Hello all, I have a 2006 S430 4matic, with halogen headlights. The headlights have the projector lens’ on them.

My driver side low beam headlight is noticeably dimmer than my passenger side. I replaced the bulb with a new one and still results with a dimmer beam. I then measured the voltage across the electrical plug for the bulb and got a reading of 14v. So no line loss. The headlight plastic isn't foggy, I managed to use those wipes to clear it up.

Is it possible that the actual projector lens can be the reason for the dimmed light? And if so, is this component replaceable?

Thanks in advanced

 

One reason for dim lights is that the reflective material inside the projector goes away with age. Some folks have replaced the projectors with newer after-market one. Google searches should show you the process.

 

Thanks for the quick response. I will look for something online.

 

I very much appreciate your help

 

Swap the bulbs left to right to confirm before you start buying replacement reflector lights

 

I did that, and it is the same result.

 

"I did that, and it is the same result."

Does that mean that the driver's side is still dim, or that the problem followed the bulb?

 

If the same side is dimmer, then you're probably looking at replacing the projector. And if you're going to go to that level anyway, it might be a good idea to consider converting to HID's (xenons). This is what I did with my 2003 S430 and a few other vehicles, and the results are excellent.

 

Thanks a lot cowboyt for the recommendation. Did it require a lot converting to HIDs?

 

Not really. It did take me a day, because I'd never done it before, and I wanted to do it right. Here's what I used.

1.) Hella Gen 3 ballasts (D2S)
2.) Morimoto E46 bi-xenon projectors
3.) Osram Xenarc bulbs (Philips and Jahn are equally good choices)

Note that I'm using quality components here. I'm not using the "made in China" ballasts. Hella Gen 3's are plentiful, affordable, and of high quality. Same goes for the Morimoto projectors and the HID bulbs; stick with quality.

The specific bulbs that I have used in my own cars are as follows.

A.) Osram Xenarc 66240 CLC "Classic" (all but two of our cars)
B.) Osram Xenarc 66240 CBI "Cool Blue" (the E320 CDI)
C.) Jahn P32d-2 Xenon 1000, model #983581 (the S600 TT)

Any of these bulbs will give you stellar results.

You do have to remove the headlight assembly and take the lens cover off, so the car will be out of commission for the day (or two, depending on your skill with a soldering iron) that you're doing this. Getting the lens cover off means baking the headlight assembly at 200 deg. F. for about 8-10 minutes to soften the butyl sealant holding the lens cover in. You use a good-sized flat-head screwdriver to pry it off once the sealant is softened (use kitchen gloves--it'll be pretty warm!). Note that I take off all of the light bulb access doors as well, just to keep the rubber on those from melting.

Once that's done, then you just take everything apart. Inspect your wiring. These headlamp assemblies used an "environmentally friendly" wire insulation that is now crumbling at the age of our cars. That can cause a dangerous short-circuit, so get some heat-shrink tape to help out with that. Not hard at all, just slightly tedious.

The E46 bi-xenon projectors are drop-in replacements for your halogen projectors. The solenoid wire for the bi-xenon shield (the "high beam" shield) will be wired in parallel to the high-beam bulb. This way, when you hit your high beams, you get not just the halogen high-beam bulbs, but also the full brightness of the bi-xenon HID projector/bulb combination. I assure you, it is bright, and that's a good thing here in deer country.

The ballast will go on the bottom of the headlamp assembly. I use that metal duct strapping used in home HVAC installations, plus a couple of screws, to secure the ballast to the bottom. There are screw posts that you can use. Cut a hole in a strategic spot so that you can feed the D2S light-bulb connector inside. I cut my hole in the bottom to keep the rainwater out.

The bulb, of course, plugs into the D2S light-bulb connector coming from the ballast.

Before you put the lens cover back on, take your refurb'ed headlight assembly out to the car, plug it in, start the car, and see if everything works. That means low-beam, high beam, fog light, turn signal, and that cute little "looky, I'm here!" 5W bulb. If all works, then turn off the lights, unplug, and put your lens cover back on. You'll want to bake it to get the sealant soft enough to do a proper seal, to keep rainwater out.

Here's the thread on the other forum outlining the results.

https://www.benzworld.org/threads/he...xenon.2794042/

You might also want to look at some new lens covers. You can refurb the original ones, too, but there's nothing like new, and it's somewhere around $60 for the pair, shipped, from several eBay vendors. The S600 got this treatment, and the E320 CDI is about to get it (I have the new lens covers already; just need to make time to do the swap).

 

Or just buy the DEPOS as they are ready to go . Lots of people damage the lights or mounting tabs or ruin their kitchen ovens when trying to bake headlights

 

Heh...as you know, @tusabes I even modify the DEPO's! :-)

Actually, they are a good basis for modding, as the build quality is very good, and everything inside is brand new. In the case of DEPO-modding, I'll take the single-xenon projectors that they normally come with and replace those with the Morimoto E-46 bi-xenon projectors and new bulbs. The project 2000 S500 (wife's car) was the first to get that treatment. Dad's car got it next. The 2003 S430 was the third. Dracula better stay away from me.....