eggyacid

Okay, attempt to install HID from Opti-7 in my ML.
everything works great, no error, no flickr.. dry run works perfectly.

however, the mounting is where i'm having problem.
the stock H7 is mounted on a black plastic with metal ring around it, it's the only way to hold the bulb in place (unlike springs).
I can get the metal ring off the black plastic to the HID bulb but without the black piece I can get it to secure in the housing.
I'm stuck, put the stock H7 back in and waiting to see if anyone has any answer to this.
for those of you had upgraded, how are you mounting and secure your bulb? Pictures would be appreciated.
I think this is the last snag, everything else works so far.

Please assist,

thanks

opasha

You need h7 bulb adapter holders: . Kensun sent me something that looked like these. They hold the bulb in the socket. I got them when I first tried to install the HID kit I had bought from Kensun on my 2014. The problem with the 2014 and Kensun HID is that I had flickering. Can you give me a link to the exact ones you bought in 6000K 55W? Thank you.

eggyacid

Here you go, it's 5000K 35W canbus version with capacitors

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=141013193149

The link you provided said its for Mazada, not sure if it will work or not and I'm not seeing one for mercedes.

opasha

I ordered this kit: since 35W seems to be really weak for the ML350.

What's the difference between these two? I see that they have your kit on amazon as well:
The adapters say Mazda/Honda etc, but the one Kensun sent me are 100% identical to the Mazda ones for some reason. I ordered 2 sets of these (one pair for high beam and one pair for low beam):

eggyacid

I don't know what's the difference between the 2 kits except for 35W vs 55w.
why do you think 35W is too weak? i'm told 35W is better since it draws less power and produces about the same amount of light.
I just ordered the adapter, hopefully this will work.

opasha

35W draws less power because it is not as bright/powerful as actual bixenon 4300k OEM. 55W actually is closer top the bixenon OEM light output.

Can you make a video or takea picture of your lights and their output on the road? Thanks.

jtorrebl

Factory is 35w but be issue the factory housing is so much better will produce better light output.

opasha

Is that for Halogen factory or for the Bi-Xenon factory? Bi-Xenon output is much much stronger so I figured it would be closer to the 55W HID power, which is why so many people have been trying to put the 55W HID kits on the W166. At least that was the major discussion going on in the "HID no error" thread. I could be wrong though. I'm just trying to figure out what kit will actually work without the stupid flickering. Obviously, Kensun was a bust. I don't have any other information, and it seems like that thread is completely dead because no one responded, which is why I PMed you. I know you have the Bi-Xenon so it's tough to provide feedback now on what works and what doesn't. I wish more people would offer some help with the 2014 version. It's not fun being the guinea pig, lol.

eggyacid

I order the clips from Amazon and eBay... none of it will hold the bulbs in, I do not want to modify the existing cable to make it fit... I guess until i have a solution, i'm going to use the Sylvania ZXE bulbs for now, they are still better than stocks.

opasha

I had a gut feeling this would happen. I called Jonny over at Kensun (http://www.kensun.com/). Their H7 adapters fit the W166 perfectly without issues. Ask him for 4 of them (high beam and low beam) or 2 (if only high or low) - they're not expensive - they look identical to the Mazda ones I ordered from Amazon - they might be less narrow? Not sure why yours didn't fit. When I had the bulb fitment issue in the first place, I called them and they sent me free ones, but their kit did not work because it caused flickering. I then ordered from OPT7 based on your recommendation. I called Jonny up - because I'm a long time customer of their HIDs, he sent me the adapters and cancellers at no charge.

eggyacid

when you get your kit, would you mind taking some picture of it to see how it fits? Maybe i'm doing something wrong, i'll see if I can buy some from Kensun

opasha

Will do. Also, the Sylvania ZXE seem to have bad reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-Silve...DateDescending. Have you tried the Philips Diamond Vision 5000K? That's what I'm currently running for high and low beam halogens and they are really white, but they don't seem brighter than stock.

Are the ZXE's really that much brighter? How white do they look?

I need a good backup plan in case the HIDs don't work. Is your 35W canbus OPT7 way brighter? I'm trying to get a good idea on the light output between all of these.

Here's a review from someone that tried both Sylvania ZXE and Philips Diamond Vision 5000K: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1TQ7I9..._res_rtr_alt_1

Here's a question/answer discussion between both brands: http://www.amazon.com/these-lights-a...sin=B007JZKBVW

eggyacid

ZXEs are fine, from the limited test i did they do seem brighter and whiter than stock.. not sure about distance yet.
The 35W Opt7 definitely brighter and whiter... at least during my test
My original plan was use Opt7 as low beam, ZXE as high beam... I guess I might try the demand vision to see how that compares, maybe i'll use it as low beam or high beam until I figure out this bulb holder issue.
Is your Philip Diamond Vision better vision than stock? distance?

opasha

I think it's about the same as stock to be totally honest...maybe 10% brighter - def gives a white xenon look - not pure xenon because that is very powerful, but closer to that color range for sure - they look nice visually. I don't remember my stock that well so I can't really recall, but stock was pretty poor lighting.

