Folks,

I just installed my new Hella E-Code Headlamps......wow what a difference, but the abrupt horizontal cutoff will take a bit of getting used to....

Now that I have these relatively flat headlight lenses, I would like to locate a pair of round Fog Lamps with the flatter lenses. Is there an upgrade Fog Lamp that will fit into the W123 headlight bucket with little or no modification?? What I would hope to find would be lamps with a Yellow Lens utilizing the H-3 bulb.....a clear lens with the flatter shape would be acceptable......

SB

Please note, I did several searches with various wording combinations...W123, Fog, Light, Lamp, Upgrade, etc......and found nothing related to different lights

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Diesels:
'85 300D, "Max, Blue Benz", 155K, 27.0 MPG
'84 190D 2.2, "Eva, Brown Benz", 142K, 40.2 MPG
'77 240D (parts car)
'67 Eicher ES 202 Tractor "Otto" (2cyl, Air Cooled, 30HP)
Gassers:
'94 Ford F-150, "Henry", 170K (300 Six) 17.5 MPG
'85 190E 2.3, 148K....Parts Car
'58 Dodge W300M Powerwagon (Flat Fenders) Less than 10 MPG

Do the 5-3/4" upgrades at Susquehanna Motorsports not fit the bill?

Okay, I just went to have a look and it looks like they have more headlight options and not really any amber foglight options. But they do have high-beam only conversions. The amber lights are really a bit to high to work well as fog lights anyway, they might work great as additional high beams. I'll be on the lookout, because I'm following in your footsteps.

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1985 300TD-euro 352,000 mi
1974 240D (1?)52,000 mi - has a new home now

The 5.75" H3s from RallyLights are awesome..track down some Yellowstar or Yellow-tinted bulbs.

I was able to get 5-3/4 inch lamps with the flatter profile from Adirondack Auto Brokers. They have clear lenses and are more like driving lamps than fog lamps. I chose to put clear H1 bulbs in them.

My 7 inch lamps came from Susquehanna MotorSports. They take H4 bulbs and also have the flatter lens profile.

Both sets are Hella products. The flatter lens profile makes it much easier to install X-pel protective film. Given the cost of the new lamps, I was anxious to avoid rock dings.

I did not increase the wattage of the bulbs. The new reflectors and lenses do a much better job of putting light onto the road and with stock bulb wattages I don't have to beef up the wiring and use relays.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

The person who sold me the e-Codes, told me that the 5 3/4" rounds required some modification.....I specifically asked him if they fit into the W123 Fog Lights.....

SB

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Diesels:
'85 300D, "Max, Blue Benz", 155K, 27.0 MPG
'84 190D 2.2, "Eva, Brown Benz", 142K, 40.2 MPG
'77 240D (parts car)
'67 Eicher ES 202 Tractor "Otto" (2cyl, Air Cooled, 30HP)
Gassers:
'94 Ford F-150, "Henry", 170K (300 Six) 17.5 MPG
'85 190E 2.3, 148K....Parts Car
'58 Dodge W300M Powerwagon (Flat Fenders) Less than 10 MPG

Folks,

Sometimes I have the tendency to over-complicate things....BUT.....while I was deciding on exactly "how" I was going to install relays and fuses into my existing wiring......I had one of those "profound revelations"......I have a '77 240D "parts car".....I removed the headlight harnesses from both sides of that car.....got to thinking about it, a bit......also remove the "Male Socket" from one of the 240D's headlight buckets.....

I intend to fashion a "plug in" arrangement to attach the Relays into my existing wiring.......each headlight bucket has a 4 pronged plug......Ground, High Beam. Low Beam, and Fog.......

I am in process of making up a wiring harness for each headlamp assembly....I will use the "factory" plug & harness portion that I cropped from the right side....as is.....the installation will be only 8" or so from the Right Headlamp.....

I decided to place the Relays and Fuses on the right side of the car, just above, and outboard from the AC Filter/Drier.....this requires the shortest possible run of wire from the battery area.....

