Looking for HID's that dont require drilling a hole
03-23-2019, 05:25 AM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Looking for HID's that dont require drilling a hole
After noticing that my parents and I could really use the extra lighting for the highway when daily driving in the long cold nights up in North Dakota. So after looking at my state's regulations and seeing other's proceed with higher HID's than permitted. I want to install HID's on all my family's cars including mine.
The difference is that I could use a good source or sources for 55w that dont require drilling into the headlight housing of my w212 since it's still have about 4 months left of its extended warranty.
We've not had good luck when running into possums and deer the past couple years. So your helpful directioning and references are greatly appreciated! Thank you.
The difference is that I could use a good source or sources for 55w that dont require drilling into the headlight housing of my w212 since it's still have about 4 months left of its extended warranty.
We've not had good luck when running into possums and deer the past couple years. So your helpful directioning and references are greatly appreciated! Thank you.
03-23-2019, 09:27 AM
#2
MBWorld Fanatic!
I highly recommend the Morimoto Elite 35w CANBUS kit from retrofit source.com. I have the 5.5k bulbs, over 4 years in the car with no issues. The stock halogen projector housings give a nice cutoff so the HID police don't chase you. I'd never go back to the dismal halogen setup. The bulbs are Phillips and are properly orientated as well when installed into the housing. You will need some little aftermarket bulb clips for the new bulbs, very cheap on eBay. They are u-shaped to go over the new wires - you'll see what I mean when you look at them. No need to go over 6k on bulbs, that's right on the edge of usable white light. 5.5k is the sweet spot, pure white.
I strongly suggest not getting the 55w kit, sometimes headlight lens can be damaged from the heat and I'm not sure of the load factor on your connector wiring. You'll get plenty of light from the 35w kit.
In every case I've seen the wiring from the ballast and from the oem bulb connector has to go through somewhere. But in this case you just drill the access hole into the round head light access cover, not the assembly. It's not that big a deal - I did mine while in warranty without any problems. But I didn't have any lighting related issues either. Certainly dealer will shy from warranty on lights so that's your call. Just be sure the wire grommet fits tightly and then seal it as well. The fiddliest part is getting the wheel and fender liner out to properly access those covers. Once you do that process once, it's pretty easy on the next time. Suggest going through the wheel well on both sides to do a nice job of securing components plus gives you room to work.
What I did:
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...-installs.html
Note that they provide kits for CANBUS or with the standard power relay setup. I've done retrofits before using the relays but MB needs the CANBUS kit to avoid bulb out warning on dash. Power supply from the stock oem bulb connector works just fine to energize the ballasts. Obviously the Morimoto kit costs more than cheap eBay kits but IMO it's well worth it. I've installed 5 of their kits in various cars with zero quality issues. I think you'll be happy with the 35w kit results.
I strongly suggest not getting the 55w kit, sometimes headlight lens can be damaged from the heat and I'm not sure of the load factor on your connector wiring. You'll get plenty of light from the 35w kit.
In every case I've seen the wiring from the ballast and from the oem bulb connector has to go through somewhere. But in this case you just drill the access hole into the round head light access cover, not the assembly. It's not that big a deal - I did mine while in warranty without any problems. But I didn't have any lighting related issues either. Certainly dealer will shy from warranty on lights so that's your call. Just be sure the wire grommet fits tightly and then seal it as well. The fiddliest part is getting the wheel and fender liner out to properly access those covers. Once you do that process once, it's pretty easy on the next time. Suggest going through the wheel well on both sides to do a nice job of securing components plus gives you room to work.
What I did:
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...-installs.html
Note that they provide kits for CANBUS or with the standard power relay setup. I've done retrofits before using the relays but MB needs the CANBUS kit to avoid bulb out warning on dash. Power supply from the stock oem bulb connector works just fine to energize the ballasts. Obviously the Morimoto kit costs more than cheap eBay kits but IMO it's well worth it. I've installed 5 of their kits in various cars with zero quality issues. I think you'll be happy with the 35w kit results.
03-23-2019, 11:40 AM
#3
SPONSOR/MBworld Guru
All hid kits should have the ballast in the engine bay for cooling. Some try jamming slim ballasts into the housing to avoid drilling, but you're risking heat related failure doing so. If you have a lease, most just leave the dust cap off and tape off the opening.
