Bi Xenon Alternative Install Detail
03-04-2009, 06:21 PM
#1
Bi Xenon Alternative Install Detail
Just wanted to post on this forum and say thank you to yacht master for the incredible write up for the bi-xenon headlight install.
Here is his write up
Capacitor Install
I have another option that's in between installing the factory bi-xenon headlamps and the "rebased" h7 hid kits into the halogen headlights (which I had already tried). I didn't want to spend over 1k for the factory headlamps so I found a different way that's about a third the cost (if bought from ebay).
Basically you take either the factory bi-xenon projectors (not the complete headlamp just the projector inside) and bolt them into the factory halogen headlamps. If any of you wired your "rebased" h7 hid kits with the capacitor (Link above) already than you are halfway there.
After I installed my h7 rebased kit I was not impressed with the light output the stock halogen projectors were emitting. If I was parked to any factory xenon car theirs were always brighter. And yes this was the ebay kit (take your pick of any $100 kit). Not to mention that the factory halogen projectors emit extra light at the top of the glass on the projector to illuminate street signs. When you put 3 times the light into the stock halogen projector with the xenon kit you get way too much glare for oncoming drivers. Now some people may not care about the extra light blinding other drivers but it bugs the c**p out of me when other people do this.
The process to do this is pretty easy imo. Basically you find either audi bi-xenon projectors or mercedes e55 projectors (not active xenon where light moves when you turn corners). The ones I have are audi's. The audi bolt pattern is slightly different than the factory halogen projectors but only by two holes. There are only 4 small screws holding the projector inside the headlight. That's it. The bottom two holes are identical but the top two are not. But it bolts to a plastic housing inside the headlight. Two small self tapping screws later and done. The projector was in. In fact on ebay right now there are e55 projectors that will fit the halogen housings perfectly. The funny thing is the halogen housing is exactly the same as the xenon. In fact when you look on the bottom of the haogen housing there are the screw bosses where the ballasts mount to and also the holes where all the wiring goes through.
Numbered Steps:
1. Buy just the D2S (bulb type) bi-xenon projectors off ebay (or anywhere of your choosing). You can run either audi (mine were off of an A6) or e class (e55). I only remommend these two as I am not sure what else will fit.
2. Buy HID kit for d2s bulb type. Can be philips ballasts or any of your choosing as long as they are d2s compatible. I had philips as they supply most of the high end car manufacturers. There are some sellers on ebay selling the audi projectors and bulbs and ballasts as one kit.
3. Bumper removal. Just follow the link at the top of this page. It's not that hard as I did it by myself. Yacht master did an awesome job and his instruction is exact.
4. Take headlights off (also follow yacht master's instruction). Now here is the tricky part but not hard at all. You have to take the clear lens of the headlight off. The trick is to take the bulbs out of the headlight. Remove the rubber surrounding the headlight "circles" and then take off the silver clips. Preheat your kitchen oven to 150 degrees. Put the complete headlight into the oven and bake for 8 minutes. This softens the silicone and alows you to pry the clear lens from the black housing. When you are prying the lens off I would recommend having an exacto knife to cut through the silicone as it makes it easier to take the clear lens off. Also be careful not to get any of the silicone on the chrome housing.
5. Once you have the clear lens off try not to get too many fingerprints on the chrome as the chrome scratches very easily. Grab the round chrome ring that is on the glass projector housing and just pull off. You might have to wiggle back and forth but it just slides off.
6. Look inside the headlight (where headlight bulb inserts) and you will see the 4 t-20 torx screws holding the projector to the inside of the housing. Simply remove the 4 screws and the projector will pull out of the housing.
7. Take the new bi xenon projector and install it into the housing. If you are using the audi projector you will need slightly longer screws as the projector has a thicker flange than the stock halogen projector.
8. Install the chrome ring onto the round glass portion on the front of the projector (the one you removed in step 5). Make sure you put it on correctly. The flat portion goes towards the top.
