irokdastar

hello everyone i got a deal on oem projector headlights and they come with original ballast bulbs etc. my question is do i need to do anything to make them work or is it just plug and play ?

Yidney

Are they the kind that self level and raise up when you turn them on? If so, not sure what happens if you don't have the leveling arms on your suspension.

irokdastar

No I checked it's the ones without curve . Is it just plug and play or do I have to code it to the car ?

Rudeney

To go from halogen to HID, you do need to have the front SAM coded. Or, you have to use ballasts with error-canceling circuitry. But if these are OEM headlight,s you couldn't do that, so coding would be necessary.

irokdastar

Can I use an aftermarket hid kit with I the one headlight without using factory xenon?

shadenfroh

Self-levelling and cleaning systems have always been mandatory for any car with factory xenon headlights, regardless of the presence of active curve illumination. There are little arms attached to the suspension to enable the self-levelling. This may or may not be a problem come inspection time.

Rudeney could probably clarify what happens if you code the SAM for xenon, but the car is missing self-levelling. I'm guessing there would be some errors.

irokdastar

If I remove the factory Ballast can I run aftermarket HID's?

Rudeney

US DOT regs do not require self-leveling or cleaners for HID lights. Many manufacturers included those features because other countries do, but it's not a requirement in the USA. You will not get any errors from those systems as HID can be activated separately in the EZS (a.k.a. EIS) coding. Note that I said "SAM coding" earlier, but that is incorrect - it's in the EZS. The front SAM does have coding for curve illumination, though.

NewShockerGuy

You are making this harder than what it is. There is no need to remove the factory ballasts and put in some inferior aftermarket ballasts.


Do as what is suggested in the thread. Take the car to an Indy or a MB Dealer and tell them you need to have the car coded for Xenon=Present. That way they will not flicker when you turn them on and the car is on. There will be zero errors and they will work. I have a thread somewhere on here about it.


Where are you located? There might be a member on here that is close to you that has STAR/DAS that can enable it for you. It's like a 5 minute thing and easy. You will spend more time removing the bumper and taking the headlights off and putting everything back together than it will to code the car properly. If you are in VA I 'd help you since I have STAR.


-Nigel

irokdastar

I live in Brooklyn NY . I am would love to keep it oem but I called 3 Mercedes dealers and no one wants to do it . I spoke to service advisors and they all said unless it came with the car we wont change it . If anyone here has Star I would be happy to even pay for it .

megacrazy

Wtf. Make sure you don't do business with said dealers ever haha. There should be locals who have it and would be willing to give you a hand. I have it as well if you can't find anyone.

irokdastar

The dealers here are POS . It was like 2 days till the service tech even called me back . Megacrazy do you live in NY ?

megacrazy

Me? Nah Central Jersey. Check craigslist...three should be plenty of local guys with Star...if not hit me up.