Upgrading 2020 Sprinter 3500 Headlights from Halogen to LED

Always_Wipe

New member
Title says it all. I have some OEM LED lights coming to replace the Halogen ones that came stock with the vehicle. Does anyone have any experience wiring/replacing the entire headlight assembly with OEM LED?

Thanks!
 

RVBarry

2023 AWD 170 DIY CamperVan
Hi, Will they fit?
MBZ won't sell the lighting kit without the chrome grille.
 
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Erik R

New member
Mind me asking the cost for the lights? Did the dealer quote you the programming cost as well? I assume you plan to install yourself?
 

Always_Wipe

New member
Mind me asking the cost for the lights? Did the dealer quote you the programming cost as well? I assume you plan to install yourself?
I found a pair for $800 OEM on eBay which is just shy of what the conversion van people would have paid to just get it done from factory. I'm going to look at everything before going to the dealer but since there are no "smart" features like the adaptive turning and all I'm assuming it should just be a plug conversion. I'll know more when I have both lights side-by-side.
 

Sctn

2019 170 4x4 Crew-SMB West
Search it. There has been a few people to try it. I don’t think any of them had success. From what I read from other people trying is it’s more than some simple programming.
 

zither99

Active member
i'll be watching this. i have a set of LED headlights sitting on the shelf. wires are different in the plugs from a quick check. I hope what you say is true!
 

Always_Wipe

New member
Search it. There has been a few people to try it. I don’t think any of them had success. From what I read from other people trying is it’s more than some simple programming.
From what I've read, nobody is trying it on a 2019+. I've done this on a Metris with success. I'm hoping it's just as easy
 

GLJones

Active member
I replaced my headlight bulbs with LED. I have a 2019 2500. Unit came with an adapter between the LED build and the van power cable to keep the blown bulb warning from happening. You do have to be careful to check the aim of the headlights after replacing to make sure you don't blind oncoming drivers.
 

Always_Wipe

New member
I replaced my headlight bulbs with LED. I have a 2019 2500. Unit came with an adapter between the LED build and the van power cable to keep the blown bulb warning from happening. You do have to be careful to check the aim of the headlights after replacing to make sure you don't blind oncoming drivers.
That adapter operates as a ballast for the bulb. OEM has ballast already there to regulate the power coming into the units. Youre basically using resistors to lower the voltage on the connection between the van and the bulb or else you run the risk of burning the LED out from overvoltage.
 

Chadmatic

Member
I replaced my headlight bulbs with LED. I have a 2019 2500. Unit came with an adapter between the LED build and the van power cable to keep the blown bulb warning from happening. You do have to be careful to check the aim of the headlights after replacing to make sure you don't blind oncoming drivers.
OP is talking about upgrading the entire headlight assembly to the OEM LED Assembly, not just replacing the bulbs.
 

souvas

Active member
I’m performing this right now. Purchased a harness from here.

They come with connectors that fit the LED lights exactly. There are two wires that aren’t used unless you add leveling sensors near the front and rear driver axles. This is to auto level the aim of the headlights for oncoming traffic.

After installingjust one my lights turned on (passenger side) and functioned. I checked the power (via voltmeter) and the fuse - both were good. It appears there is something wrong with the headlight itself. I’m working with the seller to get it exchanged. Despite this, a bunch of faults occur on the dash and radio turns off each time the brake pedal is pressed and go away when released. PROCEED WITH CAUTION. The ECU needs recoding but my local dealer in Palm Springs says there is no documentation to do this apparently. And, so I’m going back with the seller of the harness to see if they have specific recoding instructions. The challenge is that everything is connected on these vehicles. Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe vehicles with halogens are controlled via SAM and LEDs are controlled via CAN.

While I wait for the new headlight replacement to arrive I’ve put the original halogens back in, but faults persist. Hoping there is a way to reset back to original factory. I’ve contacted the dealership to see if they can do this. I assume it shouldn’t be an issue since there has to be documentation.

If you find a better solution please let me know as my experience has been nothing short of frustrating.

