Roop94

so i finally bought the E55 bi xenon projectors and morimoto xb35 hid elite kit, it arrived today.

Moving to the installing process, do i really have to bake the headlight to do this retrofit? Is there any other way around? I saw a video on youtube taking all the parts off without putting it into the oven. Baking the headlights in the oven just kinda scares me lol i might do something stupid and have the oven blow up or burn the headlights, on my way to $300 lol

and how long is the process to remove the front bumper?

Roop94

or can a heat gun be used?

NewShockerGuy

Nope. You should bake them. You can use a heat gun but then you run the risk of keeping the heat on an area too long and melting it or deforming it plus you will probably spend more time and effort doing it that way. It will without a doubt be more messier.

Baking the headlights is beyond easy and most importantly it's uniform heat. Turn your oven on. Preheat to around 200-220 F'. Put headlight on cookie sheet. I put a towel on the cookie sheet so the plastic isn't touching metal. Put it in the oven and let it bake for about 12-15 minutes. When you remove it you will need some type of mechanic's gloves as it will not be scalding hot but it will be hot enough to hurt your fingers/hands if you hold it too long.

You can *now pull the lense off the headlamp housing. I start at the top and slowly but quickly start pulling it apart. Be mindful that if the butyl sealant touches the chrome part it will remove it so make sure you are not haphazardly just pulling it apart and making a mess. Thing gum. On a hot day if you step in it, it will pull and string from the street to your shoe... same principle. You could even take scissors and cut it as it strings out so that way it's not getting anywhere. I normally use that method.


I've done every car we own with baking the headlights. Don't have the oven at above the temp as listed above, and don't walk away and forget they are in the oven. Set the timer, and keep checking on them. If it's hard to pull them apart, simply put them back in the oven at 3-5 minute increments.


Removing the bumper is super easy as well. Depending on your skill/tools it is all quite easy. There are several how to's here, and on youtube. First time I took the bumper off took me 45 minutes. Now I can get the front bumper off in about 20 minutes. Our cars are easy since everything is a bolt and not a stupid plastic clip like other cars that break off when you pull stuff apart.


-Nigel

CDIJeff

I used a heat gun but I made a box so that way the headlights were not getting direct heat gun heat. Watch Retrofitlab, they have a couple videos of them using a box with a heat gun. Also I bought replacement lenses so I didn't care if I broke the factory lenses, but I didn't came off really easy.

Here is a thread I made a while ago almost the same projectors you are using.
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...der-150-a.html

Also I used LEDS instead of HIDS since the headlights are now D2s.
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...projector.html

a100steaksauce

Yes you can use a heat gun. That is how mine were done.

Roop94

Ok that kinda makes sense. Because I was thinking to do all this at my friend's shop which is about 25 mins away from home. He has a heat gun but i guess the oven sounds easier but Idk if I'll be able to take down the bumper myself lol

So if i put em in oven, i better take off all the clips, nuts bolts possible? Of course unplug all the wires and stuff.

And would i need to get new butyl glue when i put the lenses back on? or the clips would do the work?



CDIJEFF,
yea i watched their video today. that Looked pretty simple too. I do have an access to a heat gun. I think i might give the heat gun a try on Friday and if it doesnt work, I'll just put em in the oven. I'm just tryna avoid the oven. Iknw it is a simple task but i might fk **** up lol

I couldve gone LED with that EVOX R projector, but that would cost me like 60-70 bucks more. Since I've bi-xenon projectors, i cant use LED right?

The HID kit wont be hard for me to install, it's the projector...the baking stuff.


any other ideas or suggestions/warnings, pls say em now lol I dont want to mess up and bring my expenses up more since I'm also buying new set of wheels for it maybe this weekend or next and springs.

Roop94

im guessing this was the video you were referring to right....they used a heat gun in a box

NewShockerGuy

Yep it's that easy to take them apart... even easier for you since you don't have the extra connections of the active curve..etc.


Don't use LEDs in the e55 projector. You will not get the optimum light output. Use factory Philips/Osram D2S bulbs and you'll be happy.


If you aren't overwhelmed with installing HIDS honestly baking the headlights and doing exactly what the video shows to dismantle the lights is on the scale of a 1-2 being hard (of 10 being extremely difficult). Don't sweat it. Post pics once you start.


-Nigel

Roop94

Im putting the projectors n tye headlights in rn. The pigtails on e55 projectors replaces the wires of the oem headlight, the yellow and red?

