2011 LED DRL installed - Having issue
 

Ok, I'll make this short at first, I'll explain more later and put up some pics when i get more time.

I got the lights all hooked up, and currently have them wired to the (orange) side marker lights.

The lights work fine when standing still, but as soon as i start the car, back out of the garage and park, the lights start turning on and off at random intervals. usually something like ' on for 10 seconds, off for 2, on for 5 seconds, off for one'

Is this what people describe as flickering? I have not lined in a capacitor yet, is that the issue here? I just need to put a capacitor in line to bandaid the voltage drop?

Too bad there are only a couple of us on here that have done it..

Did you wire the LEDs in parallel with the sidemarkers, i.e. they also turn on? If so, you've added an additional load to the marker circuit, hence the flickering. Easy experiment would be to disconnect the markers and see if the flickering is still there w/ the LEDs...

the problem is your feeding them 12 volts, they want 3.7 volts. whats happening is the car being idle gives them a steady 12v and they can operate at a fixed voltage. once teh car is driven the alternator fluctuates and the LEDs cant keep up. Thats why you need a capacitor to reduce the voltage because your alternator will never get below 11 volts and the cap will always be downgradings teh voltage. You also take a chance frying the LEDs w that much juice so get a cap in line with the + feed ASAP. You can prob get one at radioshack, I can look up the proper rating if you need it......

I saw your other post about successfully installing them! Looks like you're the 1st brave soul to try this. I hope you get your wiring issue resolved.

I have a question about retrofitting it though. Was everything a direct bolt on without any modifications other then the wiring? Did you have to do any physical modification?

Have you tried contacting the seller for advice?

got the issue resolved - capacitor was needed. got them all wired in and all is well so far! They look really good, I'm really happy I did the mod. Now I can feel all hoity toity like I'm driving a 2011 ;)

Do you have a thread showing the installation and how much did the parts cost you?

Do you mean to connect the cap in series withe the LED?

Actually no, it goes in parallel. not series.

Bad wording on my part.

I don't have a thread on the full install process, but I will do a write up soon.

Parts were $390.xx from parts.com

Do you get any error messages? I can't wait for your write up DIY! I really want to do this mod...

BUMP.............

Any updates on the write up and wiring????

Haha yeah, sorry for slacking on that! It's just been a busy couple weeks for me.

I can do a writeup today at work, but it kind of sucks not having taken any pictures

Where are the pics?

is yours 08 a sport model?

Very good idea hooking it up to the side marker as that is almost always getting voltage.

As far as the parts, what did you need? Obviously the DRLs, but any type of control box or mounting brackets?

Attachment 450049
Attachment 450050

Here are some pics. I need to grab my part number sheet tomorrow and I will send out PMs and also post the numbers on here. I'll do a short write up now for how I installed them and wired them

Step one: Acquire parts
1. LED fixtures (R/L)
2. Mounting backings (plastic) R/L
3. Front facing grills (visible mesh surround) R/L
4. Chromed plastic LED bezels R/L
5. Misc wiring/soldering supplies
6. 2 Capacitors (50-150 uf @25v) Aluminum,radial lead normal or high temp range will work.

Step 2. Remove bumper
See this DIY Vid for good instructions on removing the front bumper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU6bSJ-b0mk

Step 3. Cut out old fog light mounting plastic from bumper
Attachment 450048
You can see in the picture where you necessarily need to cut. Use some common sense when doing this. don't cut into anything that is visible from the front of the car with the plastic mesh piece in place.

I recommend using a dremel with a small diameter cut off wheel for this (to get in the tight spots).
*Pro-tip: retain the screw backings that are slipped onto the plastic pieces from the bumper which you are removing. those can be used on the new backings which you will be installing the new LEDs into

Step 3.5 - Now you're going to need to install the chrome bezel onto the LED fixture. you will notice that there is a tab that is meant to index into the bumper. Now, it is up to you if you want to chance slitting the bumper in the right spot. I, however just clipped off this tab from the chrome bezel and ground it flush. No problems yet and the light is plenty sturdy without it. a bit like a vestigial tail if you ask me.

Step 4. Assemble LED into the backing plastic (may need to scrounge for some hardware) I used some 8mm bolts screwed into a clip nut that was slid over some corresponding holes on the LED fixture.

Step 5. Finagle the light/chrome bezel/backing plastic assembly into the newly cleaned out bumper holes (from the rear) (thats what she said), once in place you can sandwich in the front mesh piece and screw it all together. once it is tight you are all done with the light install.

You will find that some various screws/mounting hardware are necessary for this. I recommend installing these at someones house that has lots of extra random junk like this lying around. Other than the hardware to bold the LEDs to the backings, you should have enough screws from the OE stuff you are removing.

Step 6. Now it is time to wire em up.

**Disclaimer - You should try to find the electrical plug from the dealership, the one that is meant to plug into the back of the LEDs. This will make your life easier**

I created my own plug and it was a mess of hacking up PC pin connectors, soldering stuff, melting plastic together at the right pin width.. I wasted way too much time on this, pay whatever price the dealership wants for these plugs and save yourself the headache.

Once you have your OEM plug, put in your capacitor (one per side) in parallel (positive to positive,negative to negative) with the circuit. (note the directional arrows or polarity noted on the Capacitor. If it is backwards you will find out quickly due to it exploding in a 'pop-it' sized firework explosion. (some are non polarized if you feel like being lazy) Make sure it is securely soldered in and then you can plug the wiring into the vehicle side electrical connection of your choice.

I chose the side markers since I had already made some connectors and had wires ran out from there. you could just as easily use the fog light connectors, it just depends how you want to activate them.

*I have no errors from my fogs being disconnected.

Anyway. at this point the lights should work and not flicker. You're ready to install the bumper again. Just line up the index points on the sides near the marker lights and then re-bolt the bumper. after that you're set and now a certified owner of a 2011 c class ;). Oh and for extra pro-points get the mirror cover updates which I also have ($139 on ebay).


Any questions, feel free to ask. I'll try to get that part number list tomorrow.

Wonderful job, you are the first person I've seen on here to do it successfully and explained it quite simply.

About the wiring, How many wires are there coming from the actual light? Is it two, a pos and a negative? And instead of making your own connecter or buying one from the dealer, was there something from stopping you from just cutting the connector off and hard wiring it?

Also, on the 2011's, when you turn on your headlights the DRLs dim, because yours is hardwired it obviously wouldn't do that, so do you know if yours are always really bright, or are they always dim?

very nice instructions , im sure it'll help many of the members here:y

there are Two leads coming out of the back of the LED fixture, but they are probably 1/2 inch down a recessed area. I could have hard wired them but my soldering iron is a big big and clunky, I would have surely melted part of the plastic housing. I also told myself that I was going to go back and buy the plugs, but my improved versions have held so far.

and yes, just Positive and negative out of the LED.

Mine are on bright all the time. At night they are bright, but not anything that blinds people as far as I can tell. I havent had anyone flash their lights at me yet. I'm actually glad that they are bright all the time

Okay, makes sense!

Sorry to keep being a pest, but do you think you could post the part numbers? :D This is the first mod I am going to do, and I am hopefully getting the car this Thursday!!

Heres a cart I have on Parts.com, am I missing anything?

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/...9/Picture1.png

Nice write up! Where did you get the capacitor from? Is there a specific type? Do you have a picture of it? Also, what did you do with your foglight wiring since you didn't connect them to it? Is it just dangling? I know you indicated that there's no error message.

We need the part number?????please

Haha I know guys, I looked for the packing slip over the weekend but I couldn't find it. I am going to head out and take one more look this morning before I head to work.. I'll keep you posted.

Attachment 450047

Okay guys, here are the part numbers. I have attached my parts.com list as I looked some up using their site and others I simply entered part numbers. The description that comes up when you enter the part numbers is much more vague than when you look the part up through their site.

Here they are:

LEDS (R/L)
221-820-17-56
221-820-18-56

BACKING PLASTIC MOUNT (R/L)
204-885-28-14
204-885-29-14

FRONT MESH GRILLS (R/L)
204-885-0053
204-885-0753

CHROME DECORATIVE MOLDING (R/L)
204-885-27-74
204-885-28-74


And a capacitor looks like this : http://liewyihhan.files.wordpress.co.../capacitor.jpg
Note how that one says like 10v and 2000uf you want one that says 25v and between 50 and 150 uf

And as for my fog connectors I trimmed down a sandwich bag and ziptied it around the connector to prevent water getting in. then i zip tied the connector to something fixed nearby

How and where to connect the capacitor to the ledlights system???? Thank you!

anywhere really. but for simplicity's sake just put it in near the back of the LED

As far as 'how' goes.. you just put it in the circuit. positive on positive and negative on negative

Is it too much to ask for pictures of how you connected it your side markers? Or is it just positive and negative? Or details about how to wire the capacitor?

I'm about to draw the best MS paint diagram you ever seen

:rolf::rolf::rolf::rolf:

That pic is priceless! Who needs CAD layout tools?!? Good thing you didn't try to explain series vs parallel connections...

lol, blue you're awesome for doing that. A couple of other questions. So do you still have your sidemarker light?

So, needless to say....if you want the DRL to be on, then your rear tail lights, sidemarker and eye lid lights have to be on as well right?

you can wire the lights off of any 12v source in the car, if u want them on all the time just go straight off the alternator or a constant on 12v source in the car

yeah i just wanted them to be switched and not necessarily on ALL the time (I could have gone to the fog switch but i've never liked pulling the switch out to turn them on.

The downside to this way is that the tails will be on as well as the orange side markers (I painted the bulbs though so you can barely see any light, and then the eyelids. the LED+Eyelid on looks pretty good IMO. I don't like having taillights on all the time but i don't think about it much.

What would be a good constant 12v to run it off of if I always want it on?

Blue, can you please elaborate on getting an 'oem plug'? I thought the factory LED strip will already have wires coming out from the back and you just wire it into whatever electrical 12v source you want?

Blue, will you be selling your fog lights?

the OEM plug refers to the mating plug on the LEDs. He went to the fogs, so he had tu make a plug cause he did not want to cut his OEM fog plug off. What u can do is get the factory connector that plugs into the LEDs on the car side, so you can splice after them, or if your going to your fogs get the fog side OEM connector, this allows you to remove them if you need to work on them. As for the first question, any 12v source that is switched is fine, they draw so little amperage it wont affect anything. U can go straight to the alternator if you want them on when the car is running, you may need an inline voltage relay because some cars have power at the alternator tap even with the car off cause its tied straight to battery, some have an accesory tap, never looked on my benz. Or you can use a test light and find something thats on when the car has ignition on and go off that so they are on even without theengine running as long as key is in the ignition. You could even poke around and get them to work like the fogs naturally do, like when u unlock at night the fogs and eyelids light up, theres hundreds of ways to tap power to them, just make sure u reduce your volage with a capacitor of whatever you can get to kick the volts down at the LEDs

How does a cap reduce voltage? Do you mean resistor? Cap can stabilize voltage flucturation, or reduce noise/spike.

yeah the issue isnt to reduce voltage it is to "fill in the gaps" when they flicker

All I mean here is that there are no wires coming out of the back of the LEDs. Just a socket with two pins in the recess.

The "oem plug" would be whatever connects/plugs into the LEDs in a 2011 vehicle. I haven't seen this plug, but I assume you can order a Wire/Male plug for the LEDs from the dealership.

I haven't thought about selling the fogs, but I might as well as I can't re-install them. Which pieces are you looking for? just the glass?

there are 2 ways to wire these LEDs, with a capacitor in parallel, or a resistor in series. I will check this weekend but im pretty sure the factory output to the LEDs are 4v, not 12v, so if you kick the voltage down to 4v you do not need a capacitor I beleive. If you go 12v to them, you need a capacitor to hold volatge for the dips in voltage, like a capacitor for an amplifier in an audio system for when the big bass hits occur for example. If u use a resistor to reduce the voltage, the light output is reduced as well on an LED and thus a capacitor is not needed at the reduced voltage because of over feed of the power circuit. I think when I tested my 2011 it was 4v but this may have been the reduced voltage cause the car was on my lift in the shop, ill have to test it outside in daylight to see what the cars kickdown does between day/night. I was planning on rewiring mine to stay bright 24/7 I dont like the reduced light ouput at night. Ive had so many other mods going that I havent had time, I just finished my new system this past weekend

Do you see any benefits in using the your resister method as opposed to using a capacitor? It's just if we know the capacitor method works, I'm not gonna start experimenting with other ways.

Do you think there is anyway to cut the bumper to allow the fogs to someday be reinstalled? Or does the whole bracket really have to be removed?

I was thinking something like this, leaving the mounting holes for the fog light, but cutting what would seem like enough space for the LED, I am probably totally off as I am just guessing how it would fit, but I figured I would share.

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/...ax09/2ItXv.png

By the way, how much light do the LEDs provide at night compared to the fogs when you unlock the car and they go on?

The primary reason for the capacitor is related to the built-in regulator that is in each of the LED housings. Without it, the regulator does not start properly due to the line based inductance (typically causing a DC/DC converter to go unstable - which is the case here). To counter-act this (negate the inductance into the DC/DC) you need to add a "large" capacitance to the input. The 150uf @25V is one that was on hand, and ended up working. I would suspect that any capacitance (preferably electrolytic) about 47uf or up should work fine given that the DC/DC convert does startup for a short time without it.

Nicely done. Your solders kinda look like pubic hair. :rolf:

I see what you're thinking, but no, due to the back bracket that needs to be installed in order for everything to bolt together, it all has to go. I was originally only planning on removing what you have pointed out there as well. However, once i got all the pieces I realized that it all had to go

If the LED's utilize a DC to DC converter to reduce 12v to the operating voltage of the LED's, then you would not want to insert a voltage reducing resistor in series with the LED's. Even if the resistor is a viable option, it is an inefficient way to do it. If 8 of the 12 volts is dropped across the resistor and 1 amp flows thru the resistor, then 8 watts of power would be dissipated across the resistor in the form of wasted heat.