9. Now you can put the clear lens back onto the headlight. What I did was put the lens back on with all the metal mounting tabs and then put it back into the oven for 8 minutes to soften the silicone again. Once it's done just gently squish the clear lens into the black housing and it's sealed again. No need to add any extra silicone as there was a ton on mine.
10. Now all that's left is wiring up the ballasts. On mine I mounted the philips ballast to the bottom of the headlight just like the factory. I also did the capacitor trick (it's in the w211 forum under hid sticky). The wiring is the same as installing an aftermarket "rebased" kit. For the bi xenon portion (getting the xenon high beams to work) I simply tapped into the factory high beam wiring (made it look factory too) to turn the solenoids on when hitting the high beams. It doesn't draw that much current so it will not throw any bulb error codes. At least on mine it doesn't. Now when I switch on the high beams I have the bi-xenon high beams and the factory 55 watt high beams. Let's just say "let there be light". It is extremely bright.
11. Now just reverse the steps for mounting the headlights and the bumper. Just make sure and double check the lights before re-installing.
I get no error codes and did not have to visit the dealership for the xenon present switch.
Now I am copletely satisfied with the result. I think the hella brand audi xenon projectors are a little brighter than the factory mercedes IMO. The cutoff for the lights is dot approved as they came out of audi. I didn't even have to readjust mine as the beam and aim was perfect.
Total time involved is around 4 hours and that was doing it by myself.
Here are the audi projectors that I am using. Click here.
And here is the stock e55 projector. Click here.
Here is his write up
Capacitor Install
I have another option that's in between installing the factory bi-xenon headlamps and the "rebased" h7 hid kits into the halogen headlights (which I had already tried). I didn't want to spend over 1k for the factory headlamps so I found a different way that's about a third the cost (if bought from ebay).
Basically you take either the factory bi-xenon projectors (not the complete headlamp just the projector inside) and bolt them into the factory halogen headlamps. If any of you wired your "rebased" h7 hid kits with the capacitor (Link above) already than you are halfway there.
After I installed my h7 rebased kit I was not impressed with the light output the stock halogen projectors were emitting. If I was parked to any factory xenon car theirs were always brighter. And yes this was the ebay kit (take your pick of any $100 kit). Not to mention that the factory halogen projectors emit extra light at the top of the glass on the projector to illuminate street signs. When you put 3 times the light into the stock halogen projector with the xenon kit you get way too much glare for oncoming drivers. Now some people may not care about the extra light blinding other drivers but it bugs the c**p out of me when other people do this.
The process to do this is pretty easy imo. Basically you find either audi bi-xenon projectors or mercedes e55 projectors (not active xenon where light moves when you turn corners). The ones I have are audi's. The audi bolt pattern is slightly different than the factory halogen projectors but only by two holes. There are only 4 small screws holding the projector inside the headlight. That's it. The bottom two holes are identical but the top two are not. But it bolts to a plastic housing inside the headlight. Two small self tapping screws later and done. The projector was in. In fact on ebay right now there are e55 projectors that will fit the halogen housings perfectly. The funny thing is the halogen housing is exactly the same as the xenon. In fact when you look on the bottom of the haogen housing there are the screw bosses where the ballasts mount to and also the holes where all the wiring goes through.
Numbered Steps:
1. Buy just the D2S (bulb type) bi-xenon projectors off ebay (or anywhere of your choosing). You can run either audi (mine were off of an A6) or e class (e55). I only remommend these two as I am not sure what else will fit.
2. Buy HID kit for d2s bulb type. Can be philips ballasts or any of your choosing as long as they are d2s compatible. I had philips as they supply most of the high end car manufacturers. There are some sellers on ebay selling the audi projectors and bulbs and ballasts as one kit.
3. Bumper removal. Just follow the link at the top of this page. It's not that hard as I did it by myself. Yacht master did an awesome job and his instruction is exact.
