CLK dipped beam W208

[DelBenz]

I have had recurring issues with one of my driving lights blowing for some time as as the MOT is looming decided to have a look at it myself as the garages who have looked at it previously have all made a hash of it - breaking the lamp holder, saying its dodgy bulbs, blaming it on the other garages etc. Its the near side inner dipped beam ( the smaller of the 2 ) where I have the problem. Probing about with my multimeter I have discovered what appears to be an inline fuse (?) or diode (?) on the gray wire ( +ve ). I assume it is there for a purpose so rather than bypass it - can anyone tell me what it is and hence what to ask for if I need to replace it ? It looks like it was covered by heat shrink sleeving at some point but is now exposed. This is where I am losing the +ve.

 

[DelBenz]

Mercedes has said that whatever it is it is integral to the headlamp unit and is not sold seperately. I suppose the next step will be for me to measure the resistance across the working light then find a mmatching resistor (? I assume it is a resistor in place ). I assume the existing ine is to limit the voltage to the lamp to prolong life. Doesn't appear to be a common problem on the forum.

 

[colechelle]

never seen that before, got a 208 at work, will have a look in morning and get back to ya!!

 

[DelBenz]

We have light

Well it was a mystery to me why the H6 lamp appeared to be always blowing. It ws the ominous heatshrink on the grey cable inside the lamp unit that was the give-away. I worked ou that I would need around 3 ohms to keep the voltage across the lamp at 12V with the engine running (13.5V). I couldn't wait to source a suitable resistor so I put 2 8 ohms in parallel making 4 ohms and now have working lights. Even a wiring diagram wouldnt have helped as the resistor was integral to the sealed unit - not part of the vehicle loom.