Headlight conversion to projector lights

[GeForceUK]

Hi I have a 2005 Mercedes Viano and I am considering modifying the headlights to the projector type. I am going to do the work myself and split down the headlight to fit the projector modification. I was in tending to buy the projectors and can bus kit as part of the conversion. Has anyone done this modification? Does anyone have the wiring diagram with the oin out for the headlight connector please?

 

[Craiglxviii]

It’s illegal.

 

[GeForceUK]

What do you mean it is illegal? Al long as the light beam pattern is compliant then I cannot see any legal reason why the headlights cannot be changed over. Also fitting of DRL can be done as they are not currently part of the MOT. I would be interested in your justification of your statement?

 

[Blobcat]

Do a google search, or even a search of this forum if you want to check the law on headlights.
@Craiglxviii is not wrong (he has rather a lot of experience with car headlights…)

 

[LostKiwi]

The headlight unit is certified compliant as a unit.
You can't modify the housing legally.

 

[Craiglxviii]

What do you mean it is illegal? Al long as the light beam pattern is compliant then I cannot see any legal reason why the headlights cannot be changed over. Also fitting of DRL can be done as they are not currently part of the MOT. I would be interested in your justification of your statement?

The housing has UNECE certification and the car is homologated into the U.K. with that certification. Changing that will void the type rating for your car therefore nullify insurance.

If you intend to retrofit original PES lamps into a car specified for say halogen, then you will need to also retrofit the headlamp wash function to maintain type rating. This is a straight UNECE regulatory requirement, anything over 2000lm nominal now requires headlamp cleaner to be fitted and has done since 2017.

You are on dodgy ground now with the application of non-OEM DRLs. No beam pattern has been specified yet but this is likely to change imminently. Also if you have DRLs fitted within 600mm of an indicator then they must soft-dim to <50% brightness when the indicator is active before soft ramp-up to 100% brightness. Again that last bit is straight UNECE regulatory requirement.

Hope this helps.

 

[EmilysDad]

What do you mean it is illegal? ....

It's what Craig does/did for a day job

 

[mioba]

Dont even know why this would be called a modification with all due respect to the OP. Can he elaborate.
More like a bodge job.

 

[GeForceUK]

The housing has UNECE certification and the car is homologated into the U.K. with that certification. Changing that will void the type rating for your car therefore nullify insurance.

If you intend to retrofit original PES lamps into a car specified for say halogen, then you will need to also retrofit the headlamp wash function to maintain type rating. This is a straight UNECE regulatory requirement, anything over 2000lm nominal now requires headlamp cleaner to be fitted and has done since 2017.

You are on dodgy ground now with the application of non-OEM DRLs. No beam pattern has been specified yet but this is likely to change imminently. Also if you have DRLs fitted within 600mm of an indicator then they must soft-dim to <50% brightness when the indicator is active before soft ramp-up to 100% brightness. Again that last bit is straight UNECE regulatory requirement.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the explanation, The DRL I have fitted do comply as stated above and soft dim, there is no headlight washer system fitted so that is not an issue. Thanks for pointing out the UNECE certification issue as I have never heard of it previously, so perhaps its a case of sticking with the LED upgrade as long as they don't exceed the 5000K lumens. My original source for research was The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989.

 

[LostKiwi]

Thanks for the explanation, The DRL I have fitted do comply as stated above and soft dim, there is no headlight washer system fitted so that is not an issue. Thanks for pointing out the UNECE certification issue as I have never heard of it previously, so perhaps its a case of sticking with the LED upgrade as long as they don't exceed the 5000K lumens. My original source for research was The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989.

If you have halogen bulbs currently it's also illegal to fit LED replacement bulbs for exactly the same reason. The headlight reflectors are designed to use a light source at a predetermined standard position. LEDs can get close to that position but not close enough. The result is light scatter or glare as the headlight lens and reflector system cannot correctly focus the beam. Again, all laid out in the UNECE regulations.

Incidentally 5000K doesn't refer to lumens (legally they must be below 2000) - it refers to the colour temperature. The lower the number the lower the blue content, the higher the number the more blue the light produced. The more blue the light the more dazzle the light output.

