Mstyle76

Has anyone successfully installed a HID retro kit for a 2013 GL with NO flickering issues? I purchased a kit from HIDextra.com and it has flickering in the "AUTO" and at dusk primarily but works if it's dark out with no issues.

Retrofit Source stated their kit would have flickering and its more the wiring in the vehicle. I called Xenith Xenon and they stated NO one has any issues with their kit in a 2013 GL. I ordered a kit from Xenith Xenon but they have yet to respond numerous e-mails and voicemails or ship my kit out for the past 2 weeks. So I just put a claim in with Paypal to dispute it.

Any help would be appreciated!

sraza

i personally dont know about the wiring / issue with 2013 GLs but the original philips hid kit is supposed to be just like or the closest to oem but i honestly dont know about how the 2013s will work with it..

BlownV8

Should work just like the 164GL. I did a write up on the hid kit conversion. Works great. I've had mine on the car for around 100,000 miles - no issues.

cookstar

nice way to butcher factory lights.

jcbutta

can you shoot me the link to your write up?

Mstyle76

Thanks, I did look at your write up but I had no issues with the install. Mine are just flickering during dusk when its still light out and the exterior lights turn on and interior dash lights adjust. If the car starts up in darkness they are fine it's just when it's in dusk to night that are the issues. Then I would get the warning message.

Any other suggestions?

I asked HIDextra if it was the kit and they said no because it was the "top of the line" and I shouldn't have any. I asked Retrofit Source and they said they have issues. When I asked George at Xenith Xenons they said they have no reported issues but doesn't seem like he responds well. It's been over 2 weeks and nothing yet. I posted this message and he finally e-mailed me saying he was shipping it out on Thursday but no message yet.

Mstyle76

Thanks for the kick in the *****...trust me if I can go back to HIDs I would. I don't feel like spending $5k to retro them with the MB OEM LED lighting headlamps. I didn't realize the GL didn't have them, I bought the truck same day I walked in. I assumed the LED daytime running lights were part of the lighting package and didn't realize that MB would install Halogens in the vehicle. I have owned Acuras and Audis and they all had HIDs with no downgrade option.

emilner

I find it amazing that you can buy a Mercedes that starts at $63k and halogen headlights are standard. It's 2013 for Pete's sake....

JimBarnhart

If my GL had the stock halogens I would be doing the same thing - trying to find a reasonably priced conversion. The halogens are simply unacceptable.

cookstar

Surprise Surprise, the rep did not mention the options and standard equipment and I agree with your comments, even my 08 Mazda 3 has factory HID. HID is like 1080p these days, it should come standard for all vehicles above 25K.

zoomx2ian

Have you try to bring in to MB service to code the headlight HID active?

Mstyle76

No, I doubt they would be ok with a conversion kit and willing to change the service code to HID. Anyone know how to DIY?

zoomx2ian

Sure MB can do it if you willing pay them. I know code HID active tell the car HID equipped instead of halogen that send continuous current or wattage. Reduce standard 55w to 35w the you don't need a resistor or cancellor. I have Audi, coding is easy and I am able to activate many features. Since I haven't install my HID yet so I can't confirm it will works 100% or not. But I was told by many technical experts. Your headlights flickering because of many components draws the current and voltage. Other suggestion is run the relay harness from battery directly and add resistor. I don't really like this route because resistor run very hot. I don't think buy another kits will resolve flickering. Try to bring in to MB dealer to active HID ON and keep us post.

Mstyle76

I guess I can ask and the worst thing they can say is NO. I have a 2013 A6 Prestige and I agree, with the VAG you can do many mods to it without having to go to the dealer. I wish there was a "VAG" for MB too!

BlownV8

I addressed this issue with the post I wrote about my conversion. It sounds like you are missing a very important piece of what I did to mine. That's also what you need to make yours work.

Mstyle76

I re-reviewed your post. I did everything the same as your DIY. I actually called RetroFit Source and they stated they have the issues with the 2013 GL. Not sure if the wiring is any different but not sure. I have a new kit coming from Xenith Xenon (finally) and we will hopefully see the outcome this weekend.

