gooey

Hello everyone

Does anyone know what type or where to get a replacement ballast for the aftermarket bi-xenon headlights(like the depo type)?

Photos below.

Any help appreciated

Thanks!

xEryx

The aftermarket DEPO headlights are not Bixenons, they are single projection HID that use a regular HID ballast like these http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-Replaceme...e0ksng&vxp=mtr

gooey

I bought a pair off ebay that are similar to the depo ones, but they are not made by depo. The ones I have are bi xenon. unfortunately for me, the seller isnt active on ebay anymore.

The ones from your like dont seem to be the same as mine. there are no other connectors besides the two plugs.

but thanks for the reply!

xEryx

Unless you bought a pair of OEM Bixenon headlights, I am pretty sure they can only be HID. Do they say Mercedes Benz and or Intelligent Lighting System inside the headlight? If you did, then you will have a hell of a time getting them to work and will need to spend tons $$. I have the OEM headlights

michail71

I'm confused now. I saw a link posted the other day to what looked like an aftermarket bi-xenon assembly with AMG DRLs. Although it shipped with halogen bulbs but still had the mechanically activated projector. They looked identical to that photo.

xEryx

Well the aftermarket ones look identical to the OEM Bixenons, but sometimes come with Halogen bulbs cause HID bulb and ballast are not provided. The only difference between OEM Bixenons and aftermarket replicas are that OEM come with D1S Xenon bulbs and aftermarket use regular HID and ballast.

gooey

Mine are HID, they use D1s bulbs. The ballasts are built in at the bottom, like this

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/UQoAAO...wJG/s-l500.jpg

xEryx

Hm, if they use D1S bulbs and are not OEM, I have no clue what they are. I am guessing since you bought it from a seller that is no longer available, it was probably another person that couldn't figure it out and sold them?

michail71

I thought D1S were regular HID bulbs? D1S are projector bulbs and D2S are reflector housing bulbs.

My past two cars came with D1S. Oddly, the Mercedes does not. There is a Hyundai with the same DRL profile. I can always spot the Hyundai vs. the Mercedes as it has Xenon.

xEryx

http://www.ebay.com/itm/9006-9005-HI...g_8seg&vxp=mtr
This is a regular HID kit which consists of ballast + car specific bulb size (H4, H7, H11, etc.) D1S and D2S are high end kits usually done as OEM or high end retrofit.

D1S and D2S are both xenons used on projector and the bulb is the same, but the ignition is different. D2R is the one that is for reflector.

I got this from HIDPlanet:
D1S has the igniter integrated into the bulb, D2S the igniter is either in the ballast or in the cable between the ballast and the bulb.
D1S is the newer technology of the 2 and offers many benefits over D2S, Less noise (EMI and RFI) and allows for a much longer cable from ballast to lamp (10-20 ft) for D1S, only 1-3 ft MAX for D2S past the igniter.

michail71

The H bulbs (H4, H7, etc.) I believe are all halogen. Which confused me about the kits at first. So it's really a halogen projector and not an HID. Unless HID just refers to the projector?

One would need to get the electronics kits (ballasts, igniters, wiring, etc.) after upgrading the assemblies.

AZN Optics

OEM xenon bulbs are typically the newer D1S as previously stated and have the ballast built in. The OP ballast picture indicates that it is not a D1S bulb that was part of the aftermarket DEPO headlight. Only older vehicles still have D2S (xenon bulbs for projectors) and D2R (xenon bulbs for reflectors).

More than likely, it'll be an H series kit. H series can be either halogen or HID and really all the H series really means is the bulb connector type (there are other minor differences, but this is the primary one). That said, generally, most do pair H series HID conversion kits with stock halogen projectors, but for aftermarket housing units, it depends. Some aftermarket housing will pair proper xenon projectors with H series HID kit so you capture the right focal point, while some housing will just have halogen projectors and call it a day.

michail71

Thanks xEryx and AZN. I'm just researching now.

The last thing I want to do is stick HIDs in the stock assembly or use the wrong bulbs for projectors as I don't want to blind anyone or have poor performance.

I recall now my last car had D2S auto leveling projectors. I really miss them.

I figure not having auto level will be ok as long as everything is setup properly.

AZN Optics

Yes, you should have reflectors in your facelifted model so it's definitely not ideal to plug in an HID kit straight in. You'll want to either replace your housing with an aftermarket replacement with projectors or do a projector retrofit on your stock housing. Otherwise, your only other option is to just go with whiter halogen bulbs.

xEryx

Read through the "new LED Projector Headlight Pair" thread. You will see who bought what and what bulb they used. All the people I've seen with DEPO use HID bulbs in their projectors. I would imagine the DTMOTO headlights are the same.

michail71

The D1S bulbs seem to be going for $37 on Amazon. Considering that takes care of the igniter is that really a bad option? Or do they just not fit into the aftermarket projectors?

xEryx

Those are cheap counterfeit/fakes D1S from China that will probably have tons of issues down the road. The original ones from Philips, Osram, and Sylvania will run you $140+ a pair.

michail71

That prices still doesn't sound too bad for a name brand bulb and eliminates the need for an igniter. But I'd guess the ballast cost would be high and the aftermarket projectors not compatible?

I recall dealers were charging $200 to replace D2S bulbs. I went with the $30 ones instead. I had a bad one that was fussy about turning on. The manufacturer replaced it but then I never had any other issues after that.

If I could do ILS for $1,500 I'd go for that but something tells me it would be more like $3000+. Especially with having to get a windshield.