Xenon update with OEM xenon headlights

[joonak]

I am going to make facelift for my 2005 Volvo V50. My Volvo is originally equipped with halogen lights, however the facelift headlights that I bought are xenon units.

What would be the best way to do the update? Does the xenon headlights just "bolt on" or is there difference in wiring looms? How about software? And what you're thinking, should I use OEM xenon bulbs and ignitors or should I use aftermarket kit (I have one H7 xenon kit laying somewhere around).

[Ninja59]

Ballast, you need wash facility, and automatic self levelling as well which is where the fun will be.

[2Diesels]

I'm not up on the electricals of the modern Volvo but I did this upgrade on one of my MGs & it was a fairly complex project.

Fitting the lights was the easy bit as they were plug & play.

The lamp wash was a case of fitting the jets, hoses & pump but the pump doesn't simply just work, first I had to replace the alarm horn with a battery back-up sounder which uses a different plug under the bonnet but as I found out to the delight of my neighbours you must "tell" the car it has one before you plug it in you also need to activate the lamp wash which uses the same relay in the BCU as the old alarm horn did.

Self levelling wasn't straight forward either, the yaw sensors were easy to fit as the subframes were already drilled & tapped & the car was pre-wired but as soon as you plug them in the headlamps drop to a "safe" position, you also need to change the headlamp switch (to one without the adjuster wheel) which on the MG is an ECU which stores a lot of info about the car including the mileage, therefore officially you can only use a brand new unit as a used one will not programme to a different car as it has too many miles stored in it............this is where mileage correction comes in & you simply zero the mileage on the "new" switch & it will then code into the car as it is now seen as a virgin unit, then when you turn the ignition on it stores the car's original mileage which is fed to it from the instrument pack ECU. It was then neccesary to alter the vehicle's genetic coding to accept self levelling & Xenon lamps & once this was done the lights set themselves to the proper ride height.

So as I said, I'm not sure how it works on a Volvo but you could be letting yourself in for a bit of a headache

[SonyVaio]

Unless your car has nivomat fitted then as already said it is tackling the self leveling is where the difficulty lies.

[joonak]

Originally Posted by SonyVaio

Unless your car has nivomat fitted then as already said it is tackling the self leveling is where the difficulty lies.

Yes, I forgot to say, I am not planning to install self leveling. My original plan was to fit H7 aftermarket HID kit to halogen headlights but then I found xenon headlights for good price and decided to give it a try.

[Ninja59]

fail MOT....not possible will under the new rules...

[SonyVaio]

Originally Posted by Ninja59

fail MOT....not possible will under the new rules...

Yes a fail indeed.

Hopefully see a load more of chav motors off the road and no longer got the strongest HIDS in with NO projectors either.

Unfortunately joonak it is either very hard and expensive to stay legal or run the risk and fit your upgraded lights.

[joonak]

Originally Posted by SonyVaio

Unfortunately joonak it is either very hard and expensive to stay legal or run the risk and fit your upgraded lights.

OK, lets then ask it is in this way: is the wiring plug and play? I will install xenon units (with nice chrome trim inside headlight) and I will install halogen low beam projector with halogen H7 bulb in to that

[Daim]

Wiring is NOT plug and play. The plugs on the lights themselves are different! Halogen and Xenon lights have different plugs on purpose! To stop people fitting them where they aren't allowed.

Remember: your current lights have the manual height adjustment via little wheel on the light switch. The motors for those are different (the Xenon ones react faster and are ALWAYS in use). They are also wired different. Xenon lights need regular calibration too as they will during life point downwards (at least in a Volvo).

Either: fit halogen lights and be happy or do the COMPLETE conversion.

The headlights CAN be taken to pieces and the parts from one fitted in the other. You can make your halogen lights look like xenon ones be fitting the chrome rings...

[joonak]

Originally Posted by Daim

Wiring is NOT plug and play. The plugs on the lights themselves are different! Halogen and Xenon lights have different plugs on purpose! To stop people fitting them where they aren't allowed.

Remember: your current lights have the manual height adjustment via little wheel on the light switch. The motors for those are different (the Xenon ones react faster and are ALWAYS in use). They are also wired different. Xenon lights need regular calibration too as they will during life point downwards (at least in a Volvo).

Either: fit halogen lights and be happy or do the COMPLETE conversion.

The headlights CAN be taken to pieces and the parts from one fitted in the other. You can make your halogen lights look like xenon ones be fitting the chrome rings...

OK, thanks, that was the information I was looking after.