Hi guys... I decided to change the footwell/ courtesy bulb from my 350 with led ones. Here is my question...before with incandecent ones when iI close the doors everything shot off. Now with the LED's when I close the door they just dimm a little, not compleat off...Theres something else that i need to do or that is the way that MB work,,,Is really bright inside with the doors open at night but when you want compleate darkness it won't.
I might need to go back to the filament ones....

 

Why did you change them? color? brightness?

 

This is linked to the ambient light settings. You can adjust that in the IC. Perhaps you did not notice this before but the footwells have slight illumination at night. This is a feature I really like actually. It helps set the mood for an evening out with someone special

You can turn it off completely if that's what you want from the ambient light settings menu.

PS: I really like the warm glow of incadesent lights... Almost like the light you get from a fireplace or candle. Are you sure this is an area you want to "improve" this aspect with LED lighting?

 

I recently replaced all OEM bulbs inside and outside with LED's on my E500 W211. They look great but I am having random but minor issues. Like when I open the door, the footwell lights come on for 5 seconds, then turn off for 3, then turn back on again. Also the courtesy lights under the doors stay on the whole time while driving. Wierd. Any tips?

 

Not to question anyone doing it but do the LED lights really look good at night? I thought the warm light of the existing lights is perfect at night...

 

I fully agree. My new E is full of LED's, and I think that the "LED Kewl Bloo Light" thing is really just that, when it comes to interior hues.

The warm glow is not only best suited for eyes (less eye strain), but it provides a nice, warm interior ambiance, whilst the LED's are much colder, yet look "cooler".

I'm still not sure as to whether the halogen reading lamps in my W211 allowed me to "read" better, or if the LED's in my W212 do. Brighter does not always mean better illuminated.

 

Agree. Especially if you are on a date, it is nicer to see her face in soft incandescent ambient lighting that is somewhat similar to the glow you get from candlelight. I don't think LEDs can deliver the same atmosphere... FWIW I think LEDs look good outside but I prefer warm colors inside the cabin, especially with the brown wood and cashmere interior.

 

OMG! I think I need a cigarette after that

 

 

Where do I find the ambient setting on an s430?

 

Do you know how to get to this setting on an s430?

 

if you change out the bulbs to leds they need to be error free or strange things occur like blinking and such. my lady really likes the led look over the oem halogen. I like how the footwell lights are more noticeable at night with the leds also.

 

So I just changed out the entire cabin with LEDs:


Found here: Excellent seller and went above and beyond for customer service. If you have a newer w211 let him know so he can adjust the LEDs..etc.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/281798777039...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


I wanted to test a couple things. With the normal incandescent bulbs in the foot well they would get bright when you opened the door, then dim down when the door was shut, but they were ALWAYS on... at night they were hardly visible being on mainly because they are incandescent. When trying to adjust the ambient light for interior cabin, the only thing that changed brightness was my driver side overhead map console. The interior leds that are in the door handles and below the overhead mirror don't dim/brighten as this setting is changed from 0-5.


I changed to LEDs in the foot well lighting because I can't stand the ugly yellow incandescent lighting. It antiquates the inside a lot to me. I went with pure white interior light and think it looks super sharp inside the cabin against the gray interior, along with the door puddle lights. With that being said with the LEDs they still product the same affect. When you open the door the foot well lighting gets bright, and then once the door is shut it dims down and then stays on. Since the LEDs are brighter you see the foot well lighting more now during the night but it's not as distracting as what I thought it was going to be. If I could lower the brightness a tad I probably would, but it's no more distracting than the gauge cluster or the orange light above in the dome light set to full brightness/ level 5.


The interior when the lights are on looks super nice now. Very classy and sharp with an updated look to it compared to the yellow bulbs. Opening the doors is the best because of the pure white puddle lights, very high end looking. I will snap some pictures this weekend when the car is finally done with everything that I have been doing to it. The biggest improvement to me is the door puddle lights with the LEDs, as when you open the door it actually illuminates the ground by quite a bit compared to the normal incandescent bulbs that didn't really illuminate the ground at all.


-Nigel

 

this is a classic problem when changing to LEDS these:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/22502097...154756-20017-0

and its history:
https://www.slkworld.com/threads/pro.../#post-4743484

 

Awesome!

I want to try these but I live in the states. Do you ship to the USA?
I noticed that the board you had made only has one diode, but the first unit you made had several. How does the single diode board compare to the unit you made with led light strips?

Thanks,
-Nigel

 

In the DIY project I used 2 diodes for brightness. The 3 color LEDs don't have a natural white LED, they do not light up as brightly as one properly made white LED. When I re-designed the circuit for production, I had high brightness white LEDs available so I used those instead. The redesigned circuit also has 2 LEDs on board, the big one is white and an amber one which is hard to see. The amber one is very small, its near the gnd side of the circuit.

regards
Bryan

 

Awesome thanks Bryan!

I see that now. I only saw the big white led. I can't wait to try these! I'm just slightly annoyed now for many years that even though I don't dislike the "white" it's on all the time, they do dim, but having to see my feet all the time is kinda annoying. I can't wait to see how yours is going to be amber at night which is really nice!

-Nigel