C-Class (W203) 2001-2007, C160, C180, C200, C220, C230, C240, C270, C280, C300, C320, C230K, C350, Coupe

BIX melting

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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 11:38 AM
  #1  
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'08 E550 4Matic
BIX melting

I had my driver side bulb go out yesterday, I took it out to replace and saw this:

WTF happened? Can I replace the red connector or do I need to replace a lot of things?

Any ideas?



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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 12:10 PM
  #2  
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v6c230ss
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 12:13 PM
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Originally Posted by tazilla
lol... My thoughts exactly.
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 12:16 PM
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are they OEM bixenons?

also... if they bulb wasn't in all the way or aligned properly... some of the heat could have been transferred to the rubber housing.

sorry man...
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 12:17 PM
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Wow wtf.. do you have the factory bix?
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 12:32 PM
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Should've got DEPO's. JK
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 12:39 PM
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yea, they are OEM bix. I am almost positive that they were aligned properly. Since I installed the bulbs with the headlights out of the car.
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 01:04 PM
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damn, that looks familiar! it really looks like they weren't aligned properly or that the connector itself was broken.

it happened to mine and Drex can vouch for it as well b/c he saw the smoke and sparks.

I'm not sure if you can replace just the connector, but the dealer changed my entire headlight.

good luck.
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 01:08 PM
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oem bulbs?
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 02:15 PM
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It looks like a failure of the insulation of the lamp socket. Once it fails there is a carbon track through the material that causes the carbon to be heated and burn a bit each time you fire the lamp. This ruined the socket on the igniter. It is not easy to change the socket on the igniter. It requires special tools, insulation, primer, and about 48 hours to cure the high voltage RTV. You might get away with changing the igniter. You need to pay careful attention to the housing where the lamp fits. It also might have a carbon track through the material. If it does, you are toast, and will need an entire lamp assembly. There is no effective way to clean a carbon track. In many cases the track is embedded in the housing, and might not be visible on the surface as a black streak.

This connector carries about 25,000 volts. It requires a lot of respect when working around it. If you don't have the skills to work with high voltage, you should seek the help of a pro.

I wish I had better news for you, but it looks like an expensive repair.
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 03:14 PM
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Damn nick, you just saw this ? when did you last mess with your lights ? that would suck to have to replace that whole light. I have a set of frosteds if you get desperate.
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 03:18 PM
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wow..that sucks.

do you think itss the 10K bulbs that did it?

looks like you need to replace the igniter (red connector)
you can get them from Steve, but you need to take the lens off the headlight to replace.
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 03:22 PM
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heres the DIY: http://mbklasse.com/forums/showthrea...hlight=igniter
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 03:34 PM
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Originally Posted by C24owner
yea, they are OEM bix. I am almost positive that they were aligned properly. Since I installed the bulbs with the headlights out of the car.
what year is ur car, it should be under warranty. i remember reading something in the benz shop that there was a recall on some wiring for the front lights. where they were over heating and melting the plastic clips.
soo look into and if ur car is under warranty they will replace the wires for u. i almost 95% sure that there is a recall about this issue.
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 04:38 PM
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Originally Posted by rlee02135
wow..that sucks.

do you think itss the 10K bulbs that did it?

looks like you need to replace the igniter (red connector)
you can get them from Steve, but you need to take the lens off the headlight to replace.
I dont think that the bulbs had anything to do with it. I could be wrong tho. I will contact Steve about a new igniter. Thanks for the DIY, is there an updated one, the pics on that one no longer work.

Originally Posted by Harry Madan
what year is ur car, it should be under warranty. i remember reading something in the benz shop that there was a recall on some wiring for the front lights. where they were over heating and melting the plastic clips.
soo look into and if ur car is under warranty they will replace the wires for u. i almost 95% sure that there is a recall about this issue.
Car is an 2004 and no longer under warranty.

Originally Posted by outaurleague
Damn nick, you just saw this ? when did you last mess with your lights ? that would suck to have to replace that whole light. I have a set of frosteds if you get desperate.
Thanks for the offer, but I still have my frosted lights as well. I haven't messed with them since I installed them.

Last edited by C24owner; Apr 18, 2007 at 04:46 PM.
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 04:47 PM
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some slow@$$diesels
the bulb might have had a manufacturer failure or "just went bad" ...once there is not enough isolation material between the 2 contacts of the red xenon connector - sparks will just fire through the material.

That is not a result of material melting but is a result of material being damaged due to an electronical short...and yes - you need to replace the igniter (get an igniter repair kit) and a new bulb.

greetingz,
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 04:51 PM
  #17  
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Originally Posted by MBenzNL
the bulb might have had a manufacturer failure or "just went bad" ...once there is not enough isolation material between the 2 contacts of the red xenon connector - sparks will just fire through the material.

That is not a result of material melting but is a result of material being damaged due to an electronical short...and yes - you need to replace the igniter (get an igniter repair kit) and a new bulb.

greetingz,
Steve, I just sent you an email. Can I get the kit through you?
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 04:54 PM
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Originally Posted by C24owner
Car is an 2004 and no longer under warranty.
If there is indeed a recall as Harry pointed out, then it doesn't matter if it is out of warranty or not, they are required to fix it.
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 05:05 PM
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Originally Posted by johnand
If there is indeed a recall as Harry pointed out, then it doesn't matter if it is out of warranty or not, they are required to fix it.
but his car didn't come with Bi-Xenons
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 05:09 PM
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wow that sucks
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Old Apr 18, 2007 | 05:34 PM
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Originally Posted by rlee02135
but his car didn't come with Bi-Xenons
Doh, my bad
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Old Apr 21, 2007 | 01:22 AM
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looks like a "newbie" stole pics from this thread and is trying to waste our time
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