A little project - W169 flexi DRLs / Turn Signal mod

[GLK]

I wanted to see how easy it is to fit the newish style changeable DRLs (those flexible ones that turn yellow when you indicate) into a W169 headlamp, and whether that will look OEM-ish

The trial headlamp unit was kindly donated by David Richardson (don't worry, he's not driving around with one headlight - he's got a new one).

the headlamp:

daytime light:

turn signal light:

It doesn't look too bad, I suppose, but it's not perfect either - the light is not in fact, as uniformed, as I wanted (expected the white light to be continuous); the mounting clips are pretty crude; the glue that holds the headlamp together is a horrible sticky substance, and I was lucky to get a great tip on how to handle it, from a well-known member on the other side; there's a problem with the ends of the flexi tube - too crude to leave as is, particularly the wired end (I fed that inside the chrome trim).

The electronic part works perfectly, by the way - changes from white to yellow and back are exactly as it should be, including flashing hazards, and short 3-blink indication.

All in all, having done this now, I have to conclude that, I won't be doing it with my car - way too fiddly, and the end result is, well, questionable.

 

[angiedave]

I wanted to see how easy it is to fit the newish style changeable DRLs (those flexible ones that turn yellow when you indicate) into a W169 headlamp, and whether that will look OEM-ish

The trial headlamp unit was kindly donated by David Richardson (don't worry, he's not driving around with one headlight - he's got a new one).

the headlamp:

daytime light:

turn signal light:

It doesn't look too bad, I suppose, but it's not perfect either - the light is not in fact, as uniformed, as I wanted (expected the white light to be continuous); the mounting clips are pretty crude; the glue that holds the headlamp together is a horrible sticky substance, and I was lucky to get a great tip on how to handle it, from a well-known member on the other side; there's a problem with the ends of the flexi tube - too crude to leave as is, particularly the wired end (I fed that inside the chrome trim).

The electronic part works perfectly, by the way - changes from white to yellow and back are exactly as it should be, including flashing hazards, and short 3-blink indication.

All in all, having done this now, I have to conclude that, I won't be doing it with my car - way too fiddly, and the end result is, well, questionable.

 

[angiedave]

Hi, are there 3 fixing on w169 2012 headlight assembly, 2 are visible if 3 is it behind bumper please.

 

[GLK]

Don't really know, to be honest - never actually removed the headlight myself, and haven't seen a facelift one up close either - it could well have different mounting points to the pre-facelift model.

 

[m80]

Interesting little project that I had thought about for the Vito.
I've had the headlights out and have been afraid to split them for fear of breaking them.
Now you've managed that and the install I'm suitably deterred due to your comments.
Thanks.

 

[GLK]

At the time - that was nearly three years ago - I thought my DRL options were very limited, and David so kindly sent me his old headlight unit - it would've been a crime not to try it

I would never want to try to split open of of these ever again (apparently, you need an oven to do it properly), and in any case, the cost of resealing it correctly would rule out any such attempt, I fear.

The main reason however, was the quality of the light: just wasn't quite right. I'm not a stranger to using cheap stuff in my car mods (a £10 GPS tracker is now 5 yrs old and working perfectly well), but if these appear cheap, now that's a different story ...

I might look into something similar in the future, but for now I'm happy wth my DRLs - dual-function turn indicators and fog, with no change to factory appearance. If that's a good thing

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Looks a bit Tesla IMO...

Great effort thought, good to see people still modding!

 

[GLK]

About a month after this trial, I decided to be brave and went into the headlights (via the dipped beam hatch) with an array of surgical instruments, to modify the turn signal indicator sockets (which Mercedes wired wrong way round for some mysterious reason)...

I also bought a pair of new indicator bulb holders from MB, which I also modified - from BAU15S to BAY15D, so now I have dual-function DRL / Turn signal lights.

I replaced the NS bulb yesterday, which at 2 years and 8 months is not bad at all - one of the 30 white SMDs started to flicker. The OS bulb is still fine.

 

[R77C]

Looks great to me!