 

[Flyinspanner]

Hi I have a 2005 Mercedes Viano and I am considering modifying the headlights to the projector type. I am going to do the work myself and split down the headlight to fit the projector modification. I was in tending to buy the projectors and can bus kit as part of the conversion. Has anyone done this modification? Does anyone have the wiring diagram with the oin out for the headlight connector please?

Have a look here, and you can see that LEDs are a non starter and that a full conversion to make HID/Xenons compliant will be very involved and somewhat expensive.

[Withdrawn] MOT special notice 01-21: headlamp conversions

www.gov.uk

 

[Craiglxviii]

If you have halogen bulbs currently it's also illegal to fit LED replacement bulbs for exactly the same reason. The headlight reflectors are designed to use a light source at a predetermined standard position. LEDs can get close to that position but not close enough. The result is light scatter or glare as the headlight lens and reflector system cannot correctly focus the beam. Again, all laid out in the UNECE regulations.

Incidentally 5000K doesn't refer to lumens (legally they must be below 2000) - it refers to the colour temperature. The lower the number the lower the blue content, the higher the number the more blue the light produced. The more blue the light the more dazzle the light output.

Wot ‘e said ^^^
If you have dimming DRLs, that’s great. But there is no legal way to “upgrade” your lamps. The only way to do it is to simply buy brighter halogen lamps, and for that the brightest on the market consistently are Osram’s Nightbreaker range.

 

[Gazwould]

Best car headlight bulbs 2023 | Auto Express

Our annual test has expanded to cover even more cars

www.google.com

 

[Craiglxviii]

Best car headlight bulbs 2023 | Auto Express

Our annual test has expanded to cover even more cars

www.google.com

Meaningless unfortunately. Auto Express do not - ever, as far as I’m aware - actually look at the manufacturer’s product datasheets. Of the manufacturers shown only Philips and Osram actually publish their nominal luminous flux data, and of those typically Osram is 50-100lm higher by form factor.

These subjective tests are just that… without sticking the headlamp in a goniophotometer or integrating sphere there’s literally no way that proper measurements can be taken.

 

[mattkh]

The housing has UNECE certification and the car is homologated into the U.K. with that certification. Changing that will void the type rating for your car therefore nullify insurance.

Does the car insurance get nullified even if the modified headlamp was not responsible for the accident being claimed for..?

 

[Craiglxviii]

Does the car insurance get nullified even if the modified headlamp was not responsible for the accident being claimed for..?

Doesn’t matter. It’s a straight legal definition, the car’s Type Rating becomes null and void as it has been knowlingly taken away from homologated condition. That’s what killed Mitsubishi, 17 cars had their engine management software changed prior to import, the forensic engineering from that led to the company’s axle to Nissan. Same here, if the car is involved in a collision and part of the investigation shows that it has been de-homologated then the insurer will drop it like a hot rock. Is it really worth that sort of hassle?

 

[Gazwould]

Meaningless unfortunately. Auto Express do not - ever, as far as I’m aware - actually look at the manufacturer’s product datasheets. Of the manufacturers shown only Philips and Osram actually publish their nominal luminous flux data, and of those typically Osram is 50-100lm higher by form factor.

These subjective tests are just that… without sticking the headlamp in a goniophotometer or integrating sphere there’s literally no way that proper measurements can be taken.

Best to actually test rather than look at data sheets .

Have a word with Kim Adams at Auto Express so he can produce the best possible evaluation of this wonderful 60 year old automotive application .

 

[Craiglxviii]

Best to actually test rather than look at data sheets .

Have a word with Kim Adams at Auto Express so he can produce the best possible evaluation of this wonderful 60 year old automotive application .

Yes it is, but the datasheets cannot be produced without goniophotometer testing having been carried out. One should then put the lamp in a luminaire (housing) so that it can be tested in an integrating sphere to actually measure its real world performance.

I’ve spoken to AE a number of times about the chronic inaccuracy of their tests and how misleading they are to their readers- part of my professional time is spent working with the lighting lab that validates test standards for the BSI so I get involved in a few things like this. The typical response is that AE “don’t claim to be accurate, just informative”. Which is another way of saying it’s an opinion piece.