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US Halogen Pre-facelift Headlights on EU LHD Pre-facelift W204
Hi All,
I have a 2008 Mercedes C-Class, W204 series, European LHD spec, with the standard halogen headlights.
The bumper has to be removed for a respray and I always liked the dark housing headlights (similar to a prefacelift C63 AMG) that were introduced for the US market only between 2010-2011 (Sport Package AMG models), see attached image for information.
I was wondering if I could install these on my car and whether any modifications to the harness or the front SAM coding would be required. Has anyone fitted W204 US halogen headlights on an EU car or vice versa?
The headlights look identical, the only visible difference is the background colour.
I have also noticed that the US headlight sockets have 6 pins while the EU ones 9 pins. Does anyone know why? The part number of the harness seems to be identical (and the socket shape seems identical too). Refer to image below for information (US socket top - EU socket bottom).
I would suggest you get aftermarket headlights maybe. I have these and they are beautiful. Butt they have many others.
I just found this on AliExpress: $688.15 | Car Light For Benz Class C180 C200 W204 2011 2012 2013 2014 Assembly Upgrade Full LED DRL Headlight Automotive Accessories https://a.aliexpress.com/_mtDyC0R
The number of pins in the connector goes with the number of features in the headlight module. A wiring diagram may be available in the WIS for this.
Your VIN and the VIN of the donor car would be needed to get the specifics, however:
-Some have auto dimming;
-Some change aim when oncoming traffic is detected;
-Some turn when cornering;
-Some may adjust aim when the car is loaded.
The number of pins in the connector goes with the number of features in the headlight module. A wiring diagram may be available in the WIS for this.
Your VIN and the VIN of the donor car would be needed to get the specifics, however:
-Some have auto dimming;
-Some change aim when oncoming traffic is detected;
-Some turn when cornering;
-Some may adjust aim when the car is loaded.
Thank you for responding. These particular headlights are the bog standard ones without any of the features mentioned above. The bi-xenon ones have these features and these would require a significant amount of work (so not even thinking about it).
My EU car that has the basic headlights has 9 pins while the US car (which I believe has the 'basic' headlight but with the black surround) has 6 pins and cannot really understand why.
Unfortunately, I do not have access to WIS but can provide my VIN and the one of a US car with those headlights if someone is willing to download these diagrams and shed some light on why there is a difference in the wiring.
I would suggest you get aftermarket headlights maybe. I have these and they are beautiful. Butt they have many others.
I just found this on AliExpress: $688.15 | Car Light For Benz Class C180 C200 W204 2011 2012 2013 2014 Assembly Upgrade Full LED DRL Headlight Automotive Accessories https://a.aliexpress.com/_mtDyC0R
I want to keep it OEM for reliability reasons but if I cannot make this work I will probably look into an aftermarket solution as you suggested.
Are you sure the US has 6 pins? Im looking at the wiring diagram and im seeing 9 wires. I could be wrong.
I am looking at the 2008 204.081 manual, though should be the same for others. Heres the link, click the green colored "2008" at the top of the page to navigate the manual. https://charm.li/Mercedes%20Benz/200...ing%20Diagram/
Are you sure the US has 6 pins? Im looking at the wiring diagram and im seeing 9 wires. I could be wrong.
I am looking at the 2008 204.081 manual, though should be the same for others. Heres the link, click the green colored "2008" at the top of the page to navigate the manual. https://charm.li/Mercedes%20Benz/200...ing%20Diagram/
Thank you for this link.
Please watch the video linked below at around 4:50 onwards. You will see that the harness has 9 wires but the headlight only has 6 pins:
You can also take a look at this eBay listing for the number of pins on the US headlight (EU/UK headlights have 9 pins, matching the number of wires of the harness...):
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