Hi All

How could I brighten my standard Xenon lights without blinding oncoming traffic? I don't know if I'm going blind or my lights getting dimmer or both, as I fibd my lights to be insufficiently shining the road ahead of the vehicle. The lighrs have been correctly adjusted to not blind oncoming traffic but to shine on the road, yet new cars like Audis, BMs etc create a shadow ahead of my vehicle when following mine from behind! I also noticed that their Xenons lights are brighter than my car's.

Could I brighten my lights without paying exorbitantly and or damaging my lighs?

Thanks

 

How old are your bulbs? I replaced mine a while back with factory replacements and it made quite a difference however, I understand what you mean, sometimes they do seem to be a bit dimmer than some other vehicle manufacturers, even other, newer Jags. I think the issue lies with the projector lens used in the headlamp assemblies.

Unfortunately there aren't any "high" powered bulbs that are compatible unless you also replace the ballasts but then you risk creating more heat than the headlamp assemblies were designed to accommodate presenting you with a whole new set of problems. You can try a different color temp but deviating too far in either direction from factory spec will actually yield lower lumen output.

 

Has anyone fitted any extra lights, like spotlights as in those found on bumpers of Mini Coopers, on their XJ's? If so, I'd like to see how the vehicle looks like. One doesn't want to spoil the original beauty of "le kat" with hideous aftermarket fitments!

 

$80 bucks.
Mine are much brighter now and they are the nice bright white/blue color.
They stopped that infernal flickering too.
Were set a little too low. I upped them a quarter turn at a time. Found the level where oncoming started blinking me and then I lowered just a tad and now I can see where I'm going on low beam.
Happy camper.

I have smallish hands so was able to replace the bulbs without removing the bumper cover and light assemblies. No blood letting. Careful with the light cover seals. Make sure it's clean and properly positioned or you will ingest moisture and ruin the Hellas.

 

N9921x Which bulbs did you buy and from where?

 

D1S

6000 Kelvin.

Perfect.

Couldn't be happier.

Look on the forum for some how to hints. Really helps.

These guys are great.

Gary

 

Thanks N99. What brand and where did you buy them? Online or store?
Gary

 

I did the same thing on my 04 XJR I just sold. I have some pics somwhere if you want.

I got mine from amazon, seller kensun HID.

Fast shipping and no issues. I actually have a spare set (I bought two just to have a spare) I might run them in my 550i.

Take care,

George

 

Garyeb.
Got mine from amazon. Came in a few days.
Here's the listing as they have various.

"Pair D1S 6000K xenon HID diamond white bulbs. 35W by Justpal."
$49.99.

Look it up and read the reviews. Pretty good. Mine are perfect. I drive over to the bank, park in front of the big glass window and admire the look of the bulbs.

Gary

 

So, I bought a pair of these to brighten my violet HID's illumination:

"Pair D1S 6000K xenon HID diamond white bulbs. 35W by Justpal."

Problem is, I can't seem to find the right method to totally remove the rear cover from the headlight assembly. I remove the clip, the cover opens at the top but still pivots on the bottom and won't "unclip" from the bottom. I've shaken, wiggled, twisted, applied too much force and then I gave up out of fear I'd break it and decided to post this message...

Help!

Vance

 

I had the same problem, easy to get the main wire clip off but the cover but was held on the bottom and would not come loose no matter what I did. I took the bottom three screws out of the wheel liner and pealed the linner back just far enough to see the bottom clip holding the cover and now being able to see it, it was easly to remove. Now knowing how it works I will not have to move the liner next time.

 

It would be great if someone could provide a step by step guide (with photos?) showing how to change D1S bulbs without removing bumper.
Thanks

 

After having changed one of my bulbs, I don't think I'd even try to do it with the light in the car. It's just too cramped and the potential for breaking something is too high. It only took me about an hour for the whole job and there was nothing tricky about it, just a straightforward disassembly. I posted a step-by-step here: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...acement-70056/

 

I have to do this repair. Can you explain what the clip looked like so I may be able to learn from your experience and remove the cover without having to open the wheel well to see for myself?

 

after reading the forums about replacing the hid bulbs I thought I was in for a big job.

it took about ten minutes......

pop the wire holder forward

push cover towards fender till it pops out and remove

unclasp wire bulb holder

remove bulb, pulling outward and weaseling it out.

unplug bulb

reverse sequence.

