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E46 Bi-Xenon (budget) retrofit
OK so after driving for last 8 months on HIDs and stock projectors, I decided to step up and retrofit new projectors. I didnt have enough budget to do what I originally wanted (new headlamps + D2S projector+ballast/wiring/decent bulbs) so I went for budget version and bought just replacement projectors in H7 fitting from retrofitlab.
Reason for that was that I had fully working H7 HID setup so I needed no extra bulbs/cables/adapters/ballasts etc. I was looking at pics of D2S versions, and to be honest - it looks like the only difference is the mounting bracket. Price was the same, shutters are the same (I asked) I would suspect reflectors and lenses are the same. It seem to me its just a generic projector, maybe I’m wrong, dunno. Maybe I made mistake and D2S would perform better but for NCT/MOT reasons I needed something I can throw halogen bulb back. Done&dusted, decision made, move on. Projectors were 130eur/pair + extra 10 for high-beam splitter. For that, you are getting two "Bosch AL E46 replicas" in box with 'Aharon' brand. I have no doubt those are NOT original Bosch ones, but cant say much about quality of those replicas as havent seen too many projectors so I have no comparison. Mounting plate and materials look a bit chunky (like generic CNC'ed aluminium material), but all seem sturdy enough and decent. I have no clue if those are better quality than Chinese-made 40Eur projectors or just the same but with higher price tag. When placed alongside the old one (2005 model so milky fresnel lens) you can see its a little bit longer but not by much. Its also a bit bigger, due to electromagnet on the bottom. Because of that I can no longer fit ballasts inside the lamp (and believe me - I REALLY tried) so thats something to consider. Was really happy on previous setting with all components tucked inside the lamp, but ah well.. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...retrofit/1.jpg https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...retrofit/2.jpg H7 burner fits well into the projector, and the notch is orientated in the “right way”, so unlike in stock projectors, the burner’s wire is orientated downwards where shutter is. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...retrofit/3.jpg Fitting of the projector is straightforward – same mounting holes, fits perfectly in plastic shroud and from outside of the lamp, looks like stock projector. On d/s one the fitting was somehow bad –angle was too high and when trying to adjust it down – made high beam bulb useless (was shining just in front to the car). Maybe because of thicker mounting plate, not sure, but I had to use 2 washers on one mounting point to change the angle of projector to make it right. Shutter is operated by electromagnet that opens it when current is applied. You connect it to splitter that goes from high-beam bulb. I needed to modify the splitter pin a little (HB3 bulb have notches). I was advised to modify bulb, but it made more sense to make splitter pin universal for any new bulb so I cut out a bit of plastic and it fits ok now. On the pics below you can see difference in beam pattern when testing projectors on the table. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...retrofit/4.jpg https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...retrofit/5.jpg I have no proper pics of beam on the road because my mod is not finished yet. I am having problems with proper alignment (due to condition of my headlamps) and with beam pattern, as I have no clue how to properly adjust the screw that keeps the shutter when idle – anybody have any experience with that? Seem that artifacts show either in close range or in distance, depending how much I rotate the screw in/out. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...it/shutter.png From what I noticed so far, E46 projectors really are a straight plug&play mod, and would work well even with H7 halogen bulb setup as light output from them is much better than my 12 year old fresnel lens projectors with the same halogen bulb. Maybe its a good alternative for people not wanting to use HIDs? Will update further in next few days. Today, if I manage to sort out allignment issues, will install HID kit and test it on road. Will probably need some allignment again. When I get to the point where everything is as good as it can be, then will take some photos and report if the hassle was worth it. |
An admirable effort so far, well done :)
A good starting point is that the projector housing has the same mounting holes as the original, just that pesky alignment to perfect now and you should be good to go. Looking forward to more updates. |
Update #1
Have spent whole evening yesterday setting up the beam, fiddling with shutter adjustment and finally putting the HID bulbs in. Pic below is the headlamp with new projector and HID bulb in its place. As you can see, it takes more space than original one and I was forced to relocate the ballast to the outside of headlamp assembly. Very unhappy about it, but what can you do :/ https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...retrofit/6.jpg I had to cut the hole and wire the cables out of the unit. The extra stuff on the inside of cover is silica bag (keeps inside of lamp moist-free) and a external mass cable. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...retrofit/7.jpg https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...retrofit/8.jpg Now the "fun" part have begun as I spent literally an hour under the bonnet, dancing around the car like ballerina, trying to find the decent mounting spots for ballast&wiring. T5 is so cramped under the hood that it really seem impossible to add anything, let alone 2 sets of wiring of decent proportions: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...retrofit/9.jpg It would be easy to "just throw them anywhere" but I would be worry if not attached properly, it would do something nasty - they get pretty hot and there is high voltage involved so basically any place I tried I wasnt comfortable with. it really is a pain in the... to mount them. Ended up kinda "suspending" them using wire, cable ties and some corners of engine bay, but that will definitely change. I have idea to use a long narrow piece of perforated steel to mount the wiring to it, like the base, and then attach the whole assembly somehow to the car. Short cables between bulb and external wiring does not help either, cant now remove headlamp before unplugging the harness first. Wont be using extentsion cables, thats for sure, can cause more bad than good. I was used to pulling out lamp in 5 seconds and fiddling with it while still connected to cables so now its just a step backwards. Finally when done, you can see how the beam pattern look, (5000k bulbs). https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...etrofit/10.jpg below, how it did look with original fresnel lenses and the same HID kit. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...etrofit/11.jpg Looking at the beam pattern on the new projectors, you can clearly see the difference - much sharper cutoffs and beam shape. Unfortunately - right side is not so good as whole projector seem to be rotated down - need to emphasise now that is NOT the case of the new projectors, but something wrong with my lamp/mounting points/whatever. It was like this before (see pic with fresnel lenses) but wasnt as disturbing due to the more spreaded light output. I tried everything to rotate the beam - nothing worked. Not sure what is wrong, but without re-mounting projector or re-shaping the mounting points it seem impossible to fix. Alternative probably would be getting different headlamp. I dont have any decent pics from the road - will follow up with them when I do more testing, but so far I can give you some personal feedback as to compare to my previous stock lenses with the same HID kit: - light output is much improved - clarity of the lens and brand new reflectors makes a big difference in how bright the beam now is. - foreground lighting changed dramatically - from almost non-existent (see pics from previous post with fresnel lens on the wall?) to nice and uniformed from the bonnet to the cutoff points. I feel like I am driving with fog lights now as road just in front of the car is now perfectly lit - the beam pattern of those projector is much more narrow than previous ones. That is a downside. I have read about it and apparently thats the nature of E46 projectors. Compared to Mini H1 for example or even my old ones - they are just very narrow. Its good to have foglamps set as I do (have alligned them so they shine just below dip beam pattern) as they have wide spread and nicely supplement the main ones, especially on bendy roads. - bi-xenon function is just OK, cant say I was blown away by it. Will try to make some photos of just xenon high beam, but without HB3 bulbs supplementing them, I dont think I would be happy. Those projectors definitely wouldnt work for me as the only source of high beam. When shutter is fully opened, you are gaining more wide-spreaded light so atleast driving on bendy roads