BIODESL

I have a 99 E300 with the standard Halogen headlights. I found a 99 E300 that has Xenon headlights that I can get pretty inexpensively.

Does anyone know if I can put these into my MB? If so what needs to be done?

I've read a number of related threads but nothing where someone has actually made the conversion. At least enough that I can get a good understanding of the task and if it's doable.

Thanks!

raymond g-

physically possible, relatively easy
you'll need to wire in for the high voltage ballast, but requires intermediate auto electrical knowledge
what you likely DIDN'T get is the whole system, including auto-leveling hardware which is linked to the suspension
what you probably DIDN'T get is the bumper headlight washer
what you may not know is that it is not a legal swap as your car did not come with HIDs (nor calibrated, washer, auto-level...) so you take your chances

in a nutshell, 12vdc goes into ballast input. high voltage output from ballast goes to headlight. should be fused

the D2R HID bulb is not as bright as the next gen, D2S bulbs used in w211s which are about 30% brighter and a projector based design.

you can try reading some of the threads under "Lights" and will require some extrapolation as most of the threads may be projector based

BIODESL

Thanks Raymond.

I actually did get anything yet, but I can get off the car what I need. I'm just tying to understand all that's involved to do the job. And curious to know if the wiring is there for it or how much I might have to do to get it working.
I did noticed in the donor is car there was Hella control module under the rear seat and in my car, no wiring exists for it. So is this something I need and then the questions is is it likely is that is a harness that would connect to the wiring in my car. For things like the auto-leveling from and rear, its it likely the wiring is there? Getting 12v to the lights sounds like it might be the easy part!

FlatlineEF9

Hi BIODESL. I did the swap on my car. Plug and play as far as the lights are concerned. As Raymond said, you don't get the level adjustment or headlamp washers but they work great and are way better than putting xenons in a stock housing. See my build thread regarding the lights.

ATL_E55

Can anyone chime in and tell if this fuse location seems right on my 2001 E55 harness with Xenons?

BIODESL

Thanks! I really enjoyed reading your post on your biuld, great stuff, beautiful ride. I think after checking your post I don't believe the lights im looking at are factory Xenons. I'll need to check them out again they don't look the same as yours.

raymond g-

definitely not OEM HIDs as MB didn't offer the projectors until their 211 models. so that owner likely
bought an Asian headlight and stuck in a rebased H7 with a D2S bulb inside.

raymond g-

ATL_E55 the only things I recognize clearly is the main headlight connector (oval shape) and the city light socket.
you're providing only a piece of a puzzle and asking for verification on the whole circuit of which not all the components
are shown. so I won't try to guess and would suggest that you use a web search engine on something like "HID wiring
schematic"

but my first thought is that I don't like to see your fuse location there because in my mind, I believe it should be on
the input let of the ballast.

BIODESL

Thanks again for the reply Raymond. I've been browsing and found your post on the headlight mod, if you were to do it again today would you do it the same? Have you any thoughts on the HID mod kits? In the end I just want some better headlights but would prefer not to cut up or drastically change the factory wiring etc. So I guess I'm looking for suggestions.

ATL_E55

That's what I am thinking... someone looks to have replaced/modified this in the past

ATL_E55

I googled many images and threads on this topic and i cannot find anyone else running a 5AMP fuse block the way it was connected in my harness that came with my car. I have the Xenon DS2r bulbs on the E55 factory ballast. There should be a 5amp fuse block somewhere else in the car to my knowledge. I don't see why a 5AMP fuse would be on my running/parking lights.

Nor do i see any other harnesses out there with a 5amp fuse going to ballast inside the headlamp assembly like someone else mentioned.

raymond g-

ATL_E55 - it should be made clear that having the fuse located there is not, in and of itself, flawed. it would be if it is the only
fuse installed as a result of the conversion. leave 5a in. won't hurt. but be sure to insert something like a 15-20a on the input
lead of the ballast. what fuse rating you use there should be done after doing the math...or recommendations from an experienced
electrician