quick question about OEM xenon retrofits

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

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Hi all,

So I know its categorically against the MOT rules to retrofit either xenon or LED bulbs into housings designed for halogens.

But, I think (and want to confirm) that its perfectly legal and not an MOT fail to install a complete OEM xenon headlight unit into a car completely replacing the original halogen unit, EVEN IF auto leveling and headlight washer systems are not installed along with it.

Can anyone confirm thinking is correct?

Thanks
 
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It'll be fine.

Edit: I missed the bit where you stated you were only fitting half the gear. Of course that won't be acceptable.
 
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Rroff said:
I know but unless you are really set on xenons they give great results for a lot less potential hassle.
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I love xenons. Only ever had them on one car, a mk3 Ford Mondeo I had from 2006 to 2015. Ever since then I have tried to get cars with xenons but never managed it. There is always some issue - either getting hold of the hardware itself or having to bodge existing housings or wiring, or having to access the car's ECU for coding. Ive upgraded to Osram/Philips bulbs on previous cars and its better but was still never as good as the xenons.

So now Im car hunting again its obviously back on the agenda. But I wanted to be clear on the MOT position because I won't be able to fit headlight washers or auto levelers.
 
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Was the car registered before 1 Sept 2009?

Edit
Sorry, I see you haven’t bought the car yet.
If it’s pre date above, then it doesn’t need washers.
But it will need either manual head light level control (ie the thumb wheel on the dash, or auto levellers on the suspension arms etc.
The problem you may have is that the xenon head lamps aren’t compatible with the thumb wheel level switch and therefore can’t be adjusted.
 
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JonRGV250 said:
Was the car registered before 1 Sept 2009?

Edit
Sorry, I see you haven’t bought the car yet.
If it’s pre date above, then it doesn’t need washers.
But it will need either manual head light level control (ie the thumb wheel on the dash, or auto levellers on the suspension arms etc.
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It will be earlier than that yes.


JonRGV250 said:
The problem you may have is that the xenon head lamps aren’t compatible with the thumb wheel level switch and therefore can’t be adjusted.
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Ah that could be an issue - I assumed the existing thumbwheel would work with the leveling motor in the unit. I.e the headlight is the same and the signal either comes from the auto level sensor or manual in car control. Something to investigate further on this specific model.
 
A lot (most modern) cars with factory fit xenons won’t have a thumb wheel adjuster.
I very much doubt you’d be able use a non xenon car thumb wheel with xenons, but I could be wrong.
But there’s a good chance that the MOT tester won’t check, but I always do.
 
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If your hunting for a car, buy one with Xenons already? Seems crazy to me that you're buying a car and looking at how to bodge retrofit xenons that won't auto level rather than get one that has them factory fitted.
 
Glanza said:
If your hunting for a car, buy one with Xenons already? Seems crazy to me that you're buying a car and looking at how to bodge retrofit xenons that won't auto level rather than get one that has them factory fitted.
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Im getting a very well looked after car from a friend.
 
dLockers said:
It'd be pretty stupid to fit Xenons without the auto-levelling, no?
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Why, if they are levelled correctly and have the right beam pattern, then it shouldn't be an issue most of the time. Could always set manually to aim slightly lower on the road than the typical '0' position on a manual adjustment.

But if its easy to fit the autoleveling then no probem - could make up a direct pin to pin wiring piece for the car. Problem arises if it has to go through ECU/control modules.
 
If you’ve got a load of weight in the boot or whatever, then no auto level means you’ll blind oncoming drivers.
What car is it that you’re getting?
 
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Glanza said:
If your hunting for a car, buy one with Xenons already? Seems crazy to me that you're buying a car and looking at how to bodge retrofit xenons that won't auto level rather than get one that has them factory fitted.
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the OP has no idea dont waste your time on him.
 
danlightbulb said:
Why, if they are levelled correctly and have the right beam pattern, then it shouldn't be an issue most of the time. Could always set manually to aim slightly lower on the road than the typical '0' position on a manual adjustment.

But if its easy to fit the autoleveling then no probem - could make up a direct pin to pin wiring piece for the car. Problem arises if it has to go through ECU/control modules.
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Because the car isn't always plumb is it? Unless you live in a totally different world where the road is perfectly flat and has no undulations.

Engage brain............................
 
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dLockers said:
Because the car isn't always plumb is it? Unless you live in a totally different world where the road is perfectly flat and has no undulations.

Engage brain............................
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Its the significance of the issue you have to think about. Of course no road is lovely and flat, especially here in the UK, but most of the time you're not up and down like a yoyo and so most of the time its not a major problem for others. Even when you do hit a bump, its most likely to be momentary.

JonRGV250 said:
If you’ve got a load of weight in the boot or whatever, then no auto level means you’ll blind oncoming drivers.
What car is it that you’re getting?
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True, good point. I don't carry heavy loads - bulky yes but not usually heavy enough to pull down the back end of the car. Rarely carry passengers either. Plus I don't really see the difference between some ultra bright halogens badly fitted and a set of well fitted, well adjusted xenons. No-one manually adjusts headlight level when driving with halogens. Maybe play with it occasionally, decide it makes barely any difference then never touch the dial again.

Likely a BMW 3 series estate E91.

I'll look into retrofitting the levelers, as I say if its a length of wire between power feed, sensor and headlight pin then no problem; but if its ECU mods / programming then its a problem. And I still think the rules say they only have to be working if fitted same as the washers.
 
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