How Bad are W220 S-Class halogen headlights?

[355marcus]

Dear Sirs,
I wonder if some fellow S-Class owners could comment on headlight performance. As a masterstroke of penny pinching my S-Class doesnt have Xenons, it has halogen headlights and they are truly awful!
Its not that they arent very good, they are shocking!!
I've been fiddling and cant really improve them. I tried an aftermarket kit (No comments ta) which whilst giving a whiter colour really didn't produce any more light output, i've now put some +90% brighter bulbs in to try and rather than the bright white they should be giving, i get more of a unexciting yellowy colour.
Im hoping and praying that this isnt the accepted headlight performance because if i cant sort it sensibly i'll get rid of the car! I do have a liking for seeing where im going!
So, gentlemen, please, any helpful comments, ideas or suggestions?
My deepest thanks in advance!!

 

[FunkMasterJay]

Silly questions, but how clean are your lenses?

 

[355marcus]

Good thinking! Slightly lateral. I like it.
But yes they are nice and clean!!

 

[kwakdonut]

And I know it may sound personal, but have you had your night vision checked?

I wouldn't have thought that any modern-ish cars headlights are that poor

 

[jonnyboy]

If it's an early car they will be poor.
I changed mine for some Xenons from a slightly later car (not bi-Xenons). Much better and the car looks younger too

 

[355marcus]

Night visions ok thank you Young Man!
And you're right!, they really shouldnt be that bad!
But unfortunately they are!!

 

[s500colin]

If it's an early car they will be poor.
I changed mine for some Xenons from a slightly later car (not bi-Xenons). Much better and the car looks younger too

I Think Johns option would be the best answer I have Xenon's on my S500 and there are excellent for night driving

 

[355marcus]

Well mines a 2002/3, it was an early facelifted one so it has the widescreen and clear projector headlamps.

 

[jonnyboy]

Well mines a 2002/3, it was an early facelifted one so it has the widescreen and clear projector headlamps.

In that case i suspect you have a different problem.

 

[355marcus]

In that case i suspect you have a different problem.

Any ideas???
Its so frustrating.
As the cars could be configured either with or without xenons in their STAR menu's is it possible that the bulbs just aren't getting what they need?
I tried to get the headlight feed to operate a relay so i could power the lights via a feed straight from the battery, but all that managed was to switch the relay on and off constantly at about second intervals!! Does that give anyone any further clues?

 

[kwakdonut]

Night visions ok thank you Young Man!
And you're right!, they really shouldnt be that bad!
But unfortunately they are!!

Good to hear!

And at 40, it's nice to be called a 'young' man!

 

[mr. shr]

You've checked the height and kick angle are correct and that headlamps are not set for driving in Europe?

Could it be an electrical problem? Full voltage not appearing across the bulbs?

 

[FunkMasterJay]

just to add to your woes, I also have dim headlights on my new (used) W202. I checked the voltage today and it was 12v (engine was off). I'm also at my wits end.

 

[mr. shr]

just to add to your woes, I also have dim headlights on my new (used) W202. I checked the voltage today and it was 12v (engine was off). I'm also at my wits end.

When the engine is running, does the voltage go up?
About 14.4 volts is good.

 

[355marcus]

Good to hear!

And at 40, it's nice to be called a 'young' man!

So imagine how i feel at 39!

 

[KillerHERTZ]

just to add to your woes, I also have dim headlights on my new (used) W202. I checked the voltage today and it was 12v (engine was off). I'm also at my wits end.

Yours a pre-facelift? the pre-facelift lights are awful compared to the facelifts.

 

[FunkMasterJay]

I hear you on that, KH. Penny saving time for face lifts I think.

 

[355marcus]

Someone suggested to me that it might have a form of load sensitive system on it, and when i had the xenon "kit" on it because it didnt sense a normal load from a 55w bulb it supplied less of a feed. It did this by adjusting the duty cycle of the supplied voltage, so although a meter would read 12v for example, because the voltage was being switched the xenons never actually saw 12v. Which might explain why i couldnt get the feed to switch a relay properly?

 

[jonnyboy]

You shouldnt be needing to mess about wih relays and things.

Time better spent getting it on Star to see whats going on.

I have to say that our prefacelift with prefacelift Xenons retrofitted is perfectly acceptable lightwise (although not in the same league as our 3 yr old Q7)

 

[joecash]

my headlights appear dim on my 2003 w220 - going to change them for some "xenons" i bought on a well known web site for £14 - will let you know the outcome