Illuminated Star Installation help!
 

Hey guys, first time post here. I have a 2014 E350 4matic , W212, just ordered a 2 gen full time Illuminated Star. I found installation guide for the first gen, but from my understanding the second gen is a lot easier. Have anyone ever installed that second gen on a w212 before?

What's a full time illuminated star mean? You can't drive around with that thing lit up, can you?

207/212/218 - APR 2014 star is illuminated when the ignition is switched on.

In the MB CLA commercial the star is illuminated while the car moves. If I would buy one and it would not illuminate I would question MB for false advertisement.

Yesterday, I was passed by a CLA450 on the highway, while he was behind me (moving about 80) his grill star was lit up. Not super bright, but lit so you knew it was a MB behind you.

I thought I'd hate it, but it looked SO GOOD on that AMG.

I agree, although I haven't seen one illuminated in the flesh, I love them....


those CLA's look amazing too; I hear the build quality leaves something to be desired

The star can be hooked up directly to 12V accessory to light up whenever the door is unlocked or the engine is on. There is no need for a separate ballast.

If you go to the trunk and look at the fuse layout sheet, there is a 20 amp fuse(number 23) that you can tap into. The fuse is located in the front driver side when you open the hood. When connected this way, when you unlock/lock the door, it will light up. When the engine is on, it will be on full time. There is no need to hook up the harness, just connect the star directly to this fuse and ground out the other wire.

I passed two cars with the illuminated star the other day (CLA250 blacked out and a ML350). They both had it on while driving and it's very subtle and nice. It was around 10 PM so it was dark, but the star stands out. Personally, it's kind of hard to see the star symbol and at first I took it as a strange badge light because of the way the emblem looks. Nonetheless, very slick on the CLA. Confirmed with my dealer today that they can just hook the wire up to the daytime running so it'll stay on at all times.

just installed mine today, looks real nice

pretty good

I guess us distronic folks will remain "starless" :)

Looks nice!


Yeah, I was bummed when I saw it was not made for distronic.

Looks much better in person. Trust me.

Will this installation work on pre-face lift w212? Do you just replace the star in the grill?

If you have the sport grill it will work. Just swap the illuminated star and wire it up.

Which SUCKS if you ask me. I think the illuminated star looks epic.

Eah, Looks Justin Bebierish to me. Less the better, IMHO

for some reason it is really bright in the pics , but in real life, I can't see it at all under sunlight, at night, wasn't that bright either, so.....

He means pre-face lift,,, no place to put the star... but I think wiring is the same

do you have a pre 2014 model that has a star on the grill? can you post a pic?

No I don't, but I am consider in getting one because I just want to change the look a little bit. Looking for some aftermarket grills but I've been hearing bad qualities everywhere.

Can you tell me where you bought the star from and how much you paid for it and the part number. Does it stay on the whole time the car is running or doie it only light up when you first turn the car on? Thanks.

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It's only for the illuminated star assembly. Should be about 200 dollars. Try any of our vendors here or benzpartsforless.com It seems a bit expensive for what it does. It comes on for a minute or so whenever any button on the key fob is pressed. It stays on whenever the engine is on or accessory power is on.

you do not need the wiring harness or control unit? Is that because it would be hooked up to the 20 amp fuse? It would be nice not to have to buy the other parts.