huyuci

made a mistake of buying a c300 without led headlights. It has halogen lights, which look like crap. MB should not make these lights, IMO. It degrages the look of the car. I couldn't stand the look of it. Every time I go to the car, it reminds me of the mistake. And I'm not the kind who can live with mistakes. So I called 2 dealers, to inquire about ordering those headlights and installing them. They both refused, saying those are factory install options and can't be retrofitted. Took it to a shop; the guy didn't know jack, but still quoted me thousands of dollars for rewiring and I have to buy all the parts, probably just to make me go away and save face. I wasn't ready to have the car for the next 10 years with that look. Thanks to eBay, some have these lights for sale. All along, I knew it was a gamble, and couple hundreds bucks might go to waste if I don't succeed. I learned that these lights need ECU modules to work and God know what else. The parts are not available anywhere, and even if I can find them, the wiring from the car is different.
When there is a will, there's a way, right? I figured if I can't rewire the car, I could rewire the headlights. So I removed all the led bulbs and replaced them with SMD led chips from ebay. Then I wired the bulbs to the connector's pins the same way my halogen lights are. After a lot of testing, back & forth, 2 weeks and a lot of man hours later, my baby got a new set of eyes It was truly a do-it-yourself as there was no schema, drawing, or guides to consult. I had to rely on my limited intelligence to figure things out it may not mean much to most of you who already have these lights, but for me, it was really satisfying.

Next project: butt transplant (those tail lights got to go)

BlackjackM

Wow great job! You may want to invest in some electrical tape though

DBOC205

Gosh.. that's pretty daring to say the least. I've done a fair bit of work with modding to LED vehicle lights in the past but wouldn't think of it on something like the Benz. So .. just clear things up a bit here, you bought a set of full LED headlights from eBay? .. are they OEM or copies?

The 2nd pic isn't clear to me either, is that the lamp module (given the beefy heat sink) and your SMD chip soldered on top? What chips did you use, how are you driving them.. what the output like (i.e. brightness and glare cut) ?

If it's all working the way you like it, and they don't dazzle then let me say ... well done

huyuci

Haha, thanks. I did use electrical tape as I don't want to light a 40k car on fire. The pic you saw was the led bulb & ballet removed from the headlight.

huyuci

I was going to wait for after market one, but that might take years. These ones are original Mercedes lights, replaced by insurance, I was told. The second pic is the original DRL arc lamp before I remove the chips and use the eBay one. I wanted to use the original led as they light up when connected them to the car. But it was not stable; i figured there must be a current regulator in a led equipped car. For the ebay led, there is no need for a driver as they are 12v. The output is pretty OK. I actually had to use less chips as they can get pretty hot.

Vihzel

Wow nicely done. Yeah I don't understand why MB even allows halogen headlights to be an option for a luxury car. You can get cheap cars nowadays with HIDs at least.

ShortDesertGuy

Pictures look identical.


My hunch is... you for sure won't have this C300 in 10 years. I give you 10 months tops!


You gonna get bored...the writing is on the wall.

vic viper

Interesting, do you have any pictures of the DRL driver setup? I am looking for a way to get a trigger signal to my illuminated star.

huyuci

Dude, you dont even know the difference between the 2 lights, let alone trying to guess how long I'm going to keep my car. Your comment is so irrelevant.

huyuci

There is no driver. The led is 12v so I just connected it directly to the source.

vic viper

Ok, it could be different on these non ILS headlights,
the ILS DRL lights gradually fade from blue to white after unlocking the car, I doubt this could be done with just regulating voltage to the strip.

miketc

You're freakin crazy but I have to hand it to you; well done!! Now show us the tail lights when you finished.

Jchungster

Great job, very impressive. Do your door handles light up or is that also part of the lighting package?

vic viper

Lit door handles only with Keyless Go

huyuci

Maybe I installed after market projector headlights for my BMW before, so I know that they are just light bulbs behind a projector. They are simply connected to the power source. These led make it more complicated with all the ecu modules as they communicate with the canbus thru the modules, like computer. I knew there's no way I could replicate that. Plus, I was careful not to exceed the wattage of each light. Sure, there is still a lot of risk, so I really don't recommend anyone doing this.

huyuci

Yep. The ILS lights also move, I believe. But the fade from blue to white, believe it or not, can be done with with regulating the current. Exactly how, I don't know. But I'm reusing the hight beam lamps, and one of the lights is blue, for some reason. I think the onboard computer can send some signal to the lights to control how they behave.

cidtek

I think that was a compliment because you seem to like to experiment and will need new projects. At least that's how I saw it.

huyuci

Not sure if that's what the tone was. It seemed to me that he was picking a fight out of the blue for no reason. But if that was like you said, my oppology. I wasn't really the experiment type. I was just crazy about the look of the lights and can't accept not having them. If I could do it again, I would definitely get all the options. I actually got sick from doing this for not sleeping enough. And working in the dark (no diagram, user manual) is really frustrating and risky.

cidtek

Now if only someone can figure out how to retro wire a car with Comand Nav to accept the Sirius hardware that could be sourced separately.

huyuci

I believe Command is a computer that controls the car. It's so integrated into the system that unless the software is updated, it won't be as simple as connecting the new hardware to the system. I'm just guessing this, of course.

cidtek

I'm sure programming is involved as well but one thing for sure the car is apparently missing the proper wiring to the trunk area.

C_Class_Dad

First, awesome craftsmanship. The car looks so much better with the LEDs. BTW, I am picking up my new build tomorrow with the standard halogens. If you aren't doing anything tomorrow ... Just kidding.

Second, I agree ... I don't believe the other commenter was insulting you. He clumsily was trying to say that someone with the determination and skill you have would eventually become bored and look for a new challenge.

Outstanding eye transplant!!!

bwoodbmw

Looks sooo much better congrats.
Just swap it back to stock before you sell the car... Wouldn't want somebody to purchase the car thinking it had a package that it doesn't and long term reliability is questionable, but while you own the car it is a HUGE upgrade.

huyuci

Thank you. Determination? Yes, a lot, as I don't want to drool everytime I pass by one with led lights. Skill? I'm not so sure about that. The only 2 things I'm familiar with electricity is Volt and Watt :-) I guess I'm lucky to have some experience in replacing headlights, so I kind of know what's inside, which gave me the idea of replacing the bulbs. A few years ago, I wouldn't dare do this on any car, let alone a brand new Benz. I'm just glad that everything works out the way I imagined it. The bonus part is there's no error msg. I was ready to accept it, but no error at all. Now, I can be truly happy with the car. It's like buying a new car again :-) So, I'm really surprised that you had your car built and didn't want the premium package. It gives you so much bang for the bucks.

ShortDesertGuy

I agree, how presumptious of me to think you could even consider selling.

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/4860969836.html