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Ive been lurking from time to time and been learning how to service my W212 2014 E550 (4 door sedan), but now I have a need for assistance, hence my first post on this forum.
My car has the LED adaptive headlight package and recently had failures with both headlight modules (long story) and was given an estimate by my local dealer which required replacement of both headlights and all internal modules. For reference, here is a list of what has failed:
-Left, daytime running light
-Right front turn signal indicator
-left, low beam headlight
-right side turn illumination
I am quite handy with repairs but I’m learning that there is a lot of software configuration of the modules to adapt them and the car together that I have no knowledge or experience with. Is there a section of this forum that holds the magic information on how to do this or is this a repair best left to the Merc dealer?
Thank you in advance for any insight you can provide me with this issue.
NHSKIER
Wow, that's a lot going on, can you pul the codes? that might help in beginning the diagnosis. There are many very competent owners here, but they need somewhere to start. And Welcome to the forum!
What decent scanner do you now have ? It has to be bi-directional if you want to troubleshoot your LED headlight to confirm the issue you have.
Minimum is this low cost but BEST scanner for MB, for the money : https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...onal-more.html
NOTE : This does not mean you can fix it, but most likely you can "code" the replacement unit.
I assume your headlight in MB Data Card is a 641 or 640 code.....yes ?
Some people call this ILS ( Intelligent Light System ), but the official name is Dynamic 640/641/642.
MB has 2 version of the LED headlight, so make sure to confirm by data card which one is yours.
"Adaptive" does not mean intelligent, it could be only the up/down capability and nothing more.
2016 E350 4Matic wagon, 2019 Ford Expedition, 2019 Chevy Bolt EV
FWIW, my US model "Dynamic" LED headlights do go left/right on turns, they just don't do the full masked highbeams thing... you can see the self test do the left right thing during startup, they start wide, then narrow in...
Sorry, still learning how this works, I appreciate the questions and feedback.
Here’s some additional information based on a few of the questions:
- The headlight Code is 640 from the VIN lookup.
- On startup the headlights used to perform the same startup routine as the white wagon in the video
- I do not have scan tools for the Mercedes as of yet, I can see that I’m going to need them
The in-car diagnostics report the following when I start the car:
- Active headlights inoperative
- check left low beam
- check right from parking lamp
- check right front side marker lamp
- check right front turn signal
My observation is that there is no adaptive functionality and the high beams are inoperative.
I’m actually taking the car to a different Mercedes dealer tomorrow for another estimate, the first shop gave me an estimate of 7400 beans.
Ive been lurking from time to time and been learning how to service my W212 2014 E550 (4 door sedan), but now I have a need for assistance, hence my first post on this forum.
My car has the LED adaptive headlight package and recently had failures with both headlight modules (long story) and was given an estimate by my local dealer which required replacement of both headlights and all internal modules. For reference, here is a list of what has failed:
-Left, daytime running light
-Right front turn signal indicator
-left, low beam headlight
-right side turn illumination
I am quite handy with repairs but I’m learning that there is a lot of software configuration of the modules to adapt them and the car together that I have no knowledge or experience with. Is there a section of this forum that holds the magic information on how to do this or is this a repair best left to the Merc dealer?
Thank you in advance for any insight you can provide me with this issue.
NHSKIER
If all these four problems started at the same time, then I would not believe a word what your dealer says. You don't have four lights fail at the same time. It is hard to find a case with two lights go out at once, four will never happen.
It is some sort of a control module issue that these four lights have in common.
Might be a failed camera (MFK) and/or light sensor. They are a common element to the headlight control system. Not sure which ECU controls them to be honest since each side has its own module (E1n9 and E2n9) and on my car Xentry report they don't show up as slaves to any other modules. Have any work been done to the car recently? Battery replacement, any electronics installed, etc?
P.S. Xentry is a must when troubleshooting this kind of issue. Depending on where you live, there is an option to get the Xentry passtrough which is a pay by the hour official option that you can use with a j2534 standard interface and a home computer.
Last edited by Andre Cateb; Sep 19, 2023 at 08:52 PM.
The failures are all due to the incompetent and dishonest behavior of a local radiator and air condition shop in my town. I took the car to them to simply have the AC system recharged ( my AC condenser has pin hole leaks, another story and anger with my local Merc dealer). When I dropped the car at the shop in the morning everything was operating as it should, that afternoon upon picking the car up from the shop my lighting modules and lights were destroyed :-(. Of course they said the didn't touch anything related to that and that it was a coincidence but I’m not believing that story for a minute, the problem is that I can’t prove a thing so the repair is on me.
The second quote from a Mercedes dealer in VT confirmed yesterday that the entire front lighting system is fried and needs to be replaced.
My car only has 65,000 miles on it and is in excellent condition, it’s comfortable and fun to drive, I just have a tough time putting 7K into a car that’s only worth around 20K.
I will give you some good news.
The issue you have explained, is actually an internal issue with a 640 headlight.
What I mean by internal is, those failure in commands to activate those 4 items happens inside the headlight.
What I mean is, very unlikely the HVAC guys can cause "damage" to the inside of the headlight wiring and electronics.
So you next best test is to inspect the headlight 14 pins grey connectors, see if any of the female pin has damage and if any of the cables get cut.
You also need to inspect the male pins of the connector at the headlight , see if any has got bent.
Thank you, I do not see a way to remove the gray connectors with the headlights in the current position in the car, there is a clip on the bottom of the connector that I can not access in the current positions. On inspection of what I can see, I don’t see any wire damage or broken wires at the connector, until I can remove the connector I can not look at the pins.
Thank you, I do not see a way to remove the gray connectors with the headlights in the current position in the car, there is a clip on the bottom of the connector that I can not access in the current positions. On inspection of what I can see, I don’t see any wire damage or broken wires at the connector, until I can remove the connector I can not look at the pins.
I believe to get good access to the headlights, you need to pull the wheel well liners, at least in my pre-facelifts you do. May as well pull the front wheels as well.
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adaptive headlight replacement