Blue where are you located? I sent you a PM

As for the plug, aren't there wires that connect to the plug? Can't you just cut the plug off and wire it?

I PM'd you - but i'm up in Portland.


Heh?

Anyone tried this without taking the bumper off?

Blue, can you please post some night pictures? I am curious to see how bright they are at night compared to the headlights. Thanks.

Saw a G35 coupe yesterday with the hockey stick LED DRL. Pretty damn cool.

^ +1


Does the bumper need to come off to do this?

yeah, bumper definitely needs to come off.. I'll try to take some night pics sometime soon.

So even if I find a different power source and dont use the side markers, there is no way that we can take the fogs off by folding the plastic molding by the wheel and unscrewing the old fogs? Thanks blue.

I mean.. MAYBE you could could get all the pieces wired and inserted correctly with the bumper still on, but you would be making it a much tougher job than it needs to be.

The bumper is seriously a 5 minute removal. 6 bolts total, all relatively easy to get to..

Thanks blue. Cant wait to see the night pictures.

Blue, did you get a chance to take some night pictures?

Thanks

Anyone have any ideas on what the LEDs can connect to, so that it's ALWAYS on as long as the ignition is on or like jimmy said above, so that it'll light up when you unlock your car. Wondering if theres a way to do both??

Seems like it's one or the other.

Attachment 449994
Attachment 449995

These are hardly representative.. the light shape is much more defined at night.. They aren't so bright that you can't distinguish the shape of the LED housing.. Iphone pics suck.. but here you go, this may give you some idea

Thanks Blue. Wish I had some better night pictures before I start cutting that bumper :))

haha, yeah my friend made a comment about how they were bright, I asked him if they were blinding and he said no.. so.. it's up to you, if you wanted to get tricky you could always wire in a light sensor and something that would decrease the voltage to a level more appropriate

I saw the hockey stick LEDs for my 2009 C300 for about $200 plus shipping complete with resisters.
No cutting involved.They come with the plastic piece Forgot what the plastic piece is called.
I just don't like the hockey stick setup.I'd rather have them straight in line,even if there are less of them,so they look at least similar to the original MB ones.

Attempting Myself
 

I am working on this project right now as well, thanks to the awesome guidance of blue00r6. For the OEM wiring plugs that are recommended, I called my local dealer, and they insisted on having a VIN to find/order the parts (tried multiple dealers in Dallas, got same initial question from all of em) so i just gave them a VIN # for a 2012 C300 Sport that was listed on eBay, and they were able to order them for me, but obviously under my name (not the eBay guy). It was really cheap for the plugs, like $16 for the pair or something. They didn't require payment up front b/c it was a low ticket $ order, so they're just going to call me when they arrive in a few days.

I have a local performance shop who has a serious garage doing the install, and hopefully it turns out well. The Parts.com stuff was around $390 as mentioned on the thread.

I think this setup is much better than the hockey sticks in terms of resale value, so that's why i went this route (although more expensive).

Hope this helps any others who make the attempt. I recently finished doing my eyelids/sidemarkers with AZNOptics 5000K LEDs, and these DRLs should complement them well.

Cool, I'm glad it's working out! Do you happen to have the part number for those plugs? i'm thinking about ordering them and redoing the wiring for fun.

OEM Plug Part Numbers
 

Crap, i don't have them because i did the order over the phone without knowing them, just by providing a VIN for a random 2012 C300 Sport that had them.

Assuming they put a packing list in the box i pickup Wed/Thurs at the dealer next week, i should have them then if you want me to post it.

those hockey stick LEDs are for the luxury model, if you look at the pics you can see the shape is NOT for the sport bumpers.

I rewired my 2011 yesterday and finished it today with a Bosch relay setup and they are bright night AND day, no errors yet. I am gonna order the plugs too I have them pinned right now with molex singles just to see what would happen. I will post pics/howto when I do the final wiring/harness

Quick question for you blue...
What do the replacement mesh surrounds look like? That is, the stock ones had the big holes for the foglights. Are the new ones for the LEDs basically "solid", with only a couple small holes for the mounting posts on the new light strips? Just wondering whether using these with other LED strips/hockey sticks would work with a little further cutting/drilling.
Thanks.

Definitely want to do this mod. It's a very good look! I'm going to start researching further right now

The mesh has holes in it similar to the fog light mesh. You could get the mesh on ebay, they have many diff kinds and colors and mount a regular LED strip and do it for less than OEM parts. The OEM look is what most are after tho

I actually bought some of the ebay hockey stick LEDs and made a mesh surround/backing piece for them. It looked okay. Attachment 449993

Basically the mesh for the new style OEM LEDs has a 1.5 inch slit in the middle running side to side, the LED fixture just presses in from behind.

Naw, not interested in getting generic mesh and do a hack-up job. I would do this to go for the OEM look, but don't prefer the extended pieces/accents on the factory LED strips. I may get OEM inserts since Blue stated there's just a 1.5" slit, so should be fairly easy to fit an aftermarket straight LED strip. Thanks for the info.

Blue, would you be interested in selling your OEM strip LED DRL lights since you have the hockey e-class style??

haha, no I upgraded to the OEM ones, where have you been? those 20 dollar ebay ones were my first experiment

Needs a nj installer!! *sad face*

Damn!!! Shipping is $58 to jersey what's going on! Lol. I thought I was paying $390 in total silly me.

haha those silly companies operating the airplanes and cargo trucks bringing you your goods should do it for free! what are they thinking?!

Lol exactly what I was thinking blue! Btw, thank u for the part #s and pic of the list it made it WAY easier.

Yeah sure thing, glad I could help!

Plug Part Numbers
 

After fighting with the local Mercedes dealer, i finally have a set of the plugs.
Blue00r6 .... do these in the pic appear to be what i should have been given?
I obviously didn't have a part number when i did the order and just described them to the people at the part's desk that i needed the plugs that go into the back of the DRL LEDs for a C300, and this is what they look like.

Part Number
2115451328 (it's shown upside down in the pic on the one plug side)

When i run that on Parts.com it says "Trimmer Plug", MSRP $5.25, Core $0.00, Price $3.72

Yeah that looks like what I imagine them to look like.. good to know they're cheap! did they have them in stock?

Since i didn't have part number, i ordered from dealer and it was like $17 for the pair at pickup, which included shipping.

Parts.com seems cheaper and also it appears they are in stock. I was able to add them to cart but didn't run thru a full checkout.

Noted that you figured they'd look like that. Sounds like i got the right stuff.

Blue00r6.... so the local tuning shop has my LEDs installed and they look awesome, however they're stuck at the wiring portion. I have those 2 little black plastic trimmer plugs that i posted a pic of above, however the guy who is doing the project is asking me about how the actual wiring works.

I'm having them wired to my fog switch, and pitching the round fogs (one cracked last week anyways), and he said the wires on those appear to be much larger and don't look like a good fit for that trimmer plug. He said there doesn't appear to be a pigtail or lead for the black trimmer plug, which he said appears hollow.

Do you know what advice or additional parts he might need to finish up the wire job? Have you rewired yours yet using the trimmer plugs? Even if not, do you have an idea of how he should wire the fog wires to that trimmer plug?

I have attached 4 pics the installer sent over. His email read..

"Need electrical pins/leads to solder onto.. Hard to see inside of the mercedes plug trimmer piece. Is there a way to open it up? Or is there a pigtail / wiring harness repair kit to get the wires into it?"

Thanks-

I am awaiting my plugs to rewire my 2011 and do the mod on dark kents ride, so this is based on the pics and my experience. All the OEM plugs Ive used in the past are repair plugs, you cut your wires blunt and fit them into the plug and theres a plastic piece that snaps down and make contact with the wire and sets the copper core into a crimp on metal connectors. If the wire to fogs is too thick have the installer solder a short 2" piece to the existing wire from fogs and insert and crimp that. I personally wouldnt do the fog jump, you then need to turn on the LEDs all the time. I would personally go straight to 12v that is switched, the leds use little power and then they would be on anytime the key is clicked forward once and when engine is running. This is basically how the 2011s are. If you really wanna get creative you could use a relay setup and take power straight from the battery and use whatever 12v source u like to just switch the relay on, utilizing 12v from battery as the real power source. Thats how I have mine setup, always bright all the time in my 2011

Okay, thanks for the info. I have passed this along to my installer. I will post an update once we figure out this final piece. We may order additional parts to try and make it as factory and waterproof as possible.

I actually do want mine wired to the fogs because i only want them to run (in full brightness mode) when switched via fog control, and that would be during sunrise/sunset periods when it's not quite daylight or night conditions, and will run them with my eyelids & clear sidemarkers (put AZN Optics's 5000K LEDs in those already). I'm not a fan of DRLs in general, and this will also conserve their life (even though i'm aware LEDs do last quite a long time theoretically with bulb manufacturers simulated longevity tests).

I also found this post of someone else who did this w/ username CClement...
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...-complete.html

My installer said that wire job seemed a little "ghetto", and said he wants to avoid doing it that way. However, i am a software guy and know nothing about hardware or electrical engineering, so i am just trusting his advice and can't really provide an expert opinion on that.

Well I didnt wire mine to the fogs, so I can't speak on it entirely intelligibly but I imagine what i would do is hack the plug off of the fog connector, wire it into the new plug.. plug it in.. I'm not sure I understand where the problem is?

The stock foglight connector is just a mate for the Hella H7 connector. If you cracked your foglights and are going w/ this LED upgrade anyway, just take the stock pieces off. All you'd need to do is wire up spades to connect from your LEDs to the H7 connector. Pics below. Remember you're going to have to get load resistors or else you'll get errors messages since you're hooking up to the fogs. Blue hooked up to the sidemarkers, so no errors period.

Attachment 380969

Attachment 380970

Attachment 380971

So i'm not doing the install myself, but rather trying to interpret the feedback from my installer (who runs a really nice shop), but i believe he's saying the trimmer plug is just black injection molded plastic piece, and then he has the fog wires hanging that he removed from the round fogs, and they are too large to try and wire in there. He's trying to do the wiring job as factory and clean cut as possible, and isn't a fan of hacking things together so to speak. So he mentioned possibly trying to find a crimp pin like..
http://www.frys.com/product/2875774

Or something like this... (although they didn't have MB stuff)
http://www.familycar.com/autoparts/s...connector.html

He saw the way CClement did it that i posted a link to a couple posts above, and sent me the following note....

"it looks like they did it the "ghetto" way… soldering directly on the led unit, then feeding the wires thru the trimmer plug. I guess I can do it the same way. But, I do prefer doing it like a true wired pin --> plug w/ water resistant grommet/gasket like the factory route. Another way that I could do it is by using a super small female disconnect connector and just squeeze it onto the led unit pins."

I was just trying to see if anyone had experience with trying to do it in this more polished way with the factory trimmer plugs, that he calls
"wired pin --> plug w/ water resistant grommet/gasket"

In the meantime, my car is up on the lift and i'm driving a rental which sucks lol.

I have passed this along to him as well. This is another take on it that i haven't seen used. As far as using resistors, he mentioned that he'd be using 25v capacitors. I know there is a subtle difference between capacitors vs resistors, so does it matter which he uses?

He has to hack one end or the other, no way around it since the connectors are diff. between fogs and LEDs. Hack in terms of cut off the plug. Can still make things nice, secure, and waterproof, though. IMO, hack the one off the LEDs, add two male spades, plug into the H7 connector recovered from the fogs, plug that into the stock recptacles on the car. I always prefer to leave the car-side of things in tact whenever possible.
Caps will not present the same load as stock halogens to the ECU so you'll still get bulb-out msgs. Haven't gotten to that point yet in my little project, though, so it's all theory at this point. :)

1. hack off the fog plug

2. solder on some female pins that fit through those holes on the plastic connector

I don't recommend soldering anything directly to the pins coming out of the LED unit as that is pretty ghetto.

If this guy has an electrical install shop he can figure it out. I did this in a garage with spare junk from radio shack

What u should do regardless is get a 2 pin molex connector from radio shack and use that in between ur LED and the factory wiring. If you break a LED or sumthin happens that u need to remove one it will be easy to do urself instead of paying someone. As far as fog harness goes, the info posted is correct. If you unplug your fogs all together u wont get an error in ur dash. If you jump the LEDs to them u will need a resistor before the capacitor to trick the car into thinking the fogs are still present. If you wanna avoid this all together have ur guy use a 4 plug relay, like a standard bosch automotive and use the fog + to do the switching to the relay with a continous 12+v feed from the battery or accesory. This will avoid the error message on the dash and may be easier in the end if your guy cant figure out the required voltage range to keep the error message off your dash. If you need it I can link u to a wiring schematic and relay part #

This looks promising...
http://www.amazon.com/LED-Daytime-Ru...8563651&sr=8-1

not worth the 30 bucks. Heres the simple way to do this and avoid error messages



U dont need the valet switch in the picture unless you want to have a hidden switch to control your LEDs. Use a standard 4 pin automotive relay available anywhere, I used a bosch that we had in stock at the shop, any parts store has them. Pic attached is the proper wiring, as follows. Just wire a fuse into your 12+v lead from battery or the main terminal on the under hood fuse block and follow the pic, this is pin 30. The lead to carputer is gonna be the leads to your LEDs, pin 87. You can use it for 2 LEDs no problem. Ground them both to the chassis or a known ground. Use a quick add a splice off of whatever 12+v positive source u want to switch the LEDs on with. Such as the fog, markers, headlights, whatever, this would be pin 86. When the wire senses 12v it will switch the relay on. The relay uses no power from the switching leg, it just closes the internal switch in relay, will not make an error message. This is how I rewired my 2011 LEDs to be on full brightness all the time. I jumped the OEM LED harness to switch on the relay so my LEDs still come on with the unlock command from key fob. Its the cats azz

Thanks everyone for the detailed replies. The installer and i reviewed each and every single one to try and figure out the best approach on this. In my case, i really wanted them wired to the fogs so i could conserve their usage and control them (i only want to run them during sunrise/sunset "in between daylight" types of situations). If you want them to be always on, the above posting and some of the other suggestions (wiring to the sidemarkers) are great advice.

