E-Class (W211) 2003-2009

HID Kit Problem Please help

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Old 07-31-2006, 10:03 PM
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HID Kit Problem Please help

Hi,
I had recently purchased a BiXenon HID kit from a member on the mbworld.org forum. He was highly recommend by several people so I went ahead and purchased them from him. Well I got them at the time I expected and was pleased on the delivery and went ahead with the installation.

Well problems started. First I had intermitent sessions were 1 headlight would turn on before the other one. I contacted the seller and no luck with help. Then later on, the headlights would have a delay on turning on about 20-30 seconds before they would come on. Of course I had to sit in the parking lot and waited till they turned on before driving. I contacted the seller again and all he could tell me is that he tested them out on his vehicle and they worked fine before shipping them to me. Of course no help from him again. Well most recently, the problem has been that they will turn on for a split second, turn off and at least a minute goes by before they would come back on again. Now im getting frustrated with the lights. I went back and doubled checked all the wiring, and all look good, ballasts power all test out fine, solders are all good. No clue.

Now tonite it decided that the passenger side one flickers on and off every 15 seconds or so but the driver side stays on.

Im really upset. I spent XXXXX on the kit making sure I would have no problems at all with it and the seller said I would have no problems because the ballast came out of a C-class and no errors will occur.

Has anyone had this kind of experience and anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any help.
Old 08-01-2006, 08:49 AM
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'06 E500, '99 ML430 and '07 SL65
Take off the kit and return it. Why try to fix something that is already brooken? If the seller doesn't give you a refund then you can start by revealing his name on the board, go the Better Business bureau route and possibly make a fileing at the small claims court.

If I were you I wouldn't spend another minute trying to fix it. I am assumeing that he told you that the HID kit would work on your model car?
Old 08-01-2006, 08:50 AM
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Originally Posted by mbzw211
Has anyone had this kind of experience and anyone have any suggestions?
You never stated how long the previous owner had the lighting system.If it were me I would start with replacing the lamps.
Old 08-01-2006, 09:03 PM
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I have tried to return it to him but he will only take back the ballasts and not the bulbs.

He "says" he had to buy the bulbs and that wasnt part of the kit.

Honestly I mean i dont think its worth the time or the hassle of small claims court but Im just looking for some kinda of resolution.
Old 08-02-2006, 02:09 AM
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Before this escalates into a he-said-she-said argument, I will come straight out and say the seller was me

Let me give you a run down of the sequence of events:

- Buyer approaches me to see if I have any HID kits. Keep in mind that I did not advertise my merchandise or approach him.
- I respond with "I ONLY HAVE EXTRA BALLASTS, I DO NOT HAVE BULBS".
- Buyer "ASKS ME" to get bulbs for him so he doesn't have to go get them himself.
- I go out of my way to get him bulbs quickly and ship it out to him quickly. I tested the unit on my Benz and on a portable 12V battery and everything lit up right away, no delay, no light out error on cluster. My Benz was not originally equipped with HID either and everything tested out perfectly
- Buyer receives package and pretty much says "There's not much room behind the lights, I don't know how to install it, I want a refund."
- I go out of my way to find him directions on how to remove the bumper and provide him with installation instructions and advice
- Buyer contacts me some time (weeks?) later that there is slight delay in lighting up.
- I offered him several scenarios where the install may have gone wrong (poor wire contact, loose bulb, etc...).
- I offer a refund to buyer but buyer declines stating he doesn't want to take the time to take it out.
- Months later, Buyer comes back and says symptons reocurring
- I help him trouble shoot some more.
- Last week (3 months after purchase) Buyer says abnormal behavior continues
- I offer a refund again, but buyer again says, I don't want to spend the effort taking out the kit cause its a hassle.

