Active front projectors
06-19-2008, 06:03 PM
#1
Almost a Member!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2004 C230 Kompressor Sedan
Active front projectors
I have these on my car and have thought about painting the headlight housing body color... how hard / safe is it to take them apart? I have done this to my other vehicles before but I guess these just worry about taking these apart since they are active and expensive. 
06-19-2008, 06:26 PM
#2
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Sacramento/San Gabriel/Riverside
Posts: 3,560
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
01' C32o
check the DYI sticky up there. c24owner did this to his bix with no problem many times, and they look sick. as for it affecting the active projectos (does this mean it auto-levels?), someone with more knowledge should help you out.
06-19-2008, 06:33 PM
#3
Almost a Member!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2004 C230 Kompressor Sedan
Yeah they were a factory option on my car... the projector turns when I turn and levels when I go up hills... aparently these headlights arn't that common a lot of C-Class drivers ask me about them... i'm scared to take them apart... I'll check them out this weekend and see how easy / difficult it is and examen the risk... the regulator already went out on one of them thank god it was covered by warrenty!
06-19-2008, 06:41 PM
#4
Super Moderator
Yeah they were a factory option on my car... the projector turns when I turn and levels when I go up hills... aparently these headlights arn't that common a lot of C-Class drivers ask me about them... i'm scared to take them apart... I'll check them out this weekend and see how easy / difficult it is and examen the risk... the regulator already went out on one of them thank god it was covered by warrenty!
you have self-leveling bi-xenon headlights (which people here refer to as "BIX"). they will not turn when you turn, they'll level (up and down by not much), but that's it.
they're pretty common around these parts.
many people have done what you want to do, you should be fine.
good luck.
all I knew is that they move up and down when I turn on the car
06-19-2008, 06:48 PM
#6
Super Moderator
06-19-2008, 06:49 PM
#7
Almost a Member!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2004 C230 Kompressor Sedan
So it's perfectly safe to take them apart? I have never actually studied the way they are put together... is there a DIY I can look at?
Trending Topics
06-19-2008, 07:30 PM
#9
Almost a Member!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2004 C230 Kompressor Sedan
06-19-2008, 07:54 PM
#10
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Corona, CA
Posts: 5,034
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes
on
6 Posts
03 g35 coupe...........02 c32 Sold
sorry dude, but you're mistaken. "active" lights never, ever were an option for the w203. they were available for the w209 CLK, but not the w203.
you have self-leveling bi-xenon headlights (which people here refer to as "BIX"). they will not turn when you turn, they'll level (up and down by not much), but that's it.
they're pretty common around these parts.
many people have done what you want to do, you should be fine.
good luck.
you have self-leveling bi-xenon headlights (which people here refer to as "BIX"). they will not turn when you turn, they'll level (up and down by not much), but that's it.
they're pretty common around these parts.
many people have done what you want to do, you should be fine.
good luck.
sometimes i think progress takes something away too.
06-19-2008, 08:25 PM
#13
Almost a Member!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2004 C230 Kompressor Sedan
06-19-2008, 08:54 PM
#15
Almost a Member!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2004 C230 Kompressor Sedan
06-20-2008, 02:08 PM
#19
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: NJ
Posts: 5,769
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
'08 E550 4Matic
Ive done the color match twice with zero problems.
Use this DIY to help you take them apart.
https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...308&highlight=
Use this DIY to help you take them apart.
https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...308&highlight=
06-23-2008, 09:28 PM
#21
Super Moderator Alumni
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: West Los Angeles
Posts: 7,684
Likes: 0
Received 10 Likes
on
5 Posts
Midnight Blue 2004.5 C230 Kompressor Sport Sedan. 2002 w210 E320, 2009 w211 E350 Sport
See, I get busy with work and all of a sudden, noobs are all over the place making this forum messy again 
06-23-2008, 09:58 PM
#22
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Corona, CA
Posts: 5,034
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes
on
6 Posts
03 g35 coupe...........02 c32 Sold
the purple and blue flicker you see, usually results from when the car drives over imperfections on the road to cause the cut off from the projector to move above its predetermined height and hit your eye rather then the bumper.
Depending on which angle you see the cut off, your brain chooses to see purple or blue even though the light is yellow.
I assume the defination of auto leveling lights
Auto leveling apparatus of vehicle headlamp
United States Patent 6693380
In an auto leveling apparatus of vehicle headlamp including a headlamp of which a light axis tilts up and down in relation to a car body by drive of a motor, a control unit for controlling the drive of the motor, a speed sensor for detecting speed, a pitch angle sensor for detecting pitch angle, and a memory for storing the pitch angle data detected by the pitch angle sensor, in which the control unit controls the drive of the motor, on the basis of the pitch angle data detected by the pitch angle sensor, so that the light axis of the headlamp has the constant inclination in relation to a road surface, the control unit controls the drive of the motor only in case that a posture (pitch angle data) that has changed once during stoppage becomes stable and the difference between its posture and a reference posture (reference pitch angle data) exceeds the predetermined value. Therefore, according to reduction of the number of operations of the motor, durability of the motor itself is improved.