The light output in general for these halogens sucks. The distance isn't good at all for the low beam...it wasn't good either for stock. I feel like it provides good/normal light when the high beam is on. I really need to compare it to something. However, since I ordered the HID kits again, I'm going to test those first since they are the best option that will give actual Xenon like output. If that doesn't work out, then I will buy a different set of H7s to test.

I'm currently using these for the parking bulbs and they are absolutely gorgeous Xenon color and really look amazing with the Philips and the LED DRLS: . They produce no errors. If you get an error in the left bulb, it will go away on it's own completely within 5 minutes after the car has been shut down after being driven and started up the next time.

opasha

So my buddy installed the HID 5000k 55W Opt7 Kit that I bought above for both the high and low beams. The color is absolutely dead on Xenon. It's gorgeous. We used the included relay and even Kensun's anti-flicker error capacitors. The console gives the errors for both high beams and both low beams. My buddy said he'd look into getting a resistor to fix this issue because that is causing the errors since these are drawing less power apparently compared to stock? I read a lot about resistors concerning the parking lamps, which is why you get that console error because of the less power being drawn compared to the factory bulbs. I'll report back on how that goes. As of right now, the lights flicker slowly 3 times when: low beam is turned on at startup (low beams will flicker), high beam is turned on at startup (high beams will flicker), when using turn signal indicators (sometimes the lights will stay on, but if the signal hasn't been used for a while, the lights will flicker). It's really annoying, but hopefully the resistor will fix all this mess. If not, I'll have to order your 35W kit that you (eggyacid) mentioned above.

eggyacid

my 35W does not flicker at all, i use the relay and resistor that came with the kit. How are you mounting the bulbs? I got the adapter from Kensun but it still doesn't hold the bulb in securely... I must be doing something wrong because I'm the only one having problem with the bulb in housing

opasha

The only thing that came with the kit for my bulbs were the relay. There was no resistor. So I think that's what we're looking into now in order to avoid that Wattage malfunction. The computer thinks the power consumption from the lights is low so it throws the check lights error and you get the flickers. Resistors solve this apparently. I'm surprised no one else mentioned this at all.

I personally did not mount the bulbs. Turns out, my buddy knows a little more about the hid lights than the repair shops because he's done tons of installs on all sorts of vehicles. He didn't even need to take off the bumper to do the low beams, which every shop said was needed. He just took off the wheels and did it through the wheel well. He said he took the metal prong/whatever that is that holds the factory bulb out, slid in the bulb and then placed that prong or whatever back in. I'll ask him in detail the next time I see him (soon) because I need to get this flicker issue taken care off. I will say this. The lights are nice and bright like true Xenon. The only issue is there's a slight rainbow effect towards the bottom I notice and a bit to the left I saw a shadow spot. Is this normal? Is the bulb defective or dirty? If anyone knows, please chime in. Thanks.

opasha

Can someone please chime in. @eggyacid, I ordered the same lights as you from the ebay link you provided. They will be here tuesday. I am having random flickering with the 55 watt kit. Before I install the 35watt kit, should I try these resistor harnesses?: .

Any help from anyone is appreciated. Thanks.

eggyacid

I use the resistors and harness came with the 35W Canbus kit and there was no error and no flickr. Again, my test was outside of the housing since I have no way to mount them. From my test run which was plugged in for about 5 minutes, it works.

opasha

Thanks. I ordered the resistors and the 35 watt kitt. I'll post back to see what works. I'll also ask him how he mounted it, but it can be done.

zoomx2ian

This topic has been on for long time. You have to choice to install an aftermarket HID for a W166. Option 1 install resistor and run the power from battery with any kits. You have to mount the kit outside the light housing because the resistor creates a lot of heat. Option 2
which I am using now. Buy Hylux ballast you can get it online it is more expensive than most of the aftermarket unit around $100 set. You don't need resistors and you can put the ballast and wire inside the housing and close the dust cap without cutting. This ballast can adjust the power itself provides consistant voltage and won't have error code. I have using it for almost year so far so good.

opasha

Thanks for the information. I'm going to try both the resistor with my 55W kit and the Canbus AC 35W kit like eggyacid has before going the Hylux ballast route.

opasha

These Kensun resistor harnesses solved all the problems!!! ( ). I was able to use my 55W Opt7 5000K H7 (high beam and low beam) without issues. You need to order 2 sets of resistor harnesses (1 set for low beam, 1 set for high beam). I have no errors, no flickering, no issues whatsoever and beautiful strong 5000K xenon light like factory. I also got rid of the shadow - it turns out one of the bulbs had some pigment in it that created the shadow. I used a replacement bulb for this. I also kept my Kensun error-free cancellors in just in case because they were already installed originally. I don't think you need these if you just get the resistors.

Also, for the bulbs being held in place. The METAL PRONG (it's kind of squarish and skinny like these http://store.ijdmtoy.com/Audi-BMW-Me...s-p/aa1047.htm - the original ones that are installed in the ML350 look like these. They just need to be popped out and run through the H7 bulb wire from behind and placed directly behind the actual bulb - this will allow to hold the bulb in place - then just pop it back in to the bulb housing. No other adapters are needed.

The 35W AC Canbus kit did not work for me (we tried this one before we installed the resistor harnesses) because one side flickered, so I'm sending that back. The 55W kit has a great light output - I'm very happy.