Figure out which one is the neg/pos on the ballast, usually black wire is neg anything red is pos. but it's a benz they might do things different.

Jump 12v straight onto the connector of the ballast and make sure u don't short the wires. If the bulb lights up then your ballast is good. Also you can try to listen to it. Have someone in the car to turn the light switch for you. You should be able to hear the ballast "flicker".

OEM benz ballast can be expensive at the stealer but check ebay for them, usually when folks sell headlights they take the ballast out and sell them seperately but ANY ballast with a d2s will work, the base of the bulbs are all the same but to have it fit in the OEM position and the OEM connector will need modification.

Here's a bunch, take your pick

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=mer....c0.m270.l1313

 

I finally got around to taking some pictures (year and a half later... cos i got sucked into posting for another thread) and thought i'd add them to this thread

I did a lot of research at the time and went through some bad eBay kits and just ended up shelling out for a premium H7 kit with a company xenonsupply with their supposed "premium" canbus ballasts. didn't buy into the hype at first but no problems yet, we'll see... (as for the blue parking lamp LEDs, I originally ordered 8000K off of the ebay kits and changed to 6000K later)

 

How do you know which wire is positive or negative? In the housing sockets, there is one with 2 wires leading to it and one with 1 wire leading to it. So does the blk wire go in the 1 with 2 wires and the red with one? Thanks

 

Awesome DIY! Used it install my new head lights. thanks!

 

Did you install the kit with the ballasts attached to eachother? I would warn against this contrary to the OP. EMI will also affect your ballasts. Try separating and see how it goes. I got error messages on an old ford fusion i had because i had the ballasts attached to eachother.

 

I just did my install this past saturday, and man was it a pain. I went with a DDMTuning 35w H7 PNP kit with their error eliminators. $59 bucks and it's great quality, I went with 4500k. The way the stuff gets connected is:

bulb --> two wires to error eliminator (weatherpack connectors)
|
|--> two wires to factory H7 connector (blade connectors)

Ballast --> one wire to error eliminator (weatherpack connector)

Error eliminator --> two wires to bulb (weatherpack connectors)


Overall map: Ballast --> error eliminator --> bulb --> factory connector

To install them, I didn't go up from underneath like the OP did, so that made it significantly more difficult since there's not much room. To remove the coolant reservoir to give yourself some room, remove the screw, pop the clip out and then pull with a bit of force upward. This will pop it out of the rubber grommets in the bracket. Make sure you don't lose these as the reservoir will rattle if they're not there.

The hardest part was getting the bulbs in. First, after removing the bulbs, I noticed that instead of traditional H7 spring clips, these bulbs had a little basket with two tabs that slide into hooks on the housing. Unfortunately that meant I had to go out and buy a dremel set (needed one anyway I suppose) and put a cut in the basket to pass the wires through (they're stainless spring steel aka nothing will cut but a cutoff wheel). This was great, but it now allowed the basket to flex when turning into the tabs so I had to hold and pinch it a certain way. Eventually I got them in though and it was a snap from there.

I had to drill a couple holes and dremel them out in the dust cap to pass the wires through, but used the rubber grommet that came on the bulb to fill it so nothing would get in. Hole had to be about 7/8" around to fit the connectors through and so that the grommet would hold in place. I ziptied the ballasts to the radiator core support, and then put the error eliminators hanging down below them (wires were short and stiff so they won't move. Yes that's what she said :P).

The actual connection to the factory harness was via two wires (pos and neg) with blade connectors. Red pos on HID kit goes to Yellow pos on connector, black neg on HID kit goes to brown neg on connector (in general, lighter colors = positive, darker = negative in case you ever get lost). I put the blades into the connector, tested operation, taped it all up nice nice so no dust or crap would get into the connector, then stuffed these into the housing below where the bulb gets inserted (this is where the connector comes up through anyway).

Initial impression: Holy ****. I haven't done the fogs or DRL's yet, nor have I investigated brighter high beams, but I might not need them. The pattern on the factory halogen projectors is really impressive. The 4500k kit from DDM is a bit more blue than I remember, but it looks factory and really really good. The output is awesome, and just as advertised not a single error on the dash. The cutoff line is also really impressive for halogen projectors, I think I'm going to go a bit higher on the passenger side though as it seems a bit low right now. Here's what my cutoff looks like:



I purchased the H11 kit for the fogs and I can't wait to get them installed to even it all out. I just ran out of time to do it on Saturday. I'm going to be getting LED city lights also, and I'm going to have to find a closely matched halogen for the highs as I don't want to go with HIDs in those, though I doubt I'll ever really need the extra light.

