Changing halogen bulbs in SLK300

slk300r171 · 02-24-2011

G'day

I bought a SLK300 a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately the car isn't equipped with bi-xenon headlights and the standard halos are rather dim on unlit roads. I nearly ran off the road earlier in the week! I took the car back to the dealership to have lights raised but they said they can't do anything about it.

Has anyone changed the bulbs for the normal beam to whiter bulbs that give out more light? I asked the dealership about that but they said that those non-factory bulbs might cause a short and void the warranty on the electrics.

I've changed to such bulbs in the past on Mazda, Nissan and even Audi without any problems so was wondering if there's anything special about the Benz that MIGHT really cause a problem.

Thanks

AMG SLK::IL · 02-24-2011

Just do a quick search of the forums for bulbs. There have been several topics like this in the past month or two. Most of us have gone to Phillips Extreme bulbs and are definitely happier.

slk300r171 · 02-24-2011

Thank you so much for the reply. I shall do a search on the Phillips bulbs!

Swagman · 02-24-2011

And for those people that did try Phillips Extreme and were still unhappy, we have fitted an aftermarket HID Xenon kit which can be bought for £50 - £150, from retail outlets and takes about 2 - 4 hours to fit... Then you'll have more light than you can handle.. .

jbanks15 · 02-24-2011

slk300r171,

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rodell · 02-24-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swagman

And for those people that did try Phillips Extreme and were still unhappy, we have fitted an aftermarket HID Xenon kit which can be bought for £50 - £150, from retail outlets and takes about 2 - 4 hours to fit... Then you'll have more light than you can handle.. .

Any info on this mod?

mb911 · 02-25-2011

H7 Philips X-Treme Powers will help you see a bit better. You can find these on ebay. They are made in Germany. From everything I know, this option is completely ok, they have approvals and whatnot in Europe. They are just replacement H7s that are about as good as you can get in H7s. Tiny bit whiter, fair bit brighter, but still halogens. A solid difference, not earth shattering difference, but helped me see a bit better. When I swapped these, the factory halogens looked awful. One even looked defective. They must buy the cheapest H7s on the planet. Not even 1 penny each I'm guessing.

Still wanted to see if I could do better, so I then I purchased and installed a MTEC HID 4300k kit for R171 on ebay. Pretty happy with the results. The projectors that come with the car standard help the HID kit turn out decent.

My only serious issue with my lights continues to be the low beam projectors are somewhat loose and rattle over bumps, did this before my HID kit too.

I don't drive much at night, so I could have probably just lived with the X-Treme Power. The SLK you sit lower though, and it makes me crave more light. Halogens in a big sedan aren't so bad.

advoc8r · 02-25-2011

don't touch the bulb with your bare fingers. avoid any other bare skin touching the bulb either. any natural body oils or other foreign compounds will severely reduce the life of the bulb.

etyu · 02-25-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by advoc8r

don't touch the bulb with your bare fingers. avoid any other bare skin touching the bulb either. any natural body oils or other foreign compounds will severely reduce the life of the bulb.

IIRC, the skin oil that may stick to the glass; this heats up during use and causes the glass to break easy, causing lamp failure. It is best to use nitrile/latex gloves when doing the change. If one inadvertently touches the glass with the fingers, clean with isopropyl alcohol (available up to 91% isopropyl alcohol from Walmart or Target) to remove the skin grease.

slk300r171 · 02-25-2011

Hi all,

Thanks for all your replies. Sounds like the Phillips H7 extremes are the way to go. Anything must be better than the standard bulbs, which really are rubbish. It's unbelievable that the stock bulbs in my Holden Barina (Opel Corsa) are better than ones in a Benz roadster!

I understand they won't be as good as HIDs. The Audi A4 that the SLK replaced had bi-xenon headlights and those were very bright.

jameslk55 · 02-25-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by mb911

My only serious issue with my lights continues to be the low beam projectors are somewhat loose and rattle over bumps, did this before my HID kit too.

I think the factory metal bracket behind the HID bulb isn't locked in place correctly or tightly. (There are metal brackets right?) When you have a free day, you should take out the wheel and fender lining and practice with your stock halogen bulbs to see if they fit right and rattle over bumps.

When I had my headlamps painted black, the installer seemed to have a slightly tough time getting the HID bulb to lock into place-even with the whole headlamp assembly off the car.