Supgee

So basically the story goes like this.

When I first bought the vehicle the passenger xenon bulb was starting to yellow so I bought a cheap replacement set of bulbs online. I didn't pay much so I didn't expect much. I replaced the driver one as well even though it was nice and bright...

Both lights were nice and bright and everything was good. Approximately 5 days later or (12 hours vehicle ON time) the passenger bulb went dead. "Low Beam R. Check Lamp".. I'm like ****... good thing they were cheap.. but the driver one was perfectly fine and STILL is after about a month

so I figured it must of been the cheap bulb.. so I paid about $100 bucks for an OEM Xenon bulb... popped it in the socket... and to my surprise the bulb didn't ignite... Where should I start?

Does this car have a fuse for the separate left and right xenon? How can I test the igniter and ballast assembly?

Any help would be appreciated.

Supgee

Bump.
I don't have access to the EPC, so anyone that can help me out.. It would be appreciated.

ricecooker713

The best and cheapest way to diagnosis this would be to transfer the ballast from the drivers side to the passenger side. If it starts working then it means all the circuits are good and the ballast is bad. Let us know how it turns out

JonMBZ

I always keep a cheapo melted xenon bulb a customer gave me to show people when they complain about the price (which is every time) These kind of things are why you don't put cheap parts in expensive cars. They end up costing you more in the long run when they fail. The control units are both the same on these cars, you may want to check the socket and see if they shorted, there is a repair kit, but unfortunately everything in this system is very expensive. Good luck.

maverik259

ya Im gonna go with the ballast if its not the bulb...quite unlikely anything else would fail

dre5373

Most likely a bad ballast as everyone has said.

If you havent already, swap all known good lamps back between the two to verify they all work on the drivers side and do not on the passenger side. It's the easiest place to start and can eliminate the lamp from the equation.

Next, I'd swap ballasts like ricecooker said. I'm sure you will find the ballast is the issue.

PM me your email address, I can send you the wiring diagram for the exterior lighting for the pre-facelift W203. C32 should be the same as the non-AMGs. It doesn't appear to have seperate fuses...

I can try to check on my StarTek DVD in the next day or two (right in the middle of major office renovations).

Supgee

Appreciate it dre, will drop you a line with my email address.
Unfortunately we are in the middle of a blizzard, and have like 2.5 feet of snow dumped in one day.. I will be unable to test the ballast or bulb for at least a few days..