NewShockerGuy

Are you referring to the wires highlighted in the attached picture? If so, no. Those are for the bi-xenon shutter to drop when the high beams are activated. Those two wires you will tie into the high beam wires. They are not polarity sensitive so it doesn't matter which wire goes to the high beam wire and which goes to ground.

As far as rest of the wiring: Check out this thread. I went OEM method of cutting/soldering wires so that if anyone ever looks at the headlight there are zero other items that would make the retrofit appear that it was done afterwards. The other member used a wiring harness. Both work, both do 100% the same thing. I just prefer OEM looking factory stuff at times and didn't want to run extra wiring. Since I had everything apart and I'm fine with cutting/soldering wires it was not a big deal to me.

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...rojectors.html




-Nigel

new55

are there lens covers you van purchase for non face lift w211's ? any recomendations on vendor/brand ? thanks

Alps

just don't bake them too long or too hot!

overcooked one of mine and it melted the brackets lol!

Roop94

So does it matter if i split the wires from the projector into high beam plug? Does it makes any difference, in brightness or anything? Because i did attached an extension wire on those but didnt plug those into anything because i wasn't sure where they would go and with the extension added, i can easily plug em anywhere without any hassle.

And everything went smoothly. I used heat gun instead of oven. I'll take pictures of the light output and make a new thread this weekend, hopefully.


QUESTION....
can the cutoff shield be adjusted without taking the headlight out..including the messy bumper and opening of headlights with heat gun again? Because when i get new rims i will be lowering it from front at least, that will lower the beam cutoff.
Is there another way or would i have to struggle through the same process?

NewShockerGuy

What do you mean split the wires from the projector into the high beam plug? All you have to do is make sure that each projector's two wires (solenoid/shutter) are joined to the high beam wires. It's easier to do it internally since the wiring is there. When I get home I will upload the pin-out of the h1 plug so you know where ground is, but I believe the first pin is ground, then everything after is low/high/parking/turn signal (NOT in that order just as an example).


When you flick your high beam the signal to turn on your high beam (inner lights) will trigger the projector's solenoid thus dropping the cut off shield for as long as the high beams are on. If you let go of the highbeam switch the cut off shield loses the signal and raises back up to the default position.


There is no need to adjust the cutoff shield unless you want more color in the cut off. IE: More blue and purple in the color band.. this will affect light out put so honestly just leave it. If you are talking about adjusting the headlights so they focus more up after the car is lowered, that's easily done by the adjustment screw on the headlights. You should see it, believe it's a hex fitting. Simple clockwise/counter clockwise will adjust the up/down motion of the light. 30 second type adjustment when you are on level/flat ground. Zero need to remove headlights for up/down left/right adjustments.


-Nigel

Roop94

Oh i get it. So those wires on the projectors, if joined with the high beams, it will use the headlights as high beam without the cutoff but not the older/original high beam bulbs? If i do that then i won't need the other high beam bulbs? Since it will use the headlights...?

Yea the seller said the cutoff is factory set up so I didn't touch anything and just bolted it on. And yes, I was referring to have the light focused a little higher than it is right now without losing any light output. I don't want to compromise that nor i want to get messy again for 2-3 hours lol

Okay, that relieves some tension off my mind that I dont have to do another surgery on it. And i might have to take another look at the bumper fitting, I'm seeing slightly little more gap between the bumper and the hood after we put it back. Every little screw is in place, the brackets on sides in front of wheels are in place as well, nothing explains the gap, but it's very little noticeable tho.

NewShockerGuy

I think you're getting confused on a thing or two. Let me try and explain.


Currently as is with your stock headlights, you have your high beams on the inside and the low projector h7s out the outside. When you flick your high beams now the inside lights come on all while your low beam h7's still remain.


With what you are doing for a retrofit, you are removing the current h7 projectors and replacing with in (to keep it super simple) the same projector expect the project takes a D2S bulb instead of the H7 and has an electronic controlled shield. If you do NOT hook up the wires from the projector in essence you have the stock system as noted above... HOWEVER, the entire point of bi-xenons is so that when you turn on your high beams it's like God is shining light in front of the car.
Therefore, those two wires that are currently attached to the bi-xenon projector will be spliced into the ground wire and high beam wire. (Again it doesn't matter which wire goes to what, so long that ONE wire is going to the ground, while the other is going to the high beam + wire). You will STILL retain and USE your current high beam bulb/inner light for the high beam function. You most definitely do not want to eliminate this as you will get a bulb out error on the dash, and would be losing the flash to pass/high beam function of the extra bulb.


