titanium681

Hi all,

My left low beam headlight decided to act up on the way home from work. Both lights still turn on, but there is a significant dark area on the left side. (See Photo) My guess is that it is either the igniter, the part that the bulb fits into, number 6 in the parts guide, or the ballast, number 5. Any ideas?

Thx

djrabbi

Did you try adjusting the headlight up?

Dan Wang

If the bulb is on, the ignitor is fine.

You car probably has an auto leveling system where the sensor is going bad on the one side hence not aiming upward properly.

titanium681

Thx for your responses. I did not try adjusting it because of the way it is behaving. When I turn on the lights, they have a very noticeable flicker before becoming fully illuminated, which is how hids normally operate. The one on the right becomes increasingly brighter, and rotates upward, while the left never increases in intensity beyond it's starting point.

Dan would you happen to have the name or part number for that sensor, so I might look it up?

Thx again

titanium681

It's getting worse. Left the car parked at the airport for 4 days, and when I returned, I found that the left rear was practically covering the wheel on that side. It immediately leveled itself after startup, but I wondering if the same sensor that controls the ride level, controls the headlights? First photo is left rear, second is right rear. It's a dramatic difference, and it's like this every morning before startup. Any thoughts?

mbenz1

How long have you had the car? The left light is designed to shine lower than the right as Mercedes thinks the left light will blind the oncoming traffic. If it flickers then it's not normal.

To see if the car is leveling right just park head in one night and back in another and measure. The car has airmatic system, so may be it's just the ground is not level?