W124 Headlight replacement

[Capn Jonas]

I'm getting more and more dissatisfied with W124 stock headlights. The foglight option is good but I want a better option.

Anyone make the LED bulb replacements work to your satisfaction?

Euro-spec replacements used to be available although pricey. Are they still available?

Any other improvements I should consider?

Thanks for your thoughts

Capn Jonas

[Rrrockhound]

The previous owner of my W124 retrofitted xenon bulbs. It's not a change I would've done, but having said that, they work pretty well. They worry me a little bit because replacement bulbs have to be ordered, you can't just walk in an auto parts store and find them. I've been thinking of changing to LEDs since I assume they'd be more reliable.

[lsmalley]

I've built mine from scratch and to me they are the best headlights on the market for w201/w124.

[optimusprime]

ismalley Well please tell use your mod .I am interested also . I did up date the bulbs but think it could go more .

[lsmalley]

Originally Posted by optimusprime

ismalley Well please tell use your mod .I am interested also . I did up date the bulbs but think it could go more .

Homemade headlight projectors

This was of course done about 5 or 6 years ago, but I have since fine tuned everything and made more upgrades to use LED lights and configured the set up so I can toggle between 5 sets of independent light output: Hi-beam LED, Low-beam LED, daytime running lights (which is just the front low-beam when the car is switched on), yellow center fog lights, or halogen low-beam. All the light plugs have been switched to the 9005/9006 plug connectors. Also, I removed the glass lens and replaced it with thick clear vinyl (it doesn't get chipped or cracked and doesn't turn yellow).

[Rrrockhound]

Originally Posted by lsmalley

Homemade headlight projectors

This was of course done about 5 or 6 years ago, but I have since fine tuned everything and made more upgrades to use LED lights and configured the set up so I can toggle between 5 sets of independent light output: Hi-beam LED, Low-beam LED, daytime running lights (which is just the front low-beam when the car is switched on), yellow center fog lights, or halogen low-beam. All the light plugs have been switched to the 9005/9006 plug connectors. Also, I removed the glass lens and replaced it with thick clear vinyl (it doesn't get chipped or cracked and doesn't turn yellow).

Just curious, how did you deal with the bulb failure light, or was it an issue?

[lsmalley]

Bulb failure light?? I don't believe the 201 has that. But I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to address

[dieseldiehard]

Originally Posted by lsmalley

Homemade headlight projectors

This was of course done about 5 or 6 years ago, but I have since fine tuned everything and made more upgrades to use LED lights and configured the set up so I can toggle between 5 sets of independent light output: Hi-beam LED, Low-beam LED, daytime running lights (which is just the front low-beam when the car is switched on), yellow center fog lights, or halogen low-beam. All the light plugs have been switched to the 9005/9006 plug connectors. Also, I removed the glass lens and replaced it with thick clear vinyl (it doesn't get chipped or cracked and doesn't turn yellow).

I'm curious as to what type of plastic you chose for your covers?
Lets check back with you in ten years and see how that plastic is holding up, I doubt any plastic can compare to glass over time - it all yellows even the special film that they sell to place over plastic lens will yellow over time.

I hold the glass lens used on 124's to be one of the design features I like best in that series.
Compared to the wiring that rotted and shorted on the W210 cars my 124 headlights (Euro with level control) have been very reliable.
Volvos of the 80's used headlights that were about the same shape and size as Mercedes 124's but they used plastic and those started to fade and even I've seen Volvos with chunks missing out of their lens covers.

[lsmalley]

Originally Posted by dieseldiehard

I'm curious as to what type of plastic you chose for your covers?
Lets check back with you in ten years and see how that plastic is holding up, I doubt any plastic can compare to glass over time - it all yellows even the special film that they sell to place over plastic lens will yellow over time.

I hold the glass lens used on 124's to be one of the design features I like best in that series.
Compared to the wiring that rotted and shorted on the W210 cars my 124 headlights (Euro with level control) have been very reliable.
Volvos of the 80's used headlights that were about the same shape and size as Mercedes 124's but they used plastic and those started to fade and even I've seen Volvos with chunks missing out of their lens covers.

The glass lenses are horrible with sand damage and light output is reduced by over 50%. I've had clear vinyl over my lights for about 3 desert heat summers and zero yellowing, zero chips. Also, say for some reason something does happen to the vinyl covering....all you need to do is remove the headlight housing and remove the old vinyl and put on a new covering. You can get like 4 sq ft of it from Wal-Mart for less than $7. This vinyl cover is the second most important thing that makes my headlight output extremely clear. The other part is the clear lenses them selves. The attached photos show what the glass lenses, which are already distorted (fresnel) to begin with vs clear.

