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Hi y'all, I just got my 2011' C300 a month ago and was able to replace the crappy halogen bulbs to the Morimoto xb35 HID bulbs, thanks to this wonderful forum.
However, I get this weird beam patterns on both headlights. Especially, the headlights seem to beam heavily to the driver side of the road, which may possibly blind on-coming traffic.
Take a look at these pics:
I tried adjusting the headlights, but that didn't help. I am pretty sure the bulbs are seated properly since I could easily click them in...
Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.
Thanks.
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Last edited by midgets89; Jul 12, 2016 at 01:10 PM.
Happened to me once when I THOUGHT I had them fully seated....but come to find out one wasn't. Check the 'crazy one' again to see if it is seated flush.
Most people think that the only difference between HID and halogens is the bulb, assuming you have a projector housing. But halogen projectors housings are different than HID projectors housings. You can put them side by side and usually see a difference. When you put an HID bulb in a halogen projector, weird things can happen. Especially because alot of times the aftermarket HID bulb is made to fit in a certain socket, but the length is just a generic length. No adjustments are made of the focal length, pattern, etc.
When you buy an "H7 HID kit" for example, it might look way different if you put it in a honda projector housing vs a benz projector housing. Just because they accept the same socket doesn't mean the rest of the projector housing is the same.
That being said, your problem is not uncommon. Thats the nature of putting an HID bulb in a halogen projector housing.
BUT, they could be seated wrong making it worse. so check that first.
Most people think that the only difference between HID and halogens is the bulb, assuming you have a projector housing. But halogen projectors housings are different than HID projectors housings. You can put them side by side and usually see a difference. When you put an HID bulb in a halogen projector, weird things can happen. Especially because alot of times the aftermarket HID bulb is made to fit in a certain socket, but the length is just a generic length. No adjustments are made of the focal length, pattern, etc.
When you buy an "H7 HID kit" for example, it might look way different if you put it in a honda projector housing vs a benz projector housing. Just because they accept the same socket doesn't mean the rest of the projector housing is the same.
That being said, your problem is not uncommon. Thats the nature of putting an HID bulb in a halogen projector housing.
BUT, they could be seated wrong making it worse. so check that first.
While this is true, he shouldn't be having that problem since all the other W204's (myself included) put HID kits into their halogen projector headlights with no beam issues.
To the OP. Do you have the halogen projector headlights or the reflector headlights? Both of your beam patterns are not how mine are. Either you're seating the HID bulbs wrong or your HID bulbs are not made correctly.
Sorry for getting back so late folks. So I popped up my hood again and YES indeed! both lamps were placed incorrectly.
It turns out the clips are a bit narrow for the Morimoto bulbs, so I had to expand a little bit using a nose plier, which fitted the bulbs perfectly.
Anyways, here is the new beam pattern!
One complain I still have is that the left headlight seems to beam a dark spot in the middle like the last image. Notice the dark bump in the line. I know it can't be perfect since obviously, the projectors are for halogens, but I was wondering if everyone else has this sort of beam pattern from the left headlight.
Also, when I turn the lights on at night, the igniter or the CANBUS system makes a loud buzzing noise. It does go away after a few seconds, but its hard to ignore that annoying sound everytime I unlock the doors at night (which turns on the headlights automatically). Is this something common for everyone here?
Thanks again!
Last edited by midgets89; Jul 21, 2016 at 02:29 PM.
Your beam pattern now looks normal, for the most part. It may need some adjustments left/right? Not too sure, but you can search the correct way it should look, and try to align the two "steps" as much as you can, it won't be perfect because you'll have bleeding light due to halogen housings.
The dark spot, or the "cutout" you see, I have that too on mine. I believe it's designed that way on the driver side to avoid dazzling the oncoming drivers.
The way halogens are designed, they need that dip because it's not a smooth cutoff like xenon projectors.
See this image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...raffic.svg.png
The buzzing sound, mine does that too. I believe, over time the buzzing as not as loud, or perhaps I got used to it. Never had an issue with the buzzing though, it's just the way the ballasts are I guess. I had inferior quality ballasts that didn't buzz, but those needed constant replacement (they would flicker months later).
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