ilumo

Hey guys. unfortunately I did not get the lighting package, and I'm coming from an land rover and a BMW that had HID's standard. So it's a pretty big difference for me right now driving at night. Can you please let me know if I can just get H7 LED bulbs as an upgrade to the standard projectors? and will that void my warranty? My car is currently leased. Thanks!

AZN Optics

LEDs are not advisable for forward projecting lights that do not have housing specifically designed to capture surface mounted LED light spread. You end up with reduced throw distance, uneven lighting/dark spots, and light scatter. You're better off going with an HID conversion kit. If interested, we have top shelf Morimoto HID conversion kits that are canbus enabled if interested.

ilumo

are there any writeups on the install of these units? I would be interested if i knew that it didnt void the factory warranty, and all the functionality of the stock system remains the same ie. high beams, auto on/off, etc.

skw

Install is plug and play. High beams are unaffected as you're only changing the low beams. Auto still works the same. You seem to have found another thread so keep searching and you'll come across the one where another member has had success with another kit and I also posted pics with this kit. There was one person who recently had an issue but I haven't been following to see what the outcome was.

What do you mean if it will void the factory warranty? If your fuel pump fails, you don't have to worry about not receiving a warranty repair due to your headlights. However, if you install one of the higher wattage bulbs from Ebay for example, and you melt the wiring harness, then yes, a warranty repair/claim will be reasonably denied.

ilumo

Thanks for the info. Are you running any aftermarket lighting?

I just placed an order for some night breakers until I figure out a better longer term solution.

skw

I have the Morimoto kit.

alextclam

Hey,

I was the one with the issue on my GLE. I purchased the H7 Morimoto HID kit and had an issue with the driver's side flickering and turning off. I ended up swapping the ballast from the driver's side to the passenger side and the issue followed the ballast. Called up the place I purchased from and they will be sending me a replacement ballast under warranty. I didn't have the chance to destroy the defective ballast until today. They require me to send them pics of the destroyed ballast before they can issue a replacement. I will post a follow up after I receive and install the new ballast. Hopefully it will resolve my issue. I have hope since 2 other members have installed the same exact kit without any issues. Other than that, the Morimoto kit is high quality.

ilumo

Let me know how I t goes. Would be awesome to have a resolution. Also how was your install. How long did it take you to get it setup?

alextclam

I got the replacement ballast a few days ago. So far it seems to have resolved my issue. Only thing is, with 'auto on' the driver's side headlight flickers off for 2 seconds and comes back on. After that, it remains on without any issues. Another member has reported the same on his car as well.

It took me about 20 minutes per side for the installation.

Check out this thread to prep yourself before doing the install. It will give you some helpful tips and save some time:

https://mbworld.org/forums/new-m-cla...em-solved.html

ilumo

I did already swap the low beams with aftermarket bulbs. I wonder how much more work it is to do the HIDs. it wasnt too bad. the most difficult part about swapping the bulbs was to pull the bulb out of the socket, and then the realignment back into the housing, since it was very difficult to "see" the orientation when putting it back in. It was more of a "feel".

alextclam

Before the HIDs, I changed the low beams with Philips X-treme Vision bulbs. I struggled with pulling the bulb out of the socket on one side also but the rest was simple. HID bulbs will take a bit more work since you have to insert the bulb into the housing followed by the retainer clip and rotating it into place to secure the bulb. Then you'll need to connect all the wiring harnesses and stuff all the components inside the housing to put the cover back on.