Since i wanted to go the fog route, and the fog wires are too large to fit inside the black trimmer plugs i've posted a picture above (that snap onto the back of the LEDs perfectly), we took someone's advice (can't remember which poster or thread, there is another thread my CClement on this) and cut the fog wires and then soldered on some smaller red/black (pos/neg) ones on each side that would indeed fit into the black trimmer plugs. Then we simply fed those into the black trimmer plugs, and bent them around the end so they'd make contact, while snapping the black trimmer plugs into place. Almost like how you'd do a speaker wire type of thing.

Yes, i know this is not the most sturdy thing, although it has held up quite well over bumps and they're still running, controlled via the fog switch. We used capacitors, and i have no dash errors or problems at all (some had suggested we could only use resistors, but CClement and i both used capacitors 25v and it was sufficient it seems).

Since the above solution isn't a great long term, and was just to get my car down from the jack temporarily so i could return my rental, the installer and i are going to do something more crafty now. I ordered an extra set of black trimmer plugs today from Parts.com (since my original 2 are snapped into the LEDs obviously), and we're going to head over to Frys electronics when they arrive and match them to some parts and create a proper plug. I will post a picture if possible and at the minimum a more detailed description with part numbers once we have this done. I am thinking this second set of trimmer plugs will arrive next week and i'll have it done end of next week or early the following week.

I would suggest that those of you doing it yourselves be careful with the bumper cutting part. I wanted mine to look professional so that's why i took it to a fairly fancy shop here in Dallas (although not one of those super overpriced West Coast Customs types of places). The guy spent a lot of time smoothing out plastic and edges so there are no gaps. Other than my plugs being in a short term fix state, i love the LEDs and they look great. They are super bright, brighter than i expected. I run them with AZNOptics 5000K HIDs and his 5000K LEDs in the eyelids/clear-markers, and they all match beautifully once the HIDs are fully on after a couple second typical delay.

Pic attached.

Lookin good! I'm glad you got it all done :)

I got my plugs in today, picked them up from dealer. They are the proper plugs but have NO GUTS to them. There arent any spade connectors inside, just hollow. I spent a half hour on the parts guys screen and this is all thats available, so anyone buying these should expect a little customization to make them work. Im gonna spot solder the wires to the prongs and slide these over and seal them. They are kinda worthless other than a shielding and weatherproofing cover

Yep, that's correct and why it was such a pain in the a$$ getting this to work. The nice thing is the do clip right into the back of the LEDs for a nice fitment. Yeah, i spent an hour on the phone with various parts desks at dealers, and it's amazing to me they don't sell a full "wire repair kit" like they do for other types of vehicles & models. I even talked to a technician from svc department and he was like "bring your car in with the trimmer plugs and we'll see what we can do", meaning they'd have to improvise as well.

nice work

Jimmy, I'm looking to do this soon. I'm looking for the exact same setup as how you have it setup where it turns on when I unlock my car with my key fob. Did you wire the relay to your headlights, markers or fogs to make it turn on with unlock?

Does anyone have more detailed pictures on what part we have to cut when the fog is removed?

So with these plugs, we would just connect this plug to the LED units and wire some wires to the plug below correct? Like my sorry Paint diagram below??

https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...e-imag0035.jpg

https://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6317/ledqk.jpg

yeah exactly, that would be my guess.- Dallas would know better

The only thing about wiring to the fogs-

I noticed with my car that at night when I try to turn on my fogs the car automatically turns off the lowbeams/highbeams, so it seems its fog lights or nothing, so if you have the LEDs wired to the fogs you cant have them on at all at night as your headlights would turn off.

C300SportDallas-
Does this make sense?

Also in your picture it seems that the LEDs are super bright, are they brighter than the OEM look or do they just look brighter in the picture but match OEM perfectly?

Did you use the capacitor method as blue did?

I want to do this mod, but I think I am going to wait to do it to the 2012 style bumper once I can get a hold of all the parts

Like this:
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w204...8-11-w204.html

I had an 08 and if my fogs were on my park lights had to be on, there was no way to get around the switch. I dont understand what u mean by fogs on headlights hi or lo go off? I did the mod last week on a members car and used my relay method striaght from battery and didnt need caps. I added them to be safe but I also rewired my 2011 so Im on full brightness and I didnt need caps either. I personally wouldnt tap the foglights, they will throw an error code on ur dash if you do, if u just disconnect the fogs and ziptie them out of the way safely u wont get an error. U could tap them for a relay trigger if u wanna use the OEM HL switch, they wont error that way either. Thats what I did, I tap the +side of the OEM LED harness and that triggers my LEDs so I still have unlock flash and OEM functions, but I have full brightness all the time, Im lovin it

Jimmy, can you be more specific please? You have it wired so that it unlock flashes, but is on when the ignition is switched on as well? Can you explain how you wired the DRL LEDs plz.

U can read the whole wiring schematic somewhere in this thread or maybe it was another LED thread. Anyway its a simply relay circuit. search google for how to wire relay and u will get the info u need. And just to be clear, I now have a 2011 so it was easy to use the factory + to trigger the relay. If you have a 08-10 u can do the same but u would have to use the fog switch to activate the LEDs if you want unlock flash. The only other way would be to make an isolation module (kinda tricky) that would let u use 2 triggers for the LEDs where one would be the fog to use unlock flash and the other would be constant on thru the ignition

Hello. What type (specifically) of capacitors do i need? Where can i get them?

I've had mine running to fog switch for over a month now and they are awesome. They run in full brightness whenever i switch them on, which is how they'll work no matter where u wire them since it's a retrofit. I recently had a 2011 loaner and factory ones dim to an ugly yellow at night via reduction of current. They only run bright white during the day. So to answer your question about matching factory, yes, mine are factory LEDs so they do, and they run at full brightness whenever on and my guess is they're around 5000K range in color, bc they match my 5000k HID Kit very well.

As for my low/high beams turning off when they run, i'm equally puzzled as others as to what u mean. I can run them with my eyelids, or with eyelids/lowbeams. If i flip on my highs, they turn off, just like my old fogs did.

For those askibg about which capacitor i used, it's either posted earlier in this thread or in the one other thread like this that i've linked to earlier in this thread. I can't remember off the top of my head.

If you wire the LEDs using a relay directly from the battery u dont need capacitors, I dont have any installed never had a flicker. If your going to feed them otherwise stop at radioshack and grab a pair of caps out of their project drawers. a 25uf or higher is fine, I think I did 40uf 35v caps on the last LED isntall I completed

Just ordered a 25uf off of eBay..should be here in the next few days

Comprehensive LED Guide (Wiring to Fogs)
 

For those of you wanting to do this project, based on my experience doing this mod, here is a nice summary of this thread which will save you lots of headaches and time/money.....

1-Review the guide for self installation (or take it to the customization shop like i did) that blue00r6 posted at 07-30-2011, 12:52 AM at..
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ing-issue.html

2-Get your parts from Parts.com rather than the dealer, which will save you hundreds upon hundreds of dollars.
i priced both ways when doing it. here are the parts.com part numbers....

LEDS (R/L)
221-820-17-56
221-820-18-56

BACKING PLASTIC MOUNT (R/L)
204-885-28-14
204-885-29-14

FRONT MESH GRILLS (R/L)
204-885-0053
204-885-0753

CHROME DECORATIVE MOLDING (R/L)
204-885-27-74
204-885-28-74

TRIMMER PLUGS (you need 2 of these. i cannot remember if Parts.com prices them as a pair or individual, but i'm guessing individual)
211-545-13-28

My total parts cost was about $400 including shipping if i remember correctly. Parts.com just partners with various dealers in each region, so mine shipped from a dealer in TX for most parts and then one part came out of Chicago because TX was out of stock on it. You are definitely getting real OEM factory MB goods. If i had just ordered them at my local MB dealer via phone, it would have run me $800+ i think.

3-Since the factory trimmer plugs are hollow gutless injection molded black plastic and have nothing to wire onto, and Mercedes oddly doesn't sell a "wire repair kit" like they do on some other features/models, you have to create your own piece to wire onto to do this properly and make it as close to factory as possible. I just recently rewired mine by grabbing some crimp pins at Fry's electronics that fit perfectly into the plugs, which gave my installer something to wire to. The guy at Fry's and i opened boxes in the store which i'm sure Fry's HQ isn't thrilled about, and tried several different ones until we found a perfect fit. I have attached a photo of what these are. NOTE: they are hard to track down online for some reason, so if you have a local Fry's, just roll in there with the photo. I could not find them on the Fry's website using part number shown in the box. If you don't have a Fry's Electronics, roll into a similar type big box store in your area with that photo and they can probably track them down or another brand at least that are same specs.

4-If you're wiring to the fogs like i did, which is cool if you want to be able to control when they're on, then you'll need a capacitor...
25v and between 50 and 150 uf. This is because the LEDs require way less juice than the factory fogs. If you are doing this yourself and don't know where to put it in the chain of things, review this entire thread and somewhere there's a diagram that blue00r6 posted that will help you figure this out. If you're not fairly skilled with auto customizations, i probably wouldn't recommend this being your first project. The bumper cutting and wiring are the trickier parts if you're a novice. I probably could have figured it out if i put enough time into it, but it may not have turned out as nice as the install shop (Outperformance Shop in Grand Prairie Texas), because the owner Dan has lots of experience with tuning and took care of all the little details that make it look factory. There are no gaps in my fitment and the wiring job is rock solid and/or waterproof.

There are postings on here saying you need a resistor, but that's not true. My install guy ran a capacitor with those specs and i have zero erros in my dash. blue00r6 used the same i believe when wiring his, and his wiring was to his sidemarkers i believe.

5-if you need to fill in gaps on this project, there is another thread you can review at...
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...-complete.html

6-To see what mine looked like when done, view my posting at 10-14-2011, 12:32 PM on...
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...g-issue-4.html

My initial wire job was just a temporary one, so ignore any wiring advice from my earlier postings about how my installer did it. We only recently (yesterday) redid the wire job to be the above method with the crimp pins from Fry's.

To answer all those questions about "how do they work" and "what do they look like"... here's the scoop...

A) if you wire them to your fogs, they work with the fog switch just like your fogs. you can run them with just your eyelids/markers which looks really cool at sunrise/sunset when the lighting is "in between" daylight and dark. You can run them with your lowbeams on just like you did with your fogs. If you flip on your brights, they'll go off just like your factory fogs did.

On a side note... I actually put AZNOptics' 5000K HID kit into my brights recently, and they are awesome. I can no longer flash people (would really put wear/tear on them, and they require a couple seconds to heat up anyways), but i rarely would have to here in Dallas, as our city is like 100 miles in diameter and nobody runs their brights because it's the land of infinite sprawl. On rural TX road trips like down to Austin or South Padre Island, i've found HID brights to be incredible in terms of lighting the road (i used the same kit as i have in my lowbeams. they require the same bulb type). And no, i'm not on commission for AZN, i just mention where i got them so i don't get a bunch of people asking me.

B) as for how they look, you can check that photo of my car that i mentioned above, and if you wire to fogs they run in full brightness whenever you flip them on, which is a good thing. the 2011-beyond cars have their LEDs setup so they are DRLs, and only run in full brightness during daylight. At night, they dim to an ugly yellow that looks awful with HIDs. Because we are doing a retrofit, and there is no dimmer feature in the fogs, so if you want to be able to have them like the 2011 (full bright at day, dim at night) which i think is ugly, then you'll have to get crafty with your wiring and figure something out.

Contrary to what some might think, they do not blind people, unless you're a squirrel or lay on the ground and stare at them. drivers sit up high enough in other cars that it doesn't matter if they run full brightness at night. they don't look ridiculous and i've driven by 15 cops without an issue. the LED strip color is about 5000K if i had to guess, as they match my 5000K HID kit nearly perfect, even if the pic doesn't show it that way. my pic was taken on my Evo or iPhone, and night pics of lights just don't do justice, no way around that.

C) if you want to wire yours to your something other than your fogs, you could consult some of the postings by jimmythegreek in this thread on how to do that. i only have experience with fogs because that's how i wired mine. the above tips on trimmer plugs and the crimp pins would obviously still apply no matter what you wire them to.

D) my installer (Outperformance Shop just outside Dallas) charged me $300 for the install. Obviously pricing varies widely by shop and part of the country, so i'm only posting that as a general barometer you can use. It will take quite a while at a professional shop, so plan on dropping your car off and having someone pick u up and bring you back. I figured spending $300 was worth it to avoid screwing up a $30K car, but that's just my opinion. If you mess up and have to order a new bumper, prepare for things to get expensive.

E) do not rear end anyone. you will have to do this all over again which will be a huge pain and expense. luckily you can largely control that (rather than what hits your tail end), so keep that in mind when doing this and/or driving around later. i didn't really think about that until i had put the full $700 into this project lol.

Bonus and my favorite mod yet: if you have COMAND navigation system and the latest Telematics software running (the update is $200), and want something that will really turn heads when cruising, get the VIM204P from Mid City Engineering and have it installed so you can wire your phone or tablet to your COMAND screen and watch music videos while driving using the Vevo app on iOS or Android. i use my iPhone 4S, Vevo app and the 3G connection on Verizon here is good enough that i can cruise and play music videos and the sound is awesome. And no, i don't get commissions from them either and if you have any questions about how to do this type of setup, just call those guys and they'll give you all the details. They sell the thing and make tons of cash on it, so unlike this crazy retrofit project, there is actually a company you can contact for questions/answers. The local audio shop charged me about $180 including tax for the install, and it's literally the best customization i've done. Plus the VIM204P lets you fully use your Nav while driving (like enter addresses), which allows you to avoid that annoying pullover move you might have found yourself doing just so you could enter an address. i think the VIM204P cost me $450 or so, so about $630 was the total on this mod for me.

Few iPhone pics of the install completed last week by the very talented and knowledgable Jimmythegreek!! Take heed to everything he suggests he really knows what he's talking about. The install
Is clean and very OEM looking and even when u look under the good u can't tell anything was done. No flickers, no errors, just pure FULL BRIGHT LEDs. Thanks again Greek!

