HID fogs ... BEAUTIFUL! but error codes
 

tribe members...

so I installed HID fogs 6000 K (I think that Kevblah and I are the only 2 that have sucessfully done this on 2007 + CLK 550) and behold.. ERROR codes

i got them on HID extra...

kinda pissed..any one have suggestions (harness relay, resistor etc)?

THANKS

I have had LED DRL's and now back to HID fogs. You need H7 bulbs, with HID Ballast with canbus or else it will continually throw errors and flash.

I have h7 bulbs ... and it was promised by HID extra it would be error free.

not that this would help much but when I was dabbling with HID mods, I noted
that one ballast model would trip the malfunction message, while another
didn't . I figured it had to do with the component load. the outcome of that
project resulted in my use of Hella ballast vs some aftermarket version.

anecdotal though, so not sure how this would help in your case. may be easier
and cheaper to use some cancelling component such as resistor or capacitor,
but one that has been proven effective for your assemblage of parts.

I would assume that error cancelers should fix your problem. Do they they turn on and flash?

Error cancelers are nothing but resistors, which generate a lot of heat to match the 55w draw of an H7 bulb. I installed "L" shaped LED bars in place of my fog lights. At first, I kept the stock fog lights. I covered the lenses with tape and then mounted them facing backward in the bumper. I then tied the LEDs in parallel and all was fine. Eventually, I decided to try cancelers. They lasted less than a year before the wires fried from heat. I then tried a resistor (from Radio Shack - just the biggest one I could find) and so far, so good, but I expect it will fry, too. Here's what mine look like. If yo look at the second photo, you can see that I removed the factory fog light and mounted it backward, then covered the hole with black mesh to match the center bumper opening:

http://benzbits.com/w209/ledfog.jpg

http://benzbits.com/w209/ledfogdetail.jpg

There are canbus ready ballasts. I have HID fogs without but I am using the $10 error cancellers and have no guess as to longevity. I went with yellow 3k's and they are bright.

Did you have the $10 "cancellers" installed? I have no issue what so ever with HIDextra foglights and headlights on my 09" slk55 and 06" Clk500. The Clk500 foglight is the same as your 07" clk550.

U were supposed to order the 55w power series. 79.99 a pair

UPDATE
with the capacitors .... error codes go away ... but you must have the fogs constantly ON

on "auto" there's the convenience smart light setting that turns off/on the fogs depending on how you turn your car

when this happens, the error code shows up bc the onboard computer thinks that a fog is out...

any one else have this experience?

I did not have that problem with my LED DRL setup. They worked with no errors at all. However, those cancellers are nothing but resistors and they get HOT. In fact, one got so hot that it melted the wiring and it eventually broke the lead right at the resistor. SO, I went back to the other method - I taped over the lenses, and re-installed the OEM fog lights backward in the bumper. I used the pigtails from those cancellers to make a nice wiring harness to put the LEDs in parallel with the factory fog lights.

As for the auto or "always on" headlight setting, my fog lights do not come on at all and cannot be activated that way. I have to rotate the switch to the position for either park lights or headlights and then pull the switch to activate the fog lights. With the switch in the auto position, the fog lights do come one when locking and unlocking for the surround lighting features. Now, having said that, I also have the SmartTop controller installed and one feature of it is to enable the fog lights as DRLs instead of using the "constant on" function of the vehicle. I do use this so my LED fogs light bars illuminate anytime the engine is running. If I have the headlight switch in the auto position, and it gets dark, the headlights come on and the fog lights go off. Again, I'd then have to switch the park or headlights on manually, then pull the knob to get the fog lights on again.

i used of the slim ballast ( digital w / 3000K) and i think those have the error canceller/resistor built in cause i have no errors or anything like that and it works like its supposed to be.

The digital ballast with built-in error cancelling is probably the best solution for HID applications - hopefully the resistors used in those have their heat properly dissipated and won't cook the wiring.

Ive been using those w/out any problems so i guess they are good ?

I just installed a fog kit w/ the digital slim ballast, no problems yet

How can you tell if your car needs CANBUS kits? Looking for an error free HID kit for my fog lights if a 35W system won't break my lenses or melt my housings, or perhaps doing LED if I can get one with capacitors already. Thoughts?

HIDkits
 

Hello Nero Tenebre,

Volt Canbus is our top of line HID ballast with the most advance built in component that will eliminate any issue a vehicle’s computer system have with aftermarket HID. And the Canbus ballast also produces the light output (lumens) almost equivalent to 55w while only using 35w and the quality of the ballast is equivalent to OEM ballast. A very high quality HID Kit recommend for your MB!

Link to the appropriate product for 07 clk63 amg convertible (non black series) fog lights?

Hello Nero Tenebre,

Your 2007 CLK bulb types are as follows:
Lowbeam: H7 http://www.hidextra.com/h7/?sort=bestselling
Highbeam: H7 http://www.hidextra.com/h7/?sort=bestselling
*Foglights: H7 http://www.hidextra.com/h7/?sort=bestselling
or
H11 http://www.hidextra.com/h11/?sort=bestselling

* Please check your owners manual to verify if you would need H7 or H11.

Please let us know if there's anything else we could assist you with.

Thank you.