with high-beam on is better than previously, as side of the roads are better lit trough high beam. One of my previous ideas to improve high beam was mounting set of spot lights and personally I think it would have made better job. Or maybe with better quality projector and D2S burner it would be better? But dont expect the same output from those as you would get from OEM bi-xenons of audi or BMW. Completely different league. - the cutoff lines are sharp, so they allow you to better alligning projectors and I'm more confident now about not dazzling other drivers. You literally have projected edges on the cars in front of you so you know exactly how much glare you produce and where. It takes a while to getting used to it after previous lenses, I must admit - not sure how I feel about it yet... - there is a rainbow effect on the edges of the cutoff - It is similar to what I see on all new LED equipped cars etc where the edge of cutoff is a bit purple/green and observing the pattern on cars in front of me is a bit distracting. I think lots of xenons have this but probably the better projector, the less rainbow? - the shutter allignment I mentioned in previous post is an issue and real PITA. Made one light perfect (very sharp cutoff on the road even far far away from the car) but another is a blurry line from 10meters onward. It all looks good on the wall and from close distance, but when you see the beam on the road as far as it reaches - its bad. Will have to try to adjust again, but atm its just trial and error :/ General experience so far? - OK. Was it worth 120e? - I think so Would I do it again? - probably not and keep using previous setup without so much hassle. Will update with more pics and more daily-road experience after a while. if anyone have advices as how to improve allignment or lens rotation - Im all ears :) |
Your headlamp with the blurry cut off, is that the same as the headlamp with the wonky cut off?
I have factory xenons and recently replaced the bulbs. One headlight cutoff is now a little blurry and wonky. I suspect it is due to bulb positioning relative to the lens/mask/reflector. I have played around with an led, some cardboard and a magnifying glass and seem to be able to replicate the effect by moving the led off centre. Need to find the time to take the assembly out and have a fiddle. |
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Also, small update. After a full day of my usual commute and a day of real-life testing, I have to admit I am more pleased with them than I originally thought. Yes, pattern is a bit off and yes there are still adjustments needed and yes they are narrower than expected, but thats all noticeable because my OCD and lab-like testing trying to achieve perfection. In real life, in daily traffic and when following the car on highway, you actually get to appreciate them much more - the foreground is lit up like nothing I have had before and light pattern allows for comfortable cruise in high speeds even if there is traffic in front of you and cant use high beams. Also, in middle of city in traffic jam, its noticeable straight away how powerful the light output is and how uniform the light pattern, especially when you stand beside lots of cars with various light types and see their light patterns on bumpers of other cars. Maybe I was too harsh saying I wouldn't have done it again, as the more I drive the more I think that was actually well worth it. See shots below, was finally able to take decent ones. Notice the road sign in right corner, its a good comparison to see how pattern changes from low to high beam, and also that with low means its barely lit and reflects little light - thats good indication that my lights are much less dazzling than previous setup (where I have seen reflections in road signs that were much further and higher). Low beam https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...trofit/12a.jpg High beam https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...trofit/12b.jpg Low beam + foglamps (that indicates clearly how much side-light is missing on low beam result of narrow projector throw) https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...etrofit/13.jpg Have to admit that yesterday, when coming back at night from work, driving on that road with full beams on was as great experience as never before, and its a good 20kms of journey. Also - managed to get a shot that indicates those "rainbow effects" that I was talking about. See the colour artifacts at the edge of cutoff, right over the bush line? Not sure how to deal with this yet… https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...etrofit/14.jpg |
That looks great, the results look better than mine but I think that is mostly down to the crap lamps I've got. They're supposed to be 5000k (OEM colour) but they look bluey green to me. The rainbow effect at the cut off point is caused by refraction - I don't think you will be able to get rid of it unless you move the baffle out of the focal point but this will give you a blurry cut off.
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Those look like a similar out put that I get on my E46, which has Bi Xenons from factory, way better than my V50, will maybe have to go down a similar route
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The rainbow effect at the cut off line has been present on every car I've had with factory fit projectors, I think it's a characteristic of the lens.
I wouldn't worry about it, it won't effect oncoming traffic or visibility. |
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Your H1 projectors on another hand should give much wider light spread - I have read comparison reviews and general rule is that E46 are brighter but mini H1 are wider. Tip about your bulb colour - very often it is not the bulb issue but crappy ballast! I can vouch for that as just 2 weeks ago one of my kensun ballasts failed. To test where the issue was, I replaced it with an old noname chineese cr** that I had in my spare parts box. The output of the bulb changed from pure white 5000k to something that resembled 8000k boyracer blue. I was actually shocked as didnt think ballasts can differ so much - kinda thought the output is always the same as those are chip-controlled modules. What ballasts are you using? |
Just a small update after month of driving on those and constant fiddling with adjustments, if anyone is interested. Also small tips&tricks for anyone attempting similar mod.
- I was able to finally get along with those damn projector shutters and understood what was going on. Messing with adjusting screw allows to sharpen the cutoff was trial of error, but I figured it out finally. You need a 12V power supply (old PC PSU will do perfectly) and long back garden. I adjusted the sharpness of cutout as much as possible over the distance of roughly 15 meters as it was a good balance between close and distance sharpness. That made a close-distance cutoff a bit blurry) but the pattern on the road and in far distance is as sharp as possible and allow good allignment. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...trofit/lb4.jpg There is no rule of thumb whether shutter should be close or far to the bulb - just try one way, than another and find the sweet spot. Also - one of the bulb had hotspot in wrong way (fully visible) but it was the bulb issue - I managed to bend a bulb base tiny bit so the hotspot now is exactly where the stepped cutoff is (imagine a round light spot that have this stepped \_ part going trough centre of it so 60% of it is exposed, other 40% is covered by shutter and in use only when full beam). -Adjusting the cutoffs also helped a bit with rainbow effect but it is still present - dont think I can do much with it, just optical distortion, visible probably more on cheap kits like mine. - never managed to fix the slight off-rotation on d/s one. Will leave it as is and not worry about it anymore Also did some tests with and without the long beam bulbs, just to see how bi-xenons alone are doing. It is for sure possible to drive just on them, but I would really miss the extra "straight into darkness" light source. As you can see on pics fully opened shutter does let enough light to allow driving in pitch-black, but it wouldn't suffice for me. I'm sure a proper OEM projector with good D2S bulb would work much better and single projectors like on A4 or Superb are well enough, but kit like this - its just moderately "ok". Photos taken with -2 exposure to show the contrast better. dip beam: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...trofit/lb1.jpg shutter fully opened: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...trofit/lb2.jpg shutter opened + long-beam HB3 bulbs on: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...trofit/lb3.jpg All along, very happy with the mod, my opinion have changed - definetely worth the effort and any time I see my (now perfectly alligned and sharp) cutoff on the back bumper of a car, It makes me happy. Just when doing similar mod - make sure you go for D2S version, just to be able to use better and more powerful bulbs. |
Is it just me, or are the pictures missing?
