My White W203 Kompressor Coupe.





The bulb is pretty new so I wouldn't think it would need replacing unless I got a faulty one. Once I got home, I took the bulb off and then put everything back together. Started the car 4 times in a row after and every time both lights turn on! Hopefully it stays that way though!!
See if the problem changes sides!
Were your Bix used when you got them?
I got a set of Philips 81522+ bulbs off ebay pretty cheap.
Philips bulbs are indestructible!
When I got my Bix they were from another member and he had some crap 6000K bulbs and one went bad pretty quick.
There's 3 parts to the system,
1. The ballast (around $200+ yikes and it's under the housing, you have to take the whole damn bumper apart as when you installed.
2. The igniter- There's a retrofit kit for around $100, you don't need to take the Bix housing apart...
203 820 11 12-
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ml#post3097265
3. The bulb.
And then, also check your connections, reseat the connectors..
Somewhere around here is the pn's for the lenses.
I know I posted them about 3 years ago along with pics of the mod.
2005 fogs are a completely different animal and expensive!
Last edited by C230 Sport Coup; Sep 2, 2011 at 03:35 PM.




Right by where I work, I always see a blue c230k as well, It's got nothing on yours though!
And thanks for the info! Ordered the clear side markers on ebay so they'll be on the way. You were saying the clear fog light housing is only $15-20 each? is this from the dealership?? I tried searching online, could only find the whole foglight unit. Can you link me?
https://mbworld.org/forums/2068688-post90.html
I can't seem to find the part numbers...
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ransplant.html
I think in option C he meant to say these are the clears not frosties,
no one wants to retrofit to frosties.
And he's wrong about the pattern being wrong.
I've seen a 2004 with stock Bix, and it has the same fogs as
mine with the clear lenses, except it still had the white plastic and
I painted mine silver as you see in the 1st link.
No issue with the pattern, they're fogs!
Between the Bix with Philips 85122+
and my fogs, I can see veeerry well.
Why do you keep writing everything in BOLD?
Last edited by C230 Sport Coup; Sep 2, 2011 at 03:35 PM.




I was under my car today, and realized you can replace the ballast from underneath,
you can see it under the headlight assembly, all you gotta do is pull the plastic cover that
covers the back side of the foglamps.
I realized this when I noticed the plastic cover under my front bumper was missing,
and was changing my tranny fluid.
The Best of Mercedes & AMG




tranny connector, which btw for SV,
sometime leaks, and the oil wicks up into the conputer that controls the Auto Tranny, the TCU, and fry's it.
So conventional wisdom is to replace the orings, everytime you flush the tranny.
That an be certain you don't have a Valeo radiator, but any
old Valeo's that were around back when woulda failed by now,
which btw, results in the tranny getting fried cause coolant leaks into the
tranny.
Last edited by C230 Sport Coup; Sep 4, 2011 at 02:53 AM.
I used something to slightly pry the pins in the red cap of the igniter (the part that connects to the bulb) to make sure it was contacting ok because I figured that might be the issue... Didn't seem to change anything.
Other BiX owners, when you turn on your headlights or start your car, do they both turn on pretty much at the exact same time? Or is does one turn on significantly faster than the other? I'm saying maybe at least a 10-15 second difference? The times both headlights work, one of them always noticeably takes longer to turn on. hmm.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone.. and c230_sport_coup guy, BOLD is always better
Last edited by sandvich_girl; Jul 15, 2014 at 01:46 AM.
I used something to slightly pry the pins in the red cap of the igniter (the part that connects to the bulb) to make sure it was contacting ok because I figured that might be the issue... Didn't seem to change anything.
After reading some bix problems in other threads, sounds like my issue may be with the ballast which would suck since that's the most expensive part to replace. I'm going to play around with the wiring a little more before diggin' out more dough... *sigh*

Oh and I know I originally wrote my L headlight was the one that wasn't working. That's a typo, it's the R (passenger) side that was always the one giving me issues. The driver side was always fine. So I guess if I do have to replace the ballast at least I can get to it from under the car like you had suggested c230_sport_coup.
Other BiX owners, when you turn on your headlights or start your car, do they both turn on pretty much at the exact same time? Or is does one turn on significantly faster than the other? I'm saying maybe at least a 10-15 second difference? The times both headlights work, one of them always noticeably takes longer to turn on. hmm.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone.. and c230_sport_coup guy, BOLD is always better

bix should light up at the same time when you turn them on.
bold lettering makes me read slower for some reason.
SG, you might want to consider stopping doing it. It has a way of wearing out one's welcome.
ontmiss, i'm pretty sure the dealership set it to xenon already. Before I brought it in to get changed it would always show up as 2 malfunctions, and when I turned on my lights both would flicker nonstop.
http://aznoptics.com/index.php?main_...products_id=32




ontmiss, i'm pretty sure the dealership set it to xenon already. Before I brought it in to get changed it would always show up as 2 malfunctions, and when I turned on my lights both would flicker nonstop.
so no, you don't need any error cancellers.
The igniter is the cheaper part, but requires cutting wires etc.
and leaving the old one inside the housing.
The ballast is easily reached from under the car, and if it turns out not to be the problem, you can keep it for a spare.
You'll need the exact part number, but you may be able to find one on
ebay.
Send me PM.
Wish I remembered who had the upgraded grille for sale; hopefully someone will chime in - it really is a nice upgrade from stock.
in terms of my headlights they are both working, except the passenger side always takes longer to turn on. Sometimes it takes so long it will show up as a malfunction first, but then the light eventually turns on and I can clearly see it's working even though he malfunction will still show on the dash. I'm looking for a ballast but I'm going to wait until I can get it for a good price.
The grille was a ripoff at my dealership... Over $300! Gonna keep lookin. I found one for cheap, but it's the darker slate color, not the silver one. Does anyone have a pic of a coupe with the slate colored '05 grille? I just want to see what it looks like.
last question! I got good winter tires, but am still deciding on whether I should buy some cheap rims on tirerack or just get steelies. It's winter most of the time here. Do steel rims look bad on the coupe?
cheers




Thought it was just plug and play?





too funny