ZW211

Hey, I have a 03 E500 and my driver side light will flicker then go out. I have tested the bulb and even replaced the igniter. And I'm still having the issue. Any ideas??? HELP PLEASE

Daarthvader

Stock bulbs?

ZW211

No 6k bulbs. I also put led high beams and led driving lights I had to run a resistor for them to work.

Daarthvader

How long have you had them? Maybe bad bulb/wiring? Or maybe needs code eliminator Kit

ZW211

thank you, I'll look into the Eliminator but it's the same OEM housing just different bulbs I was thinking maybe something in the stock wiring. Thanks again

sthoms

Start with basic diagnostics. Put the original bulbs back in.

AMGAffalterbach

Flicker is caused by "brown out" of the power supplying the bulbs. It helps to wire in a capacitor inline with the power input from the socket to the ballast so you're stabilizing the current that the bulb is using, it acts as a battery to provide enough current when your car's system is not. Check the stickied thread on the top of the W211 forum for information on soldering this capacitor. Unfortunately I still get a little flicker, possibly a result of running 55w ballasts. I may be going to all Phillips DiamondVision halogens soon for reliability purposes. What you should probably do is get a set of CANBUS compatible HIDs from Morimoto, DDMTuning and non-CANBUS HID setups have been a nightmare for me.

SorryAboutThat

I think op is rocking led headlights...so the capacitor mod may not be compatible with those. I could be wrong though...

AMGAffalterbach

Hmm yeah I'm confused I thought only his city and high beams were LED since he said 6000k bulb for low beams... OP can you give us more information on your setup?

ZW211

Thanks for the comments, yes the only leds I have are driving lights and high beams. My low beams are the stock set up halogen with a 6k bulb and the 6k is the one giving me trouble.

AMGAffalterbach

What brand are they? I have a feeling it's a problem with the bulb itself. I thought only HIDs have ignitors but I may be wrong, have you tried swapping the bulbs from side to side?

ZW211

Yea I switched sides and it's the same thing passenger side light works driver's side flickers or doesn't even come on.

ZW211

is there a resistor tied in with the igniter or are they the same thing?

bnam

Stock halogen bulbsetups don't use an igniter. So, we're confused when you say the problem is on the stock halogen lamp but then refer to igniters.

SorryAboutThat

@zw211

6k halogen bulbs with igniters huh? Your Kung-Fu no work here! Seriously, go troll somewhere else guy

AMGAffalterbach

LOL. Man I'm so confused haha

ZW211

Ok let me clear it a little bit. I have done plenty of hid kits. on this Mercedes it comes with a igniter stock on whatever bulb was in it D2S. so I was under the assumption I could run a D2S hid bulb so that's what I did. and now I am assuming I need to still run a ballast for the hid, so that's what I'm going to try next. Sorry for the ,Thanks for the comments and the help guys I appreciate it.. except for you SorryAboutThat you dick I wasn't so much trolling as just looking for help on a place to start.

AMGAffalterbach

Wait so if you Mercedes comes with an ignitor and a D2S then you have Bi-Xenons from factory, and all you're doing is putting in a D2S HID bulb. But in a previous post you said the low beams are the "stock halogen setup with a 6000k bulb" so are you trying to run a halogen bulb in an HID setup or are you trying to run an aftermarket HID bulb in a factory HID/Xenon setup? You're making absolutely no sense haha.

I know you know this but I'm going to lay it out anyway:

The E-Class comes with two lighting options as I understand it from factory...

H7 Halogen Low Beams (55w)
Bi-Xenon (HID) Headlights with D2S Bulb, with built-in ballast

So here is why I am confused. You are saying you have LED city lights and high-beams insinuating you have separate high beams in the inner headlight which would indicate you have a standard halogen setup, as all W211s with HIDs from factory are bi-xenon so by definition they should produce both high beam and low beam from a single D2S unit. I'm pretty sure no W211 comes with HID low-beam and Halogen high-beam unless it's an aftermaket setup.

The stock Bi-Xenon ballasts should be enough to power any HID bulb you put in that's compatible. If not, you have a failing ballast or bad bulb. We are also confused at you saying you have stock halogens that are D2S but come with ignitors, then asking if you should run a ballast for what I'm thinking is a stock Bi-Xenon setup now which makes NO sense at all...

If you're trying to run an HID bulb without a ballast of course you'll get flickering, that's what the ballast is there for: to stabilize/condition and upscale the power coming in from the car, in layman's terms. So what exactly are you trying to do?

Can you do us a favor and post your VIN so we can run it through EPC to see what your car actually has? No one here is trying to be a dick we're just all confused as hell lol, but we understand if you are new to the W211.

2.7Tallroader

I think the 03 and 04, as I have the 04 W211 Estate has the HID for the low beams and Halogens for the High Beams in the inner light pod.

ZW211

Now I'm lost haha. I thought you called them halogen lights. But anyway the bulb I took out to put the HID in they looked the same. The new 6k worked for like a month before it started to flicker and fail. here is the vin#WDBUF70J03A183317 THANKS!!!

