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EURO HEADLIGHT CONVERSION

The following instructions were made possible by Ian. Thank you for your contribution! The Before and After! Before I show you how it was done, here's a before and after view. As you can see, they make quite a difference in the looks department. What you can't see, is the phenominal increase in lighting. If you're familiar with the W201 chassis (especially the early years) you know the terrible lighting that they were outfitted with. These lights are outfitted with 90/100 watt bulbs and 80 watt fog light bulbs. They'll burn holes in your retinas if you look at 'em directly ;-) BEFORE ----->        <----- AFTER The first step was to remove the turnsignal assembly and the color-matched trim piece from below the headlight assembly. Once you've gotten that out of the way you can remove the three retaining bolts for the assembly. Two are on the top right above the light assembly (mounted in black hex-shaped plastic plugs) and the third is on the bottom of the assembly. The easiest was to gain access to this is if you reach behind the spoiler/bumper from the wheelwell area. After removing the assembly some switching is necessary. The stock US-spec 4-pole plug needs to be switched with the included Euro-spec 6-pole plug. This is very straight-foward. Simply pry the cover off of the rear and the pins pull out. Arrange the pins in the new plug, pop the cover on, and you're set. You then need to add the tensioner from the bottom of the old assembly (it receives the lower bolt) and the bulbs. The asemblies require new headlights as they no longer use a sealedbeam assembly. Capitol West was more than happy to sell me the correct bulbs in a 90/100 watt variety.....labeled "off-road use only" (along with the assembles themselves) of course. You can reuse the foglight bulbs, however, I would recommend going to a yellow anodized bulb as the lens is no longer yellow. The Euro assembly can now be fitted and fastened in. Just make sure to get the bottom retainer in it's hole before tightening. Complete the opposite side, align the lights and you can call it a day. On a side note: the stock turnsignals work fine with the euro assemblies. This makes it extremely easy to switch to the clear turn signals. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to email me at vyper@udel.edu. Back

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