V70: Electrical Halogen lights to Xenon lights upgrade. Is it possible??

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Tatsfield

This is a mine field where it is perfectly possible for a car with aftermarket HID to pass the MoT ...........

Only if the entire headlamp units have been changed for those designed for HID. Retrofit of HID bulbs into a Halogen headlamp is a fail on post 1986 vehicles.

(From the current MOT test manual : Existing halogen headlamp units on vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1986 must not be converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp for light source and lamp not compatible. This does not refer to complete replacement headlamp units which may be constructed with HID or LED light sources.)

[Tatsfield]

My previous cars had halogen powered projector lens housings and they took HID upgrades perfectly. They didn't have the markings as they predated the introduction of these markings but testers didn't bother to look for the markings when they saw the housings were projection lenses. They easily saw the headlight washers and didn't worry about the automatic levelling, so my 2003 car had the undoubted benefit of HID lights in place of the very poor dim halogen option that they were provided with when manufactured. On balance, I'm sure safety was better served by having adequate instead of inadequate illumination despite the legal niceties of the installation. I can't think of a much more frightening situation that driving a 240 bhp sports car at night and not being able to clearly see the road ahead when the lights were dipped. I'm not suggesting fitting HID into non projector housings as "you must fail the headlamp for light source and lamp not compatible." but if compatible housings are available or can be fitted, there are cars with OEM halogen lights which are well below par.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Tatsfield

My previous cars had halogen powered projector lens housings and they took HID upgrades perfectly. They didn't have the markings as they predated the introduction of these markings but testers didn't bother to look for the markings when they saw the housings were projection lenses. They easily saw the headlight washers and didn't worry about the automatic levelling, so my 2003 car had the undoubted benefit of HID lights in place of the very poor dim halogen option that they were provided with when manufactured. On balance, I'm sure safety was better served by having adequate instead of inadequate illumination despite the legal niceties of the installation. I can't think of a much more frightening situation that driving a 240 bhp sports car at night and not being able to clearly see the road ahead when the lights were dipped. I'm not suggesting fitting HID into non projector housings as "you must fail the headlamp for light source and lamp not compatible." but if compatible housings are available or can be fitted, there are cars with OEM halogen lights which are well below par.

Yep I'd be in the same place as you there... I did once fit a HID kit to my wife's V50 with replacement projectors - beam pattern was more than acceptable and much better, safer visibility at night. It passed its MOT due to a pragmatic rather than fastidious tester.

I think the bigger issue is H4 (twin filament) units such as those on transit vans that never work well as a HID conversion

[apersson850]

Originally Posted by Tatsfield

On balance, I'm sure safety was better served by having adequate instead of inadequate illumination despite the legal niceties of the installation.

The issue the legislators are concerned about is not your ability to see where you are going, it's how much you are blinding other motorists.

[Tatsfield]

I agree that the regulations are about blinding not seeing but an HID upgrade in projector housings with headlight washers and adjusted sensibly isn't actually any more of a blinding risk than a brand new car with factory fitted HID coming the other way on dipped lights. I've yet to see the practical beneficial effects of self levelling lights. New cars on humped bridges or breasting a hill seem to vertically sweep the road ahead pretty much the same as those without.

I recall that when I was running with my "illegal" HID lights, I took pains to adjust the dipped beams as low as practical to give a good view ahead without blinding oncoming traffic. I don't recall ever being flashed to indicate I was blinding anyone. Introducing the complexity of self levelling lights to allow the use of HID seems to be overkill and perhaps if blinding is a real problem, the parameters for adjusting legal beam height and the level of light emitted might have been a better control.

[apersson850]

If you put 400 kg in the luggage compartment and forget to adjust the light level, then it's blinding. That's why automatic leveling is required. The blinding effect is too strong to leave the leveling at the discretion of the driver.