Thursday, February 4, 2010

Let there be lights!!!!

Last year one of the HIGHLY recommended modifications was to install "Euro" headlights on the car. I found a good set on eBay that was reasonable, i.e less than 4 digits...
I also bought the instructions to install them with the appropriate plugs. The old lights worked so, so, and I was not thrilled with them. I installed the "euro" headlights, but after much finagling, and trying to get them to work, I realized that there was something very wrong. I traced the wrongness to the switch, and left the lights sort of kinda working the best way I could.
Yesterday I went through probably the most painful repair ever in the SLC. Replacing the (*&(*&(* headlight switch. The manual says that you just take it out with one screw,and lower it into the lower cavity.... There is no such thing. I had to work through the speaker opening, and there is a small amount of give from the cables. I managed after hours of work to replace the switch. And NO, MB did not use a plug, they used spaded connectors with screws, and they used one per circuit. MB also separated the left and right position lights so that you can put them in "park" mode. That means that there are a whole bunch of connectors. But after finally plugging everything in, I got a semblance of normality, with position, low and nothing....
So, off come the euros again... And tester in hand troubleshot all the connections. Finally I figured out that I had 2 position lights connected to the high beams, when it should be connected to the light under the bumper, so I finally got the lights working. I also soldered new connections that I bought on-line, that are supposedly used by the new MB, and they worked pretty nicely. No high power here, so, new connectors work.
Now I have position lights, corner lights, blinker lights, driving, and high beams. It all works!
Next step... Brakes. No ABS, so this is not rocket science. Will take off the booster, to clean, paint, and make pretty, and then replace the master cylinder. Monday, front calipers, pads and disks.

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