W107 Foglight lens replacement

Earlier this year I managed to smash a foglight lens on a MBCNSW drive to Berry.   I drove over a large stick on the road that flicked up and smashed the lens.   I saw the stick, but there wasn’t really a way of avoiding it without risking an accident.   The low slung floglights on the 107 model look cool, but they are always at risk of road debris.   I’m pretty lucky that after 18 years of ownership, this is the first time I’ve smashed a W107 foglight lens.

In the short term, I removed the broken lens so I didn’t have anything sharp sticking out of the front of the car.     Not only was the lens broken, but the bulb was dead too.    I then set about trying to find a replacement lens.   There are a lot of lenses out there, but I wanted a proper Bosch lens to match the other side.

I could have purchased a URO Parts lens for a song, but given my experience with the quality of that brand, I imagined it would break just by looking at it.   I eventually found some Bosch lenses for a decent price in the USA and ordered a pair so I would have a spare.

Unfortunately, that package was lost by FedEx.   It was a real shame as I had some rare workshop manuals and some used SLS struts I found for a really good price.   Not only that, but by the time I re-ordered the lenses they had significantly increased in cost.

Today I went about fitting the lens and replacing the bulb.    It is pretty easy to get the frame off, it is held on by two screws.   Once the frame is removed, the reflector and bulb assembly are removed from the light assembly.   This isn’t required to change the lens, but it is required to change the bulb.

The H3 bulb used by the foglights has a wire built into the bulb that can be seen in the picture below.   It was pretty easy to remove, being held in by a metal clip.

Once I had the new bulb in place, I gave it a quick test before I refitted the lens.   The lens is mostly held on the frame.  There are also four metal tabs that hold it into place against the reflector and bulb assembly.     It was pretty easy to get it in and tighten down the frame so that the lens was snug against the light.

This was a very simple job – replacing the W107 foglight lens is something any owner could do.

Another quick test showed the foglight lens still working.   Living in Australia, fog lights very rarely get used.   Consequently not many drivers know how to use them.   Additionally, Australian delivery cars are wired up so they can’t be run at the same time as the headlights.   They are only available with the parking lights.