GL Lighting

[SilverIII]

The GL 500 I recently purchased did not have adequate headlights for travelling on our roads with all the animals that one encounters in many rural areas.
I decided to upgrade, but as a precaution I discussed the topic with the owner of a local Auto Electrical company; himself an ex Merc Technician.
He stated that, due to the sophisticated computer system, any changes I made to the light sources would set alarms and cause mal-functions. He advised very strongly to leave the lights as they were.
Well, having done some tests with various LED globes, I found that I was able to upgrade firstly the Fog lights, then the inner headlights and finally the DRL.
The main headlights are 50Kv HID, Low and HI beam found in the outer headlights and are worth keeping.
Further, I added a Hi Power, 240Watt LED Lightbar ( a mere 120mmn wide) and mounted this inside the lower grille . It gives a very powerful searchlight beam for long distance vision. Lastly, I added 2 x 70 watt LED "Worklights" ( small, 60mm Sq) to the front of the lower grille, with brackets protruding through the grill latice and fastened on the inside. These also produce a beam of some 200mtrs and the overall combination I am very satisfied with.
All the "yellowness" has gone, with all the new globes being 6500k : Stark White which creates excellent vision.

 

[Rolf Redecker]

We tend to travel faster than the engineers design the lights for.

 

[SilverIII]

To add to my previous post, I omitted to say that I installed a wireless controlled multi relay unit under the hood and use this to control the added lights ( Controlled by the Vehicle Hi beam to make them legal) as well as the rear view camera, which is also wireless; a long range unit, I remove from the back of the car and mount inside the rear window of my caravan.
This serves as the rear view provider and takes away the need for in stalling caravan towing mirrors.

 

[Andrew]

We tend to travel faster than the engineers design the lights for.

Except with a 240 you dont need lights because by the time you get to where the lights shine, it is morning anyway.

 

[Dawie Louw]

Andrew, That was very funny!!

The latest prices of headlights are astonishing. Quoted as part of a parts parcel in their road tests, here are a few prices for a single headlight, from recent CAR tests:
Suzuki S-Presso R1,934.
Mahindra bakkie R9,200.
Toyota C-HR 1,2T R19,433.
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross 1,5 R28,013.
Hyundai I30 R31,770.
Hyumdai Tucson R37,087.
Mercedes CLS400d R58,392.
Lamborghini Huracan R81,753.
At least Goldwagen is still advertising the Golf headlight, which fits the 460 G's at R250. Now that is a bargain!

 

[Andrew]

I wonder what Charles' ML lights cost (before his high performance upgrade)?

I have no doubt that the prices you show here Dawie are because there is an insurance industry out there in cahoots with manufacturers that would rather justify scrapping the vehicle than repairing it. Because of these prices it enables a huge aftermarket to be viable at lesser prices and some years ago i remember BMW tried unsuccessfully to stop others making parts for its vehicles.

I think for most of us here the idea of being able to own, and economically maintain an old and well made machine is very attractive. And I agree - a brand new Hella or Bosch round headlight for R200 fits the bill. Even if they did not work very well until Charles et-al went the LED route.

 

[SilverIII]

Mercedes GL 500 Lighting Mods/Improvements
1 Install 2 x LED Driving Lights in front of Grille. ( 2 x R237,21) R474,42
2 Install wireless relay control for new LED driving lights & Camera R177,00
3 Replace Fog Light globes with LED R420,00
4 Replace headlight main beam globes with H-11, LED R590,00
5 Install LED Hi Power Lightbar behind Grille. R629,89
6 DRL globes : change to LED. R69,26
7. Import Duties : R721

Total : R3081,57

Upgrade: LHS Tail light lens cracked:
8.Replace Rear bumper tail lights with new. R2 902,44

 

[Andrew]

Do you know what the OEM headlight costs Charles? Judging by Dawie's post 5x more than your impressive sounding upgrade?

 

[SilverIII]

I haven't changed the headlights as such, merely the globes.
A typical OEM tungsten globe emits a light of around 3000K on the Kelvin Scale. For me, this is not efficient when compared to the LED equivalent globe of around 6000k which is a pure white light, no visible yellow. However, the aesthetics are not the issue, more important is the spread and depth of clear vision provided by the latest technologies.
The GL headlights are probably thousands of Rands to buy and certainly very dear compared to what can be achieved without changing the basic originality .
As is stands right now, we are not allowed to drive after 18h00 under the present curfew; however, once we get back to normal, I feel confident of driving at night here in SA.
I drive to all my course presentation venues within the borders of SA, even down to CT, so it's imperative that my vehicle can provide the necessary safety in terms of night vision.
I feel that I have achieved this at a very reasonable cost.
The other issue is the oncoming vehicles that don 't dim their lights. Just a quick flash of the brights is now more than enough to rectify this .

 

[Dawie Louw]

What 18h00 curfew? As far as I know since 30 july, to help restaurants, its 22h00.

 

[Pete460332]

Mercedes GL 500 Lighting Mods/Improvements
1 Install 2 x LED Driving Lights in front of Grille. ( 2 x R237,21) R474,42
2 Install wireless relay control for new LED driving lights & Camera R177,00
3 Replace Fog Light globes with LED R420,00
4 Replace headlight main beam globes with H-11, LED R590,00
5 Install LED Hi Power Lightbar behind Grille. R629,89
6 DRL globes : change to LED. R69,26
7. Import Duties : R721

Total : R3081,57

Upgrade: LHS Tail light lens cracked:
8.Replace Rear bumper tail lights with new. R2 902,44

Did you GL not come with Bi Xenon Adaptive Headlights?

 

[SilverIII]

Quote : The main headlights are 50Kv HID, Low and HI beam found in the outer headlights and are worth keeping.

 

[SilverIII]

Sorry, 25Kv not 50Kv as previously stated.