Headlight upgrades making lenses melt?

Jun 30, 2009 | 02:09 AM

whkento

Thread Starter

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Joined: Jul 2008

Posts: 373

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From: Nagoya, Japan

'15 C200 AMG line, '08 C300 Sport Avantgarde, '07 Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd, '02 CLK 200 (gone)

Headlight upgrades making lenses melt?

I'd swear I saw somewhere on the boards that folks were expressing worries and/or experiences of lenses melting after upgrading bulbs, especially in the fog lights. (I can't seem to find it now.)

Any stories / opinions out there?

Jun 30, 2009 | 04:48 AM

ctgilles

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From: Belgium

S204 C220 CDI, VW Scirocco III 1.4TSI 160

Hi,

What do you mean by "upgrade"?

If you mean a higher wattage halogen bulb (eg. 100W rallye lights): yes you can damage the reflector or even crack the glass due to the higher amount of heat dissipating from the lamp. You can even fry your electrics because they were not designed to carry that amount of power. However, a friend has 100W bulbs in his high beam and does not experience problems. But then again you barely use your high beams and certainly not for an extended period of time like you'd do on your fogs.

A Xenon upgrade is 35 or 55W and will not damage any of the electrics or reflector or lens! These lights are colder (more light output vs less heat) and only consume less or the same amount of juice as a halogen bulb of 55W. I would recommend a Xenon upgrade for the fogs.

You can also use the new E-class' new LED strips. LEDs barely use power and stay cool. However, you will get a warning code and thus your fogs will seize to function.

Hope to have helped,
Gilles

Jun 30, 2009 | 08:24 AM

C300Sport

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From: Atlanta, GA

2008 C300 Sport 6 Speed Manual, 1953 Chevy Bel-Air, 2015 Audi allroad, 1963 Chevy Apache

Ctgilles is right on the money. Running a higher wattage bulb is not a great idea. I have seen some 75 watt bulbs (stock is 55) that will proabably never give you any issues but going xenon with 55 watts is likely your best bet.

Jun 30, 2009 | 08:48 AM

Glyn M Ruck

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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa

late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctgilles

But then again you barely use your high beams and certainly not for an extended period of time like you'd do on your fogs.

Gilles is indeed right on the mark but shows where he comes from with this statement - so depends where you are

Where I come from you barely use your fogs but run on high beam for extended periods in the wide open spaces at night & at speed.

Jun 30, 2009 | 09:48 PM

whkento

Thread Starter

Senior Member

Joined: Jul 2008

Posts: 373

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From: Nagoya, Japan

'15 C200 AMG line, '08 C300 Sport Avantgarde, '07 Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd, '02 CLK 200 (gone)

Yeah, I was being deliberately vague with my question in an effort to widen the field of possibilities. I had the higher wattage bulbs in mind, though.

Living in the city, I seldom have the need for my high beams, but often run my fogs at dusk so others can see me coming. (I swear Japanese drivers just can't see my car -- I'm either invisible or a target.)

Thanks for your replies.

Sep 8, 2013 | 11:56 AM

introoder

Newbie

Joined: Sep 2010

Posts: 9

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2009 C300

Highbeam HELP

I installed a pair of Osram 65w bulbs in the foglights in my 09 C300, no heat issues (yet), however I also installed a pair of Phillips Xtreme Vision H7 55w bulbs in the high beams. I rarely use the high beams as the HID's do a fine job, but the other night I was traveling on a narrow dark road & used them for 20 minutes, when a warning sign appeared about the passenger highbeam. When I got home I found that bulb had shattered & both had melted the reflectors on the bottom rims. I didn't have them seated squarely & they were touching the plastic reflectors.
I tried replacing the original bulbs back in, but couldn't get them to go, I may have fried the clip assembly.The highbeam housing seems to wiggle independently of the headlight assembly, does anybody know if they can be replaced stand alone from the whole headlight assembly?
Any advice greatly appreciated.

Sep 9, 2013 | 06:10 AM

Knightmare69

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From: Hong Kong

2010 C200 CGI

I think there's some misinformation here regarding xenon upgrades. The 55w kits are more likely to cause an electrical issue over the 35w. There have been cases where the 55w kit has started to melt the wiring. Also, 55w xenon kit in the fogs probably isn't too good of an idea as the housing is small and will have difficulty dissipating the heat. Honestly a good brand of 35w xenon is more than enough.