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nope missing here too
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yep, sorry, asked admin here to update it but no answer since :(
I will add the whole updated thread below, and maybe it will be cleaned up later. sorry for losing pics, recent dropbox change did this :/ TEMPORARY POST WITH ACTIVE PICS UNTIL ORIGINAL IS RESOLVED: ------------------------------- OK so after driving for last 8 months on HIDs and stock projectors, I decided to step up and retrofit new projectors. I didnt have enough budget to do what I originally wanted (new headlamps + D2S projector+ballast/wiring/decent bulbs) so I went for budget version and bought just replacement projectors in H7 fitting from retrofitlab. Reason for that was that I had fully working H7 HID setup so I needed no extra bulbs/cables/adapters/ballasts etc. I was looking at pics of D2S versions, and to be honest - it looks like the only difference is the mounting bracket. Price was the same, shutters are the same (I asked) I would suspect reflectors and lenses are the same. It seem to me its just a generic projector, maybe I’m wrong, dunno. Maybe I made mistake and D2S would perform better but for NCT/MOT reasons I needed something I can throw halogen bulb back. Done&dusted, decision made, move on. Projectors were 130eur/pair + extra 10 for high-beam splitter. For that, you are getting two "Bosch AL E46 replicas" in box with 'Aharon' brand. I have no doubt those are NOT original Bosch ones, but cant say much about quality of those replicas as havent seen too many projectors so I have no comparison. Mounting plate and materials look a bit chunky (like generic CNC'ed aluminium material), but all seem sturdy enough and decent. I have no clue if those are better quality than Chinese-made 40Eur projectors or just the same but with higher price tag. When placed alongside the old one (2005 model so milky fresnel lens) you can see its a little bit longer but not by much. Its also a bit bigger, due to electromagnet on the bottom. Because of that I can no longer fit ballasts inside the lamp (and believe me - I REALLY tried) so thats something to consider. Was really happy on previous setting with all components tucked inside the lamp, but ah well.. http://i67.tinypic.com/296lkqs.jpg http://i66.tinypic.com/5l11jk.jpg H7 burner fits well into the projector, and the notch is orientated in the “right way”, so unlike in stock projectors, the burner’s wire is orientated downwards where shutter is. http://i67.tinypic.com/294t1mh.jpg Fitting of the projector is straightforward – same mounting holes, fits perfectly in plastic shroud and from outside of the lamp, looks like stock projector. On d/s one the fitting was somehow bad –angle was too high and when trying to adjust it down – made high beam bulb useless (was shining just in front to the car). Maybe because of thicker mounting plate, not sure, but I had to use 2 washers on one mounting point to change the angle of projector to make it right. Shutter is operated by electromagnet that opens it when current is applied. You connect it to splitter that goes from high-beam bulb. I needed to modify the splitter pin a little (HB3 bulb have notches). I was advised to modify bulb, but it made more sense to make splitter pin universal for any new bulb so I cut out a bit of plastic and it fits ok now. On the pics below you can see difference in beam pattern when testing projectors on the table. http://i68.tinypic.com/24m9w2d.jpg http://i65.tinypic.com/n4igbm.jpg I have no proper pics of beam on the road because my mod is not finished yet. I am having problems with proper alignment (due to condition of my headlamps) and with beam pattern, as I have no clue how to properly adjust the screw that keeps the shutter when idle – anybody have any experience with that? Seem that artifacts show either in close range or in distance, depending how much I rotate the screw in/out. http://i67.tinypic.com/nbc10p.jpg From what I noticed so far, E46 projectors really are a straight plug&play mod, and would work well even with H7 halogen bulb setup as light output from them is much better than my 12 year old fresnel lens projectors with the same halogen bulb. Maybe its a good alternative for people not wanting to use HIDs? Will update further in next few days. Today, if I manage to sort out allignment issues, will install HID kit and test it on road. Will probably need some allignment again. When I get to the point where everything is as good as it can be, then will take some photos and report if the hassle was worth it. PART 2 Update #1 Have spent whole evening yesterday setting up the beam, fiddling with shutter adjustment and finally putting the HID bulbs in. Pic below is the headlamp with new projector and HID bulb in its place. As you can see, it takes more space than original one and I was forced to relocate the ballast to the outside of headlamp assembly. Very unhappy about it, but what can you do :/ http://i64.tinypic.com/29vxm5l.jpg I had to cut the hole and wire the cables out of the unit. The extra stuff on the inside of cover is silica bag (keeps inside of lamp moist-free) and a external mass cable. http://i63.tinypic.com/1433rzs.jpg http://i65.tinypic.com/hsolxk.jpg Now the "fun" part have begun as I spent literally an hour under the bonnet, dancing around the car like ballerina, trying to find the decent mounting spots for ballast&wiring. T5 is so cramped under the hood that it really seem impossible to add anything, let alone 2 sets of wiring of decent proportions: http://i66.tinypic.com/23wk8l5.jpg It would be easy to "just throw them anywhere" but I would be worry if not attached properly, it would do something nasty - they get pretty hot and there is high voltage involved so basically any place I tried I wasnt comfortable with. it really is a pain in the... to mount them. Ended up kinda "suspending" them using wire, cable ties and some corners of engine bay, but that will definitely change. I have idea to use a long narrow piece of perforated steel to mount the wiring to it, like the base, and then attach the whole assembly somehow to the car. Short cables between bulb and external wiring does not help either, cant now remove headlamp before unplugging the harness first. Wont be using extentsion cables, thats for sure, can cause more bad than good. I was used to pulling out lamp in 5 seconds and fiddling with it while still connected to cables so now its just a step backwards. Finally when done, you can see how the beam pattern look, (5000k bulbs). http://i65.tinypic.com/4l505j.jpg below, how it did look with original fresnel lenses and the same HID kit. http://i67.tinypic.com/11uawjl.jpg Looking at the beam pattern on the new projectors, you can clearly see the difference - much sharper cutoffs and beam shape. Unfortunately - right side is not so good as whole projector seem to be rotated down - need to emphasise now that is NOT the case of the new projectors, but something wrong with my lamp/mounting points/whatever. It was like this before (see pic with fresnel lenses) but wasnt as disturbing due to the more spreaded light output. I tried everything to rotate the beam - nothing worked. Not sure what is wrong, but without re-mounting projector or re-shaping the mounting points it seem impossible to fix. Alternative probably would be getting different headlamp. I dont have any decent pics from the road - will follow up with them when I do more testing, but so far I can give you some personal feedback as to compare to my previous stock lenses with the same HID kit: - light output is much improved - clarity of the lens and brand new reflectors makes a big difference in how bright the beam now is. - foreground lighting changed dramatically - from almost non-existent (see pics from previous post with fresnel lens on the wall?) to nice and uniformed from the bonnet to the cutoff points. I feel like I am driving with fog lights now as road just in front of the car is now perfectly lit - the beam pattern of