I’ll post another update when I’ve had a chance to install the replacement.

82A44AEB-2053-464E-B185-13BE9F95B1EC.jpeg
 

Always_Wipe

New member
I’m performing this right now. Purchased a harness from here.

They come with connectors that fit the LED lights exactly. There are two wires that aren’t used unless you add leveling sensors near the front and rear driver axles. This is to auto level the aim of the headlights for oncoming traffic.

After installingjust one my lights turned on (passenger side) and functioned. I checked the power (via voltmeter) and the fuse - both were good. It appears there is something wrong with the headlight itself. I’m working with the seller to get it exchanged. Despite this, a bunch of faults occur on the dash and radio turns off each time the brake pedal is pressed and go away when released. PROCEED WITH CAUTION. The ECU needs recoding but my local dealer in Palm Springs says there is no documentation to do this apparently. And, so I’m going back with the seller of the harness to see if they have specific recoding instructions. The challenge is that everything is connected on these vehicles. Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe vehicles with halogens are controlled via SAM and LEDs are controlled via CAN.

While I wait for the new headlight replacement to arrive I’ve put the original halogens back in, but faults persist. Hoping there is a way to reset back to original factory. I’ve contacted the dealership to see if they can do this. I assume it shouldn’t be an issue since there has to be documentation.

If you find a better solution please let me know as my experience has been nothing short of frustrating.

I’ll post another update when I’ve had a chance to install the replacement.

View attachment 146235
Hi! Dude thank you for the wiring information. Ordering now. All the junkyards are beyond unhelpful. They have the entire headlight but no harness. I did notice the driver side has an 8 pin connection and the passenger side has a 4 pin. Did you notice and does the kit address this?

Also your dealership is full of $h!t. My dealership says you just need to tell the ECU that the headlights are LED and not Halogen.
 
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souvas

Active member
Yah man. No worries. It’s coming from Germany so just be aware it takes a while to arrive. I waited a month before it got here. :mad:
And yes, the connections match the LED units exactly. Wiring is fairly straightforward.

So far the dealership hasn’t been much help either, at least in my case. :rolleyes:
 

Always_Wipe

New member
Yah man. No worries. It’s coming from Germany so just be aware it takes a while to arrive. I waited a month before it got here. :mad:
And yes, the connections match the LED units exactly. Wiring is fairly straightforward.

So far the dealership hasn’t been much help either, at least in my case. :rolleyes:
I have my friend in Germany ordering it now. Are they a Sprinter dealership? If not then find one. I would just say "hey I'm getting all these weird errors" and they just plug their very expensive ODB tool and switch headlight to LED since that literally fixes everything. That's what my dealer said.
 

souvas

Active member
Ha yes, it's the Palm Springs Mercedes Dealership. I'll give it another whirl and see. My understanding is this isn't like resetting a check engine light where they can just clear it. Instead they hook it up via Xentry system?! and have to do a new configuration. It's still pretty much automatic but the trouble lies in how the onboard computer works for vehicles that come with LED vs Halogen. Every instrument is connected via this brain.
 

Always_Wipe

New member
Ha yes, it's the Palm Springs Mercedes Dealership. I'll give it another whirl and see. My understanding is this isn't like resetting a check engine light where they can just clear it. Instead they hook it up via Xentry system?! and have to do a new configuration. It's still pretty much automatic but the trouble lies in how the onboard computer works for vehicles that come with LED vs Halogen. Every instrument is connected via this brain.
I AM NOT SUGGESTING YOU SAIL THE HIGH SEAS FOR THIS SOFTWARE BUT you can purchase it legally and do it yourself. AGAIN TO NOT USE ILLEGAL MEANS TO ACQUIRE THIS SOFTWARE EVEN THOUGH IT IS AVAILABLE.
 

souvas

Active member
True. From what I'm seeing online. It's ~$500 for the software but then you have to have a specific laptop to install it on. Who the h3ll still uses a PC :ROFLMAO:. Still researching this route though.
 

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