Topic: W116 300SD Head light conversion to H4 with LED retrofit.

[Engineerd3d]

In this installment of restoring my w116 300SD (George as I like to call him), I upgraded the headlight buckets to H4 buckets and H4 LED bulbs. I also converted the car to quad beam for both high and low.

The buckets I got are not hella buckets that everyone seems to favor, I am a bit more frugal and decided on another brand. I think I am quite pleased with the light output as well as the looks of the vehicle.

The first photo shows the new side profile of the new buckets.
The second photo shows the difference between halogen and LED. Pardon the glare, the headlights have not been aimed yet.
The third photo shows high beams at night.
The last photo shows low beams during the day.

If anyone is interested in the video I made during the conversion. Please see this link. https://youtu.be/_SLxutASZ7U

Something I am not showing in the video I recently picked up a replacement pasenger side seat belt for the car, the old one made clicking sounds leading me to belive the spring was broken. The new used one is smooth and works well. Only took about 15 minutes to install. 2 Screws on the base of the B pillar, plus 3 bolts got the old unit out and the new unit in. It clips wonderfully and works as it should.

[rumb]

Yes, those LED headlights are wonderful.  Amazingly bright!  I recently did them on my SL500.

[raueda1]

Yes, those LED headlights are wonderful.  Amazingly bright!  I recently did them on my SL500.

Any caveats or recommendations on upgrading to the LED's?  I want to do the same.  Thanks,

[Engineerd3d]

The only gotcha to led retrofit so far is being able to aim the leds properly and adjusting the beam pattern properly via a thicker O-ring to get a more concentrated beam.

[3l33ter]

Nice!!

I haven't done any of my Benzes yet, but I've done two VWs (H4 and H7), and a friend's BMW (H4). I'd say that the only caveat with LED conversions is dealing with the bulkiness. At least with the brand that I've bought, there is a large heat sink and a cooling fan on the base of the bulb, which is way too bulky to fit inside the headlight housing, or under the rubber cover, or what have you. So in every instance I needed to cut a hole for the heat sink to stick out. I ended up getting spare covers for those cars so I could cut holes in them.

[Max-NL]

Is that legal in the US? I know it's not in Europe because of regulation.

[revilla]

Not legal in Europe, but they are all over the place around here (installed in vehicles, on the shelves and on internet).
Perhaps another case of laws/rules/codes that are generated by our politicians but that are impossible (or too complicated) to enforce in everyday real life.  I know of cases where even the cops aren’t aware of the intricacies of some legal norms, let alone their enforcement...

[ptashek]

Is that legal in the US? I know it's not in Europe because of regulation.

Retrofit LED lights are perfectly legal in many EU countries (e.g. Ireland), provided they have all the required type approvals as per EU 2018/858. The problem is with finding ones that do...

[Max-NL]

Is that legal in the US? I know it's not in Europe because of regulation.

Retrofit LED lights are perfectly legal in many EU countries (e.g. Ireland), provided they have all the required type approvals as per EU 2018/858. The problem is with finding ones that do...

The problem with retrofit LED lights is that they are conform to the ECE-R128 certificate, while halogen lights are conform to ECE-R37. Current regulations does not allow to use LED lights (ECE-R128) in a halogen light unit (ECE-R37). Unless you retrofit a ECE-R128 compatible headlight unit you're driving illegally if you use a LED bulb in a halogen unit.

See chapter 4 of this leaflet from Philips : https://www.download.p4c.philips.com/files/1/11342xuwx2/11342xuwx2_iim_eng.pdf

[ptashek]

Yep, but the only thing making them not being type approved ("legal") is ancient regulations, not a problem with LEDs as such. There's ones that do work in halogens perfectly fine with correct beam pattern etc. - those made by Philips, for example.

[Engineerd3d]

The legality here of what i did above is the same as the people who bought hella H4 retrofit kits. Those are not DOT approved. With that said, i have done my best at aiming the headlights properly as to not blind incoming cars. I am quite happy with the performance of the headlights. Easily keeping up with modern headlights and being able to see at night vs the sealed beams that performed poorly. Nothing done here is irreversible however. If i feel there is a reason to go back i will.