I've got Xenon headlights !!

[Le Grand Crapaud]

I don't think that this applies to after market fitment.

[shinyautos.com]

Lights looke excellent but would they be legal in this country?

Somebody told me that to have xenons you must have a headlight wash system and automatic headlamp levelling by law. Not sure if its true or not.

Just wonder when the car finally gets to an MOT whether it would fail on the headlights ?

Theorectically you should have headlight leveling and also head lamp wash to be legal, but you should be ok with it through the mot. I have been!

Just when you take your car for the mot just set the xenons to the lowest setting on the adjustment and you'll be fine!

[Davelee_225]

Why do you have to have auto height and washer jets for the xenons shiny?

[shinyautos.com]

Allo Dave, how ya doing?

Well with xenons you need the wash feature because xenon is so bright so if there is mud or dirt on the light covers then the light may be deflected into on coming driver eyes etc.. (A bit far fetched i know but thats the reg's)

Auto levelling again i don't quite understand as if you get the right kit the lights will be at the same level as the standard halagen bulbs.

Both are technicalities, as i have had a few cars through mot's etc with no problems at all.

Plus i have xenon hid lights on my quad bike and that passed a strict sva test, so what i'd say is sod it and go for them if you want them.





What i'll do is get in touch with some folks and see if i can get some more info on it all.

[norberto]

Why do you have to have auto height and washer jets for the xenons shiny?

shinyautos covered the washer jets issue... as for the auto leveling device, it is meant to prevent the headlights from pointing too high on bumps or when the boot is heavily loaded.

I'll leave you with some quotations from a few websites that I found when this issue was discussed over the portuguese forum:

from Valeo's site:

Why are headlamp cleaning systems mandatory for Xenon Headlamps?
Headlamp cleaning systems ensure that the glass of the headlamp is clean at all times and therefore ensure optimum visibility in all circumstances (dirty roads, snow,…).

Why is the automatic leveling system mandatory for Xenon Headlamps?
The automatic leveling systems ensure the swiveling of the projector module for minimum dazzling and optimum visibility. The automatic leveling system can be static (light beam is adjusted at vehicle start only) or dynamic (at vehicle start and during driving).



other page about it:

Did you know?
- Xenon Headlamps feature headlamp cleaning systems to ensure optimum visibility in all circumstances (mandatory by European regulation).

- Xenon Headlamps feature automatic leveling systems to reduce the dazzling of oncoming traffic to a minimum (mandatory by European regulation).

- The power consumption of Xenon Headlamps is only 35 watts versus 55 to 60 watts of conventional headlamps.


and more about the auto leveling device
Vertical Aim Control
Since 1998 the ECE-Regulation R48 requires the compensation of vehicle inclination caused by different loading conditions. The purpose of this regulation is on the one hand to avoid glaring of oncoming traffic and on the other hand to ensure an optimum range of illumination. For Halogen headlamps it is allowed to realize this vertical aim control (VAC) as manual controlled whereas for Xenon headlamps an automatic VAC is required. For this reason Automotive Lighting offers three types of VAC[...]


One more (about the washers):

Such cleaning systems require type testing in conformance with ECE R45 in
terms of their cleaning effect. Moreover, they are mandatory equipment in
combination with headlamps with xenon bulbs in accordance with ECE R48.

A complete cleaning system consists of the following components:

- Whirl chamber nozzles with different water distributions – in stationary or telescopic nozzle systems
- Switching valve, low loss, pressure or path controlled
- Hose assembly with Hella snap-on system
- Water reservoir with centrifugal pump
- Control: electronic timer or relay



and finally an Hella's article about the danger of illegal xenon installations (it's in spanish, but you can easily translate it with google or with babelfish from Altavista).

[Gillykid]

Out of curiosity, how much would Renault charge to add their Xenon pack to a car?

I had a Meg II Sports Hatch with their Xenon lights before getting my CC, but didn't get the Xenon lights again. I now really miss them

[Ray]

the wouldn't take the job on.

[shinyautos.com]

Thats right,

Basically, that is why the auto levelling is needed, however if you set your lights to the lowest position on the manual setting then they will not glare even if your boot is full to the brim.


If people was to go out and buy the head lamp units and ballasts from reanault, we would have no problems in fitting the kits.

As far as it all goes, this is one of them stupid laws that 99 out of 100 people don't know so i wouldn't worry about going and getting yourselfs a set.

This is what the auto leveling does:

[norberto]

Thats right,

Basically, that is why the auto levelling is needed, however if you set your lights to the lowest position on the manual setting then they will not glare even if your boot is full to the brim.

Yes, I agree, but the problem is that xenon headlights have a light output far greater than standard lights (and this is important, as the regulation does not refer xenon lights per se, but the light output of the lightning system), and if someone just forgets to set their headlight leveling, they represent a greater risk than a standard system (I even have some doubts that all the people with standard lights take their time to check the vehicle tilt and regulate their headlights before going on a ride).

If people was to go out and buy the head lamp units and ballasts from reanault, we would have no problems in fitting the kits.

In this case the legal issue would be the same, if this is the subject you're thinking of... or are you talking about practical issues?

As far as it all goes, this is one of them stupid laws that 99 out of 100 people don't know so i wouldn't worry about going and getting yourselfs a set.

I don't know how are things over UK, but in Portugal we have to perform an inspection in our vehicles every other year (after 4 years of life of the vehicle) or every year (when the vehicle reaches a certain age, which I don't remember right now) and usually a vehicle with such an installation (without all the required devices) would simply flunk the test.

[Ant Eg]

Out of curiosity, how much would Renault charge to add their Xenon pack to a car?

When I had my test drive at Renault Romford (early/mid 2005) I asked what a xenon kit would cost as post fit, their answer was they have never done one so not sure on the labour but job price would be in excess of £1,000

[shinyautos.com]

Thats right,

Basically, that is why the auto levelling is needed, however if you set your lights to the lowest position on the manual setting then they will not glare even if your boot is full to the brim.

Yes, I agree, but the problem is that xenon headlights have a light output far greater than standard lights (and this is important, as the regulation does not refer xenon lights per se, but the light output of the lightning system), and if someone just forgets to set their headlight leveling, they represent a greater risk than a standard system (I even have some doubts that all the people with standard lights take their time to check the vehicle tilt and regulate their headlights before going on a ride).

If people was to go out and buy the head lamp units and ballasts from reanault, we would have no problems in fitting the kits.

In this case the legal issue would be the same, if this is the subject you're thinking of... or are you talking about practical issues?

Me personally i wouldn't bother going with a renault option.

Meganes have windscreen washers anyway, so you don't need that and they don't check auto levelling on mots. So as long as you are sensible and have them pointing at the lowest setting you'll be ok and so will the other oncoming drivers

As far as it all goes, this is one of them stupid laws that 99 out of 100 people don't know so i wouldn't worry about going and getting yourselfs a set.

I don't know how are things over UK, but in Portugal we have to perform an inspection in our vehicles every other year (after 4 years of life of the vehicle) or every year (when the vehicle reaches a certain age, which I don't remember right now) and usually a vehicle with such an installation (without all the required devices) would simply flunk the test.

We do too its called an MOT test, and we have them every year after the vehicle is 3 years old. With this kind of installation you would pass an mot test.

[Pinknoise]

Upgraded too.

[L77]

Pinknoise, what ones is that you have?

They defo look the part any difference when driving?

[mpsurman]

Wow they look good.Where did you fix the ballasts?

[jonburton]

Looking good