Wet xenon light needs replacement. Again.

Wet xenon light needs replacement. Again.

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Discussion

brisel

Original Poster:

884 posts

215 months

Thursday 3rd March 2022
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For the second time in 4 years, driving in very wet conditions has resulted in a dead xenon headlight and £1k repair bill for a new bulb and burner/starter. The first time it was a deep puddle at speed, this time it was slushy snow spraying up under the wheel arch. Both the near side unit.

Is there anything I need to ensure is fixed to prevent this happening again?

The car is a 2012 S204 C63 with adaptive headlights.

MickyveloceClassic

427 posts

66 months

Friday 4th March 2022
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I’ve never heard of water ingress destroying these - sounds unlucky.

The headlights can be disassembled by splitting the lens from the back unit to replace the burner unit and bulb, as I’ve done this on my CLK with Xenon lights.

The units should be readily available from Autodoc or similar.

My 2013 C63 had adaptive lights, which admittedly are more complex than the earlier CLK units I’ve mended.

brisel

Original Poster:

884 posts

215 months

Sunday 6th March 2022
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The garage replaced the complete unit. The previous “fix” involved taking it apart, drying it out then resealing it with glue!