W126 420SEL euro head light installation.
i am so happy with my euro lite conversion that i thought i would relay my experience.
After purchasing the lights (euro and clear side marker) the only other items i needed were 2 pcs of
011-545-50-28 [6] hole connectors. i also bought 1 trailer hitch wiring recepticle for the internal
already made female connector that i needed for the 5th hole of the city lights. so about 10 bucks
worth.
i know there has been alot written on this subject so you don't need to hear the small things so i
will just tell you what i now know as a fact inregard
"MY '88" 420sel:
first off i did a complete mapping of the fuse box both ignition switch on and off. next i mapped
the existing 4 pin connector. i tried to map the existing US light but it had too much bleed of
current so I figured who cares it's the new lights that are important. so i mapped the 5 pins city,
hi-low beams, fog and ground. after that all i had to do was insert the female contacts according
to the map of the new light. (i now have a complete record of my fuse box and lighting system. i
do this because i am keeping a detailed record of my work on each car)
i wanted my city lights to come on with the ignition key and go off with the key so i went straight
to the fuse box located under the hood on the left (dvr) side. i installed each light to it's own
terminal. #17 for the right and #19 for the left. (real simple just 2 screws and the whole
underneath of each fuse is accessible). i then ran both wire routes and tied them in with the
current 4 hole switch. i added the necessary new 6 hole connector dropped in the 5th wire connector
and was ready to plug it in. on the clear side marker lamps i used the original 3 wire connector
switching the US plug to the new clear lights. i bought 1157A amber lights and i was done with the
lights really simple and straight forward. infact when i switched on the lights everything worked
the first time out.
now the wipers. there seems to be a bunch of opinions here but this is how
"MY 88" worked.
while the lights were out i mapped the wiper motors. i noticed the right (pass) side had 4 wire and
the left had only 3. they were however wired the same except the addition of this 4th wire on the right. but looking at the wire diagram on the motor that 4th wire actually looked like it was a
jumper. SO.... i switched the p for d and d for p. worked each one and sure enough they both work.
all...right! (i am not saying there wasn't a problem, i am saying i did not see one, i am also saying it appears that they both worked and in the opposite direction)
so as i am working on the existing brackets they are pretty simple fix. the bottom of the euro's
are slightly different than the US. so all i did was milled one additional slot and mill a larger
hole for the other screw and the brackets worked fine. they bolted in exactly as did the old
lights. the wiper motors sat just off center (less than 1/8 .125 inch) and put a slight bind on the
shaft. my fix was to simply enlarge the hole for the motor mount in the bracket and then no more
bind.
the next thing were the wiper arms. for now until i can get the euro wiper arms i am powder coating
both arms black. to make them aesthetically acceptable i rotated them a few degrees to keep them
low on the light.
i am looking back at this conversion and i think there is no need to get the euro brackets or
motors. from what i've read they complicate the installation. because they (euro brackets) mount
the motors in the middle and quite forward of how the us brackets sits they cause the US motor shaft
to be too long and the hole thru the face plate below the light to be in the wrong place.
just use the original brackets and the US motors. you can decide if you want to spend another 70$ on wiper arms. me i'm gonna live with this setup for a while and see if works for me.
(if someone really wanted the euro look all they would need to relocate the motor is a small piece of angle aluminum, 2 flat head socket head bolts with nuts
(FLAT HEAD) get someone to mill 2 slots one for the flat head screws and one for the motor shaft mounting and you could put the motor anywhere you would need to put it)
:p
