NotAWizard

Greetings!

I have been driving my CLK 240 for a while now however I was never satisfied with the normal halogen headlights that it had since I was used to the Xenon ones I had on my Volvo.
I looked into how much it would cost to change them from halogens to Xenon's however the cost simply didn't justify the means in my case until a friend of mine told me he had a bud that got his 240 rear ended and is now selling the parts for it since it's a write off''
Now at first I thought ''I might as well see what there is who knows I might finally get a better shifter or steering wheel since mine are worn a bit'' but to my surprise the car had neither of those.
What it did have though was a front bumper with washers and Bi-Xenon headlights.

Now I did sort off buy them on an impulse thinking I will plug them in and be good to go but after attaching the front bumper and trying to use the washers they did not work and I noticed that my headlights had 4 plugs while the Bi-Xenon ones had 2 on the left headlight and 3 on the right which lead me to finally googling everything and finding out that the ECU needs to be programmed for the functions and that I need the wiring to be correct.
So I did what a sensible person would do and I went ahead and bought the ECU ,the wiring for the headlights and the sensors for the adaptive portion of the headlights off the crashed 240.
I did confirm with the owner that his engine was stock like mine and that his model was made the same year as mine. So both cars are from 2002 and have the same 2.6L M112 V6 Engine with 170 HP so it should work without a problem right?
I am however concerned that if I plug this in it might damage my engine or not start at all since it is a different ECU.
Essentially I am here to ask for some advice. Will it be fine to switch them? Is there any way of finding out? Is there any other option to unlock the features besides taking it to a star diagnostic tool? Have I just wasted money on an ECU that is not even useful for me?
As a side question if it does work do I need the keys from the crashed 240 to start mine or will my keys work just fine?

Thank you kindly for taking the time in reading and answering my query!

g0rsq

The headlight adaption is NOT in the engine ECU.

Do NOT swap engine ECU, as it is coded to the chassis number, and part of the security system on the car, so almost certainly will not work without specialist coding.

It is in the front SAM.

You should also need the balast and controllers, fitted to the headlamp units, as well as headlight range control, and washer jets.

Greg Northcott

Wow you have gone a long way around to get better lights when all that you had to do was buy plug n play LEDSs to replace your halogens and give you light that youve only dreamed of and far superior to HIDs.

g0rsq

In many countries, especially in Europe, it is illegal to fit LED bulbs in Halogen lamps, and will result in a fail when tested. ('E' markings and type approval)


Maybe this is the reason the OP is doing the conversion that way.

Greg Northcott

Even in projector headlights? There should be no reason why that can't be done as it would look factory.. I agree if reflector headlights. The fun police are everywhere.

NotAWizard

This exactly! I wish I could do LED's but not a chance in hell that they will pass =/ .

After a lot of work I was able to get the SAM in the front replaced with the SAM from the crashed 240. I was able to get the headlights to work up to a point.
The high beams and the indicators are working they are even self regulating!
However the low beams won't work as soon as I turn on the engine.
They will flicker on and off every once in a while and I get an error on my dashboard. Without turning on the engine the lights work perfectly.
Any advice as to what it could be will be much appreciated until then google is my best friend.

NotAWizard

This is the exact reason.
While I wish I could do it with LED's I know it won't pass the inspection test and I will have to go back to my old bulbs.
I was able to connect things up with the front SAM unit as well as add the cabling and balasts and range controls.
The headlights work up to a point. The high beams and the indicators are working. However the low beams only work when the car is off.
As soon as I start the car they will turn off and flicker every once in a while and I get an error on my dash.
As far as I was able to find out it's an issue about resistance?
I've seen some weird contraptions that use a capacitor on the low beam positive lead to trick the computer into working however I am a bit on the fence about trying it for the time being.
Any advice is quite welcome. Until then I am going to continue my search on the forum/google.

g0rsq

Have you checked the coding in the front SAM?

You may be able to select HID lights. You will need STAR SDS/Xentry to do this though, or find a local independent Mercedes shop and ask them.

I can look on mine, but wont be able to do this untill weekend.

NotAWizard

Hello again!

Time for a bit of an update on my end. Things got a little bit delayed however I was able to get things to work.
Replacing the SAM did not do the trick however I was lucky enough to find someone with a STAR diagnostic tool that was about an hour away from me.
The whole process took about 20 minutes to unlock everything and I will be honest it was worth the drive. I can now comfortably drive the Merc at night.

Thank you all for the advice and stay safe!