Replace the front headlights with xenon type

newusermb

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Hi there,

I plan to replace the front headlights of my C-class 1.8 compressor (W203) to Xenon type. Does anyone knows how much the cost and what are the things that i have to know.

Thank you
 

television

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If you do a search on this subject there is loads of info on the forum
 

walkenblue

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Hi there,

I plan to replace the front headlights of my C-class 1.8 compressor (W203) to Xenon type. Does anyone knows how much the cost and what are the things that i have to know.

Thank you

If you look on ebay you should find them no prob,BUT, look for the ones that have an endorsement .ACEPARTS i think about £14 for 6 bulbs..
 

Rappey69

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.ACEPARTS i think about £14 for 6 bulbs..

??? I wish.. the xenon bulbs are around £90 each.
to do it legally you need to change the whole headlight unit for starters.. Loads of money.
 
OP
N

newusermb

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How about the ecu for the new head lights? could we use the existing ecu for the new xenon headlight? do we need to re-program?..this what i've informed by others..
 

Rappey69

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As television says, there has been much discussion and conversions by many on this forum and many threads so a search may guide you in the right direction
 

walkenblue

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??? I wish.. the xenon bulbs are around £90 each.
to do it legally you need to change the whole headlight unit for starters.. Loads of money.

Someone i know has replaced their w 203 bulbs with them from the company i mentioned,i have seen them myself.If a person wants to spend sh** loads of money go ahead , the bulbs i saw on car were very good as i compared my own bi xenon originals.They compare with original voltage and wattage of course,dont knock em unless you"ve seen em!
 

drmw

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Someone i know has replaced their w 203 bulbs with them from the company i mentioned,i have seen them myself.If a person wants to spend sh** loads of money go ahead , the bulbs i saw on car were very good as i compared my own bi xenon originals.They compare with original voltage and wattage of course,dont knock em unless you"ve seen em!

I don't think anyone was "knocking" the product you mentioned - the point being made was they were obviously not xenon bulbs which are about £90 each and xenon was what the OP was asking about.
 

wireman

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Do beware that the head lamp must have automatic leveling if Xenon HID lamps are used, and that the lens for normal halogen lamps differs from that for HID lamps.

Without the lens and leveling your car will send light out where it is not supposed to and then you run the risk of dazzling one or more of your fellow motorists etc etc etc.
To fit them correctly (legaly) it will cost mucho dollars.

What on earth is wrong with the std setup? Adding more light will not make you any safer, in fact its very likely that your speed will increase and reduce safety for all concerned.
 

walkenblue

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Do beware that the head lamp must have automatic leveling if Xenon HID lamps are used, and that the lens for normal halogen lamps differs from that for HID lamps.

Without the lens and leveling your car will send light out where it is not supposed to and then you run the risk of dazzling one or more of your fellow motorists etc etc etc.
To fit them correctly (legaly) it will cost mucho dollars.

What on earth is wrong with the std setup? Adding more light will not make you any safer, in fact its very likely that your speed will increase and reduce safety for all concerned.

First of all, do you think people will really drive faster? I have bi xenon,and do not feel the need to go faster anytime,i am a cautious driver and i observe all national speed limits.Maybe i am in a higher age group than you,and have had a few more scrapes also.These lights (for me ) help me see any hazards earlier ,and are a great asset on a car. If the o.p. wants TRUE xenons,look online possibly,and pay the full cost..................
 

LYNALL

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I got proper xenon bulbs D2R for my car for just over £20 the pair delivered, which i should mention has xenons as factory fit!



Lynall
 

Rappey69

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I have just looked at aceparts on ebay.
I think the problem here is misrepresentation and lack of understanding.
Aceparts has got bulbs advertised as xenons when in fact they are just halogen filament type.
They even have led,s advertised as xenon hids???
Well, for those of you that think you can buy a xenon hid for £20 or less- you cant.
A xenon hid (high intensity discharge) does not have a filament but instead has a electrode in each end of the bulb and it arcs across through xenon gas giving a very intense light.
A xenon also needs a ballast unit to work as they require in exess of 30,000 volts to ignite.
A xenon is 300% brighter than a hologen equivalent.
I think you are talking about halogen with xenon gas, being a few pounds each and coloured to look like a xenon hid but no where near the performance.
Put a 55w halogen along side a 35w xenon hid and there really is no comparison in output. The xenon makes the halogen look like a 5w side light, hence the £90 for a real bulb.
A lot of the ebay hid kits use cheap chinese bulbs which dont last so end up costing a lot more than a genuine set.
 

wireman

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The lights may enable you to see better in their field of illumination but they will reduce your ability to see in those areas which remain unilluminated.

I drive daily on unlit roads and find that the excessive brightness of HID lamps on other cars is hazardous to other road users, and if another road user who you have just dazzled gets in your way it will reduce your safety.

I am quite convinced that the only need for brighter lights is to allow higher speeds, or perhaps to satisfy ones vanity.

In my past days of Cooper S ownership (many years ago) I fitted Cibe biode and oscar lamps purely for the purpose of going very fast.
 

cturbo

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Hello people, I am very new to the forum.
anyway, i have been selling HID kits on car forums,
I can do a whole set of HID kit from just 39.99,
if anyone is interested, please drop me an email.

