Lightman

First off - all apologies - I can't find my digital camera anywhere! I wanted to post pics of the install.

Glad to say - installed! I ordered the xenon replacement kit from Tony at Bekkers Imports. I thought I was buying OEM parts, however a Hella kit came. In any case, I found out Hella manufactures all of the OEM xenons for bmw and mercedes. Oh well, in any case, the lights came in two(huge) boxes. They are the complete headlamp assemblies. No instructions included - just parts in a box. I was skeptical about installing them etc, as i'm no mechanic by any means.

THIS INSTALL WAS A JOKE! It was literally a matter of about 4 bolts to unscrew, and 2 plugs to pull out. Reverse the process - and the lights are in.

Note - I disconnected the battery (+) cable to do the install as someone else on this board recommended it. Dunno if its necessary or not, but it took 2 mins to take the back seat out and do it, and thats probably worth not getting zapped or electrocuted!

Also - my radio reset and asked for a code - but this was easily fixed by opening my owners manual packet - and theres a card right there that says radio code card.

I bolted everything back in place, put away all the tools etc, started the car up, and turned the lights on. Nice and blue!! The lenses look much cooler too.

In any case, the only thing I haven't done is aim them. When I turned them on in my dark garage, they appeared to be shooting straight forward on my wall. I've never aimed the lights before - Any tips on headlight aiming? I wonder how i'll know if they're off?

So my advice to anyone considering installing it, go for it. Even with my limited mechanical knowledge, this was a no-brainer. All you need is a socket, extension, and a few sockets, the one I used most was 7mm.

Enjoy, and friviolous blue lights for everyone!

mrbeverlyhills

Congratulations, I think I could still make you look like Smokey Yunik in terms of my inability with tools. How much was the total cost for everything to your door if you do not mind me asking?

Lightman

Since I mentioned being a forum member to tony at Bekkers - total price shipped to my door - $915.

Chivasgene

Lightman, I congragturate you on your new xenon lights. I have smae problem like you. I installed my xenon lights 2 month ago and I have beed so busy since. I still have not yet aim my xenon lights. please let me know how you get your lights align, or you just take it to the dealer. If anyone who's reading this message knows how to align the exnon lights, any informations will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Lightman

Its fairly easy to adjust them. Go on level ground and drive up to something like a garage or painted wall, turn on the headlights. Pop the hood. On top of each light assembly there are two black knobs that you can twist, or use a wide flat head screwdriver in. One knob is higher than the other one. The higher knob adjusts the light to the left/right, and the lower black knob adjusts the lights up and down.

While i've gotten the process down, I'm still not sure exactly what the correct beam height is etc, so I'm just kinda guessing at this point, but I think i've gotten them in a reasonable range.

They are so much brighter than my stock halogens were

darkLCD

Good to hear that your install went well. As far as aiming, keep your car on level ground, walk away at a distance and make sure the headlights wouldn't be blinding oncoming. Did you get a malfunction light?

Lightman

Thanks for the tips. I think I have them in a reasonable range. At first when I started the car, my radio needed the security code, window power up/down didn't work, and sunroof was working funny. However, the standard reset method of putting the sunroof all the way back and then forward worked just fine, as did for the windows, and all are working perfectly again. The first time I used the lights I got a 'defective lamp' warning, but this did not come back the last 3 times i started and ran the car. I was actually getting the defective lamp message off and on randomly before I installed the xenons. Every time I take it to the dealer , the light won't come on, of course

LorinserLV2

You managed a serious alteration Nice difference huh?

I´m lucky, cause avantgarde has Xenon

Lightman

They look cool, but are an extreme functional improvement, they DO make a big difference in brightness at night. Kinda like going from modem to Dsl or Cable. You don't know what you're missing till you get the xenons!!:p

joeyharp

As for aiming, I have a suggestion....

Do as others have mentioned....park or a flat surface, only a couple of feet from a wall. Now mark the "hot spot" of the xenon. You know, the center of the horizontal line created by the cutoff tab inside the optics.... Now back the car up in a straight line about 20 ft or so. Now aim the lights, using the (above mentioned) adjusting screws, until the "hot spot" is in the same spot. Presto! You should be in good shape.

Now is when I break your heart.

