C230 Mulac

First off, I want to thank everyone at MBWorld for the priceless amount of info and help they have contributed because it has taught me a lot about my car and has helped me save tons of money by being able to hash out problems on my own.

That being said, this is one of my contributions to the forum. It regards a potential issue with depo headlights regarding the lights all functioning when you install them. Fortunately, it has a very simple fix. I learned from my recent experience when I received my depos last week and was working on them Thursday and Friday.

So the first thing I did was the driver's side light. I took everything apart and took the old light out. Then I plugged in the depo and turned on all the lights and checked high beams and all to see if everything worked. Everything was fine except for one thing: the turn signal bulb was not working.

I tried securing the bulb in the socket.

I tried the bulb and socket from the passenger side light.

I tested the socket and bulb from the OEM light.

I tested the terminals on the depo housing with a voltmeter and compared it to the reading on the OEM housing and they were the same.

I tested the terminals on the main plug from the car and they were all OK. They should fluctuate between 13 and 14 volts(i.e. your car battery).

After all that failed, I plugged in the passenger side light to the driver side plug, and it worked!

So now I'm thinking what the f*** is going on here? Frustrated after 2 hours of work for it to not work, then having to put it back together, I got pissed off and went to bed.

I talked to the guy that sold me the lights and he told me to check some things that I had already done and I said I already did but then he told me to check the alignment of the rings around the bulb socket and the depo housing. So I went to do that and this is what I found:

So this is the depo housing and the terminals I have marked:



This is the bulb socket terminals, notice how they line up with the socket grip that you hold onto to put them in the housing:



So when you put in the socket and twist it to lock into place, the terminals don't line up!



So when you just put the socket in the housing and DON'T turn it to lock into place, the terminals DO line up!



So I found this out yesterday while inspecting the light and the location of the terminals. When I was putting the socket in and turning it to lock into place, of course the turn signal wasn't working because there was no contact between the circuits!

So what I will do is, tomorrow when I go to install the lights, I will put a drop or two of some epoxy around the socket where it touches the housing. This way, it will be secure to just put it in without turning it and locking into place, but I should still be able to pull it back out.

Long story short to all of you planning on getting Depos, if you have problems with some of the bulbs not working, inspect them and see where the terminals are and make sure everything is in alignment. Sometimes, it could be that the inner ring on the housing is not tightened and the terminals are in the wrong place, then you just need to tighten it and check that they line up. It all depends on the situation, but this is just something to be aware of.

Hope this helps you guys out!

Star Rider

Glad to see you found a solution. I recall the plugs I removed had 3 different size tabs, but 2 of them were very close. I never suggested the clock position of the plug because I figured it wouldn't go in wrong, plus being mine are wired differently. Either way, we want to see pics when your done.

Jp's_C230k_W203

Thanks for sharing petar! I am planning on getting depos some time in the future. I will be on the lookout for this upon installation. Good luck!!!! I'm sure you will get it to work just fine.

C230 Mulac

no problem guys! it's good to know this before you take all the time taking everything apart. I recommend just pulling the plug off the OEM light and plugging into the Depo light to check that everything works before you even take the first screw out. This way, you can hash it out before taking it apart. It was incredibly frustrating to find out it didn't work after 2 hours of BS!

Anyway, I'm off to do my install in a few minutes. I'll post up pics when it's done!

Jp's_C230k_W203

Yes sir! Post pics when done!!

e1000

Dont' use epoxy you'll never be able to replace that bulb again! If it forms a tight seal that should be good enough without locking in place.

C230 Mulac

thanks for the advice, it snaps in pretty well when i just push it in so i think it should be ok

pcy

I ran in to this when I bought DEPO lights for my '07 C280. I quickly realized the metal contacts on the headlight housing were not making contact with the bulb holder. I just bent the contacts little and it worked fine. I figured that's what you'd get for cheaper aftermarket lights set.

C230 Mulac

yeah that's what really annoys me is because i thought Depos were supposed to be legit aftermarket and not sh*tty or cheap. Aren't they made in Germany? or is it just the projector lens in Germany and everything else in China?

Silver C

fFunny solution but a solution nonetheless.. thanks for sharing..

C230 Mulac

no problem dude, just wanted to get it out there since it's a lot easier to fix the problem yourself than having to ship it back and wait to get a replacement

hcoronado

I encounter the same problem when i installed my set of depos but I ended up using the sockets from the stock head light and those did lined up correctly with the contacts.

C230 Mulac

i actually tried using the stock ones but i think the problem was with the alignment of the terminals in the housing and not the actual socket since the stock ones didn't work either.

eesjunin

hmm never had that problem with my Depos...which i am disassembling and going to do something funky with them

C230 Mulac

interesting...what are you planning on doing? If it's something cool I might want to know about it

eesjunin

Just bought a new set of clear lenses...for those with New Depos something to look forward to in couple of years since the plastic covers will AGE
i am going to play with colors of the inner shell since mine are matte black now...so perhaps the color match them to the car...i am interested in that projector replacement...halo's perhaps some LED's to replace that single parking light...but will have to play with the patterns and placement of course...
this will be my extra set so i can do some somewhat distructive testing etc

Jp's_C230k_W203

Awsome man! That sounds like a fun project. Please post pics of your depos when your done with them. My color is the same as yours so I would love to see how they turn out.

C230 Mulac

That would be sick if you got the color match man, definitely keep us posted!