Upgrade E350 to OEM Bi-Xenon
06-15-2013, 05:15 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Upgrade E350 to OEM Bi-Xenon
Many have tried and many have failed. I'm hoping some out there have succeeded in upgrading a recent vintage E350 halogen headlight system to the factory P2 lighting option featuring Bi-Xenon lights. I have extensively researched the aftermarket HID kits (there are some nice ones out there) but what I'm looking for is a factory fresh update using OEM parts. Since I am a lighting fanatic I'm making this my mission and I will report the steps it takes to make this happen.
First thing I learned: Expensive!
Second: The MB dealers don't like this idea one bit. Not sure why but I'm getting push-back from all that I've talked to. Perhaps they think I'm crazy to do this.
Third: The accumulated OEM parts and labor will far exceed the cost to buy the option in the first place. Let that be a lesson to anyone thinking about buying a new car.
I started this project thinking I was going to retro a OEM light fixture and do some cool mods to it then shove it back into my E350 Cabo and that was that... wait just one minute! The whole idea of moding your Benz is so it can be a one-of-a-kind and be cool with a bit of style. OK so no purple lights, flashing strobes, led eyebrows and glowing neon ground effects! But I do feel compelled to do something really unique and cool.
Fourth: If you want to mod your light with style go to an expert. That's so important I'll say it twice. There are a lot of light wizards out there that do great work, I just happened to pick Lightwerkz. Caesar has been very patient as this project has evolved and their work is very competent. As long as you get out of their way and let them work their magic.
Fifth: Not all MB light fixtures will survive being cracked open... even by an expert. I have so far purchased 3 sets of lights for the project. Admittedly one set was damaged by FEDEX so its really 2. No the light wizards didn't break a single one they just want to be sure they can do it without causing damage to the finished project. This is before any attempts have been made.
I've gone from MB OE lights Part# 207-820-53-61 & 207-820-54-61 to their cheaper Asian cousins... the cheap ones will open easier.
So first dilemma: do what works for the light mod but is not a factory part for the finished project. Things that make you go hmmmmm.
So.... big decision #1: I bought a 4th pair of factory-fresh MB Bi-Xenon lights that were part of the original P2 lighting package. Hold onto your wallet, they cost about $900 each! Bad news.. they have permaseal which Lightwerkz advises is a dangerous mod operation to open them!
Why have I decided to take a walk on the wild side? One word: Carbon Fiber. That's the special sauce I want in my lighting special order. That and a little magic from my new friends at Lightwerkz. Did I mention I have a white (Artic White) 2011 E350 and I'm going to be putting a few Carbon Fiber bling elements on the car... I need a cool blackout light fixture done without paint or tinting. Now its clear... the halogen MB fixture relies on a lot of chrome & exposed light bulbs to do their DOT thing. The MB Bi-Xenon fixture lends itself to CF moding without loosing to a bunch of chrome.
That's what I know... so far and the story will continue after I see the new Bi-Xenon fixtures and get a design for moding (with style) the fixtures and then getting them installed in my cabriolet.
Fact finding mission: some questions are still to be answered. I'm hoping to get some help here.
The MB Bi-Xenon fixture parts# 207-820-77-61 & 207-820-78-61 rely on some connections that don't exist in my halogen version E350. There is a "control module" part# 212-900-78-04 that plugs into the bottom of the Bi-xenon light fixture and appears to provide the ballast and ecu functions for lighting. I don't think I have auto leveling sensors on the axels nor do I have advanced curve lighting (where the projector turns with the steering.) I can do without auto-leveling (not a legal necessity in the USA) but the curve lighting sounds cool.
Question One: Will I need a special wiring harness to make this work or will the halogen plug work by plugging into the Bi-Xenon fixture (that has the ballast attached). There are a few companies that make aftermarket wiring harnesses if I need them.
Question two: Other than auto leveling sensors do I need to add (or change) any ecu boxes or the SAM fuse box to allow ILS or curve lighting functions?
Question three: Has anyone actually done this and succeeded... so far I can't find a link or example of success.
Sorry for the long post but I'm hoping this thread will answer anyone's question about upgrading their lighting from halogen to Bi-Xenon while keeping some of the MB functionality that won't happen with a typical HID retrofit kit.
All comments and questions encouraged
Hillcreative
First thing I learned: Expensive!
Second: The MB dealers don't like this idea one bit. Not sure why but I'm getting push-back from all that I've talked to. Perhaps they think I'm crazy to do this.
