ajent420

you have got to be kidding me on these prices!!

These little bulbs should not be more than 5-6 bucks max!

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!!!

ohlord

www.whaccessories.com/Turn%20Signals.htm

$7.00 each.
motorcycles use em
ohlord

raymond g-

for the heck of it, call these guys....near Seahawks Stadium. some of the bulbs
on their site appear to fit the dimensions and electrical specs...bring sample w/you.

Bulbman
1750 4th Ave S
Seattle, WA 98134
(206) 343-0979

and, unless you're picky about brand/temp, i have a pair of take-offs i can toss
in the mail. but give the folks above a try first...

ajent420

Do you think the color on these would be the same as the factory ones? I'm trying to get it closer to the color of H1ST Silver Stars fog lights.

ajent420

Number has been disconected!

ohlord

So they are halogen but match the factory lights.oshram makes a bluer color temp h6w bulb but not budget priced.If you want to match it best i'd call or email daniel stern lighting and ask what he has.the guy is a wizard of lighting and a wealth of white papers so you can learn about the best lights for driving etc.
For instance he has a oshram 65 watt h-7 rally bulb for my 1999 E320 that throw light like a 747,he must have something for your quest.
ohlord

dan_cobb

Here's what I found before:
Nobody sells the really bright (blue-ish) H6W bulbs in the US. Not sure why.
If you do a search on "H6W" you will find a previous post of mine (6 months ago?)where I located a cross reference for other manufacturers.

I bought LED versions from http://www.42draftdesigns.com/index.htm

I get the defective lamp warning, but the lights match my headlamps very nicely.

BTW, Daniel Stern Lighting has a very informative website:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/home.html
+++

ajent420

Have you thought about putting in the load resistor so you don't get that warning? I would definitely like to put in some LEDs, but I worry about the placement of a load resistor just hanging there...

X55

I just dropped in a set of Polarg M17's with one nub filed off of each for $5.99 for the pair - look awesome nice and WHITE instead of the factory yellow. Got them off ebay

dan_cobb

The bulbs have load resistors 'built into' the base. They are also polarized to prevent reverse voltage from burning them out - not really an issue with the H6W base as the offset pins force the bulb to the correct polarity.
The problem is more likely attributed to HOW the Benz creates the warning.

Typical LEDs need 3-3.5VDC. That means the resistor needs to eat up the rest or the LED will burn out. I suspect that the voltage drop of the resistor is sufficient to provide the proper forward bias on the LED, but the overall current is not enough to duplicate a factory bulb.

The tolerance of the resistor used may also be too large (perhaps as much as 20% of rated value, as they are cheaper than the 5% version). This variation could contribute to a decreased voltage drop of the load resistor, resulting in the LED receiving a higher than typical (but still safe) voltage or just the opposite.

Combining this uncertain voltage drop of the load resistor AND the resultant current draw of the LED, I assume the setup is probably within a few OHMs or mA of NOT triggering the warning.

I'm kinda guessing here because I'm unsure exactly what triggers the warning indicator; voltage, current or an algorithm using both values (those pesky German engineers are known for making things extremely complicated when it is absolutely unnecessary, so it wouldn't suprise me to find a circuit card somewhere in there to control a simple light bulb socket!).

That being said, without taking the time to measure the resistance of the LED setup and comparing it to the factory bulb, I cannot guess what additional resistor would be necessary to eliminate the warning.

BTW, I recall having the warning once when a fog lamp socket was corroded and the bulb was still good. I assumed that the corrosion made the car think the bulb was out because it either sensed low current draw, or low voltage on the ground leg. Without knowing which, I chose to scrape the contacts, replace the fog lamps and add the LEDs (with internal load resistors) to the parking lamps. It works fine enough for me, but if someone else has done the measurements and calculations, I'd be glad to verify them by modifying the current resistor to duplicate their results.

All-in-all, the warning is not really that big of a deal to me because I don't drive that much at night, and when I do, the LED lamps are cool enough for me to simply press the up arrow and eliminate the error mesage (although temporary).
+++

Yacht Master

This is what they look like,

Lancelot

I'm using Philips BlueVision H7 bulbs and cannot find matching H6W bulbs overhere! Maybe I should order them online somewhere. For now I simply got BlueVision W5-someting bulbs and grinded one notch off. So at least the color matches on the front...

ajent420

Damn no pictures!

ohlord

Funny you posted the bulb price ?and 3 days later an h6w goes out on my 99 wagon.Metric bike shop was out so I'm doing a 3000 mile road trip next week and need all the lights in working order,so I go to the dealer.Yep ,me at a dealer,$5.28 each so not to bad for a dealer part!
ohlord
"GOT CODES?"
KARMA?

bluemoon07

www.superbrightleds.com has LED lights in just about any shape or form with built in resistors as to not throw off the light warning. I had license plate bulbs from them on my e320 for awhile.

legomybenzo

Do you have the ebay link because I can't find anything when I search for Polarg M17?

legomybenzo

Dang, $5.28 each? Would you happen to know why these are so expensive then? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...MEWA:IT&ih=008

legomybenzo

Would happen to have any pixes? Also, just to verify. These Polarg M17 city lights matches your Xenon headlights correct?

X55

I don't have a link handy, they come available from time to time, just search M17, M-17, and Polarg. I have xenons and they match nicely. Pics will be available soon, car is currently up on jackstands due to a broken front spring.

legomybenzo

X55,

Thanks for your response. How do you think the Polarg M17s would compare to the Sylvania Silver Stars in terms of brightness, longevity, and matching the Xenon lights?