here is the splice i made. 3 way on + and -.

 

this is the end result. Dont for get to put silicone on mating surface to make it water tight. i did not want to spend 400 on 1 ballast so i rig this up. Make sure the kit u get is a Ds1 bulb kit. So it attaches oem into the socket. sorry my English is poor.

 

H2oBoy
First of all thanks for a superb write up with phenomenal photos. This will be most useful for bulb and ballast replacement that is certainly in my 2004 XJR's future.
To all
How do you know if the ballast or bulb needs replacement? I have another high mileage vehicle, produced by a well know US manufacturer, that also has HID lighting. I found the right light flickering at around 75K miles and replaced both bulbs with ebay replacements. The right one again started flickering after perhaps 40K miles so I reinstalled the "good" original bulb. The reason I replaced the bulbs was that it was cheaper by far than the ballast. I suspect the right ballast is on its way out but still operating.

RyeJag

 

ryejag, sorry for not answering your question sooner

Both the ballast and the bulbs have an estimated life span of 2,000 hours, but I've found that in most cases, the ballasts are the first to fail.

If you do the math using that life expectancy, the daytime use of running the low beams can result in using up all the good in it.

My car says my average speed is 35 mph. If I drive an average 15,000 miles per year, with the headlights on day and night, the ballast or bulb will typically only last 4.6 years. If I use the headlights at night only, and assume I drive say 50% of those miles during the evening hours, I'll get around 9 years on average. Remember, those statistics given in the product details are only averages; some will last much longer, and others less than the 2,000 hours estimated life.

the only way to be sure which is failing is to switch bulbs left to right (or ballasts, whichever is easier) if the flicker follows the swap, you know your answer.

 

Well done Matt, I am sure your peers will appreciate.
Thank you for taking the time to post.

 

My Right HID flickered occasionally for the past year, couldn't pin point the problem till last month. The ground stud fractured last year so as a temp repair, I connected the wiring to the headlight bracket which I discovered did not have a solid connection to the frame. I used "Circuit Tracer" solder between each connector, bolts, bracket, and the frame for a solid electrical connection. No flickering as yet....

 

Good point, that should always be the first diagnostic step before swapping bulbs or ballasts to the other side of the car.

 

Before you start changing ballasts, make sure you have high quality HID bulbs. My 04 XJR had flickering lights. I changed the bulbs with 'made in China' no names because they were cheap ($90 cdn a pair) and I thought I'd try them. RHS still flickering, although an irregular flicker compared to the old Osrams, so I thought ballast. Before tearing the front apart I thought I'd try a spare new Osram I had, guess what? no flicker, works perfect. From now on I'm sticking with OE bulbs. BTW the colour on the other no name is off so I'm replacing it with a new Osram as well as soon I get it.

Stu

 

While we are on the HID path
Does anyone know if he HID bulbs are the same for RHD cars as LHD cars

I know with normal headlights we have to change them in Australia as our cars are RHD and any cars or bikes from the US usually have to have the globes or headlight buckets replaced is that the same with HID globes

 

The bulbs/globes should be the same, the headlights housings / bulb housing are different. They are designed to focus light to the right on LHD autos and the opposite on RHD. Some bulbs/globes are equipped with reflectors, that might be why some globes are replaced?

 

Another question on the HID units

Last night my HID,s just went dark both of them at the same time
when I flicked the switch they came back on
Previously they just flickered a bit and came straight back on

I am wonedering do they both go at the same time if one ballast is faulty will it effect the other just trying to get a grasp on the problem have found the ballsat mods handy but I figure if I am pulling it appart I may as well repalce all the globes and balasts at the same time either way its going to be expensive

 

The ballasts are mounted on each HID unit and will not effect the other unit. If they both went out at the same time then it might be the relay, wiring, ground, or switch?

 

Pardon my ignorance but can someone tell me where I can locate the 2004-2008 Model Year Electrical Guides referenced in this thread?

 

I'll add that I did locate the 2003.5 electrical Guide in the download area, but am confused and a bit embarrassed to ask. Does the title imply 2003-2005? If so, I'm set but still curious as to where the aforementioned guide might be posted.

 

The 2003.5 means mid-year 2003.
I currently have Guides for: 2003.5, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008. They are basically the same with only a few differences.

Note: on my previous post, I was having problems with my HIDs blinking---it was a ground problem.

 

Great write up....

 

This is a defective Valeo LAD5G after 10 years of duty.



I guess no water got in there from this side.

This is the back (upper) side from inside the headlamp:



What might the white deposit be ? Salt from driving on the Autobahn in winter season ?



There are the real gold contacts of the 12-pin connector. Gold inside a Jaguar !

In spite of the white crust the controller was probably killed by one of the defective front ground points/studs behind the head lamps that produced temporary overvoltage as Dave from Gloucestershire suspected.

Please put some contact grease (fat, not just oil) on the earth points after repair.

I won't do the HID Ballast Conversion from LAD5G to LAD5GL, maybe I will still need the headlamp leveling after suspension conversion.

Cheers

 

Thanks so much for this crystal clear post, works like a clock. Perfect!

Some additional advice:
- The Audi adapter 8E0 971 671: The guy selling the thing on Ebay through the link you provided has jacked the prices up drastically, now selling at $45. I just went to the local Audi dealer, and they got me the part for $12
- I found out that the problem with me was two-fold: next to the ballast being broken, the ground cable of the headlamp unit had gone loose. It's located just behind the lamp, and it's connected to the body through an aluminium bolt. That bolt was broken (only half, so very hard to see!). Had to drill a a new ground cable anchor.

 

Thanks for the tip on the harness adapter n_j_.

 

Thank you for the great write up and photos; it gave me the confidence to dig into our 2005 VDP to try and fix the left side headlight flicker. I purchased the LAD5GL and the Audi adapter and everything installed okay. I had a problem though when I went to test, I noticed that the converted assembly didn't self level when the car is started... meaning that cool little thing it does when the headlights rise upward. I've gone ahead and switched back to the original one for now until I can figure this out. It's worth noting that I did not have an unused connector like you did.

The MFD date on our car reads 05/04 which I would guess means May of 2004 but that seems like an early date for a 2005 model? Or maybe that means April of 2005?

At any rate, thank you again for the write up!