Euro headlight lens source in US?

[el-cid]

Hi; I've bought a set of Euro headlights for my 450sel and when they arrived today the lens for the passenger (US passenger) headlight was in about 36 pieces, not one like it should be.  Anybody know of a source for an affordable used or new lens in the US - I assume shipping one from Australia or Europe would offset the cost advantage.  Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

[116Benz]

Try www.adsitco.com or www.autohausaz.com I have seen euro's on their sites

Good luck!

[koan]

I assume shipping one from Australia or Europe would ...

Australian, English or South African lenses would be no good for you as they dip to the left, you would need a replacement from a RHD country.

koan

[el-cid]

Good to know, I just assumed that euro lights were euro lights and lenses would all be interchangeable.  I don't know where the lights originally came from.  I suppose I could find a part number on the lens?  I did notice that the lens itself said H4 (I know this refers to the dual filiment bulbs though).

[gregdeklerk]

I always thought "H4" had something to do with Bosch.

[CA116]

Australian, English or South African lenses would be no good for you as they dip to the left, you would need a replacement from a RHD country.

I had no idea this was the case! I'll have to be careful where I purchase euros from... Has anyone here purchased the adsitco kit? I'm assuming they're NOS Bosch... but I really can't be sure...

Also, does anyone know much about the vacuum adjustment option? On which models was that supplied? Just the 6.9s? (you can see I have zero experience with euros!)

[oscar]

That makes three types of headlights -

Euro for Left hand Drive
Euro for Right Hand Drive
US dual sealed beams

Looking at the Adsitco site, they say something like "not for American headlights" when referring to their w116 lense.  I assume this to mean not for the US dual sealed beam setup.  I'd bet though that their lenses are for LHD Euros and you should be right buying from them.

I don't have a part number for the LHD euro lenses but the RHD euro lenses are as follows -

RHS - 1305 620 152
LHS - 1305 620 151

Don't buy these. The lenses disperse the light to suit which side of the road you drive on.  Putting RHD euros on an LHD car will cause lights to shine in oncoming traffic's eyes.  So check the part numbers of the adsitco listings or elsewhere.  If the euros offered are for LHD cars, the numbers will be slightly different from the ones I posted.

Better still, can someone with LHD euros quote their lenses' part numbers?

[el-cid]

Wow, life just got really complicated...

[oscar]

  Not really, you just have to get the correct euro lense. As a matter of fact, I found the correct part number.  Another place in the US that has them is called http://www.mercedes-benz-parts-direct.com/

Click above, put your car in, choose >electrical>headlight

LHS lense part number is 1 305 620 909
RHS lense part number is 1 305 620 910


I'd assume you need the second one there - RHS lense part number is 1 305 620 910

[el-cid]

Oscar, you're a saint; if it wasn't the internet and it wasn't weird I'd kiss you .  That's a good price too; I found one other place that had them in stock in the US but they were $25-$30 US more.

[oscar]

Oscar, you're a saint; if it wasn't the internet and it wasn't weird I'd kiss you . 

And if that happened, I'd feel insecure and the need to say I was married and show you my wedding photo

[116Benz]

Oscar, you're a saint; if it wasn't the internet and it wasn't weird I'd kiss you . 

And if that happened, I'd feel insecure and the need to say I was married and show you my wedding photo

Nice to see you packed the flaggon as well!

[CA116]

That makes three types of headlights -

Euro for Left hand Drive
Euro for Right Hand Drive
US dual sealed beams

Looking at the Adsitco site, they say something like "not for American headlights" when referring to their w116 lense.  I assume this to mean not for the US dual sealed beam setup.  I'd bet though that their lenses are for LHD Euros and you should be right buying from them.

Is there any consensus on differences (or lack thereof) between headlamp housings for LHD and RHD euro lenses? Or is the only thing that matters the lenses? What I'm getting at is the question of whether or not it is possible to purchase any set of euro lamps (LHD or RHD) and then just replace the lenses if they are of the incorrect origin.

[John Hubertz]

OK...  tell me about vacuum adjustment.

Does this make expensive headlights suck less when you have to replace them?

[oscar]

Is there any consensus on differences (or lack thereof) between headlamp housings for LHD and RHD euro lenses? Or is the only thing that matters the lenses? What I'm getting at is the question of whether or not it is possible to purchase any set of euro lamps (LHD or RHD) and then just replace the lenses if they are of the incorrect origin.

CA116, I would guess there's no difference because the housing has simply a channel that runs around the perimeter that holds a rubber seal.  The housing then has these clamps that sqeezes against a lip on the lense which forces the edge of the lense into the rubber seal.  It seems the only difference between euro LHD and euro RHD lights is simply the way the lense disperses the light.  I'll do some more searching for part numbers and see what I come up with.

OK...  tell me about vacuum adjustment.

Does this make expensive headlights suck less when you have to replace them?

John, some headlights have vacuum pots on the back that adjust how far ahead the headlight casts it's light.  Most have a screw instead that is accessible at the top of each light just under the lip of the hood for dimming or raising the distance.  Some have a plastic lever attached to the screw head so you can adjust by hand.  The threaded rod then adjusts the mirrored parabolic lense forward or backwards. 

The vacuum adjustment I assume can be done whilst your driving.  I've yet to see a pic of the internal control.  I'll search my photos for a pic of a headlight with vac pot. But here's a pic of the adjustment screw with lever on my 350.