EuroDriverSD

I contacted CKM Car Design about the retrofit/upgrade process, specifically the coding. They responded: "As it says. You need access to a Star Diagnose so we can code it remotely." I'm not 100% sure what that means, but it sound like I need the STAR/Xentry coding equipment for them to be able to code it. Anyone have further details from someone who actually got this done?

qmciver

Yes I got the same response. My independent Mercedes Specialist doesn’t use the MB star diagnostics computer he’s asking around to see who has one or if a friend of his who is a Mercedes tech can help. This will be the dealbreaker for wether I do or don’t do the mod.

EuroDriverSD

Going against every ounce of common sense in my body, I ordered everything for retrofitting the OEM full leds including a STAR C5 connect. Apparently once everything is installed, Chris from CKM Car design logs in remotely via Team Viewer to do the coding.

I am waiting for all the components to arrive and dreading the day when my wife sees the credit card statements - I will keep you posted, assuming I do not get assassinated by my wife before I complete the install.

drdantheman1

If you want to sell your old static LED headlights, let me know!!! Good luck with the install!

qmciver

Wow, good luck I really want to do the same as you. Where did you get the Star C5? I really want to do this mod, but I’m having a hard time finding a star c3 or c4 around my neck of the woods.

EuroDriverSD

Will do. I'll hit you up after I finish the install and confirm functionality

I ordered it online from a Chinese vendor. After I'm done, I'll probably throw it up for grabs in the classifieds

EuroDriverSD

Quick update for the sake of those interested...

On 10/28 I ordered the wiring converter kit and ECU package from Chris at CKM Car design. After the fact, he informs me that my facelift model does not require the converter - only the adapter harness and coding, and added "I might need stereo camera." Of course, I inquired about the viability of adding the windshield cameras with no substantive response. From there, it's been radio silence until today.

I don't know if this guy has very limited English, ADD or what his issue is. I have sent about a dozen emails trying to get some clarification as to what is needed for what version W212s and I usually get a short, less than 6 word, 1 sentence responses that completely evade my questions. I also asked him if he can cancel the converter from the order, just send me the wiring harness & ECUs and what the price difference would be.

After days of no responses since 11/1, I sent him another email this morning and his response was: "I have answered all emails I have from you. I have gotten you all ordered and I paid and had it made gor you and now you want to cancel it?"

I'm getting a sinking feeling that this retrofit is not going to happen... I sent yet another reply and I'll wait another day or 2 before I really cancel if nothing changes.

I have seen a couple of you tube videos of this retrofit being done in China. I might try to contact them and see if it's a more viable option.

qmciver

So Chris is requesting you buy the 2 windshield stereo cameras so that he may introduce which feature into your Facelift W212? I always thought the windshield mounted cameras had to do Adaptive Auto High bean assist or what Mercedes calls it these days. I can’t imagine they are needed for you to manual turn your headlights on and off low and high beam and low beam. The active curve Illumination of the two headlight
units shouldn’t require a camera neither.
what ECU’s are you referring to in your post?

i hope this all pans out for you.

EuroDriverSD

As far as the cameras, I was thinking the same thing but man, getting answers is like pulling teeth with this guy!

The ILS (full led) headlights use 2 modules per headlight - an ECU and a ballast, I presume. These: ECU Package

I just want to get this project completed...

Edit: apparently CKM's website is blocked here on the forum so here's an alternate link: Module package

EuroDriverSD

Here's the latest developments:

CKM: So you have a facelift car with halogen and want the ILS.

ME:Yes, that is correct. My car is 2016 E350 Sport. It has led low beam and halogen high beam

CKM: Wow that is bad...Now I have ordered all this for you.
Yu then need a totaly different setup and cable.

I will continue my seemingly hopeless effort to get more answers and I'll keep you posted.

fc3

My 2016 E400 has the factory 319 Intelligent LED Headlight package with the 640 Full LED Headlights and 608 Adaptive Highbeam Assist.

This video is from a couple weeks ago when copied some files from the dash cam's micro SD card to my Mac Pro. Should give you an idea of the original MB Intelligent LED Lighting system. The video is on my personal web server. It's from the camera and not recompressed from its original 2K format and is therefore 52.4MB -- too large for the forum. If you go full-screen and watch carefully, you'll see it gradually switch from high beam to low as I pull into the driveway.


I don't see any streaks or unevenness in the lighting. When I pull the car up to a white surface, such as my garage doors, there's very visible magenta chromic aberration on the edges of the lighting pattern, but otherwise, very good and even lighting.

EuroDriverSD

I think we are talking about 2 different tings with regard to the unevenness/streaking. From your post it appears that you have the factory headlights on your car. In my comment that you quoted, I was talking about the aftermarket Depo headlight assemblies sold by fishcake123 on ebay. My factory static leds have a brilliant, even light spread as well. I believe I posted some photos to show the comparison between the factory lights and the Depos.

The chromatic aberration you are talking about is quite common in both factory and aftermarket lights. It is caused by the sharp edge of the cutoff shield and in the HID world, they refer to it as the "cutoff band" which many retrofitters aim to achieve an intense, blue band from the cutoff.

fc3

I do have the factory Intelligent LED system, which I believe is what Depo attempts to emulate. I posted the above for those without the factory system that they may make a meaningful comparison with the aftermarket system as the end result appears very different to me.

Aware of the cutoff issue. The point that I attempted to make was that the cutoff line was the only place where one would note any type of lighting aberration, not that it's critical or important.