Attachment 380778

Attachment 380779
Attachment 380780

Attachment 380781

Attachment 380782

It was kind of hard getting a clear shot with them on weather wasn't great and it's from a phone but u get the picture.

How did you wire up your LEDS? Do you have them on all the time? Do they turn on when you unlock?

thanks for the kind words bro :D benz-boi I wired them w a relay straight off the battery and the trigger is from the audio systems fuse. THey are on all the time and there is an emergency switch under the dash to shut off if needed for stealth mode etc. I have to move the trigger because the LEDs were switching off w the key w a little delay like the radio does and now they are wanting to stay on. The only way to make a 08-2010 switch w the unlock is 2 have 2 triggers w an isolation module. If you have a 2011 like me its easy, use the + off the existing LED connector and u have full bright all the time w OEM functionality

So anyway, on my 2010 GL 450, when i put the LED's in, they flickered. I put a 6ohm 50 watt resistor that Eurodok said he used and he's had no problems. Well it still flickers once or twice. I think ill just wait until the other ones that were mentioned here on this forum come in and install them.

Just finished up my install. I wired mine up to the low beam itself with a relay . I'm running a canbus adapter for the hid kit, so as long as you tap your ground and positive after the canbus you will not have a flickering issue. I also used the positive off the fog light and wired that in before the canbus. With this setup the leds work as a drl with the low beam and no other lights on. When you unlock the doors with the remote all lights including the low beam work as your surround lighting.

[IMG]http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...2-14123806.jpg[/IMG]

looks good bro, nice install. If I follow ur post, U used the HID power and ground to supply the relay and u used the fog light as the trigger for the relay? Or do I have that backwards? Any dash light issues? Dont forget to put a fuse on the supply side before the relay

no LED turn on when unlock? no DRL function? Don't know if its worth it to me to have to manually turn the fog knob on every time I want DRLs

i never use the fogs as it is because its just an extra hassle to turn on and off...

also, I assume you don't have a backup cam, right? because if u have a backup cam, then you cant have another video input with the VIM

I also have the VIM and can play music videos while driving and I have a backup Cam...

the way I can do this though is that I have to burn my Music Videos to DVD first.... :naughty:

The power supply for the leds is off the battery itself and the trigger is from the hid power (the fog light + was put in pre hid to trigger the led and to power the hids for surround lights) I'll take a better look at the relay kit I used and see exactly how its wired.

Ok so I ended up removing the relay and it still works fine. I'm running the power and ground to my LEDs between the can bus canceller and ballast. The fog light power is wired in before the can bus canceller. I have no flicker and no errors.

Ok so reading through this entire thread. I have decided that I am going to do this mod in the near future. I am up in the air about connecting to the fog lights though. On my car, 2008 C350. When I turn left/right with the fog lights off and headlights on, the fog light on that side illuminates as I turn and then fades off when I straighten up the wheels. I guess it wouldn't be any different than the way they light up now only there will not be a fading effect. I didn't see any other suggestions to wire the lights up to anything other than the corner lights or fog lights. I really would rather not have all the other lights on with the DRLs as it kind of defeats the concept. I was considering wiring them to an ignition wire and through a relay and putting an on/off switch in so if I wanted to black out while sitting in a parking lot I could flip the switch. Anyone have a suggestion for a ignition wire that I could use that wouldn't cause any issues?

Drew

What you need to do in this situation is wire them with a relay. If you unhook your stock pre 2011 fogs u will get no errors just leaving the wire harness in tact. Just zip tie them out of the way. Search google for how to wire a relay there are many pics/schematics out there. U need a 4 pole basic relay, power in, power out, ground, 12v trigger. Use battery for in power and out to relays, no caps needed. Use any close ground for the ground, there are two, one on each side of hood lock I like those myself. Then run the trigger back to the drivers side fuse block under the hood, jump off of the windshield wiper fuse, its switched ignition and works perfect, they will be full bright whenever power is to the first click on your key. Very simple wiring job.......

Thank you for the information. I will let you know how it turns out. I am hoping to order the parts next week.

Drew

Is this install for the 2008 C Class to convert to the 2011 LED DRL?

Parts.com sent me 2 of the same part and it's too big of a pain in the ass to return to them if anybody wants it $25 shipped

Part # 204 885 28 74

yes

Can anybody talk about how they covered up all the wiring connections( so they are safe from outside elements)? Also do you have to cover up the entire portion of the capacitors? Any pictures would be great!
Thanks!!

if you do a relay setup theres nothing to cover up. When u tap the existing lighting system u wanna shrink tube all your connections and solder them, thats the pro way of doing. Alot of guys do butt connectors that are heat shrinkable, thats a decent way. I do straight runs back to the relay by the firewall battery side, and use solder/shrinked connections. If you do the relay install you dont need capacitors, u can straight wire them, thats how I do all the installs. On my personal car (2011) I retrofitted mine to be bright all the time. I cut my factory harness and soldered right to the factory harness a foot back from LEDs and shrunk by connectors, theres no better way than solder/heatshrink. depends on how nice a job you wanna do and how much time you're willing to put in on the job

I used to always wire things with soldering then heat shrink. I am goin to wire these into te side markers bc I want then to turn on at night when I hit unlock on they key.... So I guess that's why I wondering how to shrink over the capacitors when I run them in parallel. Any ideas?

Hello, my name is Jay and I am new to the forum. I am retrofitting my '09 C350 to the DRL upgrade. Does anyone know which wire/relay you would have to connect these OEM DRLs to in order to run them at partial brightness at night like the 2011's? The OEM modules appear to have the ballasts encased in the assembly. I was wondering if they were auto-switching with voltage, or switched by the vehicle's software. I was considering buying a set of Hella LEDayflex (7-module) DRL's and using the ballasts that came with the kit. They have connections that allow the LEDs to automatically switch from full to partial brightness depending on the setting of the headlight switch (like the 2011). Just checking to see if there's an easier solution before I pull the trigger and spend $345 on this light kit. Thanks!

The LED's are controlled by voltage to dim them. If you run 12volts to them they will be full bright, I think 7volts is the dim setup. It might be 4 volts, cant remember, I actually tested mine when I first got my 2011. U can do the relay setup like I have and just use a resistor to knock down the voltage to less than 12v, if you wanna have them switch like a 2011 you would need some type of aftermarket part. I will tell you that most of us that have 2011's want them full bright, they arent very bright at night, I love the way mine look at night and get lots of compliments and comments on them. They give off a little ambient light at night and kinda help like fog lights do.........

Thanks Greek. I still have a few parts on the way here before I can do the install. Looks like I'll be getting the aftermarket ballasts to replicate the functionality of the 2011 model. The aftermarket ballast has the capability of auto-switching to dim the LED's as a park light. If I want them full bright at a later date. I'll just disconnect that particular wire. I believe this ballast can also be wired into the turn signal wiring to cancel or dim the LED module on the side of the activated turn signal (similar to the Audi and Chrysler vehicles). When you cancel the blinker, the LEDs on that side would go back to full brightness again (in theory). I think I'll experiment and see what setup I like best. The kit does come with two separate ballasts. I think I could get that idea to work (Hmmmmm.....LOL!).

just remember the bumper cover has to come off to do the retrofit. Its easy to take off theres good videos on youtube if your not sure how to. personally I like full on all the time, but its your car. I wouldnt bother w the light signal feature, thats handy for audis and such cause the LED is in the headlight and masks the turn signal when on. Ours are so far away it doesnt even matter really, but again your car u do whats best for you bro. Good luck and post if you need anything

You don't need to remove the bumper cover I didn't but you do need to be extra careful if you don't remove it

ok lets start with the worst day ever!

The goods, my 2011 LED DRL and all the stuff i needed to install are in.

so as i was skipping happily to my car to get started on the awesome work i'm about to do i come to realize... my foglights slot is smaller than the bracket for the DRL.... WTF?

so heres what happen. i have a 2008 C300 4matic sport but after tons and tons of research i come to the conclusion that my bumper is from the luxury model. i ran to MB and start asking all these question and come to find out that they have luxury, sport elegance, and sport AMG. i have sport elegance which have the sport hood and grill but luxury bumper. wow!!! now i have to wait til monday to buy the bumper and then have it painted and then i can put in the LED lights. i'm gonna go shoot myself now.

Tooo much to read ! =0(

Wish someone would re-organize this. I'm too stupid !

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned.... is there a way to wire this through the car's DRL feature. I have an 08 C300, I noticed an option for DRL when I play with the settings on the dash. This feature turns on my headlights as DRL's when I put the key in. Is there a way to tap into the wire that turns on the headlights under DRL mode?

That's how mine are wired I also tapped the + from the fogs to turn the low beam and led on when I unlock the car

great that would be the best way then. I will have to this mod soon!.
It would be great if someone could do a diagram and pictures of the methods they used to wire up. It would be much easier to relate to the text instructions.
I am no electrical wiz, and possibly limited to + - of things. But thanks for all of the things you guys share on here.

Palladium- when you wired yours up to the DRL feature, does it light up full brightness?

They are full bright all the time. I have aftermarket hids so I wired it after the canbus adaptor there was no need for a relay or capacitors

Just a thought here. Since I need to get a new bumper, couldn't I just get the 2011 bumper and not have to cut stuff out? Would a 2011 bumper fit my 08 without having to mess with the mounting points?

Yep, i'd go this route.

the 2011 bumper mounts just the same. IF you gotta get a new bumper anyway get a 2011 and then you dont have to hack anything out......

NICE GUYS! Lucky the local dealer has it in stock!

hey blue, nice job on the mod and nice job on the write up.. i've been reading your post and i am going to do this to my c350 also!! but i was wondering if i would have any issue similar to Vanbong84? I have a c350 AMG sport package, thanks !

there is no issue really. ur sig doesnt say what year your 350 is. if its a 08-10 u just gotta remove some bumper plastic where your fogs are to fit the LED's into, takes like 5 minutes. If you have a F'd up bumper cover and u wanna change it or are gonna anyway you just get a 2011 cover, its the same except the tiny difference in the fog bezel part. I can do these installs in my sleep now

thanks greek!!! yeah sorry mine is a 2009 c350.... i can't wait to get this mod on then b/c one of my fog is cracked... and the capacitor can be found at radio shack correct?
.... even thought this is off topic... why are all the fogs made of glass and it's place low near the ground? (i don't get that...) haha

hey so if you connect the polarity to the capacitor wrong it would pop and the light wouldn't come on is that correct?

Blue nice write up and I will be doing this mod this spring looks very easy to do now I have to order the parts.

so is there a version of the leds that are bluer? looking to switch out my oem ones with ones that would match my HIDs. might be hard since they dim at night >.>

depends how long you hold the capacitor on backwards. if its just a second it might not pop, if its more than a few seconds it will pop and then yes, it will be useless. depending on how/if the lights are connected, they should still come on, they will just flicker.

the 2012 LEDs are blue shade instead of white like the 2011s. Havent looked closely but I think they are different shape and size than the previous years, you gotta check for yourself.

It also depends on how you are wiring the LEDs. I have only had to use capacitors once when installing LEDs, ive done 6 sets now and 2 on Eclass. If you use a relay setup u dont need capacitors, this is a fact. If you are jumping off ur turn signals or the existing fog lights, you may need a capacitor, i only used them for sidemarker jump so far. If you feed them w 12volts straight there is NO NEED for a capacitor, they dont flicker

ok so i cut off the wire to my fog lights and hooked it up. i think the capacitor is on correctly since they didn't pop and i've been driving with it for the weekend and the lights are on. i do still have the flickering problem but its not even a big deal. it stays on for a really long time like say 20min-30 then the driver side goes out for like 5 seconds then come back on for another long random interval.

Greek is correct. I wired mine directly to the fuse box in the engine compartment. I used an unused fuse slot. I tapped into that and then ran an in-line fuse directly to the LEDs (in case of a short or accident). No flicker, no worries. Operates just like the 2011 at full brightness (minus the auto-dimming feature of course). I may tap into the fog light + lead so that the LEDs come on as part of the surround lighting feature. Haven't made up my mind yet.

What resistor do I need to get them to run dimmer for night time I've been playing around with the wiring and have a way to do it but every resistor I've used makes the led flicker like a strobe

Does anyone know which prong coming out of the led unit is + and which is negative?? Also how do you know the polarities on the two sides of the capacitor??

The guy at frys gave me a 50v capacitor and said that was fine that as long as you went to a larger volt it was ok... Is they true.. ( so I got a 100 microfarad, 50 v). Anybody have pictures of there capacitor setup/ wiring on the back of the led unit..

Thanks!!

i think if u look at the side of the capacitor you'll see ------ and its greyed out. thats the negative prong.

Does anyone know which prong going into the back of the led housing is + and which s. negative???

For anyone installing now you can tap the blue/black wire on your main headlight plug it has power on ignition only and I didn't need a capacitor off of that wire

Thanks ^^^^

If you have a 2011 its the brown wire thats - and the green thats +

any capacitor has a black/grey stripe on the side if you look closely, thats the negative side. Depending on where you wire the LED from you may not need a capacitor. If you wire a high amp source there is no need, I recommend to EVERYONE here doing this mod to use a relay, its the best way and takes 5 minutes longer and is MUCH cleaner of an install. Just use the kick leg of the relay tapped to whatever u want the LED to come on from, this way u get no dash errors or under draw other lights in the car. Using a relay u need NO capacitors and it makes it much simpler to wire the LEDs. The trimmer plug is almost worthless IMO, they dont make a repair plug so what I do is solder right to the pins and slide the trimmer over to waterproof w a dab of die-electric grease. This works best overall.......

One thing and probably the only thing I would miss about my fogs is at night when I unlock the car and it lights up the ground.

I am wondering, do the LEDs light up the ground at all? Or is it very minimal?

I think the 2011s with the stock DRLs are programed to put the low beams on when the car is unlocked, I am wondering if a STAR technician could program an 08 to put the low beams on when you unlock it.