There are stage II bulbs available for our cars. What the hell are they? They are the same bulbs that are in the le mans cars. I bought a pair from hids4less.com and installed them in minutes. WOW! The story I got from they guys @ hids4less.com is that there is only 1 company, Philips, which makes these bulbs once a year because there isn't much demand for them. They omit a higher frequency of light than typical xenons. I would say their story is true. The light seems to saturate things better. I wish I could come up with a better word than saturate, but it's the best I can do. For example, stuff that is painted with a reflective coating, like the side of a cop car, or street signs, light up like christmas trees! It's really something else. The bulbs go for around 300/side but the odds of them blowing out are slim in none. I hear that they have to leak, which just doesn't happen. After installing these in my '01 e430, I went ahead and ordered more for my other car. Same result.

Anyway, good luck with the aiming! Welcome to xenonville.

joeyharp

darkLCD

If you're referring to the Phillips 6000k Ultinon HID bulbs, those are awesome. I love the extreme purple coloration to them. However, I think you sacrifice some visible light for coloration, but it might well be worth the sacrifice.

Lightman

I'm familiar and was familiar with those hid bulbs etc before I made the purchase. I'm still happy with my factory xenon upgrade, for resale purposes and performance wise. I wasn't looking to save 300 bux for an imitation Whatever works for you though, its all cooler than stock!

darkLCD

Like you Lightman, I still prefer the OEM MB xenon bulbs. It has nice coloration and the most amount of usable visible light.

joeyharp

Actually, the stage II bulbs cost me an extra $600. I now have a spare pair of original equipment xenon bulbs. They're great, no doubt, however the higher frequency light of the stage II seems to reach farther than the stock xenons. I wish they were less blue, but you can't have it all. I'll take the distance over the appearance. The downside is that the highbeams now look even more yellow and dont reach as far as the lowbeams.

joeyharp

joeyharp

We must not be talking about the same bulbs.

Lightman

FYI to all interested - the Hella kit is the OEM kit. Hella makes all of bmw and MB factory xenons. The hella retrofit is an exact match of the oem xenon.

Tachini

I have Hella xenon headlight for my 2001 clk too, but the color between those two are different. One of them is more purple, the other is more blue. Is this the light bulb or the ballast problem? any information is helpful. Thx

joeyharp

I doubt that the ballast would discolor the light output, but I'm no authority on the subject.
Something that I noticed is that there are differences between many of the xenons. If you look very closely at the bulb, you will notice that the small chamber in the center of the stalk has a semi-transparent stripe running along the inside of it. Those stripes are different colors in different brand bulbs. That is such a critical part of the bulb that I can't imagine that there isn't a connection between the different die colors mixing with the xenon and the different light colors ommited. The oem xenons in my car had a light green stripe inside the bulb, and the stage II xenons have a red stripe, and provide a whiter light.
I don't know if this helps at all, but I figured I would throw it out there.

joeyharp

Tachini

Thanks for the info. I'll try to change the bulb then.

E55 KEV

Tachini,

Is your Xenon from the factory or aftermarket installed? If your Xenon is factory installed they are under warranty.

joeyharp,

You upgraded factory HID to Stage II? Correct? Is the Stage II bulb a direct fit or require some mods? Thanks.

Tachini

Hi...
My xenon brand is Hella, they are aftermarket.

E55 KEV

joeyharp,

You upgraded factory HID to Stage II? Correct? Is the Stage II bulb a direct fit or require some mods? Thanks.

joeyharp

Hey Kev,

The stage II bulbs are plug and play. They ignite from the factory ballast/ignitor and are 35w. like the oem bulbs.

Let me know if you need help finding them.

joeyharp

E55 KEV

joeyharp,

Thanks for the information. Somewhere I had read that a little mod was needed. Who makes the bulbs? Philips? Where is the place you recommend. Thanks.

joeyharp

Kev,

Yes, Phillips makes the bulbs. hids4less.com is where I got mine. They are in Rhode Island. I drove there from Danbury, which is less than 2 hours away. The crew is a bunch of young guys who seemed to know their stuff. If you talk to them, don't hesitate to mention me. They know me as the guy with the mr2, s4 and e430.
Let me know how you make out.

joeyharp