Is there anything that you think I am doing wrong? There really isn't anything different except you had a separate cancel wire and mine is "apparently" in the ballast according to HIDExtra. The only thing I can say is it's a faulty kit or ballast from HIDExtra.com even though its their "premium kit" with the error canceling wiring.

jcbutta

Heh heh, heh heh, he said VAG.

BlownV8

You got it. You need the resistors.

Mstyle76

I hear ya. The only thing is HIDExtra.com said it was already included. As soon as I get the ones from XenithXenons then I will see, these have a separate wire canceling setup vs. in the ballast like HID.

When you say resistors, aren't those directly wired a power source and to your headlight lamps wiring?

BlownV8

No, they are just inline resistors to trick the MB system to think it has the proper resistance of a halogen bulb. The good thing is that when your bulb actually goes out, even with the resistor in place, it will trip the bulb warning light so you can address the safety issue and change the bulb.

The retrofit gives a perfect light distribution with the MB projectors. You will need to adjust the headlights a bit but once adjusted you will love the light output. I took a picture of my light output and as, you could see, it was a very nice cutoff line.

Mstyle76

It's just weird because when I asked retrofit they said they have reported issues with the 2013 GL and they haven't heard any of the kits working with no issues. They basically said it would't work properly. Now I know you have a X164 GL but I would assume the wiring is the same.

Mstyle76

So I installed the kit from I received from XenithXenon which took about 2.5 weeks to get and I am still getting the "occasional" flicker even with the cancelers on the kit installed. For the most part it is the better kit vs. the HIDExtra. The key question is not that I want to spend money on another kit but is the philipsxenon.com site a legit Philips OEM site? I would assume the bulbs are brighter from a better manufacture like Philips but if you go on the Philips USA site there are NO HID conversion kits shown.

I only would assume its a Chinese knock off of the Philips Brand.

Mstyle76

Ok..figured I would give some feedback on this. So this is my "3rd" HID kit I purchased and figured why not try RetroFit Source for my 2013 GL450. I returned my 1st kit to HIDExtra and they were very willing to return my kit and I received a full refund, so that company has great service! (even though the kit didn't work well with my GL). Unfortunately I tried to return the kit from XenithXenon and they don't return e-mails very well or calls and finally noticed on the site that there are NO RETURNS.

So I purchased the RetroFit XB35 Bulbs with the Morimoto Ballast and the Can-Bus Cancelers too. I installed the kit on the drivers side with no issues at all and fired up great. I then proceeded to install on the passenger side and the bulb began to "flicker". I had the light switch on the "ON" position and it was still flickering. I turned off the light while the truck was still running and turned them back to the "ON" and "AUTO" position and still no luck. Here is the weird part, I removed the canceler from Xenith Xenon and installed it with the Morimoto Kit from RetroFit and it worked perfectly both on the "ON" and "AUTO" modes. I haven't tested it at dusk so I am not sure how the "AUTO" mode works but the lights stayed on with no flickering at all.

I had e-mailed customer service at RetroFit and will report back on what they say. I hope it's just a bad canceler. As soon as I hear back from RetroFit I will let you know what happens.

I must say though I had purchased the 4300k kit from Xenith thinking it was a "whiter" light vs. the higher kelvin (5k and up) and compared to the 5000k kit from RetroFit; the RetroFit kit by far is the better of the two in terms of quality craftsmanship of the bulb and light output. The 5k Retrofit bulb looks "pure white" and the 4300k from Xenith looks "blue".

Mstyle76

Ok, I am bumping this further up to see if anyone else can help.

I finally got the new canceler from RetroFit and it starts up fine. My main issue is while during dusk, in traffic or at a stop light the lights begin to flicker. I drove over 7 hours during the holidays and no issue son the highway at all. I get into urban driving with traffic...I then get flickering.

The kit is great and literally night and day vs. the Halogens but this flickering is so annoying I changed back to halogens.

I called Open Road MB and they unfortunately could not reprogram the lights for the HID setting vs. the Halogen setting. I even offered to pay but they stated they don't do that.

So, has anyone successfully installed a HID retrofit kit on a 2013 GL450 and you DO NOT have any flickering issues.

walt2810

+1, in this type of vehicle , Xenon/HID should be the standard!!! I remember looking at the early 2013 GL at several dealers & most did not even have the lighting option.