$10 modification, you all can do it~~~~~~~~~~~

Hopefully soon, I can see a benz driver around my area w/ white light plate. Then I can yell at him....
"Yo~~~~~~ I am NO CLUE"
Last edited by no_clue; May 27, 2006 at 10:40 AM.
I bought 39mm LED's w/9 lights inside from a Hong Kong vendor on Ebay. Ordered them Monday and received them on Friday ... excellent turnaround considering the distance. Bought the pair of resistors from the Shack and as it turns out I needed both of them on my '01 E430 ... only one side didn't satisfy the "bulb out" on the multifunction display. These LEDS are bright, maybe a bit more than my liking but I suppose I'll get used to it .. I wanted a bit more subtle lighting but the more I look at it the more I like it.

As you can see the festoons I pulled out were blackened from use so the lighting upgrade is definitely noticeable. I'll post some better pics tommorrow under better conditions! (last pic was with flash)
). Thanks!Its interesting a few of us here are finding we need two resistors whilst no_clue doesn't...thank god they're real cheap
Just for the record, what year is your car no_clue?
). Thanks!Its interesting a few of us here are finding we need two resistors whilst no_clue doesn't...thank god they're real cheap
Just for the record, what year is your car no_clue?I have the 97 E420. hmm.........I am not going to worry about it now... As long as current, voltage flow within spec, I guess I will just leave it as is.
Last edited by no_clue; May 27, 2006 at 05:22 PM.
ONE resistor (100ohm 10W) per side
100ohm 10W consume 1.44W via 5W Stock C5W
Temperature rating is around 72F (cooler than body temperature, safe for any PVC, plastic)

hi blackbeard ,
can you give me the name of the hong kong vendor on ebay you used ? I like to order from him too.
Here is the auction page if it helps any:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=4641359865
The bulbs fit nicely and are of excellent quality and very bright.
Good Luck
I have the 97 E420. hmm.........I am not going to worry about it now... As long as current, voltage flow within spec, I guess I will just leave it as is.
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
however, the metal socket holder is very flexible, you might just need to clamp it a bit.
Somehow it seems to work better with the W124 lights (i.e. yours).
Hey Chris, did u try it without a resistor? My friend's W124 might do this but not sure if we need to get a resistor...I suspect it doesnt need it as no_clue had said.
i went to radio shack and they 'don't carry' the type of resistors you guys seem to be using, with the ceramic or whatever. the largest value they had was 10 ohm in that style, so i bought the other type they had. they're working, but heat up enough to burn my fingers. this is the style of resistor i had to use:
i went to radio shack and they 'don't carry' the type of resistors you guys seem to be using, with the ceramic or whatever. the largest value they had was 10 ohm in that style, so i bought the other type they had. they're working, but heat up enough to burn my fingers. this is the style of resistor i had to use:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2062293
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2062293
theyre out-of-stock online, but thanks for the link, i'll keep checking...
theyre out-of-stock online, but thanks for the link, i'll keep checking...

They usually have bunch of them in stock at your local retail store.
Make sure you get the one I recommended. The one w/ ceramic is much much better and it does NOT heat up.
Do NOT use 10ohm, it will consume 14W of power!!!!
If you can't find 100ohm one, 50ohm is also workable (consume 2.88W, still well under the spec) However, I really don't know how much heat it will generate.
Last edited by no_clue; May 29, 2006 at 01:14 AM.
i went to radio shack and they 'don't carry' the type of resistors you guys seem to be using, with the ceramic or whatever. the largest value they had was 10 ohm in that style, so i bought the other type they had. they're working, but heat up enough to burn my fingers. this is the style of resistor i had to use:
However, as said 10 Ohm consumes too much power and the heat is crazy. Go find some 100 Ohms...be it ceramic or the kind you depicted (I have seen them but not sure what the difference is actually).
Hey no_clue, what was the formula for calculating the wattage again? I guess I should have paid attention at school, lol....
http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/index.html
I start from within the spec: Stock C5W consume 5Watt
Watts = Volts * Amps
5w/12v=.417amp
Volts = Amps * Ohms
12v/.417amp =28ohms
(anything resistor higher than 28ohms will consume less watts or staying withIN the spec)
If 12V/100ohms=0.12amps (if we using 100ohms)
then 0.12amps * 12V = 1.44W.
So anything consume less wattage creat less heat.
p.s. now for those who bought after-market H7 headlight Bulb that use more than 55Watt. You can calculate how many extra amp is drawing off your system. And the heat that created on your wire can be quite pronouced.
Last edited by no_clue; May 29, 2006 at 04:44 AM.
http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/index.html
I start from within the spec: Stock C5W consume 5Watt
Watts = Volts * Amps
5w/12v=.417amp
Volts = Amps * Ohms
12v/.417amp =28ohms
(anything resistor higher than 28ohms will consume less watts or staying withIN the spec)
If 12V/100ohms=0.12amps (if we using 100ohms)
then 0.12amps * 12V = 1.44W.
So anything consume less wattage creat less heat.
Never really enjoyed physics,
i think the 6led is just right with color and brignest
i think the 6led is just right with color and brignest