those projector is much more narrow than previous ones. That is a downside. I have read about it and apparently thats the nature of E46 projectors. Compared to Mini H1 for example or even my old ones - they are just very narrow. Its good to have foglamps set as I do (have alligned them so they shine just below dip beam pattern) as they have wide spread and nicely supplement the main ones, especially on bendy roads. - bi-xenon function is just OK, cant say I was blown away by it. Will try to make some photos of just xenon high beam, but without HB3 bulbs supplementing them, I dont think I would be happy. Those projectors definitely wouldnt work for me as the only source of high beam. When shutter is fully opened, you are gaining more wide-spreaded light so atleast driving on bendy roads with high-beam on is better than previously, as side of the roads are better lit trough high beam. One of my previous ideas to improve high beam was mounting set of spot lights and personally I think it would have made better job. Or maybe with better quality projector and D2S burner it would be better? But dont expect the same output from those as you would get from OEM bi-xenons of audi or BMW. Completely different league. - the cutoff lines are sharp, so they allow you to better alligning projectors and I'm more confident now about not dazzling other drivers. You literally have projected edges on the cars in front of you so you know exactly how much glare you produce and where. It takes a while to getting used to it after previous lenses, I must admit - not sure how I feel about it yet... - there is a rainbow effect on the edges of the cutoff - It is similar to what I see on all new LED equipped cars etc where the edge of cutoff is a bit purple/green and observing the pattern on cars in front of me is a bit distracting. I think lots of xenons have this but probably the better projector, the less rainbow? - the shutter allignment I mentioned in previous post is an issue and real PITA. Made one light perfect (very sharp cutoff on the road even far far away from the car) but another is a blurry line from 10meters onward. It all looks good on the wall and from close distance, but when you see the beam on the road as far as it reaches - its bad. Will have to try to adjust again, but atm its just trial and error :/ General experience so far? - OK. Was it worth 120e? - I think so Would I do it again? - probably not and keep using previous setup without so much hassle. Will update with more pics and more daily-road experience after a while. if anyone have advices as how to improve allignment or lens rotation - Im all ears :) PART3 Thanks for the tip, but no, its actually another one. The one with crooked rotation have perfect cutoff now, and it is definitely not a case of bulb position in my case as I tried to move it a bit to see. The blurry cutoff is on another lamp that is perfectly straight. Also, small update. After a full day of my usual commute and a day of real-life testing, I have to admit I am more pleased with them than I originally thought. Yes, pattern is a bit off and yes there are still adjustments needed and yes they are narrower than expected, but thats all noticeable because my OCD and lab-like testing trying to achieve perfection. In real life, in daily traffic and when following the car on highway, you actually get to appreciate them much more - the foreground is lit up like nothing I have had before and light pattern allows for comfortable cruise in high speeds even if there is traffic in front of you and cant use high beams. Also, in middle of city in traffic jam, its noticeable straight away how powerful the light output is and how uniform the light pattern, especially when you stand beside lots of cars with various light types and see their light patterns on bumpers of other cars. Maybe I was too harsh saying I wouldn't have done it again, as the more I drive the more I think that was actually well worth it. See shots below, was finally able to take decent ones. Notice the road sign in right corner, its a good comparison to see how pattern changes from low to high beam, and also that with low means its barely lit and reflects little light - thats good indication that my lights are much less dazzling than previous setup (where I have seen reflections in road signs that were much further and higher). Low beam http://i64.tinypic.com/ak8n5y.jpg High beam http://i67.tinypic.com/2hwgr2u.jpg Low beam + foglamps (that indicates clearly how much side-light is missing on low beam result of narrow projector throw) http://i65.tinypic.com/2960ec.jpg Have to admit that yesterday, when coming back at night from work, driving on that road with full beams on was as great experience as never before, and its a good 20kms of journey. Also - managed to get a shot that indicates those "rainbow effects" that I was talking about. See the colour artifacts at the edge of cutoff, right over the bush line? Not sure how to deal with this yet… http://i68.tinypic.com/2hz4g1i.jpg PART4 Just a small update after month of driving on those and constant fiddling with adjustments, if anyone is interested. Also small tips&tricks for anyone attempting similar mod. - I was able to finally get along with those damn projector shutters and understood what was going on. Messing with adjusting screw allows to sharpen the cutoff was trial of error, but I figured it out finally. You need a 12V power supply (old PC PSU will do perfectly) and long back garden. I adjusted the sharpness of cutout as much as possible over the distance of roughly 15 meters as it was a good balance between close and distance sharpness. That made a close-distance cutoff a bit blurry) but the pattern on the road and in far distance is as sharp as possible and allow good allignment. http://i67.tinypic.com/2zog8b5.jpg There is no rule of thumb whether shutter should be close or far to the bulb - just try one way, than another and find the sweet spot. Also - one of the bulb had hotspot in wrong way (fully visible) but it was the bulb issue - I managed to bend a bulb base tiny bit so the hotspot now is exactly where the stepped cutoff is (imagine a round light spot that have this stepped \_ part going trough centre of it so 60% of it is exposed, other 40% is covered by shutter and in use only when full beam). -Adjusting the cutoffs also helped a bit with rainbow effect but it is still present - dont think I can do much with it, just optical distortion, visible probably more on cheap kits like mine. - never managed to fix the slight off-rotation on d/s one. Will leave it as is and not worry about it anymore Also did some tests with and without the long beam bulbs, just to see how bi-xenons alone are doing. It is for sure possible to drive just on them, but I would really miss the extra "straight into darkness" light source. As you can see on pics fully opened shutter does let enough light to allow driving in pitch-black, but it wouldn't suffice for me. I'm sure a proper OEM projector with good D2S bulb would work much better and single projectors like on A4 or Superb are well enough, but kit like this - its just moderately "ok". Photos taken with -2 exposure to show the contrast better. dip beam: http://i67.tinypic.com/257dtlg.jpg shutter fully opened: http://i65.tinypic.com/ornr46.jpg shutter opened + long-beam HB3 bulbs on: http://i66.tinypic.com/2qmpy0p.jpg All along, very happy with the mod, my opinion have changed - definetely worth the effort and any time I see my (now perfectly alligned and sharp) cutoff on the back bumper of a car, It makes me happy. Just when doing similar mod - make sure you go for D2S version, just to be able to use better and more powerful bulbs. |
Hi - thought this was the best place to put my E46 headlight question. I have poor C70 halogen dipped beam due to degraded reflector surface. I have obtained 2x E46 fittings and 2x E46 copy fittings all with hid bulbs. Looks to me as if the original reflectors will fit straight in but the copies have different spacing for the torx screws.
