erupert66

picked up an '06 E55. Maryland inspection said lumens weren't high enough and I did notice that the headlights aren't very powerful. Installed a pair of new bulbs yesterday. No change. I know the W210 chassis had harness problems but I don't see anything on this car. Any ideas how to t-shoot this?

Critter

Check the grounds,
Voltage of the battery when car is running,
front battery 14.2-14.3Volts
Trunk battery same.
Do the signals flash slowly??

erupert66

I can check but rest of car electronics are solid. Blinkers fine. Where does that pigtail to the power pack ground? I think it's 3 active pins and I would assume that one is ground but carries back via harness to some central location.

Critter

Grounds are usually solid black in colour, check the connector for corrosion first.
Verify the ground wire with a meter.
Then I would tap into the ground wire and find a nice chassis ground place to check to see if that improves the lighting.
Is the high beam also affected?

erupert66

Hi Beam is not affected.

Critter

Wondering if the Day time light module is acting up. Check the dash screen to check for DRL setting, it may be causing your issue.

desired_speeds

xenon or non-xenon?

erupert66

Xenon-

I switched from Manual to Auto and Back to Manual on the DRL Setting. No affect.

tscales

Did you ever figure this out? Mine are incredibly dim, even with new bulbs.

erupert66

yeah, unfortunately it was the reflector bowls. I bought a set of depo aftermarket on eBay. Love them.

tscales

Interesting. So you replaced the entire assembly? Thanks for reviving a thread for me.