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Who out there has the PILP (option 317) Premium Interior Lighting Package?
I'm starting to think this option (option 317 Premium Interior Lighting Package) isn't very common. Probably because it was a ~$300 option.
The key issue (for me) is that it includes "puddle lights", which are on the bottom of the front doors, illuminating downward to help you enter and exit the vehicle, seeing what's around the car.
Thing is, I "remembered" that my GLK had that option until I went to remove one of the "door lights" and came up with just a thin red plastic lens / reflector for my trouble. Oh, yeah... NOW I remember... that was my BMW 530xi. Oops.
, that include a tiny little projector that projects the MB "ear of wheat with tristar" on the ground below each door (when open), which is a cool option. Thing is, I'm not really willing to run power into my door to install the things (yes, there's no plug for the puddle lights if your GLK was built without option 317). Note that the listing for the lights don't show the actual "ear of wheat" but only a circle, which is (I'm finding) common for those selling parts with MB logos, but not OEM suppliers.
Thing is, I got the projectors / lights as part of a program where I review items that are provided, and can't do it (properly) with my vehicle (or my 2012 "project GLK", which is also puddle-light-less").
If anyone out there DOES have the option 317 and would like to install a pair of these projectors (which should take literally 10-20 seconds a side), I'd be willing to send them to you, in exchange for just letting me know how the install went and a quick photo of the projection. Basically, if your car has puddle lights, you're good to go.
Anyone interested?
Last edited by habbyguy; Dec 18, 2024 at 08:56 PM.
That is great that you actually want the product used in order to leave a review. I notice alot of the Vine reviews it doesnt even look like the people use the products, instead just open the box and snap a few photos then write some nonsense review. I used to have Vine but they stopped it for me, i think it was because I was taking too long to leave reviews. I would actually wait to use the products and write an actual review. I'd love the lights but wont fit my W204.
Yeah, I really don't want to accept a product to do a bogus review on something I haven't actually used, though I did just do that for a giant bag of marigold seeds (admitting in the review that I wouldn't be able to do a full review for a few months). ;-) Sometimes I have to do reviews on a few small items to stay in the good graces of the system (keep my review percentage up).
I hope someone can make use of these puddle light projectors, and would love to see how well they work. I promise I'll only be a little jealous. ;-)
I wanted to do this and bought the under dash light and never used them, I don’t drive much at night now . Doesn’t power go to the door switches when the door is opened? They light up. Maybe try to tap the power on the door controls ? It may upset Canbus but it might work. 🧑🏻🎄🎉🎉🎉🍺🍺🍺🍺🍷🍷Merry Christmas.
I don't think there is any power in the door that's hot when it needs to be to run these lights. The lights that come on when the door opens have all the switches and wiring in the body, not in the door.
I could run power to those positions, but it would require popping both front door cards off, and routing wires through the bellows connecting to the door jams, and then into the dash somewhere. Not the end of the world, but honestly a lot more work than I'm willing to do just to throw some free advertising on the ground for Mercedes! ;-) For someone with the option 317, it's literally a 15 second installation!
I don’t know how the door is wired but I thought when door was opened the switch assembly received 12v? Do the Lights in switches come on? Just a guess, if 12v comes on taping into door switch power lines would power your lights. I admit I’m guessing. I’ve wanted what you have and have the dashboard lights I’ll send you free. . If I can find them , I never unpacked everything after moving . They light up the middle of the dashboard where the vanilla meets the lower section. I just don’t drive at night much.
My 2010 W204 has lights at the bottoms of the doors when they open. Then I've seen someone with a later year, say 2012 W204 come on here asking how to fix there lights since they aren't working. I did a little searching and found out there are models that just aren't wired from the factory to light up. I looked in ebay at used door cards and sure enough on alot the wires aren't even there.
Because the door cards are riveted on there is no way I would want to mess with them. If they were simply screwed on sure.
The door cards aren't really riveted, but are held on with a combination of screws and plastic push-pins. Those pins ARE subject to wear and tear, and every time you take a door card off, you're risking it not QUITE going on as well or securely as it came off. I suppose if I had to take the door cards off to do something else I might consider running wiring to the puddle lights, but there's no way I'm going down that road for just the lights.
Mmr1, the wiring you're looking for is actually not in the door, but in the switch controlled by the door opening and closing, and that's mounted in the body's door frame. In an old-school car, it was a pin-button switch sticking out near one of the door hinges (from the body, not the door), hooked up to 12 volts, with the switched side going to the dome light circuit. I'd bet that the GLK has a little more techy way to do it, running it through a "something-BUS" circuit. I suppose it's always possible that there IS a connection to the right wiring already somewhere inside the guts of the door, but I'll bet it requires reprogramming to make it work.
