I'm thinking of trying a pair of 50W back-up bulbs. Has anyone tried these? If someone have any issues with them regarding heat or cable capability, I would be happy to hear your comments!

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Emil Österman, Stockholm - Sweden

MB SL500 -93 - Silver
MB 230CE -84 - Silver
MB 230E -82 - Yellow
MB 180B -59 - Green

Emilio,
Are they brighter? I have always wanted brighter REVERSE bulbs, that would improve vision a vast amount, especially with my tinted windows!

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

Just one question. Why?

If you're concerned about visibility when backing up, buy a fog light and hard wire it in with the backup lights. 50W backup bulbs in the stock tail lights run the risk of melting the housing, connectors, etc.

David C Klasse
Thanks for your quick reply. I found a link that shows the difference. (So sorry that it's a Volvo-site but I guess God will forgive you if you don't bookmark it)
http://www.volvospeed.com/Mods/lighting.htm

speedy300Dturbo
The reason why I want to try the higher wattage bulb is, as you guessed, to increase visibility when backing up. However - I don't want to mount a hard wired "Hella 2000 Jumbo" at the back of my SL. Thought this could be a good solution!? When increasing the wattage from 21 watts to 50 watts the current will increase from 1,75 A to 4,1 A. I don't know how exaggerated the cables are and if they put up with this current. (The reverse light isn't switched on for very long each time)

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Emil Österman, Stockholm - Sweden

MB SL500 -93 - Silver
MB 230CE -84 - Silver
MB 230E -82 - Yellow
MB 180B -59 - Green

Emilo,

The wires that run to the taillights are very thin, I doubt whether they can cope with the increased load! I think that there is a big risk in melting down your wire harness before the bulb will even melt down the lenses of the taillights.
I don't know how the plastic rear window in your soft top is, but mine is completely blind. I normally push the brake a little to get more light behind me when I am reversing...that helps as well.

The link you provided us with, mentions something about increased heat and that line is written in red...beware!

greetingz,

__________________
1990 300SL-24
1993 C250D with a minor 600+k kilometer
www.MBenzNL.com(the Netherlands)

Thank you all for your comments.

So I bought the new bulbs and installed them yesterday. So far so good! I will keep you all posted. I can tell you - They are bright!

MBenz
It was dark yesterday when I installed the bulbs so I didn't notice the cables going to the tail lights. Are they visible or easy to access so that I can check them every now and then at the beginning to see if there are any visible signs of heat at the wire harness?? Do you know what area the cables have??

__________________
Emil Österman, Stockholm - Sweden

MB SL500 -93 - Silver
MB 230CE -84 - Silver
MB 230E -82 - Yellow
MB 180B -59 - Green

Emilio,
Definitly keep my posted, I am curious. I might want to do this to my car. Maybe I could start off at a small wattage higher, just to be safe? What is the standard wattage of the bulbs?

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

My cousin also installed the 50W-bulbs yesterday. He put a post in a Volvo-forum, similar to this, and got a reply from a guy who has used the 50W-bulbs for half a year without any problem.

http://www.brickboard.com/AWD/READER/?f=10068604;fi=1


David C Klasse

I don't know what wattages that is available. There was a website-address in the package of the bulbs. Maybe you could try their homepage to find out what wattages they produce. When thinking of it the bulb is just a standard H(x)-bulb and the acctual "invention" is like a converting sockel making the H(x) bulb fit in the position for the back-up-bulb so I guess that means you could buy any aftermarked H-bulb to put in the sockel.

http://www.designtech-intl.com/

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Emil Österman, Stockholm - Sweden

MB SL500 -93 - Silver
MB 230CE -84 - Silver
MB 230E -82 - Yellow
MB 180B -59 - Green

Never had any problems except one. It occasionally blows the fuse which, also shares with my a/c. Have used them on 2 of my Mercedes, Lexus, and Nissan. There is definitely a noticeable difference and helps ain visibility.

I installed the 50 watt bulbs in both of my Benzs as soon as I purchased them. The main reason is the windows are tinted (I live in FL) and it really helps with backing at night. My ML is 3 years old and I've never experienced any problems. I highly recommend them.

__________________
99 E300 133K
98 ML320 99K
87 Saab 900 Turbo Conv 123K

Emilo,

The wires to the reversing lights normally are 0,75mm2
The wires are held together by a thule or by isolation tape, so it will be difficult to see whether the wire will or will not melt.
According to the last couple of posts, there is nothing to be worried about...

good luck & greetingz,

__________________
1990 300SL-24
1993 C250D with a minor 600+k kilometer
www.MBenzNL.com(the Netherlands)