EuroDriverSD

Gotcha. Thanks for clarifying and for adding to the thread. Great video and I'm jealous of your lights. Hope I'm able to have the same eventually

qmciver

I’m jealous of your swanky designo sand interior. I have the same color in my W204 C63. But yeah your video footage shows how good the ILS shines at night. thanks for sharing with static LED headlight guys.

fc3

I was lucky with Sadie. I was not planning to buy a car but fate had other ideas.

I was driving home with dad and his lady friend when a fellow driving behind me had a seizure, froze flooring his accelerator. I saw him in the rear view mirror approaching very fast and tried to escape onto the center median, but he turned the same way and totaled the car. Then he continued across the highway, ran though some trees, and hit a house knocking about an inch off it's foundation. It wasn't pretty. No one was injured at all, but lots of property damage.

A drive a lot of miles, about 20-30,000 a year, so a certified pre-owned made sense. There's a dozen M-B dealers within about 25 miles with 7 of them not in NYC or Long Island; I really didn't want to shop in NY. I shopped each dealer but didn't see an E350 I liked. I went back to my local dealer to decide between an E350 and an E300 that he had. We had just driven the E300 and was walking towards the E350 when I went past Sadie. "Hey! What about this one? I really like this color. And the interior is fantastic!" And that was that.

The backstory on Sadie: her previous owner was local and lived about a mile from me. He was 96 and passed this summer. The dealership sold him the car originally and bought it back from the estate following his death. I guess they didn't go out much or go far because she had less than 13,000 miles when I bought her. I have to say that the designo options are insanely priced. And you'd think that for what Mercedes charged for that sand and black two toned steering wheel that they could have thrown in heating for it, too. But noooo.

I was getting pretty frustrated car shopping. Believe it or not, I asked my guardian angel for assistance. A couple of days later this one appeared on the dealer's lot.

EuroDriverSD

Just curious - has anyone else ordered from CKM Car Design? How's your experience so far? Here's my situation:

As you may know, I placed my order on 10/28 for the conversion kit and ECU modules
On 11/1 I clarified a perceived misunderstanding where Chris informed my I did not need the converter module, only a "cable kit" and coding.
Since then, I have exchanged countless emails with him, and his responses have mostly been of little to no value. We have gone back and forth about what I actually need and his representations that he is working on it.
Yesterday I emailed Chris again, inquiring about the ETA of my order. My exact message was: "Do you have an idea of what day you will send my items?" This morning I had the following reply: "Well I have to have a new cablekit made now..."

I'm starting to think that the almost $1,400 I paid him for the conversion kit, plus the approximate $100 I was charged for the foreign currency exchange were flushed down the toilet. On top of that, I spent over $1,500 on the ILS headlight housings and about $800 for the STAR coding equipment. Add the fact that for some unknown reason he was banned from the site here, I am not getting any warm and fuzzies.

Ok I'm venting at this point, but I hope you all have some sympathy given the circumstances. Who else has dealt with this guy?

qmciver

Hey there,

Other then sending Chris a few inquiry emails and getting very similar short (4-5 word sentence answers.) I haven’t dealt with him. But I did see where he was active in E-class Coupé forum. I feel bad that your going through this. I’m speculating that he’s a one man show. And from your post it’s clear that he outsources the wire harnesses. I had a similar situation with a powder coating guy who I sent my rims to once he took forever and never returned my calls. Ultimately he did get them done.

Anyways I hope he’s just slow moving and that it turns out for you. I really want to order the wiring harness from him, but at this point it sounds like your pulling teeth working with him to get this parts you need.

Best Regards,

fc3

That's awful news. I hope you get a solution to that problem. I'd be livid.

W212Diesel

LED-conversion is illegal here in the EU, and the same for light in the mercedes-star in front.

My 200 cdi has halogen lamps, of course ist is not as strong as led, but ok.
There are more good things about halogen, for example quick to fix, you can do it yourself at any gas station by the motorway 24/7, takes about 10 minutes and cost about 10 dollar/euros, and then ready to go with new good lamps.

kajtek1

I am not defending Chris, but in Europe you will find different culture. Returning phone calls is not high priority, when don't try to make a business with them 1/2 hr before closing time.
Add different time zones and speaking 2nd language. Hope this is just that.

EuroDriverSD

Update: my cable kit for the conversion finally arrived today ECU's arrived earlier this week. Now it's a matter of scheduling the remote coding with Chris and crossing my fingers that he can do it soon at a mutually scheduled time.

As some of us have suspected, he seems to be a middle man and outsources everything. ECU's came from City of Industry, which is only a couple of hours away from me. Harness came from a company called KABELDAVIKO in Germany.

I'll post pics when I finish the conversion. In the meantime, here's what the harness looks like:

qmciver

Wow the harnesses look very professional grade. I’m rooting this works out as planned for you. As I suspect it probably will.

EuroDriverSD

The saga continues lol!

As I'm trying to schedule the remote coding I ask for instructions on how to connect the harness The response was "it's self - explanatory." Well, there's the 1 connector I don't know what to do with.
"You need a height level sensor" if not equipped with airmatic (for the auto leveling feature).
Well now I have ordered the height level sensor
Oh and for the coding, "contact so-and-so via Skype Tell him I sent you."

Slowly getting there...

ninjabanana

Hello EuroDriverSD

I recently bought the Depo headlight on eBay and installed it. I had same issue like yours. The right side headlight stays on and I got the message “check right side low beam”. Did you fix the problem? Or you just returned it. Thanks