This is more out of curiosity than need ...
Are the HID xenon bulbs universal or do you have to buy specific bulbs from the vehicle dealership?
I heard that these can be quite expensive, so where can you buy them if not from a dealership? I've not seen them in Halfords or similar.
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Proper HID Xenon lamp assemblies run at several hundred volts and have to be built specially into the vehicle. You may be confusing them with xenon-filled bulbs, which look like normal bulbs and run at 12volts so you just swap them for your standard bulbs.
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No, definitely the HID lamp as these are fitted to my Vectra. I'm more curious about the lamp as I have never actually seen one out-of-vehicle even though I work in automotive electronics. Hopefully one will not need replacing due to the cost but I wondered whether they were obtainable from anywhere other than the dealership. Thanks for the reply
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For standard HIDs, there are D2S and D2R.
D2R has a built in shield and is for use in lamps with a reflector
D2S is for projector lamps
There are also ones for active lighting and bi-xenon which have solenoids and swivelling shields, I think these are based on the lamp systems of the various companies like Hella and Philips.
They are usually about £95 from dealers, but you can often get them on ebay for around £30 new.
Make sure you get one the same as your original, or the colour may look different, also avoid novelty bulbs and other gimmicks.
You may notice that the old lamp's light is bluer and has a lower output, as this happens over time.
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Dont know of anywhere you can get them except the dealers. In the handbook for my Alfa it says the bulb should last the lifetime of the car, if you have problems, consult your main dealer.
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You might find this web site useful.
www.powerbulbs.com/hid.htm
Jon
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These conversions are illegal aren't they?
For starters.............
1- You're using a headlamp that was designed for halogen use.
2- HID headlamps require auto-leveling.
3- HID headlamps require an automatic washing system.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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You do need a self levelling system but not sure about the auto washing system. My Bi-Xenons are incredibly bright and if out of level would be pretty nasty for oncoming traffic.
You often see idiots who have uprated their lights to more powerfull ones and havent bothered to level them so they just blind everyone.
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Well, find me a car with Xenons without headlamp wash, as far as I see it?
I'm 100% sure on this point; don't confuse projector lamps with HID Xenon lamps though
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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Yes, you do need headlamp washers and automatic levelling in the EU.
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Interesting about the washer system.
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I can see the sense in both having auto-levelling and the power wash system - these lamps if running incorrectly are damned dangerous.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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Deryck's original enquiry was about bulbs for his existing HID installation on the Vectra, nothing about a conversion, so this should not be a problem. The bulbs are supposed to last the life of the car though not sure if they do. Has anyone had one fail? Why should washers be necessary in this case but not with a conventional installation?
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Personally I find these lamps extremely dazzling,even if they are correctly aligned maybe the same could be said when halogens were introduced , I don't think so though.I did post on here about 2-3 months ago on the same subject, I really think that these lamps should be withdrawn.
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The reason these lamps are dazzling is because your eyes are drawn to them as they are a blue/distinctive colour.
If you park two cars next to each other one with Xenon's and one without, and stand 50ft away they are about the same brightness if both correctly levelled but you always stare at the xenons. If you look at them when they are unleveled the xenon is of course a lot brighter as it should be.
Basically an unlevelled xenon lamp is dangerous hence the auto levelling systems.
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\"Why should washers be necessary in this case but not with a conventional installation?\"
Dirt diffuses the light and causes it to scatter, this means when a car with dirty lights pulls up behind you, it lights up the whole inside of your car, not sure if it can cause dazzling too. As HID produces three times the lumens, I suppose they deemed it more neccessary.
Greaser, you may find this article of interest......
www.dirtperminute.com/publications/wdtgcf/wdtgcf.p...f
Where Does the Glare Come From?
A Comprehensive Discussion of Seeing and Glarein the Nighttime Roadway Environment
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