Hence a device they keeps the cutoff at the predetermined height will prevent flicker since flicker is the result of the cut off leaving its predetermined height.
Therefore it is related to auto leveling. Auto Leveling is good for oncoming traffic but loses some of the high end image hids project with the changing colors in the distance then becoming yellow when you drive past them.
Depending on which angle you see the cut off, your brain chooses to see purple or blue even though the light is yellow.
I assume the defination of auto leveling lights
Auto leveling apparatus of vehicle headlamp
United States Patent 6693380
In an auto leveling apparatus of vehicle headlamp including a headlamp of which a light axis tilts up and down in relation to a car body by drive of a motor, a control unit for controlling the drive of the motor, a speed sensor for detecting speed, a pitch angle sensor for detecting pitch angle, and a memory for storing the pitch angle data detected by the pitch angle sensor, in which the control unit controls the drive of the motor, on the basis of the pitch angle data detected by the pitch angle sensor, so that the light axis of the headlamp has the constant inclination in relation to a road surface, the control unit controls the drive of the motor only in case that a posture (pitch angle data) that has changed once during stoppage becomes stable and the difference between its posture and a reference posture (reference pitch angle data) exceeds the predetermined value. Therefore, according to reduction of the number of operations of the motor, durability of the motor itself is improved.
Hence a device they keeps the cutoff at the predetermined height will prevent flicker since flicker is the result of the cut off leaving its predetermined height.
Therefore it is related to auto leveling. Auto Leveling is good for oncoming traffic but loses some of the high end image hids project with the changing colors in the distance then becoming yellow when you drive past them.
Last edited by TemjinX2; 06-23-2008 at 10:02 PM.
06-24-2008, 12:50 AM
#23
Out Of Control!!
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: OC
Posts: 18,677
Likes: 0
Received 9 Likes
on
9 Posts
a quarter mile at a time
they don't adjust that fast, especially not over bumps.
You're on the right track but you're a bit misguided. The blue or yellow hues are determined by where the cutoff shield is in relation to the projector focal length. You can bend the shield a bit to get a more bluer or yellower cutoff. Again, the autoleveling isn't fast enough to react to things like bumps in the road.
Plus.....I'm pretty sure all factory HID equiped cars must also be auto-leveling and have a headlamp washing system
You're on the right track but you're a bit misguided. The blue or yellow hues are determined by where the cutoff shield is in relation to the projector focal length. You can bend the shield a bit to get a more bluer or yellower cutoff. Again, the autoleveling isn't fast enough to react to things like bumps in the road.
Plus.....I'm pretty sure all factory HID equiped cars must also be auto-leveling and have a headlamp washing system
Last edited by e1000; 06-24-2008 at 12:58 AM.
06-24-2008, 01:55 AM
#24
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Corona, CA
Posts: 5,034
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes
on
6 Posts
03 g35 coupe...........02 c32 Sold
they don't adjust that fast, especially not over bumps.
You're on the right track but you're a bit misguided. The blue or yellow hues are determined by where the cutoff shield is in relation to the projector focal length. You can bend the shield a bit to get a more bluer or yellower cutoff. Again, the autoleveling isn't fast enough to react to things like bumps in the road.
Plus.....I'm pretty sure all factory HID equiped cars must also be auto-leveling and have a headlamp washing system
You're on the right track but you're a bit misguided. The blue or yellow hues are determined by where the cutoff shield is in relation to the projector focal length. You can bend the shield a bit to get a more bluer or yellower cutoff. Again, the autoleveling isn't fast enough to react to things like bumps in the road.
Plus.....I'm pretty sure all factory HID equiped cars must also be auto-leveling and have a headlamp washing system
Flicker is glare from the cut off when it hits the human eye, usually via bumps in the road. The human brain only has a second to determine the color, so it picks the color thats dominates at the time from the color spectrum of the cut off.
perfect example would be a ap1 s2000. Drive in front of a 2000-2004 s2000 on a bumpy road and you will understand what i mean. The stock cut off is white, but when it flickers, it flickers blue, purple and yellow.
Your are incorrect on the auto leveling. Auto leveling was specifically designed to keep the cut off at stock level to prevent flicker. Flicker looks great, but can be distracting to other drivers on the road since its a form of glare, hence why its considered a safety feature and only come on hid lights not halogens.
Manufacturers have replaced clear lens with fresnel ones to soften the cut off and reduce flicker.
I believe it might be required to have auto level lights in Europe. I know its not required in the US. The s2000 and last gen tsx did not have auto leveling lights.
