When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
A few years back i received excellent help to sort out head-light issues with the self levelling headlights on my CLK 350 (Mid 2008 Build) Australia, for which once again many thanks (Esp. thanks Glyn and Roodney!)
I now have another headlight problem. The right low-beam headlight sometimes gets "Droopy eye syndrome" it just doesn't lift up occasionally, forlornly pointing to the ground some meters in front of the car, sometimes for days, but mostly if you keep switching the engine off and on it comes right. I took it in and they said nothing wrong with the computer, just that i needed a new headlight at over $2500 excluding fitting! I was just wondering if you had any cheaper ideas? Mechanic told me that the unit was sealed and that they couldn't get inside it to assess internal damage? Any help and advice would be much appreciated!
Many thanks in advance.
Mike
PS. Being a newbie i incorrectly posted this in another thread. Apologies. I'll try and delete it.
Last edited by Mike.heywood; 04-16-2017 at 07:27 PM.
Reason: grammar, etiquette. Thanks
Hi Mike, it does seem like the leveling mechanism is broken. This might be replaceable as an individual part. If you have the self-leveling and curve illumination headlights (code 614), then it should be. Post your VIN and I;ll see if that's what your car has.
It would require removal of the headlight, which requires removing the front bumper, but that's not a huge job. No more than three hours of labor if you have to pay for that. A far cry from $2500!
Thanks for your promising reply Rodney (and sincerest apologies for spelling your nom de plume incorrectly!). My car's Vin is WDB2093562F257376. Yep the headlights are self levelling and turn left and right ahead of curves. Its the up and down bit that irregularly doesn't work. I've printed out your instructions and your linked pages, and if you are able to confirm via my Vin number that it is the right part, Ill take it into my mechanic, who already charged me $180 for taking the headlamp out and testing only to tell me that its a sealed unit and you cant get inside to work on it! Very glad to hear he is wrong! Many thank once again!
Thanks for your promising reply Rodney (and sincerest apologies for spelling your nom de plume incorrectly!). My car's Vin is WDB2093562F257376. Yep the headlights are self levelling and turn left and right ahead of curves. Its the up and down bit that irregularly doesn't work. I've printed out your instructions and your linked pages, and if you are able to confirm via my Vin number that it is the right part, Ill take it into my mechanic, who already charged me $180 for taking the headlamp out and testing only to tell me that its a sealed unit and you cant get inside to work on it! Very glad to hear he is wrong! Many thank once again!
Also, the entire headlamp is 1000 not 2500....and even cheaper if you get a used one.
Thanks, Rodney. Much appreciated. Btw, I'm talking in Aussie dollars, not US $. Also everything MB is much more expensive in Oz than in the US of A. "They" say because of import duties and the very small market here. I will take the info you provided to my mechanic and see if i can educate him :-)
Good luck, Mike. And please take a moment to update your forum user's profile to add your location - that way I'll know next time why your prices are so high.
Now I went in and spent half an hour with my mechanic and went over the info provided by you, aided by his own data base/parts list and this was the outcome:
- The "Element" numbered 14 in the diagram on your link may not be a xenon headlamp?
- Your link to "how to" instructions is for the power module (numbered part 15 on your linked diagram. The mechanic has no probs taking of and refitting the power module, but its not the problem.
- Boss mechanic (Tobie) pulled up the headlight on his parts list (a bit different from yours and a bi-xenon headlamp) which also identifies the part 14 identified by you that needs replacement, however, when he puts my VIN number, that part "greys" out, which tells him it cant be done.
Ive uploaded a pic of what he's calling a Xenon headlamp in las it may help she further light.
He says if if i come up with the solution (meaning Rodney, or some other technical expert on this forum at my risk, he'll give it a go, otherwise its a new headlight, AU$2500 plus fitting..
Just for info, mechanic has already pulled the headlight off and dry tested it. It receives audible input to level but does not always respond. He could not work out a way to get inside the unit to inspect further..
Car>CLK350>Chassis: 209356 2F 257376> 82 Electrical System>175 Front lighting
The parts diagrams are not always an exact replication of the part in the car. For example, they may use this same diagram for all version fo the W209 headlight - Bi-xenon, Bi-xenon with curve illumination, and halogen. The diagram I posted is from an online dealer. Here are the EPC docs, which are similar, but don't show the HID ballast:
The part #40 on my diagram/list does not gray-out when your VIN is inserted.
Since the headlight is out, the mechanic can see the control unit like you see on Megacrazy's pic? It's the on on the left, without the "danger - high voltage" icon.
Thanks for your reply and info. The mechanic's issue is not removing the ballast or control module, its getting inside to work on the bits that are playing up. he says he cant see how to do this through the small holes. Do you have access to a "How to" remove and replace the bits inside the headlight?
I just find it hard to believe I'm the only person to have experienced "droopy eye" syndrome, and that the only solution is to buy a new headlight?
So your mechanic thinks that the motor (part #40) is not the problem but instead it's the gears inside the headlight? In that case, "officially" you have to replace the entire headlight, but in practice, it might be reparable. You can open the headlight assembly by removing all electronics and metal then back the unit in an oven at 200F for long enough that the adhesive on the lens softens so it can be removed from the rest of the housing.
Hi Rodney! Thanks for responding. As I recall, you gave me a link to an "ELEMENT" 2008 Mercedes Benz CLK350 (0038205826) for $270.84 This referred to a part No 14 which is high lighted in green, which looks like a toothed wheel. The "how to that you gave me with the same message was for the Power Module (part no. 15) not for 14. So i guess i took it - and told my mechanic that you had identified Part 14 as the part that was the problem.
On my diagram Part 100 is the Power module, and the part 14 you referred to is Part 100 on my diagram.
Do you think its the power module? The mechanic says that on the bench he can hear the motors responding but not with a result always. (Btw, its been working fine for the last 3 weeks...) I don't think the mechanic would be prepared to heat the headlight to 200F...
The cars hardly worth AU$2,500 just for this. Perhaps the headlight can be immobilised? or maybe its a case of lubrication??
Refer to the diagram and parts list in post #10 above. Part #40 on that is listed as the "range adjustment and curve illumination" module. This is what controls the vertical and horizontal movement of the headlight.
04-16-2017, 07:16 PM
