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I want to thank you all in advance for any knowledge you can share and please forgive me if I post error.
I have a 2005 SL500 (R230 - US model). I'm trying to replace the secondary headlight bulbs with LED lights (see attached photos). Once I replace the bulbs with LED bulbs, one of the lights (either left or right) will start to flicker and goes off and the light bulb error/code comes on. One light stays on and the other will goes off (either left or right). I have used both polar and non-polar LED bulbs, but I cannot figure out why this is happening. Any help in resolving the issue is greatly appreciated.
These cars are very finicky with bulbs. I damaged the front SAM modules with led bulbs once. Maybe the expensive ones work, but cheap ones can get real expensive with repairs.
LED bulbs use much less current (power) than traditional bulbs. The car's electronics (in the SAM?) measure this current and when too low, assumes the bulb is burnt out or defective. Hence the warning light. Therefore replacement LEDs sometimes comes with a module which simply draws enough current to fool the system.
In your case, since it is a relatively small bulb, adding a 12 to 15 Ohm Ohm power resistor in parallel with the bulb will likely fool the system. I say "power resistor", because it will draw about 1 Amp and dissipate about 12 to 15 watts of heat.
Yes, I have had this for years on my LED side light bulbs!. For me its always the right side, especially when the battery is low ! I have changed different LED's but after a while the same issue happens, I have now gone back to good old filament bulbs for the time being, The best solution is to use a separate fuse choke ballast, and not rely on the inbuilt resistor that are placed across the bulb + and -'ve contacts to simulate a filament bulb current draw. This way you can also use non-canbus error free bulbs as the resistor will do that job. I have also in the past kept the original bulbs installed then run in-parallel my LED's into the light.
I apologize for the late reply. Many thanks to A1EK, Mrvedit and Ack4219. I greatly appreciate all of your helpful tips and photos. I'll give it a try with Resister Decoder and post the results.
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