MilosM3

Getting inspiration from a post I saw on other MB forum and saw someone else converting to LEDs.
[Thanks SL BRABUS (Tony) for posting that picture.]

I suspected (which was later confirmed) that the new S550 LEDs were used:



I did a it a little Photoshop test to see how it would look on my car and liked the result.
Just to keep things simple (as I am not good with Photoshop), I used LEDs
from 2013 R231 and simply pasted them into the image of my car:



Stopped by at the body shop today to see how the project was going and I liked what I saw:



Keeping fingers crossed - all should be finished on WED or THU.
All they need to do is finish the custom black grills and re-hang the bumper.

MilosM3

Stopped by the shop today (WED).......they need more time to finish the two layer
custom black grills. (total 4 pieces as they will be installed separately above
and below the LEDs - 2 per side).
Two layers will be done from a bent aluminum (no holes) on the bottom and then a 'mesh'
layer on the top fused together with the back -aluminum layer. Mesh layer will be there
more-less for decoration only so it somehow matches the center large grill.
Once fused - all will be painted black and installed above and below LEDs.

Will be picking up my car tomorrow (THU) for sure.

RaFFi ///AMG

Looking good! Awaiting on the final results.

SL4Life

Patiently waiting...

GTBLITZ

So far it's looking good...can't wait to see the end result.

MilosM3

Just some quick and dirty pictures I snapped with my phone after I picked the car up at 6PM this evening.
You can see the 'look' here but I am not able to share the 'lights on' with you just yet.
Tomorrow the car has to go in the shop again for a couple of hours so they can install some resistors
so the LEDs are on properly and there are no error lights on the dash. They just ran out of time today
and I really need to get my car as I was busy this evening..

Thus far I am very happy with their creativity of making the 4 custom grills
and of course I am very happy with the overall look of the car.

I will share more pictures (with lights on) in a couple of days.

SL4Life

looks pretty snappy! I hope they kept some sought of template I'm sure that won't be the last time they do it by the looks of your mod! :-)

MilosM3

Yes, they kept the templates for those 4 custom grills just in case someone in Tampa Bay
area would be interested to do this modification.

But they are not mailing the copies of these templates anywhere....I already asked, LOL ;-)

jobe

what's the story with slovakian plates?

as i understand this mod was made in florida?

MilosM3

EU plates are decoration only. I was born there and carry EU plates on all of my cars here.
FL does not have any front tag requirement so any personalization is allowed.
Here is a large image:
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e..._1_SL550aG.jpg

jobe

about the plates: cool. i wish rules overhere would be less rigid. i think back side indication is more than enough.

about LEDs: looks great. could you post a picture from above, so the curvature of LEDs to the bumper is seen? thanks.

MilosM3

I have this close-up for now but you are looking probably something from a bird-eye-view?
(i.e picture taken from above the hood pointing camera down ?)

egwu

Nicely done! Kudos !

MilosM3

Here you go.....The curvature of LEDs to the bumper fits and looks like
it was meant to be there from the beginning ;-):

MilosM3

Came back from the shop on FRI - we are not done yet ;-/

Since the wattage is lower on LEDs – as we expected, the lights are causing errors
on the dash board. Worse yet, they are not operational yet and are only giving
out some blinks and flashes every so often. My installers expected this and had
a few resistors ready to ‘fool the computer’ that the current is as it should be.
They tried 4 different values, but this only accomplished flickering at different
intervals. No steady-on light and of course – the errors are still on my dash.

Can anyone shed some advice or suggest that I contact someone (shop or
company with accessories?) with knowledge and necessary parts.

Thanks in advance for any input...

Zhengyucoo

What about.... Tap on the markers other than the fog lights?

SL4Life

http://pages.ebay.com/motors/link/?n...d=370714599128

For 25 bucks this may be worth a try. The item has ended but you can still send the seller a message. Good luck!

jobe

MILOS ledS LOOK GREAT FROM ABOVE, TOO.

I hope you resolve the blinking problem quickly and post the solution for all the hungry ones

MilosM3

Thanks for the reply.
Not sure if this would be possible if since I want to turn these on with the
fog light switch. Then still.....considering how finicky MB computers are,
I would guess it would throw error codes if it was tapped to anything.

EDIT: Zhengyucoo, your advice prompted actually a good solution.
After further discussing this with installation guys we are coming to a conclusion:

- the LEDs will be wired to any source of juice that gets turned on with the ignition (they
are considering the cigarette lighter circuit, but just need to check into the wattage so
the fuse is correct). This means that LEDs would turn on ALWAYS when i turn the car on.
This would not be an ideal scenario, so they will install a tiny flip switch inside of the ashtray
so I will be able to turn the LED/DRLs as I please.


