The official 2005/2006 CDI thread.

[MTUpower]

So I bought a 2005 CDI last friday and so far I'm loving it. It's dark metallic green which looks black until the sun hits it. Drives like a dream but I don't have a owners manual and I have plenty of questions. I think it's a good idea for other owners to have a thread which to post common questions.

How do you adjust/aim the headlights? Fog lights under the bumper? What about the little lights inboard of the main headlights?

[pawoSD]

Usually headlight adjustment is done on the top of the headlight module with a screwdriver of some sort to turn the adjustment gears....that's how it is on my 2005 C240..... in the factory the car stops in front of a light pattern sensor and then they insert a computer controlled screwdriver jig that quickly adjusts the lights to the right level. Its pretty slick.

[jay_bob]

Owners manuals here (year >= 2000)
http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/service_and_parts/owners_manuals#

[MTUpower]

lol the "little lights" are the high beams. I don't see how to adjust those...

My passenger headlight does not adjust with the allen head- it did a little but the plastic obviously broke somewhere and the light is pointed at the ground. The drivers side adjusts fine but the allen adjustment only adjusts up and down- not left and right. I believe I'm going to have to pull the pass headlight out and manually adjust it if that is possible. The fog light below the bumper are also pointed far too low. Damn it sucks to have great lights that don't shine where they should...

any tips about lights adjusting from folks who solved their issues? Is it hard to remove and re-install a headlight?

[ah-kay]

It is very unusual for highlights/foglights to be out of alignment unless it had been in an accident. Any evidence of that?

[dieselbenz1]

For the fog light check under the car there should be an access panel which opens enough to put your hand in and adjust the knob at least that's how the w210 is configured I just did mine.

[MTUpower]

Originally Posted by ah-kay

It is very unusual for highlights/foglights to be out of alignment unless it had been in an accident. Any evidence of that?

The drivers light was adjusted okay I think; height was okay without the passenger side when I tried last night, but I couldn't tell if left and right were okay as there was no fill in on the passenger side. I'll check more closely but no evidence of an accident. Perhaps the fogs are aimed lower on this car than the other older MB's I've been driving.

[pawoSD]

The fogs do hit pretty low in front of the car on my C class.....

There should be two allen adjustments on the headlight modules....one for vertical one for horizontal.

[PARSHOOT1]

.......but MTUPower look over on the Mercedes For Sale section where you listed a car 2 days ago & people are asking questions but not getting any answers. Thx.

[grease lightnig]

I just past the 60k grease miles on my CDI. Best grease car ever good power and it can sit for an hour in south florida and does not mind. Change the oil and filter every 5k miles. 210k miles now. The Waste Veg Oil tank in the trunk is 35 gallons. We changed a few engine details like the EGR and Cat now the fuel mileage is down to 27 mpg. But who cares it still has great power and the fuel is .05 cents per gallon with a little labor. I would get another one if they were not $12k used with miles.

[MTUpower]

There's an adjustment on the back of the off alignment light which does not function. I have to mess with it but the other lights are now aimed where they should be. No accidents on the frame as far as I can see.
Now what "chip" should I install for more power?

[spark3542]

Originally Posted by MTUpower

There's an adjustment on the back of the off alignment light which does not function. I have to mess with it but the other lights are now aimed where they should be. No accidents on the frame as far as I can see.
Now what "chip" should I install for more power?

I put in the Bully Dog chip. It's just a box that plugs inline at the fuel rail sensor, plug and play, 5 minute install. I ran the line around and set the box under the master cylinder "cover". Can't see a thing when it's done.

[MTUpower]

Originally Posted by spark3542

I put in the Bully Dog chip. It's just a box that plugs inline at the fuel rail sensor, plug and play, 5 minute install. I ran the line around and set the box under the master cylinder "cover". Can't see a thing when it's done.

I found about five differing chips which claim to be for the cdi on ebay. Some are quite inexpensive. I'd like to see if anyone has bought them and hear what they have experienced.

[spark3542]

Originally Posted by MTUpower

I found about five differing chips which claim to be for the cdi on ebay. Some are quite inexpensive. I'd like to see if anyone has bought them and hear what they have experienced.

I went with Bully Dog because they have a good reputation. They claim 35hp gain. It felt like an increase when I installed it, but I run creative fuels, which reduces power and MPG slightly, so it's hard to actually gauge it objectively. Maybe it's all placebo effect, but I'm goin with "increased power" and stickin to it.

[MTUpower]

I can't seem to pull up any service history in the central CPU, and no navigation come up on the screen. When I go to the service page it says it can't display it.
That's strange.

The passenger headlight is aimed too low and if I aim it higher it still is never high enough even when it hits the end of the adjustment travel. Since both the high and low beams are on the same adjustment that seems goofy. The high beams will be aimed way high and the low beam on that side is still too low. Behind the lights is a off white piece and I pulled it out. The drivers side will not come out, I assume because it's attached via the threaded end to something. When pushing in with my finger I can raise the light a bit; so it's obviously part of the bulb assembly. The pic shows the interior of the light where the part in my hand goes into. The toothed gear ring is the adjustment.