My issue is that I am not keen on fitting the full hid setup for various reasons and I do not recognise the socket used by the current hid bulbs (d2s ?). I had planned/hoped to fit high-brightness 55w halogens but wondered if anyone had done this before me and how they went about it - if all else fails I will need to dremel some used h7 (?) bulbs to fit and jury rig a retention clip of some sort. One last observation, the BMW parts seem to be of superior quality to that used oem in the C70 and the reflector, in particular, does not seem to be a plastic part which may explain while they are still nice and shiny. |
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Im a bit lost - you have set of OEM projectors from BMW with D2S and set of aftermarked ones also with D2S? And in any case you want to keep halogen fitment as you currently have and not use HID at all, right? If so, you may find it problematic as there is no direct way to fit H bulb in D2S socket. I have seen it done other way, but not D2S->H. Also I have feeling that OEM xenon projectors may dont work gwell with H bulbs because of allignment/lens distance etc so you may actually get worse output. My aftermarket projectors had 2 choices of fitment - D2S or H7, and as far as I found out, the bowl and lens were identical in both cases. But I doubt the quality of those is close to OEM ones. Did you obtain used projectors or bought them new? (aftermarket ones) ? |
Yes - you describe my situation correctly (2x used oem, 2x pattern new). I bought the units on ebay in advance of full investigation - fortunately they didn't cost much.
I agree that going back to halogen will be tough or impossible, as the hid bulb and halogen bulb seem to have a materially different light source location - maybe 5mm deeper into the reflector. I have all the bits to go hid so I guess I will have to look into this, though I suspect it may then cause mot issues as I don't have any hid levelling or headlight washing provision in place. |
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Going HID is a huge improvement over halogens (especially with D2S) but you must do proper research before doing so as C70 may have the same issues as S40/V50. So disable DRL's and run extra ground cable for each lamp to prevent frying up the wiper module. Also dont buy chepest ballasts available - chineese cr*p can fail and go badly much more often than decent set. EDIT: maybe you can still return the new aftermarket set and get H7 version instead? It will improve over your burned ones and wont need to have hassle with HIDs? |
Great thread and very clever modding,
just had a skim through and will have to revisit in detail! Also have you any links to the kit you bought? |
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Have a look here, thats where I bought projectors from. Because I had all other parts I only needed them and long-beam adapter from that shop, but you can get full kit from them ready-to-go (D2S or H7). |
For those following this thread and planning to use halogen bulbs, by all means follow the link to buy the copy oem fittings but be aware that actual 2nd hand bmw bi-xenon lights use d2s socketed HID bulbs and will not take H7 halogens.
I am looking into fitting some H1 halogens into 2nd hand bmw fittings and will report back if I can fix H1 bulbs into the (d2s) sockets - the penetration depth of the bright bit in a H1 halogen looks to be within a mm or so of the same in the d2s spec so its "just" a matter of securing the bulbs in the d2s holder. |
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good luck modding anyway! |
So are you guys buying H7 E46 halogen projectors to swap out the old 30/40/50 series halogen projectors ? Then fitting your H7 HID kits into these as someone else said all of the E46 xenons projectors I am seeing are D2S fitment.
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Just to clarify the possible confusion: - OEM projector type Bosch AL/E46 that is used in lots of cars (including E46 BMW etc) is a _DS2_only_ type projector and in that form is used only for Xenon installations. It is genuine German-made Bosch part and is made of quality materials. It is still OK to use it if you source original one in good condition, but it is unfortunately pretty hard (lots are a bit worn out or damaged). - AFTERMARKET projector called "Bosch AL/E46" are mostly made in China Bosch-design ripoffs that are still decent quality and can be bought brand new and are pretty decent value. Those can be bought in various bulb-socket seats (H7, H11, DS2) so you can even use those with standard halogen H7's. The reason I, for example, used H7 version is because I had H7 kit already with lots of spare bulbs etc, and also - when going to MOT, you only swap the bulbs. I suspect D2S version would be better in terms of brightness/light spread, as you can use genuine and good D2S bulbs, but for the sake of convenience I went for compromise :] |
I agree with LofB and additionally, I would point out that while the original BMW E46 reflector part will screw directly into our cars but require d2s "bulbs", at least some aftermarket equivalent E46 Bi-Xenon assemblies will not fit as the torx screw holes are designed for the matching glass & plastic which can be different. LoB has sourced a specific part which, he has advised, does indeed fit and comes in a number of bulb socket types including those suited to halogen use.