I did both sides as I bought a pair of bulbs for $27.99

4300k original light

 

Remember that the worst light color, if your goal is to actually see in the dark, is blue. HID capsules have an excess of light across the spectrum but particularly in the blue range, which is why they have a blue-ish tint. Most aftermarket lights that claim to be "brighter" or "bluer" just tint the bulb. They look brighter, but "blue" halogen lights actually put out around 70% less light than standard halogens. True HID arc capsules really need to be matched to the ballasts for best performance. A higher Kelvin rating might look brighter, but is usually less bright.

Lighting technology has moved far beyond that of the first halogen lights, and engineering something better is difficult. You may have been able to put headers and a bigger carb on your 1985 Mustang and get more performance, but today you'd just screw it up. Any hardware changes have to be carefully integrated and the appropriate control modules reprogrammed to work with them. Headlights are no different. The specific bulb or capsule, the ballast (for HID,) the lens and the reflector all work together to give the the best performance from the light. Change just one element and the result is usually a decrease in performance.

 

or get them deadon from the beginning:

Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

 

Yeah, I've referenced that link for around 5 years - the guy knows his stuff. Probably the best primer on lighting I've ever seen.

BTW, If you paid $28 for a pair of bulbs, you almost certainly DO NOT have HID lights. HID arc capsules are between $80 and $120 each. Halogen bulbs can be changed easily with the light in the car. While it's possible to change HID's in the car I still think it's worth the hour or so to take the headlight out.

 

No, they are HID. $27.99 for the pair from an e-bay store which also sells car covers. I know I'm shocked as well Autozone wante $99.00 for the bulb and the dealer was $213.00

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4300k-Bulbs-...ht_3038wt_1141


If you search ebay motors you will see, there is actually another seller with the same price as well.

 

I've now checked again and timed myself. This time I beat my previous record and completed the entire procedure for the right hand side in just under 8 minutes!

I have taken pictures of the step by step procedure I followed (similar to the above quoted procedure) and this is my contribution to assist fellow forumisters to understand what we are talking about.

Here it goes (See pictures labelled Step 1-7 for your reference. PS. Can anyone tell me how I can attach pictures so that each step can have its picture under the step text?):

1. Remove the front engine plastic cover by removing 6 plastic "screws" as shown in picture 1 (step 1 pic).

2. Note the position of the wire clip holding the plastic cover against the light unit, and Unclip wire holding the HID light unit as shown in picture 2 & 2b

3. Push plastic HID light cover backwards from the top, then wiggle it left to right to loosen the bottom. PS. You may need to slide your finger downwards to loosen the bottom part of the plastic light cover. See picture 3

4. To remove the plastic cover from the "hole", tilt it slightly sideways with the top part pointing towards the middle of the car. See pic 4

5. Pull it upwards to remove it. NB. The bottom part of the plastic cover is bigger and you may need to use a little bit of "force", not excessive, just a little nudge out. See pic 5

6. Remove the electric wiring from the D1S HID bulb before unclipping its wire holding the globe in its slot. See pic 6

7. Unclip the wire holder and remove the globe. to get to this stage from step 1, will take you roughly 5 minutes or less. See pic 7, 7b, 7c

8. To close up, indeed you need to follow the above steps in reverse, but let me caution you by outlining the following:

8.1. You will find step 6 too time consuming if you have gigantic fingers like mine. It is not easy to clot in the electric wiring onto the D1S HID bulb. It takes patience, silence, and lots of sunlight for first timers as you may find yourself easily spending 5-10 minutes trying to slot the electric wiring in. Once in, the biggest hurdle would have been overcome.

8.2 The next big hurdle, albeit slightly less intense is completing step 4 to replace the plastic cover. the trick here is to first hook in the lower tip onto a rectangular wire clip at the bottom to ensure that the plastic cover is airtight once you've clipped its wire holding it tightly against the HID light unit. You need to ensure that the cover neatly slots in the guides and is airtight before you clip on the wire holding it against the light unit. Once done, then the job is done. I reckon for first timers, completing this step can take another 5-10 minutes.

In total, for first timers, it could take you 30-40 minutes to replace one side. Perhaps less for the other side. With lots and lots of practice, you can beat my current record and do it under 8 minutes per globe.

Good luck.