ahmdkhan

Hi,
I recently bought the new 2012 c-250 but without the lightening package( xenon headlights). i just wanted to inquire wheather i could reaplace them with the lightening package headlights by buying the whole headlights separately from the market or am i stuck with them.
Please help!!!

MDMercedesGuy

It would be very cost prohibitive. Besides the headlights themselves, you have to deal with all of the wiring, ballasts, etc for the Xenons. Add in the tie-ins to the vehicle for the active cornering, all of the programming required, a replacement windshield and camera for high beam assist and God knows what else.

Your best bet would be to live with the halogens. You could do an aftermarket HID kit in the car - but given that the reflector bowls are designed for halogen, it wouldn't be optimal.

Trek1200

Ive been looking to do an HID upgrade on my 250 as well but everyone is telling me the same, that the scatter will.look terrible. Im going to try out a set anyway because ive never seen a non-projector HID set-up, but as far as upgrading to afactoey based lighting package you'd have to be crazy,or rich, or both to do a lighting package retrofit after taking delivery. I have talked to the parts department about doing that, but my guess is 4k minimum.

MDMercedesGuy

I've never seen a German car with a non-projector HID setup before. Certain generations of Acura products have used reflector bowls with HIDs before, as well as some other brands I have seen - can't think off of the top of my head though.

venchka

I got my Lighting Package the old fashioned way: Ordered the car built my way. Waited 11 weeks. Worth every second of the wait. Or you might get lucky and find one on a dealer's lot somewhere.

Wayne

Kaewen

i do not recommend putting HIDs in reflector bays..
it hurt the eyes of other drivers...

Trek1200

Anyone heard of a projector add on?

victort

yes a retrofit would be best option if u want hid. not sure if it will throw error codes or not. putting hid into a halogen will only worsen visibility since the light output isn't even being directed to the streets. please please please don't put hids into the halogen housing and look like all the other ricer civics that do

Trek1200

I mean has anyone every modified a halogen housing with a projector. All it is is a lens to focus the light, right?

mikonuj

Why not just open them up and retrofit a set of Morimotos from the Retrofit Source. I'm pretty sure the Morimoto Mini H1 projectors are basically plug and play after you've got your headlamps opened up. I think they go for about $80-$90? HID Kit's gonna cost around $100?

Or just get the full kit here:
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...roducts_id=227

Disassembly's probably gonna be the same as the other W204s. Remove grill. Remove intake plate behind grill. Remove a total of four bolts connecting the fender and bumper. Remove two more between headlamps and grill. Remove three bolts holding headlamp. Take out headlamps, and heatgun at the seal to open. Reverse steps to reassemble.

victort

a retrofit is when you get HID projectors from another car and retrofit them into your halogen housing. different car headlights have different cutoffs. don't really hear about anyone in an mb doing a retrofit, but s2000 and tsx projectors are really popular amongst honda drivers.

Trek1200

Perfect! Thats exactly what I've been looking for. This is the first place I've found that sell the projector lens as well as the bulbs and ballast! Thanks mikonuj!

Kaewen

let us know if you do it

Invain15

The problem with retrofitting the set into you housings is aiming. If you have never retrofitted a set before I would highly suggest against it. My first set of retrofits were horrible because I didn't know about this. www.customlightz.com has done a lot of lights that I have seen before and they do quality work. I would also look at www.hidplanet.com because that is a forum dedicated to people that do retrofits.

Disclaimer " I've been out of the retrofit world for 4 years so my information my be dated. "

If you still want to be able to do it yourself here is what I would suggest doing:

1. Buy an extra set of headlights
2. Buy the Hid Kit with D2S or D1S bulbs ( depends on which HID projectors you get, make sure they are HID or you will be stuck with halogens )
3. Find an external power source to be able to fire up the bulbs to find your stock aim point
4. Open up the headlights
5. Find out where you want to place your projectors and how you want to mount them so that the headlights are still adjustable
6. Finish up your work and check the light pattern.


There are a lot more steps to go but I was just giving you an idea. If you are not familiar with these then it can be a little difficult. When i first did this I tried it on a cheap pair of accord headlights and used a really cheap E46 projector and shroud to be able to find out what I could do. Don't get me wrong I was very much an amateur at doing this. As far as the HID kits go for these. I do believe it will throw error codes because our cars aren't meant from them. I believe it has to do with voltage readings by the computer but I could be wrong. If I were you I would search on the retrofit forum about what some other guys have done and make sure if you decide to pull of this project that you feel confident in doing it. Good Luck.

Here is a link on a how to:

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/cont...asics-Guide%29

dcjwlee

Y u want your Mercedes to look like this....???



HID's with no projectors are ugly to look at and blinding as well.