Xenon Headlights

[raysmelt]

Sorry to all you purists and the integrity of the marque, but for the rest of you, has anyone tried fitting one of these many xenon conversion kits which are on the market? I need to replace the headlights on a Mark 3 and thought why not?

thanks

Ray

[Greybags]

Ray ..

Xenon conversions are just a bulb change.... Do you mean HID conversions as they are a bit more involved ..

Grahame

[raysmelt]

Thanks for your quick reply. I mean HID conversions.

[Greybags]

Ray ..

Understand from a few friends that they are still in their infancy and not too good ... also it's only in the last few months that a couple of the kits have been e-marked for UK road use ...

Several of the kits only use HID on main beam, with ordinary dip, they do draw less current, but the lighting improvement doesn't warrant the 400+ quid outlay.

he info from those that use the lights a lot the best classic car option at the moment are Cibie Headlights with 80/100 watt powerwhite bulbs which are road legal on pre 1982 cars ... relays are needed of course

[raysmelt]

OK, many thanks will give that a try.

Ray

[GGenie69]

My understanding of HID lighting is that under current MOT rules, "HID lights can only be fitted to vehicles equiped with self cleaning headlamps", is this correct?

[Greybags]

Been doing some reading up on HID conversions, and it would appear that the bulb conversions are not legal for road use as the arc that forms for the light production is in a different location than a filament bulb, therefore causes a lot of dazzling and can fail an MOT as cannot produce a cut off line when dipped.

If you can find complete replacement HID light units in our case 7" round, then these can be fitted, but must have a self leveling device fitted.

It is only a requirement to have head lamp washers on new cars with HID not on retrofits...

So it boils down to if you have a car that on one model has HID lights but on a lesser model doesnt, then you can fit the complete headlight units from the higer spec model to the lower spec and thats ok, but just put the HID bulbs in a unit meant for filament type bulbs is a no no.

Hope the above helps..

Grahame

[raysmelt]

Graham. Thanks for all your help. The Mark 3 (in progress) is already going to be so modified (mechanically) from the original, that I may as well start looking to do this as well. Much reasearch has been involved for the existing mods, that this looks like being another such project. Looking through the back catalogue I found a supplier called Quicksilver automotive who supposedly do a 7" conversion kit for classic cars. I will contact them and find out if this includes a self levelling system.

many thanks

[raysmelt]

Received the following reply from the MD of Quicksilver Automotive.

Hello Ray, and thank you for your interest. If you let me know your address, I can send you a full information pack. For now, let me tell you that your car does not require self levelling suspension or headlamp washers to enjoy better lighting. This misinformation has been put about on the internet by a Department for Transport person who clearly has been promoted to a level that exceeds the capabilities of his very small brain. If your car was being imported, or if you were a car manufacturer seeking Type Approval, then you would need to conform to the Construction and Use Regulations. When an end user of a new car then buys a vehicle that has had examples submitted for, and has passed these restrictions, he can take it straight to any number of modification experts who can change almost every aspect of the specifications of the car. There is no way to stop this, because to target 20 million motorists is not feasible, while targetting the relatively small number of car manufacturers and importers is easy, and governments like easy! The only testing your car needs to comply with is the MOT (now VOSA) annual test. This requires your headlights to do three things, 1. Turn on. They must work. 2. To illuminate the road ahead without dazzling oncoming traffic. 3. To have no external sharp surfaces that may injure other road users. There is no other requirement. In fact, to expect an MOT tester, who may have to examine dozens of vehicles each day to determine what sort of lighting and suspension cars have fitted is not reasonable, and would require a longer, much more expensive test. This is unlikely to happen.

Finally, we have been upgrading car headlights since 1976, and have been upgrading to HID Xenon since 2004. We received a patent for our special Classic Car HID Xenon units last year, and we have upgraded several hundred cars, and supplied several thousands of kits to customers like the Morgan Motor Company, and just about every Porsche, Ferrari and Maserati dealer in the UK. Not once has there been a case where the car failed any sort of test because of our lights units.

The NIG insurance company, who tend to take these things quite seriously, have given us a £5,000,000. 00 insurance policy. They only do this sort of thing when they have satisfied themselves that both we and our equipment will not bring about a rash of claims. I hope that this answers your concerns.

With regard to your Welsh wizard of a car, the conversion is easy. The headlamps can be changed to 7" H4 units and our Classic Car HID Xenon system fitted. It takes about 2/3 hours and gives a 350% increase in light output whilst reducing the electrical load by 40%. They come with a 2 years warranty, and we offer a fitting service as well.

Best regards,

Gil Keane (MD).

[Greybags]

Hi Ray ... This subject is going great guns on a lot of different forums at the moment, and the official line that has come out from VOSA is as per the following link.

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadlamps

So it appears that Quicksilver are not being totally acurate, and the following lifted from the Department of Transport page explains that HID bulbs conversion are still illegal in this country.

Therefore a HID headlamp unit sold in the after market should:

1. be type approved to ECE Regulation 98 as a component.

2. when fitted to the vehicle should enable ECE Regulation 48 to be complied with (although no government inspection will take place).

3. Comply with RVLR as far as "use" is concerned.

In practice this means:

1. The headlamp unit (outer lens, reflector, bulb) shall be type approved to ECE 98 and be "e-marked" to demonstrate this. That can only be done by the headlamp supplier - Hella, Valeo etc. who must test the headlamp in an independent laboratory.

2. Once fitted to the vehicle it must have headlamp cleaning and self-levelling (which can be for the headlamp or can be in the vehicle suspension - some expensive estate cars have "self-levelling suspension" and that is adequate). Also the dipped beam must stay on with the main beam.

3. The headlamp must be maintained in good working order, kept clean, and aligned/adjusted correctly like any other headlamp.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is an offence to supply, fit or use vehicle parts which are not legal.

In summary it is not permitted to convert an existing halogen headlamp unit for use with HID bulbs. The entire headlamp unit must be replaced with one designed and approved for use with HID bulbs and it must be installed in accordance with the rules stated above.

Grahame

[raysmelt]

Hi Grahame

Thanks for the information.

Ray