HID headlight
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 23
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2008 C300 4MATIC
HID headlight
My car came with "aftermarket" HID headlights. They were fine until I saw the check left low beam message. Saw that light was flickering at start of engine and then it died out. Right one is fine. Took it to the dealer they told me they couldnt touch it because it was aftermarket, my thoughts were like "dont you just have to change the bulb??" They refused and suggested that they could revert back to stock halogen for $600+
Outrageous.
So I'm thinking, is the bulb out? Why does it flicker a bit at the start of the engine and then die out? Maybe the ballast is failing?
I am trying to see if I can just replace the bulb and see what happens, but I see bulbs priced from $24 for a set of two, to $99 per bulb at Autozone, why the huge price differences? Should I spend more for longevity or are they the same? (aside from temp).
Or can I just unplug the ballast and just plug regular bulbs with the stock wiring and call it a day for $30 instead of $600?
Outrageous.
So I'm thinking, is the bulb out? Why does it flicker a bit at the start of the engine and then die out? Maybe the ballast is failing?
I am trying to see if I can just replace the bulb and see what happens, but I see bulbs priced from $24 for a set of two, to $99 per bulb at Autozone, why the huge price differences? Should I spend more for longevity or are they the same? (aside from temp).
Or can I just unplug the ballast and just plug regular bulbs with the stock wiring and call it a day for $30 instead of $600?
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 263
Likes: 1
C204, W209, W164
The differences in pricing of bulbs you're seeing is probably because you're looking at two types of bulbs. Typical aftermarket HID bulbs are sorted with a 'H' designation; H1, H7, H11, etc.. OEM/Factory bulbs are sorted via D's; D1S, D2S, etc.. The 'H' bulbs being less expensive, and the 'D' bulbs being much more expensive.
Cars that come with OEM fitted Xenon/HID headlights are entirely different from aftermarket HID's. Easiest way to distinguish the difference between the two is if your bulb has a square metal base on the bottom of the bulb which would be OEM.
Anyways, to answer your question - no. The bulb more than likely works just fine, but, being a Mercedes, electronics run off a Canbus system. They detect if components are using less than a pre-determined amount of voltage, hence why you're receiving the headlight error. If it flashes and turns off on start up, it is more than likely a lack of voltage being sent by the stock wiring of the vehicle. The easiest fix, and typically the best fix to this is to buy a HID harness and wire the lights to your battery instead of piggy-backing off of the factory wiring for headlights. Being that the previous owner more than likely bought some cheap eBay kit, this is guaranteed to be the problem.
Cars that come with OEM fitted Xenon/HID headlights are entirely different from aftermarket HID's. Easiest way to distinguish the difference between the two is if your bulb has a square metal base on the bottom of the bulb which would be OEM.
Anyways, to answer your question - no. The bulb more than likely works just fine, but, being a Mercedes, electronics run off a Canbus system. They detect if components are using less than a pre-determined amount of voltage, hence why you're receiving the headlight error. If it flashes and turns off on start up, it is more than likely a lack of voltage being sent by the stock wiring of the vehicle. The easiest fix, and typically the best fix to this is to buy a HID harness and wire the lights to your battery instead of piggy-backing off of the factory wiring for headlights. Being that the previous owner more than likely bought some cheap eBay kit, this is guaranteed to be the problem.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
2008 C300 4MATIC
Anyways, to answer your question - no. The bulb more than likely works just fine, but, being a Mercedes, electronics run off a Canbus system. They detect if components are using less than a pre-determined amount of voltage, hence why you're receiving the headlight error. If it flashes and turns off on start up, it is more than likely a lack of voltage being sent by the stock wiring of the vehicle. The easiest fix, and typically the best fix to this is to buy a HID harness and wire the lights to your battery instead of piggy-backing off of the factory wiring for headlights. Being that the previous owner more than likely bought some cheap eBay kit, this is guaranteed to be the problem.
