momoged

Hey guys, i'm currently driving a c300 sport 2010 with the active curve illuminating feature.. I would like to install hids in the fogs, but i'm not sure whether or not this is a good idea. Will my hid kit suffer a shorter life as all three components within the hid kit turn on and off at every corner?? Do I simply keep the fog lights on at all times to prevent this issue? Any other ideas?

Cheers,

Kim

snarlingchicken

I actually have HID fogs with the cornering foglight function. What actually happens is that, because halogens slowly turn on from their brightness depending on wattage, they fade on and off. However, the HID kit needs a steady and immediate flow of power to turn on, and because the corning function delivers power slowly, my foglights end up flashing/blinking for a sec and then turning on fully, before just turning back off once I complete the turn/turn off the turn signal.

I basically just keep the fogs on all the time to prevent it from kicking in as you said though. However! Tomorrow I'm getting my A service done and asking my SA to turn off the cornering function with the STAR diagnostic system as many have said to do.

snarlingchicken

Okay so I got back from having my service A done, along with some various other updates to the car. The SA/Techs told me that they could not disable the Cornering Fog Lights with the STAR Diagnostic system........I'm rather dumbtruck at this point. I may check with a different dealer to see if they can do it. And yes, they did say that the flicker on/off will shorten the life of your HID bulbs. So til then, just keep em on at all times.

momoged

ohh ok.. that's a sad news. i'm currently using the 55w nokya 7000k halogen bulbs for the fogs.. they r kinda bright, but not white/blue enough for matching my 6000k low beam. im gonna upgrade to hid later on and keep them running at all times. anyways, thanks!!

regezm3

momoged... did you ever correct the problem with the corner illumination and HID lights? I am looking to have a set installed and have the same concern.

momoged

Nope not yet. I just ordered a 55w slim ballast with h7 8000k bulb from ddm tuning. I am either gonna install them myself or go to a local garage.. i'll let u kno when i hv them intsalled

hutch300

I have a 35 watt kit 4500k if anyone wants to buy that?

regezm3

I have a cls550 and heard that the 55w bulbs will be too hot for the small stock fog light housing and melting may occur. Im interested to see how yours turns out... and Im going to dealership tomorrow hopefully to see if I can disable corner foglight illumination with the STAR diagnostic. Will keep you posted as I like to have my lights in AUTO setting so when I unlock car, having my led parking lights and HID fog lights illuminated until starting the car.

hutch300

So buy my 35 watt kit! FYI 55w is too much for a small housing like a fog light

jctevere

I don't really understand why people say 55w is too much for the fogs. I was under the impression that the Xenons give off less heat than halogens. And the car comes with 55w stock halogen bulbs. The only thing I can think of is that while xenons give off less heat, the heat that it does give off might be more concentrated into one area. Still, I doubt that you will run into problems; but I guess you never know. Let us know how it turns out Momoged!

BTW: Are the people who are saying that their HID bulbs flicker when the cornering lamp is light, are your ballast digital slims, or the larger analogs? Additionally, I never knew that the cornering lamps faded on and off, I thought they simply just turned on...

snarlingchicken

I have the larger digital ones. I'll take a video of it one day if you want.

jctevere

The only reason why I asked was if you have the larger ballasts. They are prone to flickering and popping and buzzing upon startup. The newer slim digital ballast use far less power upon startup, and suffer from none of the flickering, buzzing, popping or issues associated with the larger ballast. My DDM 55w 8000k kit has been great and I have no wiring harness or error eliminator for them on my low beams. They turn on every time, no flickering, and get to full brightness within 3 seconds.

snarlingchicken

There's no flickering when you're just turning them on. It's when you leave the car lights on Auto and you signal/turn the wheel right or left at night that the fogs fade on. It's that fading on/off that causes the flicker. If I just turn my knob all the way to the right and pull once to turn the foglights on, they do not flicker at all and come on immediately.

Also do you have the P2 package with the cornering fog lights? If you do then maybe sometime down the road I'll switch to the slim digital ones. Mine are already digital, just not slim. Anyways I really don't care about it much anymore. It's just a minor irk I guess. It doesn't trouble me that much to turn and pull a knob.

RayWhiteC63

I had my dealership disable it today. It can be done. What they have to do is disable everything and then add it all back except for the active corner illumination feature.

snarlingchicken

Good to know. I'm actually going to the dealership in two days for service. I'll have em look at it. Thanks!