Cloudy Headlight

[mistermiata]

Hi Guys......

I noticed while washing my car the other day that my one headlight (passenger side) appears cloudy compared to the drivers side. It just seems to affect the portion over the high beam, not the whole headlight.

Hopefully the pics attached show what I am talking about,,,I dont havat cae a digital camera, just my IPhone camera.

As far as I know, these are the OEM U.S. DOT headlights.

Any ideas what causes this and a fix?

 

[gsxr]

Andy, it appears you have a correct E500 headlight on the driver's side, but standard W124 (E320/E420) headlight (or headlight lens) on the passenger side. At least that's sure what it looks like in the photos. Probably the lens was busted and a previous owner or mechanic didn't know (or care) that the E500 uses different lights/lenses.

 

[mistermiata]

Thanks Dave!

Well that sucks!

So I have a fog light instead of a high beam on the passenger side?

How would you go about fixing it? Get a new lens first, or just buy a whole E500 headlight assembly?

 

[gsxr]

Andy, first I would try to verify what headlight assembly you have on each side... look for manufacturer name (Bosch, Hella) and hopefully a part number on a sticker somewhere. If the passenger headlamp is correct (except for the lens), you could order a new E500 lens from Europe. Probably $150-$175 (??) for a single lens with shipping to USA from Germany.

Otherwise, MB only sells the entire headlight ass'y in the USA... p/n 124-820-08-57, $260 + S&H from parts.com at the moment. Can't buy USA DOT lenses separately, so that would be the complete new headlight, lens, etc.

 

[mistermiata]

As always, thanks for the help Dave!....I will report back after checking for a part #.

 

[mistermiata]

OK, so I investigated some more. Both headligts have a yellow tag on top under the radiator support. They both say "made in germany" and the drivers tag has the correct part #. Unfortunately, the part # on the passenger tag is too faded to read.

I took some pics of the markings on the lenses (markings are different on each lens), maybe someone (Dave ) can chime in with their thoughts whether I have a standard (non E500E) lens on my passenger side headlight?

Top pic is passenger side, bottom pic is drivers side.

 

[gsxr]

From the photos & description it appears someone put a standard 124 E-code (Euro) lens on the passenger headlight, which will fit, but it has the wrong lens over the H3 bulb (as you've noticed). The yellow tag on the headlights sounds like they are the original USA/DOT E500 Bosch lamp assemblies, although a photo of both yellow tags would help confirm this.

AFAICT, you're still back to the same two options... ~$175 for one new E500 Euro lens from Germany, or $300 for a complete new passenger E500 headlight from parts.com. Another option would be to get a pair of new E500 Euro lenses from Germany and replace both lenses at the same time, so they'll both be nice and shiny with no pits.

Lamin-X required on any new lights/lenses, of course...

 

[mistermiata]

Thanks for your advice Dave!

Any advantage with the Euro lenses in regards to lighting? Where can I purchase them?

 

[gsxr]

Compared to the 1994 E500 USA lights, the Euro lenses don't offer much of an advantage... the 94-up US lights were very good. The only advantage is you can buy the Euro lenses separately. Due to DOT regulations, MB doesn't sell the US lenses separately. Try http://www.speed-autoteile.com/ for the E500 Euro lenses... should be part number 124-820-57-66 left/driver, 124-820-58-66 right/passenger.

The price may have really gone up though; looks like it could be over $200 USD just to buy one lens (including shipping to USA). You'll have to email them and ask for a price quote on one or both lenses. Don't forget to add 3% for your credit card foreign transaction fees (most all cards will ding you on this), plus a few bucks in customs fees at delivery...

http://www.speed-autoteile.com/index.php?modul=contact

 

[Paul64]

Are any internal parts of the headlamp still available? I had a leak and some of the chrome on the casing in front of the main reflector is starting to fail - can these parts be replaced individually???

 

[mistermiata]

The headlamp is still on my car. I am in no hurry to replace it....I am hoping a used one will become available, or I will buy a new one eventually from parts.com.

 

[S500E]

From the photos & description it appears someone put a standard 124 E-code (Euro) lens on the passenger headlight, which will fit, but it has the wrong lens over the H3 bulb (as you've noticed). The yellow tag on the headlights sounds like they are the original USA/DOT E500 Bosch lamp assemblies, although a photo of both yellow tags would help confirm this.

AFAICT, you're still back to the same two options... ~$175 for one new E500 Euro lens from Germany, or $300 for a complete new passenger E500 headlight from parts.com. Another option would be to get a pair of new E500 Euro lenses from Germany and replace both lenses at the same time, so they'll both be nice and shiny with no pits.

Lamin-X required on any new lights/lenses, of course...

Questions about Lamin-X

http://www.lamin-x.com/Mercedes-E-Class ... /mb528.htm

Which thickness option would you recommend? Headlight clear has 12, 20, & 40 and fog clear has 20 & 40 thickness options. Is installation as simple and easy as the installation video? Any tricks or tips? Would it be easier to align if you partially peel off (or partially peel & cut off) the backing first and apply vs taking to the entire backing off (as in the video)? Just a thought... Thanks.

 

[DerFuror]

Which thickness option would you recommend? Headlight clear has 12, 20, & 40 and fog clear has 20 & 40 thickness options.

http://500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?1299-1992-passenger-side-fog-light-assembly

A general rule of thumb...the more expensive/difficult to replace, the thicker the laminate to protect.

 

[Paul64]

Hey guys, does anyone know what the 'plastic' material of the headlamp glass holders is? Seemingly, if it's ABS, it can be rechromed pretty easily for about £150 a pair in the UK....
Their process requires the surface to be etched and ABS allows this to be done - other plastics are more difficult.
Any ideas greatly appreciated!

Paul

 

[DerFuror]

Seemingly, if it's ABS, it can be rechromed pretty easily...

Last week on My ClassicCar, Jay Leno demonstrated a new substitute chrome product called "Spectra Chrome", that basically gets poured/sprayed on an item & dries with a chrome-like finish. Chemically, it is easy on the environment, and the product can be applied in one's own workshop.

Since this product is currently available in Europe, it may be worth investigating for your application...it very well may be the product which would be used on your headlamp glass holders.

References:
http://www.myclassiccar.com/forum
/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=4096

http://www.spectrachrome.com/

http://www.chromesolutions.de/