w4sim

Hello all

The other day when i switched the headlights on i noticed one of the bulbs did not light up. Although i was inside the car i did not notice any flickering or dimming of the bulb before it went out.

Now i had the bulb replaced but to no joy, tried the same bulb on the other side and it worked. Initially i though it would be a fuse but talking to the mechanic he was not 100% certain that the bulb was in properly the first time around, and may have possibly damaged the bulb from the other side whilst taking it out. So although he tried 2 other bulobs in there, he was not sure the first one was in there properly and the second one may have been damaged.

So now im going to experiment with bulbs tomorrow.

But i have a bad feeling its actually something else. Reading on here it would seem that its possibly the ballast or the ignitor?

But whats the difference and is there any way of testing either one? Are they swapable on the other side or will they only go onto one specific headlight?

Thanks.

berti_00

Wrong forum

w4sim

Why, do the E55's not come with Xenons?

viren.89

It does, but we might not be as informative as the S55 owners would be on the subject and no one wants you to end up spending a lot of money on a part which isn't a right one.

berti_00

+1 this

w4sim

Right, whilst the problem is on an S55, the actual problem is with the Xenon lights, which are not specific to just that car. Your both missing the point that xenons on all cars work in just about the same way, so i could have just asked this on an Audi forum and anyone with knowledge of xenons should be able to help.

With the S55 section being a bit quite lately i thought i would ask the neighbours whose lights work on the same principle, so you shouldnt really be able to point me in the wrong direction if you know what your talking about . . . . which i think you probably dont. But thanks for your help anyway.

w4sim

Iv looked up some information on the ballast for an S55 and would you believe it, the same part is not only shared on several of the Mercedes models of that era but also fits on some of Audi, BMW, Mazda, Range Rover and VW models.

So much for specific to an S55.

55fanatic

While I am not sure the design of the S55 lights, the technology for them is shared across a dozen or so makes and more than a few Marques. I haven't taken my E class headlights apart yet to see what they are but there are 2 designs... A ballast and igniter built in to one box or a ballast and igniter in seperate boxes but wired up together. In either case I would pull the headlight, plug it in to the side you know is good with the bulb you know is good(the headlight that works). If it doesn't turn on, search eBay for the parts because pretty sure you will have to buy the whole headlamp at the stealership.

If its the bulb, change out both at the same time, unlike halogen it is noticeable when one bulb is newer than the other

w4sim

Iv spent a few hours taking both the headlights out, which is actually easier and quicker than taking the bulbs out, and swapped them around. Then swapped the individual bits around and hey presto, the ballast on the faulty light stopped the working light from coming on, whilst the ballast from the working light made the faulty headlight work again.

So its the ballast thats underneath the headlight. Have rang Mercedes for this and the good news is that i wont have to buy the whole headlight assembly coz they do the ballast on its own. The bad news is that its around £500, or $800 if you prefer.

Been looking around on ebay and found one for £150, so lets see what happens over the next few days.

With only one light working currently i cant be sure of the difference between the 2 lights but when the new ballast is installed i will see if there is any difference. If there is then i still have the old bulb and with any luck that hasnt actually blown.