 

Just did the fog install, piece of cake compared to the headlights but many hear things burn hot in that housing. Anyone with hid fogs ever have issues when it rains etc with the heat on the lenses?

 

Is there a DIY available for 2007-2009 W211's without having to jack the car up? I don't have a jack or any jack stands...

thanks,

 

See below. No pictures, but you can get the general idea. I did my headlight install from the top side, fogs from underneath all without lifting the car at all.

 

I had my HID fog light installed last winter, but never get the left side to work since installed and have gone through 3 canbus ballast and 1 hight quality ballast and 2 bulbs.
On the other hand the right side works fine from day 1 and never have problem.

Here is the problem.

The left side starts to flicker and error message shows up on the dash as soon as i turn on low beam and pull swith to turn on the fog light by swith the exterior lamp switch to position 6 (low beam on) and pull once for front fog light.

here is the part that don't get it

If i have the exterior lamp switch set to auto.
when I press the remote to unlock the door, the fog light will work fine for 45 second and the door will automatically lock if the door is not open.
The fog light goes out with out flickering and no error message.
I can do this 2-3 times the fog light is just working fine.

So far i can only use this HID fog light on auto mode only.

Any suggestion would greatly appreciated.

 

This happened to me and I fixed it by adding a relay with resistors. HOWEVER, approx one year later (3wks ago) I began getting the same symptoms as SmartBabo. What I did to fix it was went on ebay and purchased 2 plug and play capacitors. Go on there and search for (HID Bulbs Out Warning Light Canceller / Capacitor BMW Mercedes) The guys I got it from were based out of Brookyln, NY.
FYI I even eliminated the use of the relay and it all works perfectly. Even got 2 more later for my HID fogs.
Good luck, though I know you won't need it. These will work.

 

I called the store in NY (ebay store) about the Warning light canceller / capacitor BMW Mercedes and was told that canbus ballast that i use does not need the canceller. it should already be built in.

 

Hmm. Ok well I have purchased several kits from a store on ebay.
Search:
06 07 08 09 Mercedes-Benz E-Class HID Xenon Slim Kit H7

The pic will say Tempest Direct on it but the store name is Bestxenonhid.

I'm not trying to push any seller on you, just saying whats worked for me.
These guys have great customer service and I have their products in 3 of my cars + 2 of a friend's car. 2 of them being my e320 and a 740i. Anyway, MY POINT is IF you don't have a relay or resistors (probably the route you have to go), give these guys a call. The techs name is Manny. Contact them to get additional feedback if you can't find any solutions on these forums. Looks like their in your neck of the woods too.
Sorry but this is all I have for you bud. Manny will steer you in the right direction. Good Luck

Cheers

 

here
http://www.ebay.com/itm/06-07-08-09-...ht_6211wt_1105

 

Thanks SuperCarver for the suggestion,

I’ll either try new kit from DDM as jcat did since the price is not that expensive or canbus c6 as you suggested on my next oil change in couple months.

 

great write up, i just did my headlights about 2 weeks ago and I bought a "slim balast" kit with error cancelers...basically another little box. I got them on amazon for $99 at 4300k...they are working great, were easy to install (plug and play) minus needing to drill a hole in each dust cover of the headlights for the wires to go to the balast from the headlight and needing to cut the wires going into the new bulb between the connectors and bulb so I could be able to slide the stock metal bracket around the bulb.
Anyways it is easy and you might not even need to get the capacitors if you get certain types of kits... here is the one i got

 

If you can get this to work on your car and jcat also get DDM kit to work on his. It looks like the kit that i got is not working for my car even though it said CAN-BUS.
In fact the box that i got it looks exactly the same as the one you got from amazon except the ballasts and there is no error cancelers

 

I doubt any manufacturer of cheaper HID kits is actually using can-bus electronics. Hell a pair of Can-Bus festoon bulbs for your plate lights are anywhere $6-$10 depending on supplier, and that's just a few LEDs!