It seems like a lot of people have done this mod with wiring it to the fog light, with the capacitor, do you get any error messages when on or off?

the way mine are hooked up, they come on w/unlocking at night. and they definitely light the ground up

mine too. I have a double isolation relay setup now. They come on w the unlock and headlights (2011 thing) and are also on all the time full bright. they give off lots of light, I could prob run around w just them on and the headlights off and see pretty good, I would say the same as the fogs on my 2008 maybe a tad less. full brightness is great, looks so good at night too.....

Im not sure if they are getting error outs to the fog wiring, I never did one that way. Nobody I have installed for has wanted that look, then u have to have the parking lights on to pull the fog light out to activate. the 2011/2012 have them on solo, thats the look........

Jimmy and Blue,

Would you guys mind elaborating how how your lights are setup? I've been wanting to do this mod for the longest time. I was contemplating between this or just getting the Sypder headlights with built in LEDs. I have the OEM Bi-Xenons on my car. Since it's not available yet, I think I'm going to do this mod instead.

I would like the exact same setup, where it's always on, full brightness, night or day and lights up when the car is unlocked.

I'm probably going to go the shop and get this done soon.

Any details on the wiring for my tech would be GREATLY APPRECIATED! :bow::bow:

Thanks!!

If you look through this thread you'll see there's a lot of info on different setups.

PalladiumC300, if I use the relay method and tap into this wire, will it delay or flash/blink upon starting the ignition kind of like what someone else descriped in one of the threads earlier?

Or does it just turn on and stay on?

I'm not sure if you'll have any issues using a relay setup when you tap that wire but I've had mine on that wire for 2 weeks now without any issues not using a relay so I'd recommend doing it how mines wired

How do you do this relay setup?? I've read this many times and can't figure out what I need to do.

I wired up a setup to my side markers today with a capacitor wired in parallel and the sidemarker light came on for a second this turned off. Dash board read "check front right parking lamp". The capacitor I used was from frys, its a 100 microfarad, 50v, the guy said the 50v should be jsut as good as what was mentioned earlier. Is this my problem?

I would like for these to come on with ignition and unlock just cant figure what wires to tap and what relay stuff to use. Any help would be greatly appreciated as my car is dis-assembled right now!!

I ended up buying a module. They now work like a factory 2011 with dimming but I have the option to go full bright by turning on my fogs. Teamapt.de makes the module you can get one for about 100 euro.

nice, been wanting to get some drl's...do you have a link for the module??? thx

Teamapt.de is the website use google translate because it's all in German there are links for dealers just shop around for the best price

Can you guys post better night pictures? I am about to order the parts and do this but want to see what they look like at night without the glare in the pictures. Thanks

i wanna do this, but i want the newer c63 set up :p

anyone know if that would be possible for a 09 c300

Guys anyone with good night pictures that has done this mod? Thanks a lot.

$ 1000 is a lot of money for this work including original parts mercedes and labor????

They are bright at night, however nobody has flashed me before.

and diglesias - i costs about $400 total

was it this one APT M DAYTIME RUNNING CONTROL MODULE V2.0.0??? thx

That's the one

hows it wrking out for you???

It works good I had issues with wiring because the instructions were in German but I can help you with that

thx Pall, i really want to do this mod...

just bought all the parts for the DRL can anyone send a link to what kind of capacitors i could buy to make the DRLs work !

i just did mine yesterday!! wow.... it's a trip... hahah but it's so hot now!! i used the 35v 100uf from radio shack, they work perfectly fine

and here are some pics of the finish product! =) and it's hooked up with the Fogs, not with the side markers...

Attachment 379881
Attachment 379882
Attachment 379883

looks nice!!!!

thanks blue!! i followed most of ur instructions and it's workinglike a champ!

Hey Blue my order list looks a lot different than yours. Am I missing anything?


Attachment 379873

i dont think you are missing anything, thats how my checkout looked too last night...

It doesn't look like you ordered the plugs for the led

These are the plugs

do you HAVE to use those plugs, is it MUST??? thx

get it at parts.com or somethign... i got those plugs at MB... but GUESS WAT??? tehy only came with the plastic part... no wire attachments watsoever... wat a rip..... :wwf:

ok, and where does that plug connect??? i have HIDS on my fogs and was gna tap into that???

if u get the right plugs, u just gotta cut off the fog connectors and wire it with the (new) plug that fits the DRL LED... If you go the fog replacement route instead of the side markers, then u have full control as if it was ur fogs. BUT.... if u put ur lights on automatic and u turn... the lights will flicker due to the dimming effect.

thx dadangman, plugs ordered :)

yuppp anytime!!! and one tool i think is essential to the MOD...... http://www.harborfreight.com/variabl...ool-67537.html

goodluck :y

doesnt matter where u order from, doesnt come with any wires or guts, just teh stupid plug. What I do now with these is just slide the wire thru the trimmer, solder right onto the pins, and then use the trimmer for a sleeve. I used to get a molex connector and use the pins from inside to go inside the trimmer plug, its a pain. They still DO NOT make a repair plug for this, MB sucks w some stuff

Anybody is So Cal want to do this for me and make some money, pls PM me

I also can't figure it out with text only instructions

Do you said install?

install yes

Ooo ok, that blows then,.... But yeah I end up using these clips at auto advance and did some modding... Thought mb dealer skimp me hahah

hey guys finally got the parts. Just wondering where are some places you can get the drls done at in DMV (northern virginia)

thanks for all the help on this thread, what a "fun" install that was......

Does someone knows if this parts A204 906 9000 / A204 906 8900 are the same as :

LEDS (R/L)
221-820-17-56
221-820-18-56

From the part number, those LEDs will fit the 221, e class? Their bumpers are diff from ours, u can make it work if u are good at modding, but it will be a lot more work for sure

What happen is, my friend got a 2012 C-Class who recently crashed it, so the insurance will pay the repair, i got one working led DRL but i saw here you are using the W221 Led DRL for our prefacelift C-Class, So i wonder if i could purchase all the other parts and make them fit.

Oh my bad, what was I thinking hahaha, I installed my 2009 with the 211... and I think on parts.com the leds are from the 2011 models, as for 2012... Model, no clue man, best way take that led with you and go up to a 2012 model and do a comparison hahahah....

So do you guys order the actual drl lights from MB? im so confused how you guys got it.

We ordered everything from parts.com, oem parts though...at least to my knowledge hahaha

so like the drl that looks like the official mb one is from parts.com?!

yes, theyre oem.

hey guys i have a question about the new bumper. Would these be the correct ones
http://i46.tinypic.com/2ibn3ep.png

i have a 2008 and had to get my bumper replaced. I noticed that when i was trying to put them on there's something still blocking the way even after cutting the brackets. I think its the horn. I was wondering if it would affect me from installing the lights with the new 2011 ones.

hey u play diablo too i see... hahaha, but wait up.... so u saying u got a brand new bumper b/c u couldn't make it first?... i had the same problem.. but it's because the back bracket goes in the back of the bumper and the other peice goes in front..

Here man,
this is what it looks like with the brackets on my 2009 bumper

thanks dangman that was really helpful.
heres a picture of what is blocking my way form letting the DRLs go completely all the way in.

http://i45.tinypic.com/300hb4p.jpg
the honk and the metal connector is sitting on the right side. Does that affect the fitting of the DRL? and did you guys have the same problem?

i have to get a new bumper the guy totally messed up on my car
http://i47.tinypic.com/2rontdi.jpg
the cover no longer fits the fog light groove, so i'm trying to order the 2011 bumper now

holyf* man, whoever did ur car really messed it up... first of all wat did he use to cut ur bumper?.... scissors?..:confused:. secondly.. the cut was too big.... sorry to see that man...... but it should be correct.... cuz my air horn is in the same spot... hmmm

yeah the guy couldnt get it to fit so he tried cutting around the fog light without my permission and try to push the back bracket in through the front. He did not make any attempt to try and take out the bumper. He tried putting them on by taking the under carriage out and going under the car. Pretty long story about what happen but i ended up telling the technician that i would be solving this problem with legal matters if he does not pay for the damage he did to my bumper.

here's a close up... it looks like ur airhorn is where it suppose to be, as for the 2011 bumper, i have no clue, it should be the same, but u should ask other members for help on that one to confirm it before buying

i reread the thread and some of the guys said its possible to go that route and my only concern was the air horn blocking the way. but seeing as you getting it to work then i can eliminate the assumption that the air horn would be in the way. I've called a lot of shops and they said they cant do it because it would take to much work if they had to cut anything. So at this point im crossing my fingers and hoping the bumper fits fine and the DRL are going to fit in my car properly with no extra cutting work

yeah these type of stuff, requires some modding and such, if it's not a custom's shop, i doubt they will do it for u.. even with the 2011 model bumper, u still have to wire up the fog wire harness to the LEDs which takes some modding in itself.... but i recommend u do it with a tech savy friend (take ur time) take ur bumper out, and do it the right way or else it's going to be frustrating..

thanks for the input. so ive came to a conclusion to just having the body shop install the new 2011 front bumper which should be no problem. They may run into some trying to get the lights to work and all the wiring done correctly though but ill be sure to provide them pictures and steps that some of the members pointed out in this thread. So if im correct to get the DRLs running from the side markers.; All i have to do is hook the plug to the back of the DRL, Solder the capacitor to the Side marker wires (positive and negative), and then connect the wires from the side markers with the DRL wire. And as for the fogs they play no role in the functionality of the DRLs if im using the side marker method right?

just reread your post so the fog does play a role and you have to connect them with the DRL wires. But where do the side marker wires come into play? should i just not even use them in this set up?

well other ppl use the side markers instead of the fog, but i use the fog light wires b/c i want to have the control as if it's a fog..and the wires are there already so i use the fogs instead.... up to u watever u want to do.. good luck:y

Can you provide a instruction on how to connect to the fog light?

re-read the thread pal, there are instructions listed

yeah ive already got wires hooked up to the side markers due to my previous mod. I had angel eyes before as the fog lights. I tried hooking them up without the capacitor and i got the flickering issue. So to get it working all i have to do is solder the capacitor to my side marker wires and then connect the wires with the side markers and the wires leading up to my drls correct?

and ya i play diablo :) add me lol im still on my first character

it's the same as hoooking up to the side markers, nothing different.


here is another member's post on it, he got pics u can use.. but the cap should be where the connection is to the LED

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...-complete.html

alright just did the fog method and they work fine no flickering. Guess its time to order the new bumper thanks dangman

sigh i just don't get it... Why in the world did they have the 2011 bumper from parts.com have the same identical bumper as the 2008 models. I just did a research on finding the parts and they have the front bumper models labeled as 2008-2011 meaning the bumper purchase will be the same fog light style bumper. So here's my situation. I'm debating on whether to cut fog light brackets again or try and order them else where than parts.com. According to their catalog the 2011 bumper is the same as the 2008 and they asked for my VIN. In conclusion i would still be getting the same ones giving them my VIN number. does anyone know the part number for the 2011 bumper with the DRL LED

It's really not that hard as u think man, but u just cut out from the back of the bumper (never cut anything that is visible from the front ), why don't u try it out on the other side of ur old bumper and ull see what I mean, but u have to take out the bumper before u can do this

I would go into the dealership and talk to one of the parts guys, tell them what you're up to and they will be able to make sure they get you the right part number..

goto http://www.ecarone.com, find the 2011 C that have the LED DRLs, copy down the VIN and send to parts.com

thanks whytechno that was very helpful. the guy from parts.com wanted a vin number for the 2011 model to get the part.

and Dangman i have and it fits. But theres a gap now like i showed in the picture. The thing is for the DRL theres that little metal clip on at the end of the chromo cover. Wouldnt that mean i would have to cut a hole for it to fit into as well?

stark its really easy to cut the front bumper, takes me 2 min per side. Dont waste your $ on a 2011 bumper, u dont need it and technically theres 2 extra brackets u need behind the 2011 bumper to make it truly OEM, not worth it just for DRL's. And the little metal tab just trim it off and if its not flush just file/grind it flush and it fits and sits perfectly....trust me

If I can do it anyone can!:D

alright ill just try and do the cutting myself. Ive already bought a new bumper because the guy messed up my stock bumper already. Wish me luck

I forgot you had your stock bumper butchered! I guess your new one is a direct replacement and not the new 2011 bumper?

Take some pics of what u are having questions about and draw it on paint or something to let us know in details, and the metal brackets save them for when u out on the new led housing, anything u do.....don't cut anything that is visible from the outside!

yes exactly! and since i dont want to reorder the new bumper and new brackets for an addition price for the brackets and shipping i may just do what the rest of you guys have done. Ive seen the tool that dangman posted up so ill try using that. wish i had a member local to help with this mod.

wait dangman you live in Maryland right? what city

I'm in gaithersburg man, but my schedule is pretty tight not sure I can help you do it, but I'll helout our as much as I can.. pm me ur number or gmail chat sn

Does anyone know how to disable the DRL from headlamp?

I have a connection between my headlamp and DRL wiring loom. I couldnt tell you how it works but there is a grey/pink cable going to my headlamp unit which has 12V when the headlights are switched on. This is has been tapped into and somehow connected via relays to deactivate the DRLs. In addition to this I connected a fuse inline (couldnt find a suitable switch) i.e. from grey/pink cable to DRL wiring loom.

With fuse in place the DRL`s switch off when headlamps are on. When fuse is removed the DRL`s are on. Hope this helps.

I'm stuck at the last step, i don't know which is the positive or the negative on the led unit, i assume it will not damage the unit if i connect the capacitor the wrong way.

I cant remember which was positive/negative on the unit. Wire it up without the cap initially and see if it works. If it does you got it correct. If you havent swap them over. I dont think you can damage LEDs be wiring them the wrong way round. As for the cap it depends on the type of cap you have.

For those of you who used the fog lights wires to connect the new LEDs did you have to use a capacitor or resistor? Also do they still function like the fog lights as far as when you turn your wheels left the left LED goes on and when you turn right the right LED goes on?

