xenon ballast

[Guest flairco]

hi all, hope you guys can help. my right side xenon headlamps flickered for about 2 weeks. went to KL for the weekend and took e chance to see a light specialise to see what was wrong.

e guy said the previous owner fixed a ballast and a seperate decoder which he wouldn't have to tune e ecu. so i changed e ballast which already included a decoder inside it. costed me RM$300.00 including installation.

it was all cool until i reached jb like 2 hours ago. the flickering came on again, BUT wasn't that bad as before repair. can anyone kindly advice what i should do??

[Guest blackmercs]

flairco wrote:

hi all, hope you guys can help. my right side xenon headlamps flickered for about 2 weeks. went to KL for the weekend and took e chance to see a light specialise to see what was wrong.

e guy said the previous owner fixed a ballast and a seperate decoder which he wouldn't have to tune e ecu. so i changed e ballast which already included a decoder inside it. costed me RM$300.00 including installation.

it was all cool until i reached jb like 2 hours ago. the flickering came on again, BUT wasn't that bad as before repair. can anyone kindly advice what i should do??

There is a difference between xenon & HID. if yrs comes with a aftermarket ballasts likely is a HID & not xenon. Xenon usually from factory fitted.

Where you purchase the HID sets? Send it back to yr seller & ask them to check again. Else check with Sonic our site sponsor for advise. Most likely is the quality of the products or the electrical wiring issue.

[Guest flairco]

oh sorry. not too sure about such lights. HID it is then : )

i don't know where the previous owner did his lights. coz i bought it 2nd hand from a dealer. but basically the light specialist said he added a decoder to the ballast so he need not tune e ECU. sigh..

alrite shall check with sonic next week thanks again : )

[Guest blackmercs]

flairco wrote:

oh sorry. not too sure about such lights. HID it is then : )

i don't know where the previous owner did his lights. coz i bought it 2nd hand from a dealer. but basically the light specialist said he added a decoder to the ballast so he need not tune e ECU. sigh..

alrite shall check with sonic next week thanks again : )

A decoder is simply to cheat the ECU so that no error code. Is a small issue, I m sure sonic guys can resolve it for u.

[Guest blackknight]

flairco wrote:

hi all, hope you guys can help. my right side xenon headlamps flickered for about 2 weeks. went to KL for the weekend and took e chance to see a light specialise to see what was wrong.

e guy said the previous owner fixed a ballast and a seperate decoder which he wouldn't have to tune e ecu. so i changed e ballast which already included a decoder inside it. costed me RM$300.00 including installation.

it was all cool until i reached jb like 2 hours ago. the flickering came on again, BUT wasn't that bad as before repair. can anyone kindly advice what i should do??

RM$300? just to change ballast? Sorry bro, but you kena chop carrot head liao! Sonic can give you a brand new, error free set for just a bit more..

Malaysia BOLEH!

[Guest flairco]

: (

i just checked on the internet, i can get 2 ballast 2 hid lights for US$80.00

[Guest flairco]

blackmercs wrote:

A decoder is simply to cheat the ECU so that no error code. Is a small issue, I m sure sonic guys can resolve it for u.

bad experience with this workshop in KL!

[Guest blackmercs]

flairco wrote:

: (

i just checked on the internet, i can get 2 ballast 2 hid lights for US$80.00

Yap I got mine previously from internet SIN $100 & not require any decoder, is plug & play. Do a search, most of the minor mods answer is here. My LED interior & exterior mods answer can be found in CLC thread. When you do a search for past years, scroll all the way down to select of yr choice.

[Guest kepiting1sg]

IMHO,

H.I.D or Xenon are the same!

High Intensity Discharge bulb contains Xenon gas which is lighted when a current is apply to it. Therefore they do not have filament as in a Halogen bulb.

So it's all the same if U wanna call them H.I.D bulbs or Xenon.

The main difference between factory HIDs/Xenon is that for the projector headlamps be it Xenon or Bi-Xenon, MB usually use D1S bulbs whereas for non factory xenon, they use H7 halogen bulbs.

That explain why after mkt uses H7.

For the factory D1S Xenon, the ballast is built into the headlamp assembly & that's why U dun see the ballast!

Bi-Xenon works by tilting the projector lens upward when the high beam is turned on.

If your H.I.D are not original, then U have to know if the after mkt H.I.Ds have error cancellor or decoder or whatever name U wanna call it.

Old time H.I.Ds system consist of a pair of HID or Xenon bulbs, a pair of ballast & a pair of starters. Nowadays, the starters have been eliminated cos of newer design ballast.