Gary
 

M80

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A problem with fitting the 'after market' HID's to the 203 is the fault indication that causes them to flicker or even extinguish. wether this is due to the initial surge current or the lower running current I'm not sure. I would guess the surge current.
The inline capacitors can overcome this, but one (per control unit) isn't always enough.

The last info I could find from the Dept of Transport on this was from 2006, and is less than definitive.
For a vehicle to have these a self levelling system, and a headlamp cleaning system are required. To contradict this I am not aware that motorcycles have these when sold new with HID.
The reasoning is that HID's can produce much glare, and with small amounts of water or dirt on the lens the beam can be wildly dispersed, causing glare.
It would also seem that the blue and purple lamps(higher light frequency output) installed by the boy racer types produce more glare than useful light. Add these things to a badly set headlight and the poor bugger approaching, even the dipped beam, is blinded.
For MOT purposes as long as the output is predominantly white it is ok (the aim is checked of course).

Unfortunately for a couple of years I have been dazzled regularly by these, a 4x4 with HID's in the rear view gets me everytime. I have fitted them in my 203 estate to improve my safety, so I do have more chance of gaining better vision. I set the adjuster to low, only raising it when on the open road and no one to be dazzled, because they are brighter.
Also I prefer to use 3000 Kelvin lamps, they dazzle less and give good light. They have a yellowish to green hue which isn't as natural light but kinder to everyone. There's often fog up here, and if I remember my schooling correctly, the lower frequency 'cuts' the fog better with less return glare.

I don't wish to be cool, and don't wish to affect anyone elses safety. With the increasing number of new cars that seem to self level their HID's too high for comfort this seems like the only way for me to restore my safety. Actually before the HID's my dipped beam was naff.
 

whitenemesis

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The info is quite clear. The fitting of HiD bulbs into light units designed for halogen bulbs is illegal.
The only legal way to retro-fit xenons is to replace the complete headlight and fit auto levelling (unless the car has self-levelling rear suspension) Headliamp washers should also be fitted but this is not so definitive. For new cars to be type approved they must have levelling and washers.
Technically any xenons are illegal in the UK but EU type approval overrides this.

The main cause of dazzle is the fitting of HiDs into halogen lights, the lenses are completely wrong and cannot focus the beam correctly. It dosen't focus it any differently from halogen light but because the HiD is so much brighter it dazzles. Contamination on the lenses does not significantly contribute to dazzle.

The correct light unit for xenons have a very well defined beam cutoff, if the car crests a hill or corners left the light will dazzle oncoming drivers, just as halogens do but the effect is much greater because of the greater light intensity.

The auto-levelling works remarkable well for smoothing out the rise and fall of the front of the car do to acceleration and braking. It does a reasonable job with dips and bumps too. I see quite a few xenons equipped cars with just one headlight badly adjusted. This has to be due to poor mechanical adjustment as the autolevelling would effect both lights.

The percentage of cars with badly adjusted headlights is far greater in halogen equipped cars.
 

Miffy

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As Whitenemeses

To be legal you will need to replace the lamp units, fit self levellers and wash/wipe.

Most MOT testers will not check for this, as long as the colour and aim are correct. But I heard over on mbclub that this is changing. watch this space.
 

Alex M Grieve

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The info is quite clear. The fitting of HiD bulbs into light units designed for halogen bulbs is illegal.
The only legal way to retro-fit xenons is to replace the complete headlight and fit auto levelling (unless the car has self-levelling rear suspension) Headliamp washers should also be fitted but this is not so definitive. For new cars to be type approved they must have levelling and washers.
Technically any xenons are illegal in the UK but EU type approval overrides this.

The main cause of dazzle is the fitting of HiDs into halogen lights, the lenses are completely wrong and cannot focus the beam correctly. It dosen't focus it any differently from halogen light but because the HiD is so much brighter it dazzles. Contamination on the lenses does not significantly contribute to dazzle.

The correct light unit for xenons have a very well defined beam cutoff, if the car crests a hill or corners left the light will dazzle oncoming drivers, just as halogens do but the effect is much greater because of the greater light intensity.

The auto-levelling works remarkable well for smoothing out the rise and fall of the front of the car do to acceleration and braking. It does a reasonable job with dips and bumps too. I see quite a few xenons equipped cars with just one headlight badly adjusted. This has to be due to poor mechanical adjustment as the autolevelling would effect both lights.

The percentage of cars with badly adjusted headlights is far greater in halogen equipped cars.

A very comprehensive post Peter. I continue to be impressed by the appalling maladjustment of headlamps of every persuasion. Given that they should be checked at every service, and monitored at every MOT (and how do they go out of alignment anyway), I fail to understand why this should happen.

Moreover, I was driving down the M40 in severe weather last Saturday evening (between the gtg at Gaydon, and the hotel in Banbury). The most distracting factor was not the traffic (it was heavy and fast) or the spray (it was like driving through a car wash) but the large numbers of drivers who were driving on main beam, both coming towards me and behind. Perhaps they were having trouble seeing where to go, but it did not slow them down, and their main beam put others in jeopardy too.

I suppose like overtaking and motorway driving, the use of headlamps is not part of the DOT driving test? Until some sort of training is included, the rules on headlamps will only be partly successful.
 

television

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I only used dipped beam Alex the whole time when I was behind you and when i could keep up
 

Chipstick

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Don't buy the cheap ones on e-bay - they are blue sprayed normal bulbs and illegal
 


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