The door cards aren't really riveted, but are held on with a combination of screws and plastic push-pins. Those pins ARE subject to wear and tear, and every time you take a door card off, you're risking it not QUITE going on as well or securely as it came off. I suppose if I had to take the door cards off to do something else I might consider running wiring to the puddle lights, but there's no way I'm going down that road for just the lights.
Mmr1, the wiring you're looking for is actually not in the door, but in the switch controlled by the door opening and closing, and that's mounted in the body's door frame. In an old-school car, it was a pin-button switch sticking out near one of the door hinges (from the body, not the door), hooked up to 12 volts, with the switched side going to the dome light circuit. I'd bet that the GLK has a little more techy way to do it, running it through a "something-BUS" circuit. I suppose it's always possible that there IS a connection to the right wiring already somewhere inside the guts of the door, but I'll bet it requires reprogramming to make it work.
Not that important but on the older cars I worked on, that had the push-in door switch, they always supplied/connected Ground when the door was opened (as opposed to supplying 12vdc).
Still no takers on my offer of a set of free projector puddle lights? ;-)
If it's an incentive, the manufacturer included a video showing the projection, and I'm impressed - it looks really good, though the screen shot I captured shows someone holding it at an angle, resulting in a slightly distorted circular logo (looks like it projects a true circle on the ground once installed)...
I really do hope someone asks for these (in exchange for letting me know how they work out so I can do my promised review). Otherwise I may be tempted to start hacking into my wiring harness and cobbling together a DIY install for puddle lights. ;-)
Still no takers on my offer of a set of free projector puddle lights? ;-)
If it's an incentive, the manufacturer included a video showing the projection, and I'm impressed - it looks really good, though the screen shot I captured shows someone holding it at an angle, resulting in a slightly distorted circular logo (looks like it projects a true circle on the ground once installed)...
I really do hope someone asks for these (in exchange for letting me know how they work out so I can do my promised review). Otherwise I may be tempted to start hacking into my wiring harness and cobbling together a DIY install for puddle lights. ;-)
I wanted the interior lighting package, puddle lights etc. when I put in my order and I thought the price of $300.00 was okay/reasonable. Then I was told they could no longer order a 2013. It had be a 2014 and I agreed but the "clowns" dropped that lighting package and I missed it in the new build sheet. In any event, I later wanted to install the footwell lights and puddle lights but didn't get around to it. I did try to find those damn puddle lights with NO logo but could not. I want even light on the ground and not advertising. And, frankly, I find the logo lights in the same category as a lighted Mercedes star on the grille. Not my cup of tea... still, I would take the advertising puddle lights over none but only if I knew there was a constant 12 volts somewhere in the doors (minimal work). It appears there is not :-(
If you are willing to send them to Canada, I would love to have them. I am fairly certain that I can get them to work. I have to remove my driver side door panel to replace my window switch assembly so could do the install then.
Let me do some research on the shipping costs to the frozen north. I was trying to avoid having to install them in a "non-PILP vehicle" to verify the installation effort but it might be interesting to see what's involved in installing them without that option. I'd suggest taking a close look at the availability of appropriate connection points inside the door - without the PILP option, I'm thinking there isn't anything to connect the lights to that won't leave them on anytime the car is running (probably not a huge problem, but "odd"...). ;-)
Just look at the post office for shipping. It takes longer but reduces the chance of custom brokerage fees at this end. Even if I have to run a wire to each door I don't think it will be too much of a challenge.
Sorry for the delayed reply - had to drive 1,000 miles (and get caught up on a huge pile of deferred maintenance around the house and vehicles).
Funny thing happened when I was cleaning up the (filthy) GLK - I bumped the triangular panel on the front of the driver's door, and it fell off, revealing the door control module. Who knew it was where you can (theoretically) get to it without pulling the whole door card?