By splicing the bi-xenon wires into the high beam wiring you are now having "two" high beams per headlight go on in a way when you turn the high beam switch on in the cabin. I say "two" loosely only because with the projector the cut off shield is default in the UP position which gives that cut off pattern ___/---- (hopefully that comes out right). By activating the high beam, the signal that is going to turn on your current high beam bulbs (inner lights) will also activate the bi-xenon shield and lower it, thus opening up the ENTIRE projector bowl/lense to have the maximum amount of light coming through the projector.


If you drove around with the cut off shield lowered at night at all times, you would be blinding people like no other, hence the reason the shield is there to limit the amount of upward light that is being projected.


See pictures below. I hope it helps on the light output.


First picture normal e55 low.
Second picture normal e55 high (cut off shield lowered/activated by high beam)




-Nigel

CDIJeff

Yes those are the videos, and what NewShockerGuy said is everything you need to know. All you are really doing is replacing the stock H7 with the D2s projectors, same bolt pattern and everything. The only hard part which you said wouldn't be that bad is the wiring for the HIDS. I am not too familiar with the HIDS setup, so someone correct me if I am wrong. I think you also need to program the headlights with Xentry/Star otherwise it will flicker. I believe people get around this by adding resistors.

Roop94

@newshockerguy

i understood what you meant but I had hard time explaining what i understood lol i was just throwing some clarification from my side to see if I was right...we're on same page!!! I will connect the wires to high beam some day.

CDIJeff...
I didn't know crap about HID. I knew the basics of installing them but the Morimoto Elite Kit had bunch of wires and plugs so i took to my friend's shop; he knows lot more than me. HID installation was smooth as well.

And no, my lights didn't flicker. I didn't need the capacitor because the guy from morimoto told me to order with Canbus H7 and there won't be any issues, and there aren't any. So im guessing that had a built in resistor in the Canbus H7 wire harness.

And i bought 5500k, not Osram or Philips, but morimoto's own bulbs, XB35 watts

CDIJeff

Sounds good, I will be rocking my LEDs for now, the only thing that will make me switch is if those Laser bulbs that retrofit is making ever work better then the LEDs.
I will probably never use HIDs unless the vehicle I have comes stock with them, just personal preference for me that Leds are constantly getting more efficient and newer technology is coming out soon.

If you are wondering lasers that can't be right. Here
http://betterautomotivelighting.com/...-detroit-2017/

Roop94

so just a little curious, you guys said the projectors im using right now, e55, are exact the same as the ones i had, the halogen? but with different bulb size and it can be also used for high beam...

is that the only difference between my OEM halogen projector and bi-xenon projector i bought?

just curious to know more about these kinds of things for future reference

NewShockerGuy

Yep, Ideally one would get the car coded. Shouldn't be too difficult if you know someone that has STAR/DAS, or someone that is local will give you a hand. With that being said an indy/dealership should be able to do it. They will probably charge you $60 for an hour even though they code it in the Central gateway and it takes all of 4 minutes to do.
Xenon=Present


One can also go the resistor route as well. I chose to code only so there is less stuff to go wrong and or trouble shoot.



Good stuff then!
So wait you did not do the high beams yet? If not you should asap. You are truly missing out on the e55's high beam greatness. It's what is magical about it.


So for all intensive purposes by looking at both projectors they are the same. One takes an H7 bulb the other takes D2S. However they aren't the same. Obviously the bulbs are different and even though the projectors look the same there have been several people on hidplanet that were on the Hella design team for the projectors and they insist that they are in fact different because of the bulb... which makes sense to me.


The bi-xenon projector has the solenoid/shutter compared to the h7 projector that does not. The hella projector isn't bad compared to a LOT of the crap that manufactures use for headlights. It's just comical to me that MB sells a $60k e-class that HID's do NOT come standard... Come on... my STi back in 05' sub 30k car came stock with HIDs (albeit reflector HID, still HID...) I love MB but certain things even now with price points is ridiculous. You can buy a Toyota corolla for $18k that comes stock with LED headlights, but MB is still charging $2k for their HID lights on cars that cost triple what the Toyota does...lol


Rant over.


-Nigel