Mine are wired up to both the ignition (via relay)and fogs (with caps). The DRL`s switch off when my headlights switch on. When this occurs and I turn the wheel one DRL will illuminate depending on which way I turn. The problem is they flicker at the start and end of the illumination cycle. The reason this happens is because if you looked at how the standard fog illuminates it starts of off and then gradually gets brighter until peak brightness and then dims as you bring the wheel back to centre. There is a voltage sweep from 0 to say 14V and back to zero again. Before I fitted my LEDs I confirmed that they need at least 8V to be stable, anything between 7-8V is unstable and results in flickering. I have tried 150 and 220uf caps to stop the flickering during turning but no joy. I have also set the cornering function to off using a Star developer system but the setting seems to get lost when the developer system is disconnected. I am not sure if this a memory retention issue is with my front SAM or something else to do with the intelligent lighting system on my car.

For now I have the DRLs running all the time including when the headlights are on and they function as the standard fogs for convenience lighting on locking and unlocking the vehicle. They work perfectly like this. I just wanted them off at night because they look quite bright. What do you guys think? Are they too bright at night? Id be interested to hear if anyone else has tried to turn the cornering function off via DAS and their experience. Or has anyone worked out how to dim them like the 2012 cars when the main lights are on?

It will work as as if it is a fog, but one draw back is that the lights will ficker if u turn left or right cuz of the dimming effect, what I do is turn the fogs/dlr led on manually and that solves the flickering problem

I asked my friends that also... If the LEDs are too bright at night, they said its fine... Yes... It is brightt but it does not annoyingly bright.. :y

Cheers. I think I`ll leave them on all the time. I have faffed around with them enough. :y

Hi folks.
I installed this drl to my w204 and it works perfectly without the engine running, but as soon as I turn the engine on and put on the headlight the drl startes to flash (goes dim and bright continuously). I used the APT M control module to wire it up.

Does any one have any suggestions on how I can fix this issue.
Thanks

Ouch, I just brought the module too. Did you wire it correctly since the instruction is in german.
*Just receive the instruction in english, as bad as google translate. let me know if you need them.

Google translate didn't help much with those instructions. I spoke with the guy who makes them and that wasn't easy either because of his thick German accent. It sounds like a bad connection to me since I had the same problem and it ended up being that.

Dim, can you help me out with the wiring when my module arrives?

Not a problem

Will try redoing the wiring, it's really frustrating I hope I get it sorted soon.



@palladiumc300 thanks for your help and advice so far. Very much appreciated.

Can those of you who have dones this mod already, post some good night pictures please?

anybody in so cal want to do this for me and make some cash, PM me, thanks

Yep, same here. I'd be interested in paying someone that is capable of doing this. Please PM me as well.


If not, I was going to go to a local shop. rb23lb, maybe we can do a group deal at that shop if nobody responds.

Night pictures anyone?

Thanks PalladiumC300, it was a bad connection, and I have pretty much got it sorted. Seems to work like factory fitted once. :)

Thanks dude. Its all sorted now. :) Good luck with your install.

Where can I buy this module from
Installed the drls and they are working fine once switched on via fog light however when I lock/unlock the car and the surround light comes on the drls flicker
Tried Capacitors but no luck

http://www.teamapt.de/tagfahrleuchte...htsteuermodul/



It's a German website, the module is pretty cool if you wire it up properly. It make the drl work exactly like the factory fitted drl.
Good luck.

Would anyone be so kind and write a guide for the module? :)

Send your email and i will forward the instructions in english to you.

Is the #1 or #2 the positive on the LED?

I don't understand German and need to order this module
Can some1 please assist

What kind of tools do you guys recommand to cut and smooth out around the bumper?

u just use an air saw or a dremel tool. the plastic is soft and cuts easily. Its all hidden by the DRL bezel so no worries just dont go too far

So I installed mine today and went directly to an empty fuse in the fuse box. Everything is great except I get the check right and check left fog light. Any ideas?

And if I wanted to wire my into the sidemarker what tools would I need for that?

So one good sign. This morning I disabled the DRL in my instrument cluster and the "check fog light" error does not come on when turning/signaling. Next I will try setting the switch to "A" to see if that will give me the error like it did when the DRL option was enabled.

Question to those have installed them. I'm currently doing this project well I did last but did not finish (dremel getting loud) lol and wifey is complaining.

Are the backing plastic mount suppose to mount inside and sandwich the bumper with the outer mesh grill?

Also got 35v 47uf caps and 35v 100 uf just in case. RadioShack did not have any 25v caps.

Also for the caps is there a positive and negative?

Thanks in advance!

Mike

Just want to say thanks to Blue/Jimmy and of course the forum. I followed the instructions to the tee and worked out great!!!:y

Only thing I didnt do is taking the bumper off. Its actually not bad. I took the fogs off first and cut away with the dremel. The diagram that blue is priceless and could not have done without it (-;


Will post pics later.

Thanks again.


Mike
2010 C350
Steel Gray

Can anyone help me??

Ive got a MB C250 with the AMG sports package.

Are these the correct parts for my vehicle? Bear in mind that is a C250 and there is not option for my model. Just C300 and C350. I chose C300 sport in every part.

http://i50.tinypic.com/k00sm.png



Thanks in advance

I got the lights installed, they looks really good. Currently I have it hooked up to my fog light wire. I still need a capacitor. I have couple questions tho

- if I wanted to do the fog light method. The capacitor goes into the trimmer plug along with the power wire from log light?

- if I want to wire up to the side marker like blue did, what kind of cable do I need? I tried to purchase cables but I'm unsure which gauge should I need

Here are more pictures...with my Sony NEX 5
Can someone please answer my questions above?

Attachment 379129

Anyone???

I just wire up the cap at the ends of the wires (into the trimmer)

BUMP BUMP anybody in So-Cal wanna make some $$$ and install these for me????

PM me please!!!!!

Please note that if you live in a cold area (ie. Canada) when the temperature is below -15c or 14f the capacitor will stop working, the LED will start flicker

Mission Accomplished
 

So i finally got to the do the DRL retrofit...I connected mine to the low-beam wire, mainly because i use the DRL function for 10K HID's, i have inline capacitors with 35v and 100uf to be on the safe side...i am looking into a OEM fog light switch to control them(no luck) GLK350 has a push button switch i will look into.....~~~~~~~>Also i would like to hook them up to the turn signal, but dont know if that would ware the life of the leds. Since i have on the DRL feature maybe i can hook a separate power line to the turn signal and maybe my LED will blink, but i dont know if doing so will the turn signal be powered on at the sametime too? any electrical guru's :bow:out there.
oh and also i got them from ebay for $110.75 a piece, they come with the S-Class Chrome Bezel though, so either you can buy the C-Class Bezel from Parts.com or do a little shifting around to make it work. I bought the back piece's, front piece's, trimmer's, and w204 bezel from Parts.com $180shipped.
Thank you everyone who made it possible for this mod to come true.....lol:bs:(tear) (tear):smash:

could you send me the english info also ,thank you!

has anyone done this mod that's in the Midwest ?


Posted from Mbworld.org App for Android

nice mod bro

Is there any way to disable fog light error at night? I have the lighting package with cornering light

Hey snowmuch I notice that you're from Calgary. If I order all the parts that are necessary to do this mod, do you think you can install them for me since you've done the install on yours and know what to do? Also once you've sorted out all the issues, it shouldn't be hard for you. We can of course talk about how much it'll be and all that. PM me please. Thanks.

I can definitely help you with the install if you need help with it but I'm no technician. I can help you the best I can but I do have limits for example the wiring part I got someone else to do it

http://Current Attachments (66.0 KB)image.jpg (66.0 KB)
I did my with a relay connect to the side market , but I would like to get them to turn on with out my tail lights to be on, does any one know how to do that

the only way to do that with a 2009 is to hook them up to your daytime running lights which are your headlights. That being said your headlights would be on the same time as your LED DRL

Um... I wired my 09 to ignition. During the day, headlights are OFF and LEDs are ON all the time. At night both headlights and LEDs are ON.

Can you explain that to me I would like to wired my that way also.

Same relay method except you wire to the ignition instead of your side marker.

Anyone have part numbers to the light strips? 221 820 17/18 56?? Are S class the same as c class led's? Thank u in advance.:bow:

were did you get every thing and how much did you spend

anyone out there want to help a forum brother out in soCal?

Im gonna buy the parts but dont trust any local shops to install...

I'll pay you fair cash, let me know if anyone can do it!

TIA

bump

having trouble with mine body shop installed them and mounted them but having issues with wiring they tried according to them the relay setup and capicitors using fog connectors both times was told they come on then shutt off now they brought it up to the actual mercedes dealer they are right next to each other was told he can reprogram the mercedes computer to accept them is that BS or can it be done

^^^ update body shop apparently didnt even try much and basically lied to me they did great body work but suck at electical stuff I got it done successfully at the dealer

have just purchased the APT-M light module from Team apt. The English manual is difficult to understand......would someone be kind enough to give a concise summary on how each of the leads should be connected?

Is this everything I would need for the install?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-daytime-running-light-DRL-with-fog-lamp-cover-for-2007-12-BENZ-W204-Sporty-/150940784774?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2324c59886&vxp=mtr

I live in CT, what shop and dealership did you go to? I'm looking to buy the parts on eBay but trying to find someone or place reliable to do the install.

dont buy on ebay buy from parts.com it was like $450 or so with shipping got it in two-three days all oem and warrantied!! i got it done at Mercedes Benz of danbury it would cost $400 but they hooked me up for $191.00 since i spend alot of money there as it is lol I had to tell them how to do it, drew up a diagaram for them to use and shop foreman was clever enough to listen to me lol

Nice, I might have to take a trip to Danbury since they already have experience with the install. Thanks man

I have fitted a 2012 C63 kit on my 2010 C350. I bought the complete 2012-13 C63 bumper retrofit. The bumper is actually made to fit 2012-13 NON C63. It comes complete with all the grills, DRL's, chrome bezels and everything.

Here is the link for the Kit: https://mbworld.org/forums/5507902-post114.html

And if you look on this thread (page 5) you will see photos of a 2012 bumper (not AMG though) installed on an older C class. You will notice that it fits pretty neatly at 95%. https://mbworld.org/forums/5510656-post121.html

I bought the complete 2012-13 kit including skirts and rear bumper and I will install the newer hood and headlamps next year once they start making nice looking custom ones...

I'm actually picking up my parts from the body shop this afternoon and installing them this week-end. (that is the reason why I came on this thread to see how to hook up my new DRL's)

BTW I am thinking on keeping my round fog lights on this new set-up since the C63 DRL's are at the top of the grill. I will retro-fit them just like you guys did with your DRL's...

AND I don't mean to be rude but the complete bumper kit (primed polypropylene like OEM) with DRL's and everything cost me about the same price as what you guys have spent :-p

Cheers!

hi guys i am new to the forum , i just did the upgrade on the drl lights , this thread was very helpful :) ,
i cut the inside of the bumper just like in the picture , the lights were flickering at first but i bought resistors and that fixed the problem.

Attachment 377582
Attachment 377583

looks great where did you wire the led ?

hello, i wired the leds to the fog lights and used resistors and that stopped the flickering problem. :D , Also bought the right plugs for the leds. ill post more info in a bit.

Ricardo, what are you running in your eyelids in this particular pic? LED's I assume, but how bright? 6000K? I ask because I got some and they are more of bluish color and yours look quite white, which is what I was/am after.

hey there , they are the led whites by IJDMTOY canbus no error :D,

I found the part numbers for the wires and pins that goes into the plug. I'll be happy to post it when i find the invoice in my car

Hi everyone! At first, sorry for my bad english.
I just finished with this thread, and haven't found any info about Avantgarde package (Europe only i guess) bumber part numbers. It will be great if someone have part #s of OEM VENTILATION and OEM ATTACHMENT A, like on the photo and video . It seems to be same part #s for DRL+bezel. Thnx a lot for any information.

Here you have OEM lights.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271291833363...84.m1555.l2649

question on ordering drl parts
 

i have a question on ordering the drl parts. i have a 2008 c300. when i went on parts.com and entered the part numbers it asked me the year of the car. i checked the 2008 and the 2011 drl parts they look the same. do i enter the actually year of my car or do enter 2011 parts? or does it matter at all?

I also have this same problem. Installed them today it's all great and bright except for these annoying messages. Anybody have a solution for this? I'm almost considering wiring in a peanut bulb hidden away to let it "see something"

I really like how snowmuch leds look, it looks like it has a blue tint is that from the newer models?

Ok got an update and a solution. So same thing I wired mine to ignition via the under hood fuse box so they're always on and bright. I left the fogs unplugged and got a check left and right fog messages. I just installed 2 (one per side) Lumens Resistor Box (Item #: RES2) they look like aftermarket hid ballasts and pluged into the fog connector and it tricked the vehicles' computer into thinking that a regular light bulb is installed. I went driving in an underground with my headlights on auto which is how I always have it turned left and right many times and nothing came on.

So, I decided to try this mod. Hmm, parts are in.... Plugs are set... Now to figure out the wiring.

Starting this project at 10PM was a bad idea. My mind wasn't clear at all. Fast forward to this morning. I have one installed! Progress...! Having a Dremel really helps with the trimming.... I hate wiring and I think I need some supplies. Don't feel like driving w/o my bumper AND it would be raining today. *sigh*

Oh, why does mine look different? Could I just wire a cap into the one connector attached to the LED assy and plug that directly into my fog connector?

Do not drive your car without front bumper they act llke a support for your headlights doing so will risk damage your headlights

:smash::zoom: Thanks!

Lame. Got them installed yesterday, but couldn't figure out the wiring and I had to put my car back together to run errands. At least they look nice.

Hey guys I did this mod as well on my 2010 C350 and hooked up the LED's to a Phillips DRL LED controller which makes the LED's function like OEM (bright during the day and dim at night)

I'm in Canada and wanted to know if there is anyone who did this mod and got the main headlights (which is the stock DRL) to be off during the day? so I can keep the LEDs as my DRLs? I have heard that some sort of reprogramming needs to done?

Anyone know how to or know anyone that can help me out?