Anyway, that led me to a fresh round of research (hoping to come up with an easy solution for others to install puddle lights, and create a video to share it), and think I might have it on the run. I ran down a schematic for the door control module, and saw that the puddle light (driver's side anyway) was designated as E17/3. That plugs into the DCM in plug #6, and connects to pins 3 and 4 (currently empty, of course). I tried (in vain) to find specs for the connector pins to populate the existing plug #6 body, or for connecting to the puddle lights (I was just going to use generic crimp-on pins if necessary). But finally I tripped over a supplier of pre-wired "wiring harnesses" for the GLK front door puddle lights, with the (hopefully) correct pins on the DCM end, and an honest-to-gosh plug that should plug into my puddle lights (assuming THEY are actually MB-spec, of course). Even better, the cable is covered with that felt-like tubing that keeps the wire from rattling around, which is important because my plan is to install the harness by loosening only the lower and front edges of door card. Should be more than enough.
If it all works out, I should be able to make the upgrade and post a video on the process, showing how to install puddle lights / projectors for well under $50 and (hopefully) an hour or so total time. The one potential stinky wrinkle is if the DCM needs to be programmed, it won't be a real DIY job for most folks (who might not have bidirectional MB-enabled scan tools). I'm hoping it'll work as-is, and if it doesn't I do have a fall-back plan (hack the pins off the harness and connect them to two other points in the DCM harness - a full-time hot lead, and a switched ground that's grounded any time the door is open).
Be careful trying to "loosen only the lower and front edges of door card". All of the Benz door cards I've taken off (albeit earlier models) all had to come up to free the bottom.
Be careful trying to "loosen only the lower and front edges of door card". All of the Benz door cards I've taken off (albeit earlier models) all had to come up to free the bottom.
Thanks - the GLK has the more (current) standard "straight-in push pins" holding the edge of the door card in place, making it a cinch to loosen, I believe all the way around the periphery of the door card (I've only loosened the bottom searching in vain for a sign of a puddle light connector).
Should be a fun project - as long as I can a) wiggle the DCM loose enough to get "testing access" to the pins for plug #6, and b) it doesn't require reprogramming of the DCM (which I can probably do, but which will seriously limit the number of folks who might benefit from the info I'll assemble).
Literally, it's just a matter of using a pry tool to pop the old one out, unplug it, plug the new one in, and push it back into place. I guess 10 seconds is probably optimistic unless you've done it a few times, but it really is about as simple as anything you'll ever do to any vehicle. :-)
I finally got the pre-made wiring harnesses, from a really accommodating eBay vendor. The first shipment was mis-delivered, and they replaced it free, and were very helpful with advice and technical data, all for a sub-$20 purchase.
The harness allowed me to add pins to one of the plugs in the driver's side DCM (Door Control Module), and to connect directly to the pins of the DCM on the passenger's side. However, for some unknown reason, I wasn't able to get power from the DCM to get the lights to work.
So I fell back to a "hacker option", cutting off the female pins from the DCM end of the harness, and wiring the wires to a full-time hot wire, and to a switched ground that's grounded when the door is open. Worked like a champ. Doing it correctly (pulling the wires out of their respective plug housings, soldering and applying heat shrink) took some extra time, but I wanted to show the right way. I'm sure that a much quicker slice, solder and tape method would be adequate given the protected area the cables all live in.
At any rate, the video will be available shortly, and shows the install process, as well as both wiring options. I'm really pleased with the (very!) aftermarket projector puddle lights - the MB logo they project is very sharp and appropriately bright.
It was all much, much more time and trouble than it's worth, other than because of the opportunity to learn something, and to help others figure out how to do it without spending so much time researching and flailing. ;-)
I finally got the pre-made wiring harnesses, from a really accommodating eBay vendor. The first shipment was mis-delivered, and they replaced it free, and were very helpful with advice and technical data, all for a sub-$20 purchase.
The harness allowed me to add pins to one of the plugs in the driver's side DCM (Door Control Module), and to connect directly to the pins of the DCM on the passenger's side. However, for some unknown reason, I wasn't able to get power from the DCM to get the lights to work.
So I fell back to a "hacker option", cutting off the female pins from the DCM end of the harness, and wiring the wires to a full-time hot wire, and to a switched ground that's grounded when the door is open. Worked like a champ. Doing it correctly (pulling the wires out of their respective plug housings, soldering and applying heat shrink) took some extra time, but I wanted to show the right way. I'm sure that a much quicker slice, solder and tape method would be adequate given the protected area the cables all live in.
At any rate, the video will be available shortly, and shows the install process, as well as both wiring options. I'm really pleased with the (very!) aftermarket projector puddle lights - the MB logo they project is very sharp and appropriately bright.
It was all much, much more time and trouble than it's worth, other than because of the opportunity to learn something, and to help others figure out how to do it without spending so much time researching and flailing. ;-)
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