When finished, with all relays mounted, intend to add one for the Fog Lights while I'm at it.....and all fuses, one for each filament, mounted below the relays.....harnesses for each headlamp made from the old plugs from the 240D and new/heavier wire......and I will just plug in the harness to the relays and I will have an installation that requires no cutting of the headlight harness on the 300D......

This might be a bit hard to follow, but you should be able to get the idea that I am working on......

SB

Note: I installed the e-Code lamps into the existing headlight buckets and wiring....but did change the lamp plugs to the ceramic ones.....I figure that the Germans overbuilt these cars to a good degree, and that I should not have any over current problems with the "new" headlights.....each filament is fused at 8 amps from the Factory......will add my relay/fuse assembly when it's finished, and weather permits.......

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Diesels:
'85 300D, "Max, Blue Benz", 155K, 27.0 MPG
'84 190D 2.2, "Eva, Brown Benz", 142K, 40.2 MPG
'77 240D (parts car)
'67 Eicher ES 202 Tractor "Otto" (2cyl, Air Cooled, 30HP)
Gassers:
'94 Ford F-150, "Henry", 170K (300 Six) 17.5 MPG
'85 190E 2.3, 148K....Parts Car
'58 Dodge W300M Powerwagon (Flat Fenders) Less than 10 MPG

^^Pictorial?

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83 SD

84 CD

I just added some Hella e-codes to the wagon. I got these from Susquehana Motorsports, very good customer service and knowledgeable people there. I got the +50% xenon bulbs, they don't have the blue coating and are a fairly white color. The 50% thing means it has about half of the maximum effective amount of xenon in the bulb. The max amount is someling like 3% of the gas in there, so its not much. But the light they put out is nice.

Didn't drive it around much, so I haven't yet seen the drastic improvement in the light, but I put a set in the 240D just after I got it and that made a huge improvement. So I figure the wagon will see a similar improvement. But I see what you mean, SB, about wanting flatter fogs now It does look a little funny, but unless you're looking, it doesn't stand out. (The yellow street light was doing funny things to my white balance..I tried fixing it in photoshop, but it still looks yellow)



The sealed beams really made the 240D look bug-eyed compared to the e-codes. I like them a lot in the w115 headlamp spot. (The camera must have had an easier time getting a white balance reference off the lighter paint)



So, did you come up with a good fog lamp alternative for the w123 yet?

Attached Thumbnails

   

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1985 300TD-euro 352,000 mi
1974 240D (1?)52,000 mi - has a new home now

The most effective fog lights are mounted as low as possible, so the best thing to do would go that route. I understand there are some factory rectangle ones. But I'm sure those are few and far between.
I've heard of folks installing driving lights in the fog holes, and going under the bumper for the aftermarket fogs, some come with an RF switch, to help simplify installation.

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83 SD

84 CD

They're probably not as rare as you think. Check most 1973-1980 US spec W116s, they should have some rectangular fog lamps mounted underneath the front bumper.

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

Also on every R107....

Jim

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

'


The housing for the fog lamps will fit the 5-3/4" quad lights, but the indexing tabs need to be massaged.

Jim

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

Thanks fellas, I may look into them.

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83 SD

84 CD

I put E-code high beam headlamps in my fog lamp buckets. Then I put yellow tinted x-pel protectors on the lenses for the stock look. I added rectangular fogs below the bumper. The fogs below the bumper are wired to the headlight switch which was modified to allow them to run in either the park position or headlight position and I wired the new yellow high beams to the high beam circuit with their own switch and relay.

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Ron Schroeder
'85 300 Turbo Diesel 2 tank WVO
'83 300 Turbo Diesel 2 tank WVO
Some former WVO vehicles since ~1980:
'83 Mercedes 240D
'80 Audi 4000D
'83 ISUZU Pup
'70 SAAB 99 with Kubota diesel
'76 Honda Civic with Kubota diesel
'86 Golf
Several diesel generators
All with 2 tank WVO conversion
LI NY