paige320

Hello, all:

I have had both inner small lamps out for awhile, with a lamp defective message. My mechanic found that the wiring is burnt up and the headlights themselves will need to be replaced. Do you have any recommendations for sites that sell them? I have used Parts Geek before, and found these:

http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/199..._assembly.html

and these

http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/199...ght_frame.html

If I am needing the wiring replaced, would that be the first link with the assembly? What's the difference between headlight assembly and headlight frame?

raymond g-

the pricier headlight is the who unit (lamp, housing, circuitry) which
the headlight wiring harness plugs into. price is for EACH headlight
so double that if you want one for each side of your car. these are
OE Hella brand so you are paying top dollar for them...only to be
topped by MB dealer prices

the cheaper ad is for the plastic lens only...the sacrificial portion which
gets oxidized, sandblasted, UV eroded etc.

the wiring harness leading to the headlight is a DIFFERENT part and
can be sourced through the dealer or make yourself. if the wiring that
is damaged in INTERNAL you may still be able to fabricate them yourself.

bbirdwell

+1. This is what I did with my W210 headlight harness internal to the headlight assembly. Leave at least an inch of the old harness attached to the connectors, replace the cut out portions of the old wires with new wiring using crimp/solder connections and shrink tubing.

Wire can get expensive fast but you can purchase a trailer wiring harness; 100' of wire for $14. Use different colors of shrink tubing to differentiate wires as needed.

paige320

So you're saying I could just get this:
http://www.partsgeek.com/gbproducts/...ad=47433948732

and just replace the wiring instead of ordering the whole assembly?

raymond g-

i've not seen the damage or photos that you and your mechanic saw
firsthand. so I'm not willing to go as far as to suggest what parts you
should purchase...merely to offer considerations for you to weigh

tbrumbeloe13

I had this problem earlier this year. The wiring was burnt, and I was hoping I could just replace the wiring harness. My mechanic said my best bet was to replace the whole headlight assembly. (The headlights were fogged over anyway, but I was not looking to replace them at the time.) I bought the wiring harnesses and tried to replace them myself until I realized why he said that. In order to change them, you basically had to take off the front bumper to get to a spot in the corners. Since I was going to have to do that, I went ahead and replaced the entire assembly. My mechanic recommended these and said that they are the same quality if not better than the OEM. Found a good deal on amazon (includes both sides)

paige320

My mechanic had suggested getting the entire assembly too. Thank you for that link!! How easy were they to install? Do you have any pictures of your e320 with them installed? Thanks!

Also, are bulbs included?

Edit: Are these instructions correct: http://www.mercedesmedic.com/diy-w21...faq-1996-2002/ if not, do you know of any videos/instructions that are better? These were the only instructions I could find that cover the 1998 model.

raymond g-

for your consideration:

the OP has a 1998 E320. it does NOT require the bumper to be touched
in order to remove the headlight....which is only about a 10-15 minute
procedure per headlight

the OP also has the option of buying the outer plastic lens separately
if he chooses not to polish his oxidized and pitted lens for much less
than the price of a complete headlight. this outer lens is not available
for purchase for the 00-02 headlight models

the DEPO projector headlight design is NOT even close to the even
headlight beam spread of the OE Hella brand supplied by MB. I've
owned a couple of Depo and can testify as to the poorer quality of
the Depo projector design. in fact, it was so disappointing after
installation that within 15 mins of using them and trying brighter
and different bulb hue/color designs in hopes of improvement, I
made the decision to retrofit them.....

I pulled out the Depo inner projector and tossed it in the trash. in
its place I installed the bixenon projector from the MB E55.

the Depo unit from the Amazon link above will not fit the 1996-99
E320 models and is sold for 00-02 so proceed carefully

suggested readings...

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...emon-eyes.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...eadlights.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...tor-retro.html

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w210...cal-order.html
....and scroll down to "Light..headlight"

paige320

I don't want to turn it into a project, just want to replace the headlights once and be done with it. I found the same lights tbrumbeloe13 linked for my 1998 on amazon and they have a 4.1 out of 5 stars rating. Also, the lights I have now are fogged/oxidized over, with both the inner small lights out so I'm used to having pretty dim lighting anyways lol. But thank you for the suggestion. @tbrumbeloe13, what has your experience been with these headlights at night?

I did find these with xenon projectors, are they any good? http://www.protuninglab.com/hid-pro-...d=140850936778

raymond g-

sorry, i'm not suggesting that you retrofit your headlight. i am, however,
suggesting that if good, even lighting is important to you, that you
consider your options with care. the links should also have photos
showing the Depo beam pattern projected in front of the car and you
can see it is segmented and has hot/cold spots.

a projector based headlight does not inherently have a better light
than a reflector headlight if the combined system isn't properly tuned
through product development. Depo is an Asian based aftermarket
manufacturer of auto parts...whose raison d'etre is to undercut the
prices of the OEM. this means you replicate the easy stuff as cheaply
as possible....thinner gauge metal, less robust reinforcements, and
looser tolerances is de rigueur along with lower wages.

the issue of optics and lighting may be important to some people
who drive in rural areas where street lighting is poor.

my firsthand experience with my 3 year old Depos do not support the
Amazon review claims. when you take a Hella or Bosch designed
headlight and compare them with a Depo, the difference in quality
is very apparent. in addition, you can't do much to improve lighting
much when using the same light source (H7 halogen bulb)

paige320

Okay, I will definitely take that into consideration! Thanks so much for the info