W214 Merc why are the headlights so poor?

Daff_Duck

Daff_Duck

Daff_Duck

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Went out for a drive in my mates car last night and I couldn't believe how pants the main lights are on unlit roads is this normal for this model?

Have people modified or changed the bulbs to increase the actual light if so what have they done/changed
 
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Were the outside of the headlights clean? All the salt and muck on cars at the moment can make a major difference to the brightness of the headlights.
 
The W214 is a very old car. The lights will be pants by modern standards if still using the original bulbs. Some good Osram Nightbreakers in there will make them much better.
 
Rilot said:
The W214 is a very old car. The lights will be pants by modern standards if still using the original bulbs. Some good Osram Nightbreakers in there will make them much better.
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What is a W214? I thought i was a Mercedes nerd (ive got two and like to think i know a fair bit about the brand!)

I cant even find a wiki article.
 
Because it was you posting it (i would assume an error with most people) i thought you actually knew about an obscure old model somewhere, or something like that :)

Yep, a W124 is what he must mean - its no mystery that the lights are poor on a W124. Best he'll be able to do is fit some uprated bulbs and make sure the lenses are clean.
 
Cleaned my headlights the other day, now I can see where I'm going again. Felt a right plank. :p
 
Hyburnate said:
Pffft, headlight washers are where it's at.
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They still don't get rid of all the grime, especially at this time of year when the roads are salted.

If there's a filthy sponge and bucket when filling up, give them a quick clean with that. Just be careful when using the squeegee to dry as I've scratched the bumper on my previous 2 cars with that :o
 
mjt said:
They still don't get rid of all the grime, especially at this time of year when the roads are salted.

If there's a filthy sponge and bucket when filling up, give them a quick clean with that. Just be careful when using the squeegee to dry as I've scratched the bumper on my previous 2 cars with that :o
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Can't say I have such issues - I use quite a strong dilution of Sonax Xtreme (the summer stuff, haven't had issues with it freezing as I don't use it until the engine has warmed).

I won't be using a bucket and sponge on my headlights let alone a squeegee
 
Hyburnate said:
Can't say I have such issues - I use quite a strong dilution of Sonax Xtreme (the summer stuff, haven't had issues with it freezing as I don't use it until the engine has warmed).

I won't be using a bucket and sponge on my headlights let alone a squeegee
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Ah, I use whatever wax the car wash has. Maybe that's why :p
 
As the advice above, some Osram Night breakers and toothpaste the headlight lenses. That will make a good difference.

I did that on my 300e and it made quite a difference.
 
All the recommendations for Nightbreakers do they last well for you?
I put a pair in my V70, 1 went after about a month and a half and the other about 2 weeks later.
Replaced with Halfords +130 or whatever they are and they have been going strong for 6 months.
My lights are always on by the way and the Halfords bulbs seem to be as good to my eye as the Osrams were.
 
Axeboy said:
As the advice above, some Osram Night breakers and toothpaste the headlight lenses. That will make a good difference.

I did that on my 300e and it made quite a difference.
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The headlights on the w124 are made of glass, i thought the toothpaste method was for plastic?
 
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