Third: The accumulated OEM parts and labor will far exceed the cost to buy the option in the first place. Let that be a lesson to anyone thinking about buying a new car.
I started this project thinking I was going to retro a OEM light fixture and do some cool mods to it then shove it back into my E350 Cabo and that was that... wait just one minute! The whole idea of moding your Benz is so it can be a one-of-a-kind and be cool with a bit of style. OK so no purple lights, flashing strobes, led eyebrows and glowing neon ground effects! But I do feel compelled to do something really unique and cool.
Fourth: If you want to mod your light with style go to an expert. That's so important I'll say it twice. There are a lot of light wizards out there that do great work, I just happened to pick Lightwerkz. Caesar has been very patient as this project has evolved and their work is very competent. As long as you get out of their way and let them work their magic.
Fifth: Not all MB light fixtures will survive being cracked open... even by an expert. I have so far purchased 3 sets of lights for the project. Admittedly one set was damaged by FEDEX so its really 2. No the light wizards didn't break a single one they just want to be sure they can do it without causing damage to the finished project. This is before any attempts have been made.
I've gone from MB OE lights Part# 207-820-53-61 & 207-820-54-61 to their cheaper Asian cousins... the cheap ones will open easier.
So first dilemma: do what works for the light mod but is not a factory part for the finished project. Things that make you go hmmmmm.
So.... big decision #1: I bought a 4th pair of factory-fresh MB Bi-Xenon lights that were part of the original P2 lighting package. Hold onto your wallet, they cost about $900 each! Bad news.. they have permaseal which Lightwerkz advises is a dangerous mod operation to open them!
Why have I decided to take a walk on the wild side? One word: Carbon Fiber. That's the special sauce I want in my lighting special order. That and a little magic from my new friends at Lightwerkz. Did I mention I have a white (Artic White) 2011 E350 and I'm going to be putting a few Carbon Fiber bling elements on the car... I need a cool blackout light fixture done without paint or tinting. Now its clear... the halogen MB fixture relies on a lot of chrome & exposed light bulbs to do their DOT thing. The MB Bi-Xenon fixture lends itself to CF moding without loosing to a bunch of chrome.
That's what I know... so far and the story will continue after I see the new Bi-Xenon fixtures and get a design for moding (with style) the fixtures and then getting them installed in my cabriolet.
Fact finding mission: some questions are still to be answered. I'm hoping to get some help here.
The MB Bi-Xenon fixture parts# 207-820-77-61 & 207-820-78-61 rely on some connections that don't exist in my halogen version E350. There is a "control module" part# 212-900-78-04 that plugs into the bottom of the Bi-xenon light fixture and appears to provide the ballast and ecu functions for lighting. I don't think I have auto leveling sensors on the axels nor do I have advanced curve lighting (where the projector turns with the steering.) I can do without auto-leveling (not a legal necessity in the USA) but the curve lighting sounds cool.
Question One: Will I need a special wiring harness to make this work or will the halogen plug work by plugging into the Bi-Xenon fixture (that has the ballast attached). There are a few companies that make aftermarket wiring harnesses if I need them.
Question two: Other than auto leveling sensors do I need to add (or change) any ecu boxes or the SAM fuse box to allow ILS or curve lighting functions?
Question three: Has anyone actually done this and succeeded... so far I can't find a link or example of success.
Sorry for the long post but I'm hoping this thread will answer anyone's question about upgrading their lighting from halogen to Bi-Xenon while keeping some of the MB functionality that won't happen with a typical HID retrofit kit.
All comments and questions encouraged
Hillcreative
Last edited by hillcreative; 06-15-2013 at 06:57 PM.
06-16-2013, 01:05 AM
#2
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Found a wiring harness company here http://www.kabeldaviko.de/index.php you need to convert from halogen connections to the bi-xenon. Also connections to SAM and the leveling sensors in front and back.
12-10-2013, 11:04 AM
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Actually that's the A207 or W207. Auto leveling not to be confused with AirRide. The leveling is a component of the code 615 Bi-Xenon lighting that needs positional data to aim the headlights. BTW KabelDaviko is very much working... ask for Frank.
07-15-2014, 09:44 AM
#7
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Do a search on this and you'll find that it is very expensive ($6K+) to do a real factory code 615 Bi-Xenon retrofit. BTW ILS may not be possible but active curve lighting and a few other features are possible.
