Hi to everyone,

Before everyone goes bonkers over this thread, I have gone through threads about HID kits here on the forum, but I haven't seen any of late that addresses these lights in particular. I want to get specific info from folks who have installed this kit to find out how it works with the DEPO headlamps. It isn't so much about HID in general because I get that. But I want a better system than the cheapie ones on ebay and Amazon, so I chose to find something better.

I am looking to install a quality HID conversion kit as the one I initially installed was pretty much junk. So I contacted TRS, ie The Retrofit Source, and they carry some pretty high-end stuff. They were concerned about the DEPO headlamps in that they said they have had problems in the past with hot spots and low-quality beam patterns and such. However I mentioned that a lot of MBWorld members have the DEPO headlamps with HID kits and seem to be happy.

So I am writing this to find out what the reviews are on the higher quality HID conversion kits are with the DEPO headlamps. I only installed the DEPO's about two weeks ago, and they work fine, however just wondering what people are seeing with a good HID kit installed.

The DEPO's aren't cheap, and neither are the good HID kits. I have spoken to TRS, and they designed and sell the Morimoto HID kits. They have one specifically for the C63, so wondered if anyone has that kit installed yet? It is the Morimoto XB35 kit, which is the 35w system.

I know there are a number of owners who have installed lesser expensive HID kits and are happy with them. I installed the Clearview kit from Amazon and it was terrible. I didn't have any codes, however the lights flickered, and sometimes one or both wouldn't work at all. I had to get the car inspected and after trying to correct the issues, it just wasn't worth the effort of trying to make them work, so I returned them and installed some better halogen bulbs until I found a good HID kit.

So hoping to find some information on what folks here think about that particular brand or kit. It has a 5-year warranty on the 35 watt kit, and a 3-year warranty on the 55watt kit. I'm going to stick with the 35watt 5000k kit as I don't much care for colors of purple and blue when I'm driving at night. So tell me your stories, good and bad if you don't mind. Thanks and enjoy the ride.

Howie

 

I've used TRS and the morimoto bixenon retrofit on my halogens before. They looked and worked great. Here's a thread I made for it. https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w204/463540-facelift-hid-retrofit.html
I changed them out to the depo lights for a cleaner OEM look. The light output is not as good as a true bixenon. Depo uses a bixenon bulb in a projector style housing. Not a true bixenon housing. The cutoffs were decent but there are hotspots.
Ideally, if you can retrofit the morimoto bixenon kit to the depo headlamps, you'll have the best of both worlds. That was my next project until my car was totaled.
My current C63 has the lighting package. Lol.

 

Hi Trilla,

Thanks for the input. So I'm a little confused. The DEPO headlamps will have hotspots with the Morimoto HID kit, so what would be the better solution? Is there a true enclosure for this car that is HID without spending the money on the OEM headlamps? Not sure how I would modify the DEPO's to NOT have hotspots with the Morimoto, or any other quality HID kit for that matter.

What would you suggest? Thanks. I work with electronics all day on aircraft, but not so much with automotive lighting upgrades.

Howie

 

Sorry to confuse you. I've never had the depos and the morimoto together. I initially had the morimoto retrofitted to the halogen headlamps.
My ultimate goal was to retrofit the morimoto to the depo headlamps. The depo headlamps use a projector housing, not a bixenon housing. A true bixenon conversion includes both the housing and the bulb, which is what morimotos are.
There are threads on TRS on retrofitting bixenons. Most of them require some cutting into the headlamp housing.

 

You are correct. I just spoke with TRS and the do sell the bixenon housing with the HID bulb kit. I am taking some photos of the rear of the DEPO's so they can tell me if their system will work. If so then that is what I will do.

I contacted USR since they are the sellers of the DEPO units to see if the housing is replaceable. If so that is around $300 for the complete kit to go full bixenon into the DEPO inclosures. Will see what happens.

Thanks for the info Trilla.

 

Trilla,

Do you know if the housing, or what I am calling the lenses, inside the DEPO are removable? That is the make or break part of the entire equation here...

 

If I remember it correctly, the lens housing can be removed with a dremel or a rotary tool. I believe they use an epoxy to mold it in. Maybe someone with the depo headlights can look in and confirm.

 

Spoke with Simon at USR and he says unless you are willing to spend a lot of time and money on doing a full D2S conversion on the DEPO lights, there really is no reason to go that far. So I am installing the Morimoto XB35 HID conversion kit and will take it from there. At this point I don't see a reason to order any projection lenses that may not really be needed. And from what many forum members are saying, they are happy with the DEPO's just as they are.

So I'll give this set-up a go and let you know how it turns out. Thanks to everyone for their input.

Cheers,

Howie

 

Funny this thread came up, as I installed a Morimoto Elite 9005 system with the XB55 ballasts (50W) onto my Depo headlights over the winter. I originally did this because the light quality was so bad with the kit that they came with. Also, my driver side light stopped working, and I thought it was a ballast.

The quality of the Morimoto kit is very good. They are very bright, and there are no more funky hot spots in the light beam (although there is color on the edges of the cutoff).

MY problem however was not the ballast unfortunately. I've narrowed it down to these relays which are inside the headlight (see pic below). The YELLOW wire is power which goes to the HID ballast. Going into the relay circuit board there is power, however coming out there is not. The relays/board configuration seems to only control the shutter for the high beams, which also does not work. Wires going in are YELLOW (power for the HID), WHITE (power for the halogen cornering high beams), and BLACK (ground). WHITE and BLACK also bypass the relays and go directly to the halogen bulb. Wires coming out of the relay/board go to YELLOW (HID power), WHITE (to shutter power), and BLACK (to shutter ground). Really frustrating, because fishcake (seller) has not been responsive with my request for a spare relay/board. If anyone has more information on how to configure this, it would be really helpful. Otherwise I may just bypass the relay altogether and just run the yellow wire directly to the ballast.

 

Forget my above post. Didn't mean to hijack. Turns out that the relays are to retain flash-to-pass functionality, so that only the halogen hi-beam works when you push the stalk forward and the main HID headlights are off. Turns out there are all sorts of great things you can do with the internal wiring on these... I think I'll wire up my "C" as a DRL...

Anyway, the DEPO lights with Morimoto HID kit are awesome. No need to change the projector out, it's fine.

 

Hi,

Yep, that is what Simon told me on the phone yesterday so I'm expecting the Morimoto HID kit to be just fine.

Thanks.

 

I have the Morimoto Kit installed in my 2014 Sierra. Nice quality Kit.

 

I just received my Morimoto XB35 kit and boy does it look nice. All components boxed up very nice and tidy. Very well made kit as well. Installing tomorrow. Will post.

Howie

 

This guy ^ doesn't know what he's talking about. They are "true" bi-xenons.

From MB website: "Bi-xenon means that dipped and main beam share a common light source. With the main beam, the full luminous flux is available, amplified by a halogen spot to provide longer range visibility to the front and for the headlamp flasher function. Switching to dipped beam moves an insert into place, which that partially screens the main beam. It has a considerably wider range than a conventional halogen dipped beam, making it easier to identify objects at the side of the carriageway more quickly."

That's exactly what the DEPO lights do.

 

BTW fishcake sorted me out. Sent me a new circuit board with relays. Wired it up and the lights look better than ever. The Morimoto kit is a direct replacement, and a huge upgrade over what the DEPO lights come with.