AWOL

I hate to keep making threads but I keep having pesky issues.

My driver side headlight decided to not turn on a few days ago, then after a few on/off switches of the lights and 5 minutes of driving it worked again. Then not, then yes, now no.

If it fires up, I can turn it on/off as usual right away. But if it sits 5 minutes, I cant.

It comes up on the dash as low beam out, even after it turns on.

It was starting to flicker before all of this, but when I pop the hood and fiddle around, it turns on. I checked the connections, everything looks solid - I was just curious if anyone had words of wisdom, or experienced this

Thanks

pearlpower

Low beam light will no go out even if the light turns on unless you turn off the key and restart. Do you have HIDs?
If it comes on after messing around sounds like standard halogen bulbs and a loose connection. Sounds pretty easy to dx, just mess with the wires to see which is being the problem wire and repair from there.

AWOL

They are HIDs, and now it doesnt work at all.

I might swap the bulbs to see if its the bulb, or maybe the ignitor, etc.

Yuille36

The only problem with swapping, is that if its a defect, it can possibly short out the the replacement bulb, leaving you without any lights. Now you have to buy two new bulbs and HID aren't cheap. Roughly $230 per bulb, especailly for a AMG

AWOL

Well, Im an idiot. I recently purchased this car and its been too cold to really look at the detail details, but yeah, the headlights are aftermarket I believe.

The PO tucked the wires and stuff and we all know how cramped it is in there, but it looks like a kit. I got the bulb out, and this is what it is:



Def is not stock, and, I didnt switch bulbs because the other side was so damn tight. So how the hell am I going to figure out what kit this is from or how to replace it.

God I suck

pearlpower

That is definitely aftermarket. At this time, I would just go with a new 55w kit which is no more than $65 to your door. I have tried different kits on the E.

I tried the kit in the link below, problem is the bulb base is not oval as it should be and the oem metal retainer does not slip over them so you need to use the supplied plastic retainer but bend in the factory tabs on the housing. Their service is not exactly great either as I received the wrong ballast the first time around and to get replacements was a hassle.
http://www.ddmtuning.com/

The Ebay kits have bulbs that do fit nicely as the oem retainer fits well, but their ballast went out and replacement is a real royal pain for those folks in China.


I ended up using the Ebay bulbs with the 55w ballast. So far great, no issues, and noticeably brighter than oem HIDs.

Your other option is to get some nice bulbs and toss them in the housing.

Have a picture of the ballast? Curious which brand went out on you.

AWOL

Alright, I pulled out the ballast and its a vvme.com unit. Its dated sept of 09, well within the one year warranty.

I just called and boy are they hard to deal with. Id have to send the bulb to them to test, then they send me a free one. It would be a turn around time of 1-2 weeks. Aka, I might as well buy a new unit.


poop

And not only that, they wanted me to pay the shipping. So I just bought two new bulbs. Hope it works

harjothundal

seeing the picture, i'm assuming your vehicle came with the halogen projectors from the factory and a previous owner just upgraded it to hid bulbs... how was the beam pattern and light output when all was working well?

AWOL

It was working so well I thought they were factory HIDs. Very bright, nice pattern. If it wasnt for the light going out, as well as their hard to understand customer service Id recommend them for sure.

But, light wise. Solid.

harjothundal

glad to hear it was working well! good luck with the replacement bulbs... worse case scenario you would just have to purchase a new hid kit as mentioned above!