[rayhennig]

Originally Posted by Capn Jonas

I'm getting more and more dissatisfied with W124 stock headlights. The foglight option is good but I want a better option.

Anyone make the LED bulb replacements work to your satisfaction?

Euro-spec replacements used to be available although pricey. Are they still available?

Any other improvements I should consider?

Thanks for your thoughts

Capn Jonas

I'm in Europe and bought new Hella direct replacements. Around €200 each side.

Night and day!

RayH

[87tdwagen]

Euro style glass is plentiful and readily available for under $200 a set. Most will offer H4 bulbs which makes maintenance a breeze given the breadth of H4 bulb options and availability nearly every where. Worth considering.

[dieseldiehard]

Originally Posted by lsmalley

The glass lenses are horrible with sand damage and light output is reduced by over 50%. I've had clear vinyl over my lights for about 3 desert heat summers and zero yellowing, zero chips. Also, say for some reason something does happen to the vinyl covering....all you need to do is remove the headlight housing and remove the old vinyl and put on a new covering. You can get like 4 sq ft of it from Wal-Mart for less than $7. This vinyl cover is the second most important thing that makes my headlight output extremely clear. The other part is the clear lenses them selves. The attached photos show what the glass lenses, which are already distorted (fresnel) to begin with vs clear.

No sand here but my '99 300D spent a lot of time at Edwards AFB. I bought it while stuck on a trip to Rosamond and got to experience a heck of a sand storm while I was there!
The film the PO used might have kept the sand from etching the plastic but it turned crispy brown almost black at the top leading edge due to UV.
But I can't argue with success so what brand of film are you using? I may have to go back to the high desert and want to be protected.

[dieseldiehard]

Originally Posted by 87tdwagen

Euro style glass is plentiful and readily available for under $200 a set. Most will offer H4 bulbs which makes maintenance a breeze given the breadth of H4 bulb options and availability nearly every where. Worth considering.

On my W123 and 124 cars I find Osram H4 Silver Star bulbs put out a lot of light without going over 55W design figure. Not the bluish bulbs that seem to plague the streets on some cars here
I bought Osram's Version 2.0 bulbs from Europe because no one sells them locally. I think they shipped from Bulgaria or Latvia at very reasonable shipping considering I bought several sets.
BTW - off topic, but I wonder where you mounted an Intercooler in your '87 300TD? I've always wanted to put one in my '87
DDH

[lsmalley]

Originally Posted by dieseldiehard

The film the PO used might have kept the sand from etching the plastic but it turned crispy brown almost black at the top leading edge due to UV.
But I can't argue with success so what brand of film are you using? I may have to go back to the high desert and want to be protected.

The material I am using is just clear vinyl from Wal-Mart that you can purchase by the sq ft. They have different thickness. I bought the thickest one they had. The way I am using it is just as it is. It is not placed over any plastic headlight, it is just the vinyl and then the actual projector lenses. The less you have in front of your actual lighting source, the clearer your lighting output will be. And no, you do not have to worry about a rock or anything damaging the vinyl because anything that is large enough or traveling with enough velocity to go through that vinyl would've been able to shatter a glass cover and crack a polycarbonate cover as well. These current vinyl covers are about 3 years old and zero yellowing. So far I have all pros and no cons: it's water/dust proof, resistant to cracking or chipping, so far it has not shown any sign of yellowing or becoming brittle (actually, with vinyl, it tends to become more pliable with heat). No, the headlights do not melt it nor heat from the sun or engine. Actually, when driving, the wind is most likely providing air cooling anyways, not that it needs it. Extremely easy to take off and replace cover if needed and for the price point, it's a win-win. Now with that being said, if someone wanted to just place this over their lights to protect them then I don't see a problem with that, but I would consider the overall goal is to increase light output not to protect stock lenses unless your current light output is adequate enough for you. If you are considering ditching the entire stock housing, then this mod is by far better than anything you'll find anywhere assuming you chose to do exactly what I did and make your own. Light does not blind oncoming traffic as you can see exactly where the light is shining. The brightness is far better than the stock or any aftermarket that I've seen, including many of the newer vehicles in any make, the lateral span of the light is probably about 4 lanes in both directions (8 total), and the distance is extremely far and does not interfere with other drivers. I think the most expensive part was the black housing that I got from eBay @ about $150, all the other parts were purchased from the junk yard or fabricated. You can even find a good set of LED headlights now for less than $40.

[87tdwagen]

[QUOTE=
BTW - off topic, but I wonder where you mounted an Intercooler in your '87 300TD? I've always wanted to put one in my '87
DDH[/QUOTE]

I did a write up on my intercooler with pictures on the forum years ago, search on my name for those posts with closeup of the intercooler and routing path of the tubing. I was able to source a small 10x10" one that was located in the front right fender well (pass-side).