield inside the bulb that directs the ligh downwards and a main beam bulb would not have one of these .

 

[SirHobs]

Hi guys, apologies for the delay. I'll be taking my car into the mechanics today, so hopefully I'll have an answer for you all on what's going on soon.

 

[SirHobs]

SOLUTION:
TL;DR: Buy new H7 bulbs from a motor parts store and get them fitted. DO NOT READJUST HEADLAMPS.

TS;EM:
Took the car back to the mechanic and explained the situation, he tried to readjust the head lamp and told me he had used two other H7 bulbs, but had no effect, the bulb continued to point upwards. Being quite fed up, I went to general service center and asked them to check the headlamp alignment. After checking and confirming that the bulb was indeed pointed upwards, they recommended I buy new bulbs. I went to my local generic car store and bought two Osram bulbs, that are probably fake. Took them back to the alignment center and they installed and readjusted the left headlamp. I can confirm that it's fixed now and the bulb is sitting level. No clue how or why the bulb was pointing upwards though.