Re: [MBZ] E320 vs X5

[Randy Bennell via Mercedes]

I have had LED bulbs in the headlights of my 2013 F150 for several years 
now. No problems so far and they are brighter. My mechanic son installed 
them and for some reason looked at them again a while later and changed 
them. At that point I ended up with high and low reversed until he 
pulled them and put them back the way they were.
He did not have quite as good luck as I have. He had one of his LED 
bulbs start to flicker and had to change it out. I think he got a new 
one on warranty however.


Randy

On 15/09/2023 9:30 AM, Jim Cathey via Mercedes wrote:

The H7-equivalent LED lamps came yesterday.  I installed them.  First I
put an H7 in the spare headlamp to see what stock lighting looked
like, aimed around the yard at night.  Surprisingly feeble, with a
rather short-height high-beam bar of light.  But it works well on the
road.  (I drove the car with the properly-installed H7 in it, the high
beams are indeed _much_ better this way.  So, that had been a
problem ever since we got the car.)  Then I put in an LED lamp.
Nothing exploded, and light came out.  The pattern looked pretty
similar, but did seem perhaps 2x as bright, and was certainly
whiter.  (Verging on blue-ish, but I don't think objectionably so.
And, these are high beams, so how they appear to oncoming drivers is
largely irrelevant, since they shouldn't be on in those conditions.)

Testing, such as it is, passed, I installed them in the car.  That was
a bit fiddly, it looks like the bulbs are intended to go in multiple
ways, just in case they have to be rotated due to the unavoidable
directionality of the LEDs vs the reflectors.  (Probably for use with
low beams, which I would not do.  I also noticed that the city light
socket on the other side is also broken, and was wedged into place
with a wad of blue paper towel.  Perhaps I should have ordered two
replacements?)  I then took another test drive.

Yes, noticeably brighter.  The light pattern seemed good while
driving, and turning high beams off made the lighting seem much
dimmer, which was not the case when I first started investigating.
We'll see how these hold up, I put the old H7s in the trunk just in
case the LEDs crap out on the road.  There were no lamp-out
indications, which is good.  (Some cars don't like some LED bulbs.)

-- Jim





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Re: [MBZ] E320 vs X5

[Jim Cathey via Mercedes]

The H7-equivalent LED lamps came yesterday.  I installed them.  First I
put an H7 in the spare headlamp to see what stock lighting looked
like, aimed around the yard at night.  Surprisingly feeble, with a
rather short-height high-beam bar of light.  But it works well on the
road.  (I drove the car with the properly-installed H7 in it, the high
beams are indeed _much_ better this way.  So, that had been a
problem ever since we got the car.)  Then I put in an LED lamp.
Nothing exploded, and light came out.  The pattern looked pretty
similar, but did seem perhaps 2x as bright, and was certainly
whiter.  (Verging on blue-ish, but I don't think objectionably so.
And, these are high beams, so how they appear to oncoming drivers is
largely irrelevant, since they shouldn't be on in those conditions.)

Testing, such as it is, passed, I installed them in the car.  That was
a bit fiddly, it looks like the bulbs are intended to go in multiple
ways, just in case they have to be rotated due to the unavoidable
directionality of the LEDs vs the reflectors.  (Probably for use with
low beams, which I would not do.  I also noticed that the city light
socket on the other side is also broken, and was wedged into place
with a wad of blue paper towel.  Perhaps I should have ordered two
replacements?)  I then took another test drive.

Yes, noticeably brighter.  The light pattern seemed good while
driving, and turning high beams off made the lighting seem much
dimmer, which was not the case when I first started investigating.
We'll see how these hold up, I put the old H7s in the trunk just in
case the LEDs crap out on the road.  There were no lamp-out
indications, which is good.  (Some cars don't like some LED bulbs.)

-- Jim


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Re: [MBZ] E320 vs X5

[dan penoff.com via Mercedes]

Good work, Jim!

Mercedes has a kit (2108260582) for replacing those driving light bulb sockets 
for some models of this vintage. I’ve gotten them before, in fact, I’ve got a 
pair of them for my CL600 I have yet to install. The halogen lamps in these 
drew too much current for the original harness and as a result, the wires would 
melt as would the socket.

The kit is a new socket with pigtails on it and costs about $12 from online 
sellers like mbpartsource.com (MB of Laredo).

-D

On Sep 10, 2023, at 2:41 PM, Jim Cathey via Mercedes  
wrote:

We lost a D2R (HID) bulb, and my ordered spares came so I could replace it.  
Such a difference when compared to the hour-long cluster-f**k that is that job 
on the X5! Simply release the bayonet locks on the hatch cover, socket, and the 
bulb retaining ring, replace the bulb, and reverse to reassemble. Done in under 
a minute, if you've done it before.
As planned, while I was there I investigated the puny high beam on that side. 
Apparently the bozo who last replaced the H7 bulb didn't get it bayonet-locked 
into place, so it had fallen back into the housing away from the reflector. I 
re-seated it, properly I hope, and it's now a lot brighter. To gain access to 
the high-beam hatch you have to slide the headlight-washer reservoir up and out 
of the way.

Also, some ham-handed SOB broke the bayonet lock on the city (parking) light 
socket in the same housing. (Push and twist, gently, to remove. Don't force 
it!) While I have another bulb holder from a spare non-HID headlight I bought 
I'd have to cut and solder the socket in, and that'd leave the donor headlight 
assembly, which has nice clear lenses, crippled. Not really worth it, I just 
wrapped electrical tape around the socket body so it fits more snugly without 
the bayonet lock, and pushed it into place. I think it'll be good enough.

I'm going to experiment with an LED replacement for the H7 high beam.  They 
claim brighter than an H7, and I guess we'll see.  I don't care if the beam 
spread is a bit off, as high beams are deer spotters around here, and the more 
the merrier.  (NOT true for low beams, where lighting pattern is critical!)  
They're complete crap for oncoming traffic anyway, so I don't see how it could 
be bad if the light pattern is even remotely close to what it should be.  And, 
brighter is better.  What I've noticed is that it's barely worth putting on the 
high beams on this car.  Not sure if that's just the natural disparity with HID 
vs halogen, a result of the un-seated high beam on the driver's side, or what.  
Anyway, 40-odd dollars and in a few days I'll know more.  Will it work?  Will 
it be brighter?  Usably?  Will the lamp-out system get pissed?  Will it be too 
stupidly blue?  Will it burn out quickly due to piss-poor thermal design?

I'll let y'all know.

-- Jim

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