gc8coupe

My uncle has a 1997 e420 with the factory hids installed. One of the headlights went out and of course he took it to the dealer. They said the ignitor and ballast was out and would need to be replaced. They quoted him over 1400 dollars to do it. There is no way I would let him pay that much for headlights. Is it possible to go wth an aftermarket hid kit to replace his ailing headlamp. Or would it be better to try and source an oem ballast and ignitor? All help is appreciated. Thanks for your time.

Brandon

Semikolon

You can easily replace the ballast(s).
The ballast and igniter is in the same unit.

Merceds used Hella Gen3 ballasts on these models and you can find several of them, used though, on ebay for about $300 a pair. Or you can buy some replicas for under half the price. Probably not the same quality, but it should work.. I have a couple of the replicas from theretrofitsource on my high beams and they seems ok. Haven't got them for very long though. The guys at theretrofitsource are very nice guys to

Try to search ebay for "Hella Gen3" and "Hella Gen 3"

Any other ballast should work too though..

Make sure it has 9006 input connection and D2 socket.

gc8coupe

wow thanks for the quick reply

meooem1

my 3 cents.....take the bulb out of the good side and try it in the "bad" side. there is a reason they call them the stealership. bulbs are like $70. worth a try!

AlphaWolf

I recently bought a pair of semi-new Xenon headlights from a member here. I am going to give away my existing set (one side does not work, I think dead ballast or something) if someone pays shipping. Worth a try.

Musikmann

I see you are in Bowling Green, KY. I have had a little work done at Tafel Motors in Louisville and they seemed honest at the time, but that was 3-4 years ago. In the meantime, their General Manager left (who I liked and knew pretty well) so I don't know about now.

LeeRod80

That's very nice of you Alpha. Hey gc8coupe, give it a shot. Shipping shouldn't be too costly...

Wish I knew more to help, as I am new to the MB world. I gotta say though, I... am.... lov-ing it! <SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_3191425", true); </SCRIPT>

gc8coupe

Sorry I haven't been around, work has been a devil. We are switching to a new server, and corporate has me buried in the changeover. I spoke to my uncle this weekend briefly and said that hes thinking about trying to just trade it in this week. I should know something by the middle of the week. If he decides to keep it I will definitely pick that ballast up! Thanks for all the help guys. This forum is really a class act. Almost makes me want to get a Mercedes for myself.