KregRS

whats the deal with the HID kits on ebay etc? Any good? Looking to upgrade the lights in a mk3 Mondeo, been having a look at the kits on Ebay, seem a lot cheaper than when I last bought some, about 5yrs ago.

iansoutham

I would not bother for the minute as it appears that they are being made an MOT failure as of April, so probably not worth the investment ATM.

Shame, as a good kit does work well and without any problems, I have 4 sets on some of my cars, but may have to remove them as and when necessary.

Oranoco

If you have projector type headlamps then retrofit can be acceptable if you are careful. If you have reflector type headlamps the fitment of HID lamps is irresponsible, inconsiderate and downright dangerous and you would deserve a swift kick in the bollocks

HeskinsFiesta

My fiesta has had an HID conversion on it, if you are going to put HIDs on your mondeo then make sure that either 1. the headlight aim adjustor inside the car actually moves both headlights up and down or 2. you install head lamp washers, something to do with the heat of the plastic can burn someone if you hit them with the lights on so you have to have washers, that comes in April 1st so get it MOT'd before then and you should be fine

Mark V8

iTrader: (2)

I agree.

Blind every other road user so you can see where you're going!

KregRS

Already got headlamp washers, and anyway, wouldn't be a problem to whip them out and put old bulbs back in for MOT...

iansoutham

Seriously, you believe that????? Xenon headlamps are colder to the touch than normal halogen ones.

Headlamps washers on xenons are a requirement to keep the lens clean as a buildup of dirt on the headlamp will cause excessive light distortions which are amplified by the xenons. Normal bulbs do not have the intensity.

iansoutham

Except that VOSA and most Traffic police will know about this and all it means is that they can issue and on-the-spot fine or invalidate your MOT and make you get another one.

KregRS

That'll be a no then. Looks like it'll be a pair of OE fit xenon headlights then...

STeve

iTrader: (11)

its the same old story as they are a good thing but most pratts have simply fitted them irresponsibly without any thought in their shonky old claptraps of cars which simply blind every fucker on the road hence the new rules being brought in

dojj

iTrader: (3)

which is where you will run into further problems

the normal lights have an 8 pin loom, the xenons run a 16 pin loom

so you need to get the bit of loom that has the plug on it from the donor car, at least 8 inches is required

then you need to find a set of smashed up standard lights, so that you can get the light loom from them in order to make the link lead with 8 pins on the car side and 16 pins on the light side

then you need to figure out which wires go where

and then plug them in

don't forget that the patch lead you make will also need to have the motor controller in it so as to allow you to use the standard headlight aim adjuster in the car as the xenon one uses a complicated bit of self levelling in the rear axle, and it needs to be reset by ford if you disconnect the battery

i may have been there and done this in the past so any questions just holla

well worth the upgrade, but getting the parts is a nightmare

James @ M Developments.

iTrader: (2)

That should be a question in the theory test.

A pedestrian has just stepped out infront of you,

Do you

A: hit the brake,
B: wash your windscreen/headlights to cool the lenses down, so you dont burn the person your about to kill by running them over.Whilst wishing you had remembered to fill the washer bottle.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

if you wish to instal headlamp washers then the first thing you need to check is the wiring in your car under the glove box

it's either a blue or a brown relay holder under the main fusebox, if you've got that, then it's simply a case of pluggin in the relay and finding a set of washers and pipework and larger bottle and pump and then removing hte bumper to run all the pipework before fitting it all up

if you have al the bits it shouldn't take you more than a weekend to fit both the lights and the washers

but it took me about a year to get all my bits together and even then it still cost me the thick end of about £600 for everything

that's a lot of money for some brighter headlights

Smit

iTrader: (5)

I had 8000k on mine for about 3yrs and decided to take them off when i put it up for sale last year... Did look very cool but it's each to their own i think.

R4N SS

iTrader: (6)

I Fucking hate these - blinds everyone on the opposite side of the road -cunt

Rogeyboy

iTrader: (2)

Smit - Lovely saff!
1-PD - i agree, if they are installed correctly and the lights are adjusted then they are a good thing and don't blind people!
If not they are annoying in the rear view mirror!

WongRS

iTrader: (11)

I had a 5000k set for dipped beam in my 306, they projected well and wern't blinding to on coming traffic, so i was told.
But as said, they are about to be illegal, so don't bother.

Bomber

Great for new cars which have them in mind when they were designed, shit for cars that are 20+ years old.

Don't do it.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

on a sierra the lights are big enough and you can probably fit a set of proper xenons inside the original housing which would be fine

slammedorion

I personally don't have a issue with retro fitted hid kits if aligned properly.
My misses's A3 hid conversion is perfect, light pattern is perfect, no glare.
Look good and are a big improvement at night.

There are alot out there that arnt aligned properly, it's not just the cars with retro fitted hids though.
There's alot of cars out there running factory fitted bulb set ups that blind you at night due to the mongs that can't fit a bulb correctly.
Hids or normal bulbs. . . It should be made illegal for these idiots to fit a bulb. There not safe to pop a bonnet.

JFB Tech

Now that the new rules have been published, you will find that they say that headlamp wash and/or self levelling lamps or self levelling suspension MAY be fitted on OEM HID equipped cars and must work if they are. It does not say that they MUST be fitted if you have HIDs so aftermarket HID kits are still legal. If the beam pattern is wrong then technically they should fail it anyway, irrespective of lamp type. Most testers will adjust the lamps to get a pass. If they can't adjust them and get them working properly then it's a fail. Headlamps can fail for a number of reasons, LHD units fitted (happened to my sister on an Escort she bought), badly fitted bulb, corroded reflectors, damaged glass etc. or in my case a couple of years ago, scratched headlamp protectors diffusing the beam.