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As my new project is taking longer than I thought, and my story-notes are getting longer and longer, I decided to start the writeup now and share what I have done so far. I am, hopefully 1 week away from finished project and swapping the lamps, but even now I am sure it wont be 100% as I want it, as wiring of this contraption is more complicated than I thought....
but anyway - here is my photostory of work in progress so far :) So just a brief explanation of "Black Lamp project" origins. As seen on previous posts, I already have retrofitted HID system with H7 bulbs. It is working well and really happy with it, but being a bit of a light freak I always wanted to go step ahead. Always regretted not going with D2S version so I thought to myself "ah, what the hell" and decided to go for it this time. Step1 As per my original plan - I was not happy with swapping projectors over for every annual test, nor I thought it would be healthy for the plastic holders so I decided to get the spare set of headlamps. First attempt - pulled the plug on set of brand new aftermarket ones, TYC brand. Big mistake. Next day after recieving them, those were in return post heading back to seller. Quality was terrible, plastic felt like it was breaking by just touching it and the projector holders looked so fragile I would actually be afraid to swap anything inside. Plus headlight regulator snapped by just looking at it, seriously! 20eur lost, back to square one. Took me few weeks to source decent set of used ones. Partially because I decided to go only with black ones as I felt those would be nice "by the way" upgrade, and partially as its hard to find set that is not damaged and in decent condition. Finally got a pair from local (!) scrapyard for about 80e. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988760 Nothing broken, inside very clean and dust free, just badly scratched. Tested them on the car to make sure everything worked, and took (badly burnt) projectors and all bulbs out. I also took all regulators out first (the plastic clips with white torx) as its much easier to operate on adjusters without them without the risk of snapping. As mentioned in previous posts - one of the screws holding the projector is a real a**, hiding directly under the light levelling motor, and the only way to tackle it is to move the projector horizontally on the adjuster max to one side. It reveals the screw's head and allow to force it out. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988760 Packed lamps in the bags, left it on the shelf for the future. In the meantime I ordered set of LED rings, 100mm, as advised, to copy the idea of some people from the forum. 20eur all in. Also started to look around for a set of used AL projectors. STEP2 Week later I got the rings, and had a go with first trial-fittings. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988760 https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988760 As said by others, It was a tight fit and 100mm rings are really snuggle in the plastic housing. Problem was, wouldnt stay alligned (very slippery that inside chrome coating) and were also really close to the OEM diffusor (plastic shroud outside the projector) that I decided to keep. I liked the effect best when distance from plastic was atleast 2-3cm as it made nice and diffused, but still powerful light. I decided I will not touch the inside of the lamps (dust particles from this type of plastic is a NIGHTMARE) so used small file to do few notches in the actual ring to wedge it better. Still didnt sit right and thought I may need to glue/attach them for better result. Decided to re-think this whole idea. Test fitting also highlighted the big issue of how bad the acrylic shield was. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988760 That would be a really bad for oncoming traffic when xenon burners are used so next logical step was to take care of this. Ordered some extra polishing attachments for drill, had some polishing compound from previous lamps left so thats all I needed. Still no luck with AL projectors, but ordered a set of one of the best bulbs available in D2S - Osram Xenarc NB Unlimited. Found a great deal on Amazon for 55Eur so snapped them imemdiately. STEP3 Polishing attachments arrived, prepared myself mentally for weekend and started the job on one evening. Bad idea. 10 minutes later I ended up with almost burnt marks on part of the shield and no visible improvement after lenghty polishing process. Gave up and found local advert for professional headlamp restoration. 30eur and 1 day later I had perfectly cleaned and polished headlamps that I just needed to seal with UV sealant. Best decision I did was to stop trying to do it myself. Stunning result. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988783 STEP4 My next step of project was delayed again because of simple fact - could not find ANY used AL projectors from RHD car. None. Maybe US market is better for retro projects (have seen plenty of ads for cheap projectors) but here its either full headlamp or nothing. A bit disappointing result, but hey - cant give up. The fallback plan was to order set of new aftermarket projectors from the same crowd I used before (Retrofitlab). Also got the D2S->AMP lead as I will be using my current Kensun ballast kit. 160eur gone. Finally got them week later and did some bench testing and inspection. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988783 First impression - looks identical to H7 version from Retrofitlab. Just the bulb base is different. Didnt really expect anythyng else as I was told those wont differ much, but still. The positive thing is that bulbs sits much better and with less possible wiggle, and that straight out-of-the box everything was perfect. No messing around with bulb base, cutoff adjustment etc. I guess proper D2S bulb does make a difference. Testing it out on the garden shed provided really impressive result https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988783 Just to compare, as I had it handy - original projector from this headlamp with H7 bulb.... https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988783 Wow... Anyway - having projectors checked and prepared, I was ready to fit them in. Unfortunately - failed miserably doing so with LED rings in. It was just a hour-long disaster of trial fitting rings to either plastic shroud or the projector itself. Those were just simply too big and ill fitted, was not able to allign them nicely for good effect. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988783 Defeated, had a lightbulb (pun intended) moment and took some measurments of actual projector and contacted the seller. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988803 Found out that 94mm rings have apx 78mm inner diameter so this will be a perfect fit! Plus, its possible to put them in a distance from the diffusor plastic, as I always wanted, and attaching them with cableties to projector will allow easy replacement in case of burning out or whatever. Why didnt I think of that before? :) With another week of waiting ahead of me, only thing I could do was to wire the bi-xenon shutter to hi-beam cable. This time I didnt bother with extension cable - just wired it straigt to bulb connector. Worked like a charm. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988803 https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988803 I also discovered another problem (ofcourse) that I havent thought of before. D2S->AMP cable wiring is different than H7 rebased bulbs and there are just 2 wires without rubber collar coming out of it. And you still need a + cable coming out of the headlamp, so how to get total of 3 cables from the headlamp to the ballasts without compromising the seal? The only thing I thought of was to re-use cables from cut H7 bulb (with rubber collar seal) and attach them to D2S->AMP adapter. Used butt joint connectors, crimped and isolated (2 layers, just in case) and will also leave the joint inside of the headlamp. The rubber collar will fit perfectly in my previously cut lamp covers from my current lamps so it should become plug&play after assembly. Voila the franken-cable :} https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988803 Did some tests with bulb powered on and there seem to be no heat on joints so I am hoping I did it well. Also, I hope to have no problems with water penetration as lamps will remain as sealed as possible. STEP5 Week later rings arrived, and what do you know? Perfect fit!! Really happy with them. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988803 https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988835 Tip for everybody - although not marked, those rings are actually + and - orientated so make sure you mark which cable is + to avoid connection issues. Nothing will go wrong, just wont work if not connected properly. Started to assemble the lamps back, putting projectors in their mounts as careful as possible. Another useful tip - dip the screws in a bit of lube - that should hopefully prevent the plastic powder coming out next time when disassembling projectors (and trust me - that powder is a real PITA to get rid afterwards, ask me how I know...). https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988835 After some usual wiggling with that one pesky screw, both projectors were in. Did a quick dry-test of LED ring - looks perfect. Light colour on picture is totally off as those leds are pure white (5000K) but you get the idea. Will shoot some better ones when finished. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988835 Really happy with uniform and diffused light, plus - its not visible at all when off. Exacactly what I wanted. I also found out convenient way to pre-aim projectors and check their allignment and proper seating in the comfort of the kitchen. I took the current lamps out of the car to my test table and marked the outline with pen on the piece of tape. Then I fired them up and marked the beam position on the door. Then I did exactly the same with new headlamps and adjusted projectors to match the markers as perfectly as possible. Happy to say the adjustment was not that much off and just confirmed that projectors are seated correctly. On previous lamps I had to use metal washers to achieve correct adjustment. My only concern is that beam seem to be going down a bit on both new ones. Maybe its just from short-distance throw (2 meters from the door) or headlamp not alligned properly on table, but I am hoping its not gonna be visible when fitted. Rotational issue with projectors is always a problem and is not easy to correct. Time will tell. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988835 https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988835 So the only thing left now is connecting LED rings. And thats where I failed, again, and thats where I am now, waiting for next weekend to carry on with the project. Just because I want to do it MY way... let me explain So the whole concept behind the LED rings is not only to look nice, but to also work as proper DRL. As I drive with lights on 24/7 (because I feel its right way to do so) and in the same time not very happy with HIDs engaged during sizzling-summer months in here (22Celsius scorching hot :P), I've always found the idea of LED DRLs very convenient. So I want to connect them "the right way" so when engine is on and all lights are off, DRL LEDs are active. When turning the lights on - DRLs will shut down. There are few ways to do it, but the only sensible one is to do it via dedicated DRL relay. Something like this one (mind blowing 2eur per piece :). I am planning to use 2 of them, 1 per each headlight, and place them in each lamp itself, although those are designed to handle pair of LEDs each. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988846 This one is fairly simple and cheap - will either activate or deactivate DRL depending on extra signal coming in. Some better ones will dim the LED ring to 50%, but really found no reason to spend 30eur on those, especially that with lights on, rings wont be visible anyway. And definetely I will not want to have those rings 100% on with headlamps active - generated heat and dazzling at night is not something I want to achieve. But because of that, I had a "pleasure" of spending half of Sunday figuring out the connection and testing the relays. I have to admit - I am electrically challenged so even such simple thing takes me 5x more than anyone with good electrical skills, but Im getting there. Managed to create a nice cable octopus when connecting it to my test PSU but finally got it right and labelled all wires so I dont mess it up (*yes, I have instruction, no, I didnt fully understand it :). Flicking the switch emulates turning the lights on and off so test bulb should light up in OFF position. It does :) https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1509988846 For the moment - thats where I am stuck, though. Wiring up the cables inside the headlamp means cutting to some existing ones (parking light for example) so its taking me some time. Plus, I found out that there is NO ignition-related +12V inside of headlamp so that mean I need cable from somewhere else run to each headlamp. More hassle, cables and finding the good place to splice-in. Not in the mood for that now, plus weather currently doesnt help so I made an executive decision to leave it until later (next summer maybe) and wire the LEDs temporarily using parking dipped beam as commanding signal. So when I turn parking lights (POS1) - LED rings and parking lights will activate. When I turn dip beams (POS2), LED rings will deactivate. Need to compromise on this one as otherwise will never finish it this winter... Thats all for now. Planning to finish wiring in current form during weekend and hopefully mount the lights to the car and do a proper allignment. Only after then I will be able to tell, was it worth it or not. So far, when adding up all current cost, I have serious doubts, but heck, will see. Will provide update after next stage, so if you are interested, stay tuned :) |
The lights are the one thing I hate about my 2012 V50. When I commuted in it, during the dark months i’d take a far longer route home just to stay on well lit main roads.
I’ve tried several makes of updated bulbs, with little discernible improvement, and am coming close to saying enough is enough. I’m hating the idea of yet another winter of misery. Maybe you’ve shown me the solution. |
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Ok, so STEP6 now after another Saturday spent with wires, relays and connectors.... seriously I'm done for now, it became much complicated that I ever expected....
Relay testing finally became positive and all cables on both headlamps were ready to wire up. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1510579785 The wire-octopus looks bad, but after few hours of careful wire joining, splicing, taping and sealing the ready-to-fit harness was good to go. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1510579785 I probably went overboard with protection, as every single joint has 1 or 2 layers of electrical tape + some are also protected by heat-shrink sleeve, but last thing I would want is some of connections going loose in the cramped space. Most of joints were done using those screw-in blocks and connectors+crimper so really did my best there. And hence few hrs lost on precise (and annoying) work. Fitted in headlamp with no room to spare, adjusted the bulb connector a bit and all in all - it closes perfectly without extra tension, although it is REALLY close to the rear cover. Like zero-gap close. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1510579785 https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1510579785 https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1510579785 Final testing on the bench - works exactly as intended. Halos go on with parking lights and goes off when dip beam is on. In future - will be rewired as originally intended (POS2 ignition). https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1510579818 https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1510579818 STEP7 lamps in the car, first test on the wall. Everything works fine, light and shutter beam works fine. Not happy with the light sloping to right, but its exactly the same as with previous lamps. Not sure whats going on but seems that its either projector or lamp mounts design that originally were intended for a bit different projectors.... https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1510579818 Did some adjusting and allignment and best I can achieve is this. Not bad, with perfect hotspot and levelled cutoff. Just the right slope bothers me, but as I said - cant fix the rotational issue without messing with mounts. Will leave it as is and see how it works on the road. Right projector has a bit of rainbow effect on the edge but will correct it later (shutter adjustment by screw). https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1510579818 Cant say much about D2S vs H7HID difference yet, as I am yet to drive it at night so really have no clue how it behaves. Main test will be tonight on evening comute. What I can say, though, car looks great with black lamps. Difference is very subtle, but I see it and really enjoy the new look. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1510579827 This on its own was worth the hassle, plus condition of those is much better after polishing so win-win. And then you turn on Halos.... :) https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1510579818 Have to say - love the looks. And I also like the combined look of side amber + halo + parking LED. All together makes a very unique look and have to say I really like it. Night shot: https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1510579827 Im not kind of person that would use that just for the looks (i.e. will never drive on them at dusk/night just because "that looks cool") but during the daylight, when its either no lights or those on - Im happy to have them on like DRLs would. As for the brightness - I have to admit that keeping them behind the difusor does make them dimmer. That was obvious, but I still prefer this to having them exposed. Plus the light output is enough for car to be visible during the day. Something brighter than non-Led DRLs on some cars, and less bright than LED DRLs on full brightness. Thats all for now. Will update this thread after some night driving, maybe I manage to take some pics but it will be mostly down to my personal observation and difference in light output noticeable only for my eye. Also, my old H7 projectors will be taken out in next day or 2, wrapped up and packed in their original boxes and ready for their next owner (see for sale section if interested):) |
Can honestly say after changing to HID bulbs with the standard projectors(2012 model) im still disappointed. Brightness has improved dramatically but the light is just focused on the road directly in front of you and not the distance that I would class as safe. I went with 5000k 35w for the HID. Might go to a garage and see can they adjust them up without blinding oncoming traffic.