During both times, my refund proposal is that I will refund the amount for the BALLASTS only. WHY? Because...
1.) I didn't list them for sale to anyone
2.) He approached me asking for a kit
3.) I told him "I ONLY HAVE THE BALLASTS" for sale, no bulbs available
4.) He ASKED ME to HELP HIM BUY THE BULBS because he didn't know where to get them and just wanted 1-stop-shopping
5.) Being nice, I DID HIM A FAVOR in ordering a set of bulbs FOR HIM from a local tuner shop!!!
6.) So why should I get stuck with bulbs when I was NEVER selling bulbs? I specifically went out of my way to order it for HIM.
7.) Most recently, instead of prolonging this ordeal any longer I said, if you want a refund, send it back to me within 1wk and I'll give you the money back. I told him, if I don't receive anything, I would assume you don't wish to return it. I received no intent of return nor any items returned...

Tuner shops DO NOT allow refunds on light bulbs, ESPECIALLY not after 3 months.

So, I'm left with... well, what can I do? He doesn't want to take it out and he won't agree to my refund...

So, thats my side of the story. If a long time veteran of MBWorld with many successful transactions with many others here is gonna get judged against a Newbie who is being unreasonable, then be it... judge away
Old 08-02-2006, 02:38 AM
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You probably need the dealer or someone like mbenznl to program your car via star diagnose; set it to xenon present. The voltage difference between the xenon/HID kit and factory halogens is probably causing the on/off flicker and delay. Try searching the forums as this has been covered before.
Old 08-02-2006, 08:04 AM
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mmgrad.....you're a stand-up guy!.
Old 08-21-2006, 02:00 PM
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Originally Posted by mmgrad
Before this escalates into a he-said-she-said argument, I will come straight out and say the seller was me

Let me give you a run down of the sequence of events:

- Buyer approaches me to see if I have any HID kits. Keep in mind that I did not advertise my merchandise or approach him.
- I respond with "I ONLY HAVE EXTRA BALLASTS, I DO NOT HAVE BULBS".
- Buyer "ASKS ME" to get bulbs for him so he doesn't have to go get them himself.
- I go out of my way to get him bulbs quickly and ship it out to him quickly. I tested the unit on my Benz and on a portable 12V battery and everything lit up right away, no delay, no light out error on cluster. My Benz was not originally equipped with HID either and everything tested out perfectly
- Buyer receives package and pretty much says "There's not much room behind the lights, I don't know how to install it, I want a refund."
- I go out of my way to find him directions on how to remove the bumper and provide him with installation instructions and advice
- Buyer contacts me some time (weeks?) later that there is slight delay in lighting up.
- I offered him several scenarios where the install may have gone wrong (poor wire contact, loose bulb, etc...).
- I offer a refund to buyer but buyer declines stating he doesn't want to take the time to take it out.
- Months later, Buyer comes back and says symptons reocurring
- I help him trouble shoot some more.
- Last week (3 months after purchase) Buyer says abnormal behavior continues
- I offer a refund again, but buyer again says, I don't want to spend the effort taking out the kit cause its a hassle.

During both times, my refund proposal is that I will refund the amount for the BALLASTS only. WHY? Because...
1.) I didn't list them for sale to anyone
2.) He approached me asking for a kit
3.) I told him "I ONLY HAVE THE BALLASTS" for sale, no bulbs available
4.) He ASKED ME to HELP HIM BUY THE BULBS because he didn't know where to get them and just wanted 1-stop-shopping
5.) Being nice, I DID HIM A FAVOR in ordering a set of bulbs FOR HIM from a local tuner shop!!!
6.) So why should I get stuck with bulbs when I was NEVER selling bulbs? I specifically went out of my way to order it for HIM.
7.) Most recently, instead of prolonging this ordeal any longer I said, if you want a refund, send it back to me within 1wk and I'll give you the money back. I told him, if I don't receive anything, I would assume you don't wish to return it. I received no intent of return nor any items returned...

Tuner shops DO NOT allow refunds on light bulbs, ESPECIALLY not after 3 months.

So, I'm left with... well, what can I do? He doesn't want to take it out and he won't agree to my refund...

So, thats my side of the story. If a long time veteran of MBWorld with many successful transactions with many others here is gonna get judged against a Newbie who is being unreasonable, then be it... judge away


Hey Danny,

You have anything else to sell me that I can use for 3 months a then return it.

Seriously man, is this guy cuckoo?

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