- the fog light bulbs will be rewired to the original wiring, hence all codes will be eliminated.
The fog light bulb sockets (with bulbs in them) will be securely attached under the bumper so they
will not just dangle there. (The only thing is that I will have to remember NOT to turn the fogs
which is not going to be a problem, since I am the only driver of the car).
There is a chance that now that the LEDs will be outside of the fog light circuitry, it now
WILL BE possible just to install a proper resistor to fool the computer that 12V/55W bulbs
are there, without actually having them installed under the bumper and have them live there
forever turned off ;-). However, I really do not care even if they are installed there because
I sure will remember not to turn mu fog lights on anyway.

On other forums I was getting advice to reprogram my computer, but honestly - I think that
the above way is simple enough and worry free. I think all should be wrapped up by WED or THU.

I will keep you guys posted and hope to share pictures soon with lights on

xxGenericSNxx

I recommend getting an electrician such as MB techs to do the LED wiring. I tried to have my body shop do LED work and they're just not very good at electrical stuff- they couldn't figure out how to fix it. You need voltmeters and tools like that to figure out how to get everything working properly.

Also, from the photos, it looks like the LEDs aren't lined up straight. Especially from the low down corner shots, it looks like they're arched upwards (and not parallel with the ground). What do you think?

MilosM3

Thank you for your feedback.

Fortunately, the body shop where I take my cars is one of the premiere body shops in Tampa Bay area. In addition to doing a superb body work they also employ several highly trained mechanics that all have extensive experience with BMWs, MB, Porsche, Ferrari etc. Amongst other mechanics that they have there, two of them are former BMW and MB dealership employees with factory training tool, computers - you name it. (The shop is also well connected with the local MB dealer if anything extensive needs to be done at the dealership because they buy 10s of thousands $$ worth parts from them monthly). Trust me, these guys are well equipped - way beyond voltmeters


I TOTALLY hear what you are saying and I know why. You must be referring to this picture:



I agree - in this above picture the LEDs almost look like they are twisted upwards. I noticed that too when I looked at that picture. The reason for it is that I took that picture almost laying on the ground pointing upwards and lets face it - iPhones do not have the most accurate optics as far as distortion goes. In other words - from that angle and that close to the car you get almost a fish-eye effect and it does not reflect the reality very well when it comes to exact lines.


However, on this car the LEDs would look absolutely horrendous if they were parallel to the ground. Look at the lines of the car (6 red arrows). As you can see from the frontal view the LEDs are totally in concert with the rest of the fascia. No doubt - they were installed absolutely correctly - i.e they needed to be parallel with the lines of the car - not the ground.

Also, as there is little distortion in this 'straight-on', you can see that the LEDs do not look twisted upwards here and in fact are lined up straight (although slightly angled) to follow the rest of the lines but all in parallel:

GTBLITZ

LED's are lookin sharp.

Can you post a few pics from a distance as well as with the lights on?

xxGenericSNxx

OK I gotcha. Thanks for taking the time to make such a detailed reply. Yeah I realize the LEDs need to be slightly angled, and I guess your term is better "how it's twisted upwards." But as long as it looks good in person then who cares! Like you said, it could just be camera tricks!

MilosM3

Will do, but going to have to wait until tomorrow or THU.
The car is going in tomorrow hopefully (fingers crossed)
for the last visit to finalize the 'error lights' and blinking issue.

As mentioned above.....
LEDs are going to get wired to a new circuit that will be activated
automatically anytime the ignition is tuned on. There will be also additional
small hidden switch in my ashtray so I can turn them on/off as I wish.
(at the same time they are also going to hard-wire my Valentine One
so it gets turned on/off with ignition).

Into the place of existing fog lights they will install resistors (option 1)
or (option 2) re-instal and hide the existing fog bulbs & sockets under
the bumper. Of course, we are hoping for option 1 but either of them
will for sure eliminate any error lights in the dashboard.

Looking forward to WED evening

MilosM3

No worries ...

Nathan, I just read your whole R63 build up link.... Holy cannolly !
That's some serious stuff !! Well done ! I definitely want to pick your brain
about your CF wheel. I was going to do the CF interior. The door trim
and the dash are relatively easy (and affordable). Things however get
complicated when it comes to steering wheel so I put that thought on hold.