Ive done this. You need to find someone with access to STARS and flash your software with us spec so you can control your headlights. Right now my headlights are off during the day and auto turns on during the night. If you live in Alberta there is this shop in red deer can do it for $50 and done in 10 mins

Snowmuch thanks for the info. Now Anyone in Toronto that can help me out?
Heck I'll even go to buffalo USA to get this done if there is anyone who can help me or guide me in the right direction.

Someone please help me out.

I would think (and maybe I am misunderstanding your post) that you would turn off the headlight's DRL feature (found in the basic settings of your vehicle), and then you would wire your fog lights (now LED DRLs) to the ignition fuse. That way, it will basically always be on (day and night -- which I believe is how the stock 2011s function, while the headlights come on as well at night).

Also, after some searching, I saw this which may make your life easier? Though, don't quote me on that.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-Daytime-Running-Light-DRL-Relay-Harness-w-Auto-On-Off-Control-Switch-/221267830461?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item33849726bd&vxp=mtr
Best of luck, mate!

Due to some safety law in Canada 08 09 and 10 w204 dont have the option to turn off headlight drl feature even if you turn the dail on the left from A to 0. Thats why I had my car flashed with US spec software to gain control over the headlights

Ah, my faux pas. Apologies.

Not to hijack the thread /too/ much, but I noticed that you used to have LED DRLs. Did you have to take your bumper off in order to install them?

I did take my bumper off for this operation. Some people on this forum did it without taking off the bumper but having it off does make the job much more easier.

Thanks. I guess I may either find a shop to do this for me, or I may say to heck with it and get HIDs for my current fog lights. My only concern (other than potential cracking of the lens?) would be which HIDs to get as the wires are for the luxury, and my bumper is a sport, ha.

No problem. My fog light glass broke and light blub went out twice in a year. Thats why I said fwack it and switched to LEDs instead so I hope the leds dont crack because they cost about $175 each.

glj12 that what I have installed (Philips lighting version). What I need is like what snow did have my car flashed to US spec so I have control over my headlights.
My LED function perfectly no problems there. Just need the headlight off during the day as they are on currently as they are the stock DRLs.

Got to be someone that can help me out here.

Guys, I already have a 2011 with the LEDs, I just want to mod them so they're full bright all the time. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to do it having already existing LEDs.

I'll probably go the relay route but I'm trying to determine the best +12V source. Ideally, I'd want them on and bright all of the time. I don't want the sidemarkers because I don't want the tails on. Would the ignition hot be the best? Or as Jimmy said, the wipers? Which source would I need to tap to have them come on on unlock?

Thanks. A lot of good info but I'm looking for more than a few guys that had 2011+ that have done this and not just wired from their existing fogs.

So, I ended up going with some dinky, but so far reliable, cable off of ebay from a seller in CA. The lights aren't on all the time... only when I have my fog light switch turned on. I still don't know if this is going to be a permanent set up, but for now it'll do. No flickering or errors.

The eyelids look more unattractive now. I haven't decided what to do with them as they really throw off the look. I tried adding white LED's a while back, but it never looked white, it looked very blue.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7318/...03dc758300.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3672/...3bc47b8fd4.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7357/...02e930f49b.jpg

I have a 2009 C350....
 

...does anyone know if I would be able to purchase OEM DRLs and install them using this method? I only ask because I was looking at purchasing a kit to retrofit the DRLs on my car, but it is on ebay and the parts are made in China and probably not the quality that I am looking for (also worried that the LEDs might be too blue like the foglight bulbs I bought on there). Any suggestions/success stories?

So from what I can tell after reading all 14 pages of this thread is that yes, the OEM DRLs are what are being used for this modification for all w204's from 2008 and up. However, the wiring is something that I think will be an issue because I actually really like having the fog lights come on when the car is unlocked. In that sense, would a possible solution be to hardwire them to the battery or alternator and have a relay that draws from the license plate illumination lights? (I believe those lights come on when the car is unlocked and also stay on the entire time the car is running)

...Plus it would be really cool if they could fade on and off like the license plate illumination lights.

I'm still confused on this setup jimmygeek.. I have 2011 with factory drl led. I diconnected the drl led and still confused as to where after that

Thanks for the write-up Blue!! I completed the installation yesterday and am very pleased with the outcome. I took your advice about purchasing the OEM plugs knowing that they do not come with any wiring (thinking i could just solder my own wire to the plug) but there is also no contact in the actual plug. I assume there is a wire with a "spade?" tip that is needed to insert into the actual plug. I couldn't rig anything good so in my haste I just shoved the wires into the plug and hot glued them in place and everything is working fine, but for the next person that chooses to purchase the plugs...MAKE SURE TO ALSO PURCHASE THE CORRECT WIRES NEEDED.

Thank u Blue006 for being a pioneer in this. Mine is a C180 standard. I was lucky to buy a 2nd hand oem bumper that come out with led drl with a cheap price and installed it since last year after I read this thread, but only manage to do the wiring last week... and I really love the led! :zoom::y

Correct Function?
 

Okay, I have literally read this entire forum and still dont quite understand the best way to wire the DRLs on my 2009 C350. Currently mine dont come on during the day unless i switch the light control knob to the right one click. I wired them directly to the side markers plain and simple. They work great but I am getting annoyed with having to switch them on/off every time i get in my car. My goal is to have them to have them on all the time and also when I unlock my car and 15ish sec delay when I park and turn of the engine/lock the car (just like the fogs used to do). Also, Im getting the error from my fogs since they are just zip tied behind my bumper...any solutions that are cheap/free?

On a side note...has anyone found a way to actually disable the eyelids and not get an error. I think the car would look really clean with just the DRL and side markers on during the day and DRL, headlights, and markers at night.

Okay so i really want to do this on my 2008 sport. Where do i buy the actual DRL's? and do you think someone can do it for me because i have 0% knowledge on how to do things car related but i really want to get theses lights on my car haha! :)

Possible Wiring Solution??
 

Sorry to blow up this thread but seeing as no one really has any input to my questions I will go ahead and ask another. If I disconnect my eyelid wires and splice them together and re-route the wiring to the DRL's (coupled with a resistor) would that allow me to have the Daytime running effect that I want as well as disable the eyelids and also not produce an error message from them? :nix:

I have an extra driver side DRL for sale if anyone wants to purchase. It is brand new never installed and I will sell for $100 shipped anywhere in USA. PM me with any questions.

I'm currently working on accomplishing exactly what you're describing but not with bumper-mounted LEDs. I've mounted mine around the projector shroud in the main headlight. I'll post pictures later as I have them truly completed. So far, I have them mounted and have figured out the wiring, so I'll just post my relay diagram that I created in MS Paint. I hope that it helps you with what to do on yours.

To correct for the fog light out warning, you'll need a fairly large resistor wired in place of the bulbs that used to be there. The h11s that you're replacing draw 55W at 12-15v. Reasonably a resistor that pulls ~35W should do the trick. I can come back and add what it should be, but switching tabs on my iPad makes me lose what I've typed here because it refreshes the page when I come back.

Here's what I'm tackling:
I want my DRLs to function like factory ones for just about any car. This means that they're on full bright during the day, and dim at night. Additionally I want them to dim the side that is blinking when I use the turn signals. My LEDs I got are a direct 12v strip without the need of resistors at all.

I have to post the relay diagram from my computer because I don't have them on here.

From what I've seen, the OEM LEDs run at 3.7v or so. That means you'll need a 4.7K ohm resistor by my guess. Once I'm on my computer I can verify, so that's just a guess for that one.

For the eyelids, you need another relay altogether. You need an eight pin relay to do it. I'll get a diagram for how to wire that too. I don't remember exactly what it's called, or I would just tell you to search it as I'm sure there are plenty of them online already. I didn't want to leave you hanging much longer, as I know how frustrating these things can be.

Make a list of exactly what you want your lights to do in each situation, and I can start a relay setup that should work. I've been working on mine for about a week, and I'm just waiting on the relays to be delivered to my door on Tuesday and then I can make a video showing them completed. Right now I just have pictures of what I have tested using my drill battery (14.4v).

The links work, but I'm not sure why they don't display in the forum now. Sorry you have to go to my photostream to actually see them.

First Relay (this one would dim both sides when using the turn signal on either side):
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7458/1...9a339cca_b.jpg

Then I realized I was over-complicating things and figured I could do 2 on either side and only have one side dim at a time:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3691/1...e9ea8de0_b.jpg

Dim mode with a 1K ohm resistor (my lights draw 4 amps at 14v, so a 1K ohm resistor up to 1/2W was perfect for it to bring the load down to about 1.3 amps and 9-10v for a dim mode):
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2882/1...b022cace_b.jpg

Full Bright mode:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7289/1...2fd15225_b.jpg

Off but installed in the car. I took the time to pain the housing black because I'm doing a black/red combo throughout the car and eliminating chrome.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7412/1...50d91403_b.jpg

Headlight (5000K HID bulb, factory bi-xenon setup) with LED eyelids (5000K also) and DRL on in full bright mode.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3711/1...caa32743_b.jpg

And running with headlights on and DRL in dim mode. (I need to replace one of the eyelid LEDs because it doesn't quite match)
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2843/1...5323c525_b.jpg

One last shot from the front to get an idea of brightness. You can see the drill battery on the windshield that's powering the light.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3672/1...948ea9b3_b.jpg

Brad

And yes, this would work, but your eyelids wouldn't ever turn on. Pull the wire from the source and not just from one of the bulbs, because there are 2 and they're both wired together inside the headlight housing.

I'll figure out which color wire is going in on the connector for the back of the headlight. Hope that will help.

Thanks for the info, you seem quite knowlegeable when it comes to the wiring portion of this project and that is my falling off point. I would really love a conrete set of directions about the wiring (exactly which wires to tap into) because I am afraid to jump into trial and error as I do not want to damage anything. I believe I can correct the foglight error no issue by just wiring the correct resistor inline with the foglight wiring.

As for the DRLs, I am thinking that I can perhaps accomplish my goal with diodes (I am still not 100% comfortable with choosing the correct diodes). Since diodes only allow current to flow in one direction, I believe I could create a lead from a constant (alternator perhaps?) and a lead from the side marker and splice the two together for the positive of the DRL without getting any errors. See my diagram below.

All I really want is for the LEDs to:
a. always be on when the engine is running.
b. come on when unlocked.
c. delay when parked/ engine off/ doors locked.
c. I would LIKE them to be slightly dimmed at night but not a priority.


http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...u/Untitled.jpg

Setup complete/issues
 

Hey all, i have the complete DRL setup complete, i have 1 problem. During the summer the lights run perfect without any issues. Now that i am in the cold and under 30 degrees, the DRL lights start to flicker, anytime it is above 30 degrees it will not flicker and works fine.... How can i get around this? Any help is much appreciated...

Also note that i am using the 100UF 25V capacitors....

Anyone in the Houston area performed this installation and willing to help me out? (I'll pay for your time if so)

I have completed everything but proper wiring and I am not comfortable wiring a relay myself as I am unsure how/where to tap the control lead of the relay into. I am really getting frustrated with this issue and none of the shops that I have visited are willing to "take a chance" on doing the wiring and the dealership was no help. I am really starting to wish I never went through with this project (although the DRL's do look really good)

sharkey not on here much Im answering ur PM in open so others can read. this is really simple dont overthink and just follow my directions. Get a standard relay usually 30 amps, doesnt matter size u only need 1 amp of it for LEDs. Take a single power line from battery and fuse it (3-5amp fuse is fine) and send it to power in on relay. Take a ground run from ground on relay, and ground to anything metal or battery, U can tie the grounds from LEDs if you want or use seperate locations, doesnt matter. On the power trigger u run a single wire to EITHER side of the 30amp wiper fuse under hood, use a fuse tap or anything, u can even jam the wire strands in the fuse tab and insert but its a little ghetto. Power out is split to the 2 LEDs on their respective power in, u power both LEDs w this relay. Ground from LEDs to any ground or tie into ground on relay, doesnt matter. NO caps or any diodes needed, lights have plenty of power from battery. done, very simple 4 wires and couldnt be easier. If you want other features u need to setup a isolating relay, and u piggy back another relay to do the unlock blink or whatever else u want to do. Isolating is necessary because u dont want to backfeed power from one relay to another circuit, 12v is meant to run one way. They have relays that are complex that do 2 and 3 operations with multiple triggers, thats a whole nother story I cant teach electronics here. This method lights come on w key and of w key in first, second click, and run, and stay on bright all the time, been running mine bright for 2 years no probs its like having fogs it looks great lots of compliments

another simple diagram.......

http://www.ado13.com/techs/relay.htm

where it says power from ignition u will use power from 30amp wiper

where it says power to headlight,horn, etc u will run that to LEDs, just double ur wire cause u have 2 LEDS that need power

its 4 simple wires and where u see switch u could mount a switch under dash or wherever if you wanna be able to turn them completely off, I have done a few this way for stealth, on mine its on always

Jimmythegeek nice write up. My question now is that I have the same year as u 2011. From wat I see on the led I have to cut the wire and work from there. But what's pos and neg on the wire from led? I won't get an error when I cut the wire?right?

Use a test light and probe the power and ground wires. Cut the 12v a little long so u can reconnect later and jump the two 12v positives to the relay. U only get an error message when the lights turn to dim u dont get one otherwise. If that error bothers u just wire in a LED error cancellor to the other side of the power from the vehicles wiring and make a new ground to chassis.....problem solved

...still having issues
 

I have completed the install and followed your reccomendations but the DRLs do not come on when the car is unlocked and they do not delay when the car is turned off/locked. This is a big disappointment because those features are ones that I really want to keep. I have the relay switched by the 30 amp wiper fuse and power coming directly from the battery post. I am satisfied that I was able to eliminate the foglight errors and also never have to touch the foglight switch again, but I think I need to find another fuse to tap so that I can get those final features that I want.

Also, I know everything is wired correctly (and Im not using the altrernator for power in) because when I tap into the COMAND fuse, the lights come on at unlock but they stay on forever (or else I didnt wait long enough for them to turn off). Maybe the 2009 doesn't turn the wipers on until the engine is on? Any suggestions?