As HID or Xenon is working usually at 35W, with the lower current, on normal ride equip with Halogen may show up as error msg or light flickering.

This is usually corrected by a pair of error "cancellors"

Some after mkt HIDs set, their ballasts are "designed with Canbus" which do not give error msg or light flickering. This are usually ORIGINAL Phillips after mkt HID.

in my previous W203, I changed to original projector HID/Xenon.

Error msg/flickering problem were solved by goin into the Engine Diagnostic to enable Xenon present.

If yours is an after mkt HIDs, see Steve of Sonic Racing.

He should be able to solve your problem.

Last but not least, I always recommend ORIGINAL Phillips with Canbus.

These bulbs will not screwed up your lamp assembly in the long run due to the effect of outgassing.

Good Luck!

[Guest blackmercs]

I don't think xenon & HID are the same. I can't remember what's the diffs

[Guest flairco]

kepiting1sg wrote:

IMHO,

H.I.D or Xenon are the same!

High Intensity Discharge bulb contains Xenon gas which is lighted when a current is apply to it. Therefore they do not have filament as in a Halogen bulb.

So it's all the same if U wanna call them H.I.D bulbs or Xenon.

The main difference between factory HIDs/Xenon is that for the projector headlamps be it Xenon or Bi-Xenon, MB usually use D1S bulbs whereas for non factory xenon, they use H7 halogen bulbs.

That explain why after mkt uses H7.

For the factory D1S Xenon, the ballast is built into the headlamp assembly & that's why U dun see the ballast!

Bi-Xenon works by tilting the projector lens upward when the high beam is turned on.

If your H.I.D are not original, then U have to know if the after mkt H.I.Ds have error cancellor or decoder or whatever name U wanna call it.

Old time H.I.Ds system consist of a pair of HID or Xenon bulbs, a pair of ballast & a pair of starters. Nowadays, the starters have been eliminated cos of newer design ballast.

As HID or Xenon is working usually at 35W, with the lower current, on normal ride equip with Halogen may show up as error msg or light flickering.

This is usually corrected by a pair of error "cancellors"

Some after mkt HIDs set, their ballasts are "designed with Canbus" which do not give error msg or light flickering. This are usually ORIGINAL Phillips after mkt HID.

in my previous W203, I changed to original projector HID/Xenon.

Error msg/flickering problem were solved by goin into the Engine Diagnostic to enable Xenon present.

If yours is an after mkt HIDs, see Steve of Sonic Racing.

He should be able to solve your problem.

Last but not least, I always recommend ORIGINAL Phillips with Canbus.

These bulbs will not screwed up your lamp assembly in the long run due to the effect of outgassing.

Good Luck!

wow, this is really useful! thanks! mine is an aftermarket HID. the flickering still exists after the so called "repair" thanks again. very informative!

[Guest flairco]

blackmercs wrote:

Yap I got mine previously from internet SIN $100 & not require any decoder, is plug & play. Do a search, most of the minor mods answer is here. My LED interior & exterior mods answer can be found in CLC thread. When you do a search for past years, scroll all the way down to select of yr choice.

yeah now i realise : ( mine new ballast didn't include a decoder, it was already decoded in the unit itself. now i wonder what is wrong

[Guest blackknight]

flairco wrote:

yeah now i realise : ( mine new ballast didn't include a decoder, it was already decoded in the unit itself. now i wonder what is wrong

No point guessing, just get a new set, not too costly now and with warranty some more..:becky:

[Guest europassion]

flairco wrote:

hi all, hope you guys can help. my right side xenon headlamps flickered for about 2 weeks. went to KL for the weekend and took e chance to see a light specialise to see what was wrong.

e guy said the previous owner fixed a ballast and a seperate decoder which he wouldn't have to tune e ecu. so i changed e ballast which already included a decoder inside it. costed me RM$300.00 including installation.

it was all cool until i reached jb like 2 hours ago. the flickering came on again, BUT wasn't that bad as before repair. can anyone kindly advice what i should do??

Why not make a trip down to Sonic at Bukit Merah or give them a ring beforehand. They offered me great advices and solved my problem tho not major but for "foc"...nice and friendly guys.

[Guest flairco]

hi! will prolly do so next week! before i head up to kl! last i went to KL everyone in front of me siam me. coz they tot i high beam them! haha. actually flickering light only : )

[Guest europassion]

haaha..alright drive safe and have a good trip bro =)