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Not sure if your issue is due to projector type that simply wont output any better or misaligned/crappy bulb, but if its only height issue , but you can always try to adjust them yourself ( I did mine). Takes just few minutes to learn&understand the concept and after that if you follow instructions it will just be as good as garage. Or even better, as you wont snap your regulators.... (seriously)... thats what I've been using as guidance for last few years. Checked once against machine in my indie shop - allignment was spot on. |
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STEP 7
Summary and afterthoughts So few days passed, did over 400kms in various conditions and day times, so I think its about time for some final words. There is no doubt, light output now is better than on previous H7 versions. This is, however, mostly due to better light source used and not the actual difference between projectors. On close inspection, there is no noticeable differences between H7 and D2S variants of those projectors, except for the bulb base. Im not sure if bowl shape doesnt matter as much for optics when lens is involved or its because its aftermarket product and its simply "universally good but not excellent" but seem to me that light source in those can be anything and the output will still be the same. Maybe someone corrects me on that, but it looks like whatever you place inside of this generic bowl should work, as lens seem to take the whole work of "light shaping" on itself. Its just the intensity of provided light that may differs so whether its a candle, fireball Pokemon or Ironman's power source - light will be shaped the same, just with various brightness level. Thats probably why OEM D2S projectors are superior as are made specifically for one light source and optic is "cut to measure" allowing better light spread? I have no regrets with going D2S though. Ability to use good quality bulbs over rebased nonames is a good improvement, and light output from Osram Xenarc NBU's is just amazing (supposedly brightest of all D2S). Plus black lamp mod and angel eyes done at one go - definetely worth it. There are some minor improvements aswell like better bulb seating, better light spread (again - probably due to better bulb) and a bit sharper cutoff pattern. But I guess the bottom line is: if you plan to get aftermarket projectors - H7 and D2S versions will be equally good. Its just up to you what bulbs you wish to use and if you care about the backward compatibility with Halogen H7. Some pics taken at various times to finish my thoughts: https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1510851505 Very wet night with bad quality ashphalt - driving on this road usually creates the feeling that your light is consumed by black hole. Noticeable improvement over H7 version as light intensity makes huge difference. Low beam and high beam shot. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1510851505 Low beam/high beam on dry road with a bit better reflective ashphalt. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1510851505 Beam pattern with visible right hand slope. Not noticeable during driving, but still present. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1510851505 Vanity shot just for the sake of it :) Hope you liked the story, that also concludes my light modding until laser lights are available for retrofitting ;) |
One problem I have noticed is that my left projector output doesn't seem as bright as my right projector output, around the \___ hotspot part.
I noticed this when I initially ran the new projectors with Halogen bulbs, but just assumed that one bulb was on it's way out. But same issue is present with HIDs bulbs in, almost like the center of the hotspot is being blocked by the shield. Worth noting that I haven't touched the shield screw on either projector but wondered if that actually affected the hotspot in your testing? Otherwise, the headlamps are epic.. the 5000k bulbs are ever so slightly too blue for my liking, but they seem brighter than almost every car I've compared them with, and on par with any LED solution in terms of brightness at least. |
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On the H7 version I had an immediate issue with one bulb not providing a hotspot at all, it was a kind of uniformed light where hotspot should have been. On closer inspection it revealed that bulb was just a bit off the centre when seated in the projector and the centre of the hotspot was moved behind the shutter (so visible only when long beam applied). I bet its similar on yours. There is an article on this issue on HIDPlanet its called bulb shimming. Thats one of the reasons I wanted to go D2S as there you have no such issues (usually a problem of badly made chinese bulbs). In my case I was able to bend the bulb legs a bit and didnt need any shimming pads, but you can approach it various ways. Main thing is - you need to take lamp out, put in in front of wall or something and fiddle the bulb a bit left/right and observe how it affects the hotspot. You will notice it moves left-right-up-down and based on that you will know where the misallignment is. What you want to achieve is something like this, with hotspot being in about 60% of visible space: https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1538753926 Its really easy and once done - you are sorted. IF im wrong, and its not the hotspot (can be easily checked also by swapping the bulbs) it may be issue with projector seating itself. I know you had same issue on Halogen bulb but that may have been reason of different type of burner. The definite way to confirm it is to try another (from other light) xenon burner and if both cant provide a hotspot in centre its a likely projector seating issue. But then test if you have any hotspot visible or not, to eliminate the lens or reflector problem. Open the shutter by hand and observe if hotspot is visible at all. As an example, perfectly centered hotspot on wide open shutter: https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1538754501 If you cant achieve this, projector may be faulty and you need to contact RFL. hope that helps? |
LoB
despite me getting new lights, there,, still 90% cr*p, as found out on the unlighted motorway in the rain at night, the E46 projectors, would i need anything other than Just the projector unit to get them working with H7 Halogen bulbs ? (hids + mot + my luck with in-sewer-rats + plod - nope not happening) Ideal would be to add the halo rings as you have done, fiddle the wires so they are "side lights" ,, DRL=OFF so my switch is "Off - Side lights - dipped beams then i can use the halos as drl/side lights as needed/wanted, and not burn out the e46 reflectors all day/everyday were the halo rings from RFL or some other supplier? cheers |
All you need are replacement e46 projectors and a decent set of H7 bulbs by a good brand.
This alone is much better than the tired out oem ones where the silvering has flaked away. Are they better than brand new OEM ones? I'm not sure, but they're definitely much better than deteriorated ones. |
thankies
we will find out soon if they are better than new oem ones, as the oem in mine are dire m6/m5 at night in the rain,, not fun with 1/2p candle power stock lights,,, ordering the e46 ones now |
With an HID kit + e46 projectors and clear lenses, you will be in top 5% brightest headlamps on the road.
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Hid means faffing about for each mot, skbow filter and the risk of in-sewer-rats not paying if they find out, so there not for me, shame as the car has self levelling + washers + projectors and clear lenses, but the countless muppets who fitted them to unsuitable headlights have ruined that for all
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