4. Take headlights off (also follow yacht master's instruction). Now here is the tricky part but not hard at all. You have to take the clear lens of the headlight off. The trick is to take the bulbs out of the headlight. Remove the rubber surrounding the headlight "circles" and then take off the silver clips. Preheat your kitchen oven to 150 degrees. Put the complete headlight into the oven and bake for 8 minutes. This softens the silicone and alows you to pry the clear lens from the black housing. When you are prying the lens off I would recommend having an exacto knife to cut through the silicone as it makes it easier to take the clear lens off. Also be careful not to get any of the silicone on the chrome housing.
5. Once you have the clear lens off try not to get too many fingerprints on the chrome as the chrome scratches very easily. Grab the round chrome ring that is on the glass projector housing and just pull off. You might have to wiggle back and forth but it just slides off.
6. Look inside the headlight (where headlight bulb inserts) and you will see the 4 t-20 torx screws holding the projector to the inside of the housing. Simply remove the 4 screws and the projector will pull out of the housing.
7. Take the new bi xenon projector and install it into the housing. If you are using the audi projector you will need slightly longer screws as the projector has a thicker flange than the stock halogen projector.
8. Install the chrome ring onto the round glass portion on the front of the projector (the one you removed in step 5). Make sure you put it on correctly. The flat portion goes towards the top.
9. Now you can put the clear lens back onto the headlight. What I did was put the lens back on with all the metal mounting tabs and then put it back into the oven for 8 minutes to soften the silicone again. Once it's done just gently squish the clear lens into the black housing and it's sealed again. No need to add any extra silicone as there was a ton on mine.
10. Now all that's left is wiring up the ballasts. On mine I mounted the philips ballast to the bottom of the headlight just like the factory. I also did the capacitor trick (it's in the w211 forum under hid sticky). The wiring is the same as installing an aftermarket "rebased" kit. For the bi xenon portion (getting the xenon high beams to work) I simply tapped into the factory high beam wiring (made it look factory too) to turn the solenoids on when hitting the high beams. It doesn't draw that much current so it will not throw any bulb error codes. At least on mine it doesn't. Now when I switch on the high beams I have the bi-xenon high beams and the factory 55 watt high beams. Let's just say "let there be light". It is extremely bright.
11. Now just reverse the steps for mounting the headlights and the bumper. Just make sure and double check the lights before re-installing.
I get no error codes and did not have to visit the dealership for the xenon present switch.
Now I am copletely satisfied with the result. I think the hella brand audi xenon projectors are a little brighter than the factory mercedes IMO. The cutoff for the lights is dot approved as they came out of audi. I didn't even have to readjust mine as the beam and aim was perfect.
Total time involved is around 4 hours and that was doing it by myself.
Here are the audi projectors that I am using. Click here.
And here is the stock e55 projector. Click here.
Last edited by timannnn; 03-04-2009 at 06:41 PM.
05-24-2009, 01:54 PM
#3
Member
Thanks for sharing
Nice work and write up!
Question: Can the aiming be adjusted mechanically? I understand that the auto-leveling feature will defeat any mechanical adjustment without S/D...?
Question: Can the aiming be adjusted mechanically? I understand that the auto-leveling feature will defeat any mechanical adjustment without S/D...?
05-24-2009, 02:59 PM
#5
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2009 SL550 Roadster Diamond White, 2008 CLK550 Coupe Obsidian Black
Very informative. It always amazes me the inguinity of the people on this web site. You guys give Benz drivers a good name. A+ my friend 
06-19-2009, 06:16 PM
#7
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2007 E350 Sport
I am in the market for a E, looking at the 07's with sport package. I am reading a lot about the cars in general, but it looks like they don't have HID's correct? Just regular Halogens and projectors... Is that right? Or am I missing something? Can you get an upgrade to HID's somewhere aftermarket?
