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[Shackeng]

Has anyone done this? I can't find a How to in the guides so any info would be helpful.

[steve6367]

Its a lot of work as you need to add washers and self levelling.....

Some will say you don't - but you really do if you don't want to blind other road users.

[zirk]

Just to clarify the HIDs are only for Low Beam, they still use the Projectors for High Beam.

[RobG]

Has anyone done this? I can't find a How to in the guides so any info would be helpful.

Easy enough to do Chris

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Yes, fairly straight forward job - with all the relevant bits, of course, and plenty of time. However, I can only repeat what steve6367 says - you are supposed to have the self-levelling system as well, as you will dazzle other road users. I was momentarily blinded on the drive home from work, down a residential street, very dark, very widely spaced street lamps - only after a couple of blinks and my vision started to make sense of the gloom, to see a pedestrian walking brazenly across the road, staring straight ahead, oblivious to my presence. If we're joking, then ha ha, hit the bugger. Being a tad more serious, I would prefer not to have the guy's serious injuries or worse on my conscience. All because some moron think its ok to leave his main beam on. 

[Shackeng]

Sounds like too much work for me, as I would prefer not to dazzle other road users.

[05omegav6]

You need to swap the levelling motors from the original lamps, that way you retain some level control.

Wiring needs the following mod...

Dipped beam pos needs removing from main wiring plug and diverting to the ballast plug pos. Main ground wire needs doubling up, with extra wire connecting to ballast neg.

Job jobbed

Obviously headlight washers are also technically required, but, if you can get the parts, should be easy enough to retrofit...

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Yeah, it's really not that much - and, to think laterally, you could install the levelling sensors on the front and rear wheels and wiring on one day, which can then sit there for any amount of time, until you've got the time free to do the headlamp changeover. As Taxi Al says, you could also treat the pressure washers as a separate job, too. So if it helps, break it down into three jobs.

That said, I've deliberated for a while about converting tp Xenons and I've decided to go down the nightbreaker route, instead. 

[05omegav6]

Yeah, it's really not that much - and, to think laterally, you could install the levelling sensors on the front and rear wheels and wiring on one day, which can then sit there for any amount of time, until you've got the time free to do the headlamp changeover. As Taxi Al says, you could also treat the pressure washers as a separate job, too. So if it helps, break it down into three jobs.

That said, I've deliberated for a while about converting tp Xenons and I've decided to go down the nightbreaker route, instead. 

There's a bit more to the auto levelling than a couple of sensors... xenon units also have an ecu.

[Diamond Black Geezer]

All I was suggesting was to install as many of the parts 'dry' - so do as much as you can without actually unplugging the existing lights. Just might make the whole job that bit more manageable than treating is as one single job, to be done in a day - and if, for whatever reason, you don't finish, then you've got a car that has no working headlights.   

[05omegav6]

My reply was a bit brief... Was waiting on a customer when I typed

Perfectly doable as a 'factory' retrofit but best attempted with a complete spares car headlight levelling ecu is a similar size to the engine ecu and lives bolted to the outside of the rh inner wing behind the front indicator

[Shackeng]

Thanks for that guys, as I only have one lamp at the moment, I don't think I'll bother. I've got Nightbreakers anyway, and don't do much night driving these days.

[Diamond Black Geezer]

My reply was a bit brief... Was waiting on a customer when I typed

Perfectly doable as a 'factory' retrofit but best attempted with a complete spares car headlight levelling ecu is a similar size to the engine ecu and lives bolted to the outside of the rh inner wing behind the front indicator

No probs.  Agreed, best to have another up the drive when attempting it. Actually as the V6 nears completion I am in twominds what to do with the Turbno Weasel - MoT runs out in April, and really without being mean it's never going to be a show-winner. Might offer the engine, and strip off some parts, such as the Xenons, maybe. Then let Mr Scrappy man take it. Alternatively if I can get the V6 done before MoT runs out, offer it on here for a couple of hundred as basically a working BMW engine with free car, means no messing with a trailer.

 

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Thanks for that guys, as I only have one lamp at the moment, I don't think I'll bother. I've got Nightbreakers anyway, and don't do much night driving these days.

So aside from you thinking of upgrading to the Xenons, how do you like the Nightbreakers? 

[Shackeng]

Well I do have the 3.2 Elite for night work if pressed, and to be fair the TD with Nightbreakers is fine for the distances I travel. I was foolishly hoping for a Plug and Play option.