kenjwan

Hello everyone.

I followed the tutorial for replacing the HID bulbs in my IS350 ('06) and it was quite straight forward. Only problem is now I'm seeing streaks of light emanating from my headlights, rather than the smooth and even dispersion I used to see. The bulbs are from Xenon Depot so shouldn't be the problem. I think it's the installation. Here's an online photo (from a different car) that kinda shows what I"m seeing, although the streaks I see are more uneven. (It's the scatter beams near the front of the car)



Can anyone help with suggestions on how to correct this? Is it simply a matter of playing with the alignment so it is centred properly?

Any tips and tricks would help immensely!

Thanks.

kennyD

1. Car looks like an E-Class Mercedes? And not a LEXUS.
2. If said car, in in fact, an E-Class, it is a reflector bowl, correct?
3. I would not be surprised if it was not a correct bulb to bowl combination.

Check bulb seating, try a different set of bulbs if possible.
Check other Mercedes forums to see they're having the same issue and how to correct.

Sffd103

iTrader: (16)

The op stated that its an online photo of a different car, not his 06' 2IS.

kenjwan

Yes, as stated, I am using this image to show what I'm seeing with my IS350 as the streaks appear very similar.

ICU2

Are your lights HID equipped from factory?

kennyD

Oh. Missed that part. My mistake.

Same is said, are your bulbs seated correctly?
Are they factory HIDs or was it converted?
Check with another bulb to see, perhaps it is a defective bulb?

kenjwan

Yes, they are factory HIDs and both sides show the pattern, although not exactly the same. The bulbs are from Xenon Depot and I haven't seen anyone reporting this with their bulbs. I'm thinking it's an alignment issue and was hoping someone here has tips on making sure it's seated exactly as it should be or perhaps, there's some sort of adjustment that can be made.

kenjwan

Here are some photos from my headlights:

On the ground:


On the wall:

valeoray

Take one bulb out and compare it with the original bulb to see if the distance from the base to where the electric arc is the same.

kumquatism

iTrader: (10)

That's definitely not how the beam pattern should look.
There should be a small indentation in the bulb. It'll fit in the little bump in the projector, so the bulb only fits one way. You should double check to make sure it's seated properly in the projector.

Here's a picture of the indentation I'm talking about. Notice it on the left side of the bulb base.

pmanliu

iTrader: (4)

are you sure the bulb is inserted all the way? if you put the oem bulb back in, is everything normal?

kenjwan

I will try to re-seat the bulb and get back to you. Thanks for the suggestions.

kenjwan

Okay, so my brother and I re-seated the bulbs and everything looks good. While we worked on it, we realized we didn't quite correctly follow the instructions posted here. Our original mistake was to put the bulb into the socket and then attempt to fit it into the projector unit rather than clip the bulb into the projector and then connect the socket.

So much better now that the dispersion is corrected!

Thanks for everyone's feedback.

ISland350

^^Thats what I love about CL, thru mistakes we can all learn something. Glad you got it sorted out

rawr2is250

Always a great community here on CL.