Better headlights than halogen
 

The halogen headlights are crap, and with the aging projectors in the ABL system, they're probably just as bad.
Are there any after market units? Even available worldwide to upgrade the headlights?
I bought a scrap unit to try to do my own retrofit, but the permaseal they used is polyurethane and doesn't respond as good as butyl sealer to heat.
So - aside from driving with fogs on and looking like a tool and experimenting with led headlights (even worse beam scatter)
What are my options? I've put led in full beam headlights and fogs, but I've just jammed a set of nightbreakers in.
I'm used to good light output but these are even worse than my p1 v70 when I rechromed the headlights with tape.

Hello there , I had ABL's in my v70 using LED bulbs . I improved the output by cleaning the reflector & projector lenses . I found the both had a milky film from HID bulbs previously fitted .

There are retrofit projector units available to install into existing housings that will accept LED sources , Google normally throws up a range of suppliers . I have seen these fitted & have had no issue with the MOT . I am an MOT tester & very keen on rubbish light set ups

The issue I have is getting the units apart. I retrofitted projectors to quite a few cars. Including my 940. The 20 minutes in the cardboard oven isn't enough to soften the polyurethane sealer but begins to soften up the lens. Are you saying the ABL lenses can be retrofitted? Because I can just rewire and do without hid and stick with led.

Hello there , sorry I appear to have mis-read & mis-led you .

I had the ABL;s in my P1 V70 & when they became rubbish I unclipped the lens , removed & cleaned the innards to great effect .

You could try nail varnish remover SPARINGLY ! around the bond area , as acetone will soften the polyurathane / Once you get a soft spot in the bond you should be able to " tear " the lens off the body or at least work thin blade to mechanically shear the bond .

Hope you succeed :teeth_smile:

Acetone, eh? I have a good supply of that. I'm always reluctant on chemical attack though.



I bought the projector lenses for my p1 after. When I thought the chrome was tarnished, it simply wiped off. I was mortified, I broke the first bit of my "New" car! At least with the P1, Headlights were merely clipped together. PFV had that snazzy projector setup. Parted stupidly with my money.



I will have a go, hopefully report back with a retrofit thread.

Good luck , find a quiet spot , gentle music , large hammer , strong drink & get going :shocked:

Just be aware that, technically, fitting LEDs to a car not designed for them is now an MOT failure...

Headlight bulbs, that is...

Erm , not quite accurate . I am an MOT tester and you MUST NOT install HID or LED light sources into any headlight not designed for them . however you are allowed to replace OEM units with suitable manufacturer OEM projector items or after market items with projector modules .

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-insp...ical-equipment

It's what I refer to daily especially when failing cars fitted with green or worse still blue front position ( side ) lights

For years I drove a car with a projector dipped beam light housing. The car was fitted with head light washers. The height of the beams was adjustable from the drivers seat in the cabin. I checked the regulations and at first I thought that the beams had to be self levelling for retro HID fitment but upon closer inspection of the regulations, it seems that the requirement was that the beam height can be adjusted from the cabin without the driver moving from his seat, that the light fitting was of the projection type and that the headlights had washers. Based upon these findings I fitted HID units with a suitably yellow/white rating and the light output must have been double that of the two dreadful halogen bulbs. For year I tried extra bright halogen bulbs and these dimmed and failed quickly in accordance with the small print on the packaging. The HID units stayed bright for years. The safety of the car driven at night on country roads was greatly improved and the MoT testers approved the lighting as meeting the requirements of the regulations.

I bought my XC70 with xenon lighting as one of the must-have features and am well pleased with the light output. I'm not sure if other owners halogen fitted Volvos can be modified to meet all three of these requirements but if they can, the regulations can be met. I haven't looked at the current regulations to see if they would make such modifications unlawful but since the law cannot retrospectively outlaw something that it previously approved, cars manufactured before any subsequent changes to the headlight regulations regarding HID/LED fitment could be retro fitted as they would have met the previous requirements and so could continue to be used.