Bosch HID upgrade kit for W202

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Shude

Hardcore MB Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 1, 2002
Messages
13,882
Location
Cheshire
Car
CLK55 AMG
I was driving home from work one day and while overtaking a truck I heard a sound like a bomb going off, I didn't see any damage to the windscreen so assumed whatever it was had bounced off. When I got home I saw a hole the size of a golfball in the left headlamp lens! :(

A smile crept across my face when I realised this was just the excuse I needed!

A quick call to my nearest bosch retailer and a few days later a large box arrived from the Fatherland...
 

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The package contains headlamp housings, control units (aka ballasts), corner indicators, all required bulbs and parts and some laughable instructions.
 

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A quick inspection reveals that these are the exact same units as fitted by MB to models with HID, the same reflectors, housings, lenses and everything. The only exception seems to be the level-adjustment which has conveniently been designed to be a straight-swap with non-HID models so the dial in the cockpit can be used to adjust the aim for different vehicle loads.
 

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Just after installation I fired them up and checked the beam pattern, it is not perfect but it will suffice until my car is MOT'd in a couple of weeks where the workshop has been instructed to align the headlamps prior to the inspection. In the meantime I have simply aimed them low so as not to distract other motorists.

The light output is simply astonishing! Nothing short of silly. There is no need for me to elaborate any more because I'm sure everyone has seen oem HID in action and it's just awesome.
 

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There will be no HOWTO for this mod because it's so easy, and also because I have installed the control units in a very clumsy manner and I'd be embarrased to show anyone (duct tape and bubble-wrap until I can find a more secure way to mount them ;) ).

Other than that I need to peel these chappies off and stick them on the cross-member...
 

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shude, looks like it has the non HID adjuster on there already!
 
Alps said:
shude, looks like it has the non HID adjuster on there already!
It does! Works perfectly! Absolutely zero effort required there, no messing around at all :D
 
Good work .... good time of year to have installed them too - you'll get some use out of them while its still 'dark' ish !

S.


PS - Love the graphics on those stickers .. the BMW ones are much more boring !
 
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sym said:
Good work .... good time of year to have installed them too - you'll get some use out of them while its still 'dark' ish !
Yeah, it's dark when I drive to work and it's dark when I leave atm...

Most importantly the car would fail it's MOT with a broken lens, I'd rather fix the whole lot up than mess around with the lens ;) . Any excuse to do a quick mod ;)
KillerHERTZ said:
How much???
The answer to this question has been posted on this forum repeatedly, I have been planning this mod since late 2001, it's a mod FIVE YEARS in the planning! ;)

Price according to Bosch is £715 +VAT but I got a substantial discount, in total I paid less than the price of ONE HOUSING (IIRC) from MB, which would have included nothing!
 
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Excellent Mod. well done.

Do you know if the same parts are available for a facelifted 2002 CLK (and the same discount!)
 
Well done Shude. we need some daynight external photos to see "the look" though. Well done!:)
 
Alfie said:
Excellent Mod. well done.

Do you know if the same parts are available for a facelifted 2002 CLK (and the same discount!)
Almost definitely, just need to find the part number.

I got my part number from Tony at Bekkers.com in late 2001/early 2002. He looked it up with Bosch, he sells the USA LHD version of the kit and Bosch gave him the RHD part number.

Initially my local Bosch place struggled to order the headlamps because they were certified only for use in Japan/HK/Asia markets but after some discussions with Bosch Technical they put a tick in the UK box and I was able to get a price for them. Then all I had to do was find the money ;)

Back to present day, I bought the lamps off the same shop and the original bloke I spoke to in the shop was very interested in seeing them, esp after all this time ;)

The discount I got was 30% before VAT, so they actually worked out at ~£590.
 
Well done shude, you finally got a mod done that isnt sitting on your shelf!!!!

I must say its been one of the best mods for improving night time driving!
 
Alfie said:
Do you know if the same parts are available for a facelifted 2002 CLK (and the same discount!)
I just realised something: CLK headlamps are made by Hella! Could be a different story regarding the retrofits.
 
Here is a pic of the hole, with some broken glass still inside the housing:
 

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Tony Downs at bekkers.com, the very helpful chap who sorted out the part numbers for the W202 RHD xenons is looking into the RHD hella W210/208 numbers for us.

Xenons for all hurrah! ;)
 
The lense looks melted like an Alien has bled acid all over it .......
 

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