169 headlights/headlamps Europe conversion

[calum]

hi all,

I hesitate to ask what is such an FAQ, especially as a similar question was asked recently, but I'm struggling to find answers...

I'm not sure exactly what lights we have; ours is a 169 A-class "A150 Elegance SE" ordered early 2005; we did not order any non-default external lighting upgrades. The data card has:

U58 Exterior sight and light package

any idea what lighting I have?

I really don't want to use those bloody stickers. Do I have any alternative, assuming I do need to drive in dark, or poor conditions, to convert to driving in EU?

thanks much as always...

 

[whitenemesis]

What does it say in your handbook?

 

[calum]

thanks; unfortunately, my better half tells me the handbook is "missing"; I don't recall it mentioning this, however.

 

[calum]

a quick hunt found the manual, which notes that the bulbs are either H7 or xenon; since I'm sure we didn't order the latter, then they must be H7.

the manual says nothing about EU conversion, however...

 

[whitenemesis]

There will be a little lever for adjusting the lamps for RHD.

Remove the cover to the bulb holder and inside the lever is just on the edge of the bulb holder.

Sorry unable to post a pic currently..

 

[calum]

great! thanks.

I'll have a shufty later, see if I can find it...

I thought that was only for xenon; if that's for H7 too, that's brilliant...

ta much

 

[calum]

mmm, can't find it...

I got the dipped-beam cover off, and rotated the bulb-holder anti-clockwise, and it came out. but no sign of a lever anywhere...

if you have a pic, or a ptr to one, that would be wonderful, please...

 

[whitenemesis]

After a bit of juggling...

 

[calum]

thanks much indeed; I'll try again tomorrow...

 

[robpow]

Thanks for the picture of the headlight unit, I need to do this for our trip next week too so will have a look under the bonnet tomorrow.

Matt

 

[robpow]

How on earth are you supposed to reach the lever!? You need three elfin hands, a mirror and a torch to reach and see anything at the back of the headlights. Especially on the driver's side where there's a thick wiring loom blocking access. Or do the entire headlight unit pull out easily from the front?

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Branta]

169 headlights/headlamps Europe conversion - difficult but not impossible !

Hi

I am coming to this thread in June 2012 and the photo previously posted by "whitenemesis" is gone. However there was enough here to at least give me the confidence to look for the adjusting levers and I managed the job. Here is a recommended set of steps in words rather than pictures.


Ours is a W169, A200 CDi first registered in March 2006. Bog-standard headlamps. I read in some similar threads that one should give up on looking for the lever and use the stickers, but my experience (with a VW with clear headlamp lenses) is that there is simply no satisfactory place to put the stickers. That's why MB provided the levers. Why they made them so difficult to reach I can't say !

1. Park facing a wall or garage door and familiarise yourself with the dipped beam pattern. Maybe put some tape on the wall to remind yourself later where the top of the dipped beam was before you started this exercise.
2. Lift the bonnet and pop off the covers from the dipped beam bulbs. Remove the bulbs (keep clean and safe, take care not to touch bulb glass with fingers). Also remove the bulb-retaining spring clip completely (it's not really in the way but will save you knocking it off and losing it !). To be honest the bulbs don't really get in the way much either, I just removed them "for their own safety".
3. With a small mirror and a torch familiarise yourself with the little lever and its surroundings. The lever itself is under the lamp reflector, with the end bent rearwards to make it easier to reach (but not nearly easy enough !). It is flanked by two "stops" which have holes in them - actually "stops" is the wrong word as the lever reaches neither "stop" at full travel, but I can't think of a better word. All this familiarisation is necessary because the mirror tends to get in the way when trying to move the lever, you are just going to have to do it "by feel" ! Maybe with a small dentist's mirror it can be done, but you probably need to be a dentist to be used to working in a mirror like that.
4. The lever should have been nearer the near-side "stop", now we must move it toward the off-side. There is not enough space to get fingers to it, my tool of choice was a 10mm open-ended spanner which can be made to fit around the lever. Alternatively a small "terminal" screwdriver will allow you to feel the holes in the "stops" to help you feel where you are. The lever is not so stiff it can't be moved this way. Don't expect to move it all the way to the other "stop", it doesn't even get as close to the off-side stop as it was to the near-side before you started.
5. After checking with the torch and mirror that the levers in both headlamps moved a similar distance, reassemble everything and check that the beam pattern has changed in a satisfactory way (assuming you are still pointed at the same wall). This step gives confidence because the levers just don't move as far as you think they should. Be clear that you are simply removing the "lift" on the near-side of the beam, not moving the "lift" to the off-side, i.e. do this job at home, not on the roadside in Calais, you aren't going to dazzle UK motorists on the way to Dover.

Generally I have to say that the procedure was easier than on our VW Passat, where I had to remove lots of other stuff to get at the rear of the lamps. On our A200 CDi there is nothing different about what is in the way between near-side and off-side, but the near-side seemed more difficult because of the direction the lever has to be moved. Presumably the reverse will be true when restoring it to the "UK" setting.