The DDM kit has been on my car for a few months now with no issues. Only thing is the fog lenses get pretty hot, I try not to use them in the rain to avoid cracking them due to cold water on the hot lens, though I believe the glass is thick enough that this wont happen.

 

Why do you think the fog lights get hot? Did you go with the 35w or 55w system for your fogs -- you went with the 35w for your low-beams, right?

DDM doesn't specifically call out any HiD kits for our eClass, only the w203.

I was planning to get two (2) of these, http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DD...ast-35W-or-55W, both in 35W. 1-ea H7 (low-beam) and 1-ea H11 (fogs) in either the 5000k or 6000k -- haven't decided yet. I think my LED city lights from AZN Optics are 5000k white if so, i'll match.

Did you/do we need to order anything else such as the error code eliminator -- http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/Er...minator-3-PAIR, and, I am confused by the listing. The error code eliminators is $15 for 3-pairs. Do I need a pair per light (meaning 8 total) or will I have 1-pair (2-ea) leftover since I am only swapping 4-lights? Make sense?

Thanks,

 

the fogs get hot because it's a small housing with no vent and a glass lens. I bought 35w 4500K kits for both. You WILL need the error eliminators for it to work properly, not throw a code and not flicker. You need one pair of error eliminators (they're type 3, not 3 pairs) per HID kit. Just add it when you're adding the kit to your basket with the drop-down for error eliminators.

 

Thanks for the reply. I just looked at the link again and actually read the product description, it includes a pair for $15 so it looks like $110 for everything ($40-ea slim kits x 2 and $15-ea error kits x 2).

The description says: Error Code Eliminator - 3 (PAIR), I quickly took it as 3-pairs. Thats what you get for skimming on your iPhone.

 

Group,

This is my first post for my new love of MB vehicles.

My wife's '04 E320 wagon's headlamps have cataracts. The car is equipped with halogen headlamps not HID's. Nor does the car have dynamic headlamps that vary aim with steering.

I would be interested in upgrading to HID's. In looking at available features, I would like to add the dynamic headlamps but I am not clear on whether I would also have to add an ECU to control this feature or are the dynamic headlamps "plug-n-play". I am seriously doubting that is the situation.

I am also very interested, more so than in HID, to add euro code left-hand drive headlamps. Has anyone looked into this?

Thanks for the help.

John

 

This may be off the topic but I have an 05 E500 that I bought used about 6 months ago. I noticed the first night that the power would surge. This caused all of my lights to flicker, fan motor to pulse and car would seem to run rough at idle. The batteries tested okay.... Aux was all but dead and the main battery seemed fine. They were both original, so I replaced them per the recommendation of the dealership (although I didn't buy them there.... AGM at AutoZone made by Johnson Controls (same as MB's)). I thought that would solve the problem but knew that it may be my voltage regulator..... again, since it could be a dead spot in my alternator and it's almost 8 yrs old, I decided to change the whole unit for approx $150 more than just the regulalator ($200...Napa Auto Parts). Boom.... my problem is fixed and no more power surge/lights flickering. My guess is that it was just the Voltage Regulator..... if you turn the key to the first position, menu over until you see your speedo, then press the reset button on the left of the dash 3 times, you can see the voltage coming back through.... mine was extremely jumpy... from 13.8 - 14.8 and all over the board. Now...... 14 - 14.1 steady and no surging!!!!

Good luck...hope this helps

 

completely OT but some good info here. Might I suggest you pick one of the 1226386192307102460 threads about the red battery message and share your experience.

 

IIRC, to put dynamic headlamps on a car that didn't come stock, you'll need to swap the entire HID/Dynamic headlamp AND wiring harness (with motors/controllers etc.). E-codes will be nearly impossible and EXTREMELY expensive to come by. IMO, not worth it.

See my post above. For about $130 including shipping, you can have HID headlamps AND fog lamps. I have a suspicion that the lenses used on the Xenon headlamps and Halogen headlamps are damn near identical, shrouds and all. They do an excellent job of cutting off the glare from the extra light. DDMTuning.com is where I got my stuff. Make sure to get the error eliminators, I've had mine in for months now without a single flicker and they're running perfectly.