Looking forward to see what you end up with! As I am seeking the same functionality as you. Please keep us updated.
I really hope it's doable

sharkey adding those features is possible but the relay setup I posted is just for turning the LEDs on w the ignition. Having them blink is possible so is a delay or anything else u want to do, u just have to do ur homework. good source is the12volt.com......to give u the basic idea, if u had fogs that did the unlock blink previous to the LED install u will tap a second trigger wire for ur relay from the 12v trigger on fogs and that will make them blink w key unlock and do the delay feature......BUT U MUST prevent 12v back feed, once wires touch 12v will flow both ways and do damage, to prevent this u install the proper rated diode (in this case just about any will do its low draw) on BOTH 12v triggers wires, w the black band placed into the 12v flow, this will prevent backfeeding, and u now have a double isolated 2 trigger relay system. theres TONS of diagrams and info on 12volt site. U can also install a capacitor across the relay itself and make the delay longer, theres lots u can do, I did a car where the guy wanted them to blink w the turn signal, like an audi, can do anything u can think up if its wired correctly.......and BTW all the diodes and capacitors etc. are available in the slide out bins at radioshack........on a side note, if u have a 2011 or newer like me there is no flash unlock, what I use is the door power lock actuator feed, but I use the relay for that setup as a trigger because the door lock reverses polarity w each press, so u need positive/negative cycles, and thats a tricky setup for a newbie.....

Thanks for the additional info, you've been a big help. When I get a chance I'm going to research how to use a diode to add the license plate lights into the relay switch. I was under the impression that the lights would delay using the wiper fuse as I took your advice to mean that the wipers would receive power with unlock. I suppose that was a misunderstanding on my part.

On a side note to others considering this project...I've found the part numbers for the actual wire contacts for the DRL plugs. They weren't cheap at the dealership, but they seem to be much cheaper online. Part number and image below.

A 000 982 30 26

Attachment 280178

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3672/1...948ea9b3_b.jpg

Brad[/QUOTE]


Now that looks really lame.... :slap:

another trigger u can tap for extended stay of LEDs is the accesory that feeds the 12v cigarette lighter. It stays on for like a min after car is off and comes on w the key unlock I think

WOW! if thats correct it would be the best place to tap into to keep the stock features active (delay shutoff and engress lighting) :D

Anyone have a link for a preferred DRL set (that will fit a 2010 c300 sport?) or am I buying from ebay, from China...


ALSO, there are 6 leds in the actual DRL correct not 4?

So I got all the trim, and leds ready, but my customer decides to back out.
Parts are special order and will be charged at least 10% restock fee. LEDs are none re-refundable.

My question is if it will fit a 2009 c350?

Yes.

2011 Bumper
 

So it didnt take long for my fancy new DRLs to get destroyed. I hit a raccoon or something on the freeway which somehow managed to completely mangle my bumper and rip out one of my the DRLs. Anyways, I will be having it repaired under insurance and I want to go the easiest route to get back to the the DRL style. Any suggestions on what would be needed to install the 2011 bumper? Is it the exact same bumber with the exception of the DRL vs Foglight holes? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I have made the swap from pre-facelift to facelift all around my 2010 C350.


I ran for 1 year with only the front bumper done and it will fit without a hassle except that you will see a minor gap Under the headlamps between the headlamps and the bumper. Nothing too major and no one will probably ever notice. If you decide to swap the headlights and the Hood like I did you will need to also swap the headlight connectors and it will require better electrical skills to figure out what goes where. You will actually need to remove the metal terminals from the connector and insert them back in the new ones and a couple of metal terminals are smaller in the new set up. Also you will need to install a load resistor to one of your eyebrow wires since you will only use one to the new headlamp. I bought an aluminum C63 Hood (retrofit because original will not fit) and a beautiful set of DEPO halogen headlights. You can find those headlights on eBay for around $400 for the set and they are excellent quality and very well detailed. The great part is that they have the projector lens instead of reflectors and they also have a shutter for the hi-beams which means that if you install an aftermarket CANBUS HID Xenon kit you will be able to still have the hi-beams functionnal.


Also I have re-used the stock fog lights which I have installed behind the lower grill of my new bumper so all wires re-used, no error codes and great look for free. I just made some brackets with aluminium flatbar which I have screwed to the aluminum bumper reinforcment.


Also I re-used the bumper corner light wires (since there are none on my new bumper) to install ambient lighting thru the grills of my vented front fenders. I have installed them way behind so that you don't actually see the light itself but only a nice devil red glare :- ) Once again no error codes since I used LEDs with the same watts as the OEM 5W bulbs.


I bought my facelift C63 retro-fit bumper from one of the forum member. His name is gary@suvneer it was a perfect fit and OEM quality bumper made of polypropylene (nothing like the crappy fiberglass schit)


Good luck

Attachment 300467The fender lights are from the wires that I re-used from the bumper amber corner lights.


Attachment 300468If you look closely you will see the OEM fog lights I re-used behind the lower grill of the new bumper.

So it appears to you updated to the 2012 facelift style based on the headlight shape. I know there are 2011s that have the same hood and headlights as mine but come with the DRLs I stead of fogs as well as the arrow mirror covers. I am wondering if a bumper from this year/model would be a clean swap. I can't imagine why there would be a gap where the headlights are but I could be wrong. Part numbers would really help.

Hello.

I am thinking on installing DRL to conserve the xenons during the day. I would also like to keep my fog lights. I found this: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/CARSE...276904360.html . The seller says it has controllers for dimming the leds while the headlamps are on. Anyone fitted something like this on the car? I wonder if it would work without having to cut the fog lamps' grille.

Did mine over the weekend. I thought about going to a shop and have em install it for me but nah. It was a pretty easy mod tbh.

Attachment 370045

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a65...20A273D601.jpg

Attachment 370046

Attachment 370047

Anyone use these http://www.ebay.com/itm/USA-08-10-Mercedes-Benz-W204-C-Class-Sport-Pkg-LED-Daytime-Running-DRL-Fog-Light-/151939863724?vxp=mtr&hash=item23605254ac

I got mine on Ebay. Are you in Socal?

In the far reaches of NorCal. These are supposed to be plug and play except for needing to trim the bumper. Are they really plug and play? Do they stay on all the time with the car running without modifying the wiring. I'd like to have feedback from someone who has these. Seems like a good price and I've purchased from this seller and they have good CS.

Got it from the same seller. The warehouse is located in Rancho Cucamonga. Yes just plug and play. They do stay on all the time.

I found these, a set of DLR that keeps the fogs. Cheaper too. Has anyone installed these?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/130944184176...S:1123&vxp=mtr

The other one looks better IMO

So from what I am reading, trimming the bumper is a required necessity for this mod?

Correct. Just use a dremmel....should take about 10-15 each side.

2010 Mercedes e350 led drl installation
 

Hi, I did replaced the old double fog lamps and installed the LED DRL but I'm having an issue because the guy who installed it didn't know how to make it work on and off without installing a switch. I figured the wiring need to be done again but I don't know how to do it. I want to be able to turn it off and on using the factory fog switch. Can anybody please help me with this issue? Sorry for my English

I want to do the same mod to my car. However, I found out that the resistors can get really hot and may melt the bumper or any other plastics around them. Where did you place the resistors to avoid the problem?

Do the capacitors have the same issues with temperature?

I will connect the DRLs to my fog lights to have full control on them.

I have a 2009 C350 with the 2011 LED's. I didn't want to use resistors for the same reason. Heat is bad. I wired mine through a relay so they are on as soon as you start the car. If that is what you are looking to do, I can figure out a diagram and post it.

Many thanks for your reply.

Do your LED DRLs light up when you unlock your car? I really like this feature in the surrounding lighting and that is why I was thinking of connecting them to the fog lights directly.

However, if this is going to cause issues due to the high temps, then I prefer to follow your advice. A diagram would be very much appreciated as well as the type of relay you used.

They only light up when you turn the ignition to on. What year is your car?

It is 10/2007.

Do you get any warning message for the fog lights?

No warning light, but that's because I don't turn them on. No need since they are on all the time with the ignition. I'm guessing it would tell me there is an error if I did.

Here is how I wired my LED's. I used an inline fuse holder close to the battery post connection, then grabbed switched power at the fuse box on the driver side under the hood. I tapped the main power wire in. I then grounded the LED's and ran a ground to the relay which I mounted by the fuse box and ran the hot side of the led's to it. Hope that helps. Please double check before doing this wiring yourself, I offer this as an example and recommend you check with a 12 volt specialist before doing any wiring on your car.

That is great, thank you! I will provide the specialist with your diagram (I am not an electronics expert!) and hopefully this will work on my car as well :)

This.

Of course it would be ideal to be able to turn the LEDs on WITHOUT any tail lights, eye brows, or side markers... but it would be even cooler if you could make the lights dim while the head lights are on just like the actual 2011s...

meanwhile this is our best bet:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-Ben...pTgbYA&vxp=mtr

I remember back when the 2011s first came out I told myself the round fog lights looked cooler and were more functional... now they just look really outdated - even more so than in 2011, while the 2011 LEDs now look slick and really update the front end, so I think now is the time to make the switch.

Sort of unfortunate that the bumper has to be permanently cut and the original fogs cannot be put in, but seems worth it.

It also bothers me that hooking the LEDs up to the fogs makes them used in a way they were not meant to be used, on the real 2011s, when you unlock the car at night, the headlights come on and the LEDs are in dim mode -- these LEDs are NOT fog lights, however us 2008-2010 owners are installing them like they are.

This is why I installed foglights inside the grill. So my LED's are on all the time as soon as I start the car. The fogs I wired to the factory harness so they come on with the factory knob and stay lit when you turn the car off for half a minute or so. Best of both worlds, but the fogs don't have the best beam since they are behind the grill.

Here is the link to the install;

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...-aux-fogs.html

Thought up my solution:


This relay will half the power to the LEDs when a wire receives voltage.

I have the lighting package and the awful corner fog lamps... so i will be putting dummy resistors in my fogs to get rid of the error codes and seal the fog connectors up.

Then, the constant 12v supply to this LED controller will instead be wired to one of my side markers - that way when the car is unlock and the headlights are NOT turned on, the DRLs will go on full mode to light up the parking lot at light... then the relay switch must be attached to a 12v power supply that turns on only when the Xenons are on... have to find this, and when I do, I should be set.


Parking lamps / unlock car: DRLs on full
Head lights on: DRLs on half

and

DRLs ONLY on with parking lamps, that way I can control them.

I would like to convert my fog light into LED DRL. I found this part on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/111660845239, will this work by itself without additional parts?
And do i need to cut my bumper to fit this light?

much thanks.

hi mate, today i finished my upgrade from 2010 C220 executive edition to front sport bumper from 2011 as i bought whole front set up together from a scrapyard. (Bonnet,bumper,headlights,led lights,wings...) but two issues that I'm having right now! I cut off old fog connectors cables and wired them to the Led's connectors cables and fitted them to DRL's. kind of straight swap :-) but passenger side (left) LED flicked few times and didn't come on while driver side led was on and steady! I used fog lights switch, any idea where did i go wrong or what's missing that i can't figure out, do i have to install a capacitor? any help would be much appreciated.
regards.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...03164e662.jpeg

hi mate, today i finished my upgrade from 2010 C220 executive edition to front sport bumper from 2011 as i bought whole front set up together from a scrapyard. (Bonnet,bumper,headlights,led lights,wings...) but two issues that I'm having right now! I cut off old fog connectors cables and wired them to the Led's connectors cables and fitted them to DRL's. kind of straight swap :-) but passenger side (left) LED flicked few times and didn't come on while driver side led was on and steady! I used fog lights switch, any idea where did i go wrong or what's missing that i can't figure out, do i have to install a capacitor? any help would be much appreciated.
regards.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...9198640b5.jpeg

Looks like I will be taking on this project on my 2010 C300 Sport. Was able to find the connectors with cable prewired. Also found a DRL controller that connects directly to the battery and it should allow it to dim and get bright depending if the headlights are on or not.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...2104af8711.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...e678d3f493.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...59ef7e045d.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...770c73a2d2.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...b9105b17b8.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...4809552692.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...f77e055e94.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...a53912e38c.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...6628a5b48e.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...4c9d899165.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...20bf04723c.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...bc91a1faeb.jpg

DRL controller works just need find another source besides the battery and hook up one of the wire to the head lights so it dims when the headlights are on. And because I put smoke film on it, the light output doesn't match my setup now. For now I'm leaving it off. I kinda like it off.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...c385df4046.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...1f25eb3e6c.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...bb2f3e217e.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...f8f02c9bc4.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...ae37c07103.jpg


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...a4eca000ea.jpg

I accomplished the same using second parking light signal in the head light


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...b16d36d1e2.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...6d8abc841c.jpg

I need to tap into the headlight so my DRL controller will dim the DRL when the headlights turn on. Does anyone know which wire I need to tap into on the headlight connector?

you need a custom made circuit that reduce the voltage when headlight is on, car by itself cant because the sam is not the one that has bumper drl circuit

​​​​​​
I have a drl controller box attached (see my post a few post above) to my drl that's what I'm needed to hook up to a fuse. And one of the leads on it needs to tap into the headlights (low beam) wire so when it's on the drl dims to 50%. Finding a fuse or acc to tap onto is easy but figuring out which wire is for the low beam is what i need to know. I did find an info online. See attached screenshot. Looks like I need to tap into the yellow wire. I will be trying it today.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...1b2936c1ca.jpg

This is the DRL controller I bought on Amazon. I've already tested and my drl do not flicker with this one. Once I have it tapped to my low beam I'm hoping it does what it's supposed to and dim the DRL to 50% when low beam is on.



​​​​​​.

Looks like it's the yellow/black wire. I just tapped into the socket on the head light connector with it detached. It dims temporarily only. Not sure if it's because the headlight connector is detached.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...faa962320b.gif

yes you can tap it on the back of the headlight but make sure the socket is connected to the headlight or else the sam will cut off the power immediately because it thinks the bulb had a fault...

Thank you that is very useful info! Will try it once I get the correct wire tapper. The one I got is for higher guage.