RichM

Data card shows you have Bi Xenon headlamps. Sounds like a bulb issue. Not sure how you put LEDs for the high beams. If you need a new ballast, do not go aftermarket. Get OEM.


Datacard

Ident number: WDB2110701A183317

Chassis

Model: E 500
Order number: 0 3 705 21069
Delivery Date: 021125

Lights:

Enigne Number: 113967 30 458294
Transmission: 722633 04 131118
Engine

Enigne Number: 113967 30 458294
Type of Engine:
ETV-BM:
Text:
Extras

Code Text
212B OP. INSTRUCT. AND MAINT. BOOKLET-ENGL. FOR USA/CAN
213 SPEED-SENSITIVE POWER STEERING/VARIO STEERING
221B SIGN COOLANT/REFUELING - ENGLISH
232 GARAGE DOOR OPENER WITH 284 - 390 MHZ FREQUENCY
236B WITHOUT CUSTOMER SERVICE - STATION INDEX
242 FRONT SEAT RH ELECTRIC ADJUSTABLE WITH MEMORY
249 INSIDE AND OUTSIDE MIRROR AUTOMATIC DIMMING
264 LICENSE PLATE ATTACHMENT AMERICA
275 MEMORY PACKAGE (DRIVER SEAT, STRG. COL., MIRROR)
280 LEATHER STEERING WHEEL AND LEATHER GEAR SHIFT KNOB
287 THROUGH-LOADING FEATURE
293 SIDEBAG IN REAR LEFT AND RIGHT
309 CUP HOLDER
384 TELEPHONE PREINSTALLATION CP HIGH FOR USA
414 ELECTRIC TILT/SLIDE SUNROOF IN GLASS VERSION
423 5-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
443 HEATED STEERING WHEEL
461 INSTRUMENT WITH MILES IND. AND ENGLISH LEGEND
489 AIRMATIC DUAL CONTROL / AIR SUSPENSION SEMI-ACTIVE
494 U.S. VERSION
521 RADIO AUDIO 50 USA (WITHOUT NAVIGATION)
524 PRODUCT PROT. F.PAINT - TRANSPORT VEH.PRESERVATION
543 SUN VISOR WITH MAKE-UP MIRROR L. AND R., BE-
551 ANTI-THEFT/ANTI-BREAK-IN WARNING SYSTEM
573 CHILD SEAT MOUNTING, ISOFIX IN REAR
581 AUTOMATIC CLIMATE CONTROL
600 HEADLAMPS - CLEANING EQUIPMENT
614 BI-XENON HEADLAMPS FOR RIGHT-HAND TRAFFIC
633 LA 17" 5 SPOKE DESIGN WITH WIDE TIRES
634 DELETION - FIRST AID KIT
636 DELETION - WARNING TRIANGLE
668 PRODUCT PROT.F.TRANSPORT VEH. W/ TIE-DOWN HOOKS
673 HIGH-CAPACITY BATTERY
690 EMERGENCY SPARE TIRE (MINI SPARE)
705L UNITED STATES (USA)
7XXL NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA
803 AEJ 02/1/X
810 SOUND SYSTEM
819 CD CHANGER
830A AMARETTA/LEATHER/NAPPA/SEMI-ANILINE
835A AMARETTA/LEATHER/NAPPA/SEMI-ANILINE - BEIGE
873 SEAT HEATER FOR LEFT AND RIGHT FRONT SEATS
910 DYNAMO WITH HIGHER CAPACITY (FFO)
915 FUEL TANK WITH LARGER CAPACITY
919 AIRCON COOLING POWER PACKAGE
954 EQUIPMENT PACKAGE FOR AVANTGARDE VEHICLES
960U ALABASTER WHITE - NON METALLIC
986 IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (VIN-NO.)
989 IDENTIFICATION LABEL UNDER WINDSHIELD
M113 V8-GASOLINE ENGINE M113
M50 DISPLACEMENT 5.0 LITER
U36 COMAND PREINSTALLATION

ZW211

Dam thank you, I had to add a load resistor for the high beams to work. But my low beam is the issue, I tried a new bulb and the black box behind the light (igniter) is what I looked up to replace it. And that was OEM

2.7Tallroader

Maybe, it is in just the Pre-Facelift. I just checked my headlights, I do have Bi-Xenon and have a halogen high beam in the inner light pod.

You'll need to investigate a bit further. If you re-install the old D2S bulbs and it continues to flicker, it is the ballast that needs replacing. You'll need to order the OEM ballast for the side that flickers. There is no need for resistors or BOWs or capacitors for an OEM HID headlight. These are only used for HID conversions.

Best of luck.

ZW211

Where is the ballast?

RichM

Bi Xenon is both low and high beam. One bulb. There is not a separate bulb for the high beam. Still not sure how you can have LEDs for your high beams, but that is not at issue. Maybe something in the way you configured your LEDs is causing the issue. Maybe a bad socket? Could be wiring harness. Maybe a bad fuse, or an issue with the SAM. Are you sure you have the right bulb? You may need to have a Star scan to find the issue.

Edit..after doing some checking, it seems the 03 is similar to the W210 in that the low beam is HID, and high beam is Halogen. Confusing that MB would list Bi Xenon if this is the case.