Aftermarket HIDs. A warning!
05-07-2019, 03:03 AM
#1
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2002 E240 W210 Elegance. 2003 CLK320 W209 Avantgarde.
Aftermarket HIDs. A warning!
When I bought my '03 W209 320 a few months ago, it was fitted with some cheap eBay type Chinese aftermarket Hids. From the start I have never been able to sort the aim out, they either light the road up two feet in front of the car or blind low flying aircraft.
I was driving at night a few days ago and the damn things were flickering on high beam so the next day I opened the hood and switched on the headlights. After a couple of minutes one of the control boxes for the Hids started smoking. I killed the lights and when I looked the back of the box had melted into a smoking hole. Needless to say I ripped the whole lot out and bought some standard H7 bulbs.
We all know the perils of this cheap Chinese crap, but these things could have destroyed my car and as they are a modification, I doubt very much if my insurance would have paid out.
If anybody is considering fitting these, please think again!
I was driving at night a few days ago and the damn things were flickering on high beam so the next day I opened the hood and switched on the headlights. After a couple of minutes one of the control boxes for the Hids started smoking. I killed the lights and when I looked the back of the box had melted into a smoking hole. Needless to say I ripped the whole lot out and bought some standard H7 bulbs.
We all know the perils of this cheap Chinese crap, but these things could have destroyed my car and as they are a modification, I doubt very much if my insurance would have paid out.
If anybody is considering fitting these, please think again!
05-08-2019, 12:17 AM
#2
Member
It is paradoxical that while hugely talented Chinese electronics designers craft some of the most sophisticated and versatile quad-copter drones in current existence, as an example, other far less scrupulous counterparts earn a living by mass-producing ship-loads of cleverly packaged but fatally flawed garbage that floods the after-market vehicle accessory market.
05-10-2019, 10:43 PM
#4
Junior Member
It's like everything else. Buy quality and cry once, buy junk and cry forever. If I was upgrading today, quality LED bulbs would indeed be a simpler way to go.
05-21-2019, 02:26 AM
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Mercedes CLK220
When I bought my '03 W209 320 a few months ago, it was fitted with some cheap eBay type Chinese aftermarket Hids. From the start I have never been able to sort the aim out, they either light the road up two feet in front of the car or blind low flying aircraft.
I was driving at night a few days ago and the damn things were flickering on high beam so the next day I opened the hood and switched on the headlights. After a couple of minutes one of the control boxes for the Hids started smoking. I killed the lights and when I looked the back of the box had melted into a smoking hole. Needless to say I ripped the whole lot out and bought some standard H7 bulbs.
We all know the perils of this cheap Chinese crap, but these things could have destroyed my car and as they are a modification, I doubt very much if my insurance would have paid out.
If anybody is considering fitting these, please think again!
I was driving at night a few days ago and the damn things were flickering on high beam so the next day I opened the hood and switched on the headlights. After a couple of minutes one of the control boxes for the Hids started smoking. I killed the lights and when I looked the back of the box had melted into a smoking hole. Needless to say I ripped the whole lot out and bought some standard H7 bulbs.
We all know the perils of this cheap Chinese crap, but these things could have destroyed my car and as they are a modification, I doubt very much if my insurance would have paid out.
If anybody is considering fitting these, please think again!
I’ve got a set of HID’s but can’t find anyway to fit them. I’ve searched forums and Google for answers but nothing yet. I’ve had the kit for 6 months and still no closer to using them.
05-21-2019, 09:34 AM
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2002 E240 W210 Elegance. 2003 CLK320 W209 Avantgarde.
They were just held in by rubber grommets that were a push fit in to the back of the light unit.
I think you can get metal retaining clips off eBay though.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_f...clips&_sacat=0
Please be careful though, mine nearly destroyed my car and the beam pattern was rubbish!
I think you can get metal retaining clips off eBay though.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_f...clips&_sacat=0
Please be careful though, mine nearly destroyed my car and the beam pattern was rubbish!
