One of my Merc's is a 2003 clk320. Right xenon light is out. Can I replace myself? cost? where to buy? Level of difficulty to replace? Any help appreciated.

Chris V

 

Hi chris, I just logged on, I have the same issue where one of my Xennon lights went out then about 2 weeks later my other light went out. Did you ever find out how to go about that? Im curious is the actual projector or is it the component that comes with it?

Any help much appreciated,
Cisco

 

Well, I'm here on the forum because I'm considering buying a used CLK and I'm trying to get a feel for what some of the common issues are with them, but I might be able to help, you did say that ANY advice is appreciated! I drive an Acura with HID's and I know that the big difference with HID's is that besides the headlight bulb, you also have a ballast, which is basically there to "ignite" the bulb when you turn it on. It's likely that either your bulb went or your ballast went. You can try replacing the bulb, you can find them for a lot cheaper on the net than you will pay at the dealer. If that doesn't fix the problem, then your ballast is probably blown. I know that on our Acuras, the ballasts do go bad from time to time. Now, I'll bet that the OEM ballast is pretty pricey, I know that the OEM ballasts for my Acura run like $400 or more for EACH side! I forget who makes the OEM parts for Acura, but I think that Hella makes the OEM for most of the German cars so I'm sure that the ballast MB uses is at least as much, if not more. To make things worse, HID's dim over time so if you want things to really look correct, you should replace both sides at the same time. Now that I've probably ruined your day with this, let me mention another option.

You could buy one of the aftermarket HID kits and install that instead of the OEM equipment. You know how you now see a fair amount of cheap cars that certainly didn't come standard with HID's rolling around with HID's? (often times totally blinding all oncoming traffic!) Well, that's because of the explosion of aftermarket HID kits, which have come down unbelievably low in price. Now, its totally illegal to install HID's in a Kia Rio for instance, but people are doing it all over so they can have those "cool blue headlights". The kits, which normally include 2 ballasts and 2 bulbs can be found for as low as around $50 or $60! Just a few years ago, the kits sold for far, far more. One thing that many of the guys over at the Acura forum I go on have been doing is buying one of these aftermarket kits and just splicing it in, instead of going OEM when one side goes out and they have been working out fine for the most part. Now, I've read that the quality of these kits varies widely, so you want to do some research and find a decent kit, make sure it has waterproof ballasts. It will probably take a little bit of creative splicing to replace the OEM ballasts with the new ones, but anyone that's fairly handy should be able to pull it off. Now, you should be good to go with new equipment on both sides.

 

The first thing you can do is swap the bulbs from left to right. This will tell you if it is a bad bulb. DO THIS WITH THE LIGHTS OFF. It is like removing a spark plug wire when the car is running. If it is not the bulb look at the plug for the bulb and see if it is burned. If so you can buy a repair kit at the dealer. It will be a new igniter and plug. You can also swap the control units left to right to rule them out as well. You will have to remove the headlights to do this. The bumper has to come off to do this. Good luck!

 

I have a 2003 CLK (RH Drive) and intermittantly get the message Right Dipped Lamp and the light goes out. Turn the ignition ff / on and fault goes away.
The dealer has changed my Xenon bulbs on several occasions, changed a starter, tugged at the cable loom, prayed and the problem is still there. Any ideas?
This has been with me almost since the car was new.

 

like the guy said above switch the left bulb to the right if it works then it could be your ballast. Buying a new bulb is not a problem they are everywhere now.

Andy

 

I am going down the route of swapping things right to left to see if the fault moves.

Another symptom I have just spotted & can only see when dark is that just before the light goes out it appears the fog light come on or the beam drops (not sure which as I am driving).
Does that symptom mean anything to anyone?

 

Of course you can do it by yourself when you will purchase xenon hid kits you will find an installation manual inside and it will be a lot easier to install it by yourself

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/H1-Xe.../140470172240;)

 

I have a 2000 CLK320 The drivers side xenon light is out. Dealer told me that the igniter is defective. Cost about $1055.00 for the part. On line the cost is $285.00 But now how to replace the igniter??? It looks like the thing is buried behind the bumper and headlights. Anybody have instructions? Help!!
TX John W.