Xenon Headlight Swap

[00slk]

Is it a straight forward swap to fit Xenon headlights on my 2005 E Class from standard lights. The headlights I have a dismal on low beam. This car has headlight washer system fitted.
Many thanks in advance.
Peter

 

[BillyBoy]

The answer is "it depends"

If it's an estate with self levelling suspension you MAY be able to get away with new headlight units, headlamp washers (if not already fitted) and coding. If it's a saloon without automatic, you also need the sensors front and rear linked to the suspension to control the beam level.

There's quite a lot of work to do it legally.

 

[00slk]

The answer is "it depends"

If it's an estate with self levelling suspension you MAY be able to get away with new headlight units, headlamp washers (if not already fitted) and coding. If it's a saloon without automatic, you also need the sensors front and rear linked to the suspension to control the beam level.

There's quite a lot of work to do it legally.

Many thanks for your reply BillyBoy......It started off well and ended looking expensive and complicated for me. I might have to stick with the originals and fit a slightly brighter bulbs for low beam?
Mind you it does have all the equipment you mentioned albeit without the sensors front and rear. I might have a chat with my breaker friend whom I am getting the transmission off as the one he is breaking has xenons??

Cheers Peter

 

[BillyBoy]

If you have self levelling suspension and headlamp washers, I believe it is legal to fit Xenon lamps so long as you fit the whole lamp unit rather than Xenon H7 lamps in a filament unit (which just dazzles other drivers.)

Not sure if there are any wiring harness changes - someone else may be able to advise or there are articles in legal upgrades on the web.

If you stick with your current lamp units, Osram Nightbreakers or Philips Xtreme offer significant improvement, though obviously not as bright as Xenons.

 

[BillyBoy]

I might have a chat with my breaker friend whom I am getting the transmission off as the one he is breaking has xenons??

Cheers Peter

Sorry, I missed this bit. If you have a donor vehicle and they both have the same suspension setup (i.e. either both Airmatic or both non-Airmatic) you should be able to get all the parts you need from the donor vehicle including any additional / different wiring harnesses, the suspension sensors and linkages (IIRC there is one on the front and one on the rear) etc. All you need then is someone with STAR diagnostics who can code it to let the car know it has Xenons. If you are doing the work yourself and can get a good price for the parts, it's not too bad I don't think. (I'm sure one of the other members will correct me if I'm wrong!)

 

[00slk]

Sorry, I missed this bit. If you have a donor vehicle and they both have the same suspension setup (i.e. either both Airmatic or both non-Airmatic) you should be able to get all the parts you need from the donor vehicle including any additional / different wiring harnesses, the suspension sensors and linkages (IIRC there is one on the front and one on the rear) etc. All you need then is someone with STAR diagnostics who can code it to let the car know it has Xenons. If you are doing the work yourself and can get a good price for the parts, it's not too bad I don't think. (I'm sure one of the other members will correct me if I'm wrong!)

Many thanks for this BillyBoy. Yes I have the donor car which my mate is breaking so we can remove the bits needed. Mine does have rear self levelling. I think it will be worth the effort as my SL55 has xenons and they make it possible to see at night, even on dip beam