xenon ballast unit question

[Tony sirett]

well i have been right royally stitched up buy the person i bought the car off, told me the bulb had gone, so i bought a new Xenon bulb, nope bulb was actually fine, works in the drivers side, none of the bulbs work in the passenger side.
it's not the fuses, i have checked the fuses.

took the bumper off today to look at the ballast unit to get a serial number off the unit so i could order a new one and WOW!!! my ballast unit must have disolved or vanished into thin air, as there is not one there at all....

2011 E220 CDI Avantgaurde W212

so my questions are :- will the drivers side ballast unit be the same serial number as the passenger side?
once i buy a new ballast unit will it just be a case of plug it in and away we go?
will it need programming?
if it needs programming, can it be done whilst on the car? or does it need to be on the bench to be programmed?

thanks for your help Tony

 

[Uncle Benz]

It will need programming. You’ll have dipped, but no main beam until it’s coded. You can buy an OE (Hella iirc) from Eurocarparts. I think they are the same left and right. Coded on the car

 

[Uncle Benz]

If there’s any damp in the lamp that’s probably why it’s failed. The unit’s on the bottom, water naturally finds the lowest point. If the headlamp is leaking between the clear front and the body you’ll be in the same boat again before long. Just a warning

 

[Tony sirett]

Ok, taken the drivers side one off, and typical of my luck, you can't read the serial number.

 

[Tony sirett]

just looked on eurocarparts...... £404.00 erm no thanks. i'll buy the genuine new one from eBay at £80.00

 

[LostKiwi]

You should be able to get one using the Hella number at the top. The one starting 5DC..

 

[Tony sirett]

You should be able to get one using the Hella number at the top. The one starting 5DC..

thamk you, i have just ordered a brand new one for £80.00

 

[Uncle Benz]

just looked on eurocarparts...... £404.00 erm no thanks. i'll buy the genuine new one from eBay at £80.00

That’s way over the odds. I don’t pay anything like that, but I do have a trade account to be fair. £80 is sensible

 

[alexanderfoti]

As abojve though, they are nearly alway full of water when we pull the old ones off, make sure the seal is intact or the frame of light is not cracked etc.

 

[Tony sirett]

Will it ever end? Just after new year I replaced the N/S ballast unit, bugger me if the O/S unit hasn't packed up now.