What car will I find in a scrap yard with HID headlights?

[buzzer]

I have had several aftermarket HID ballasts fail now and was thinking about getting a couple of original manufactures ones from a scrap yard.

What cars al I likely to find them on?

[Monkeylegend]

Ideally one like yours.

[SteBrown91]

or dont buy cheap HIDs

They blind people, fail all the time and have been known to cause car fires.

Buy some high quality ones and youll have no problems

Or just dont have them at all as they make you look a chav

[gizlaroc]

SteBrown91 said:

or dont buy cheap HIDs

They blind people, fail all the time and have been known to cause car fires.

Buy some high quality ones and youll have no problems

Or just dont have them at all as they make you look a chav

If done properly they look no different to normal xenons.

[AndyLB]

Aren't aftermarket HiDs non regulations compliant by virtue of the fact that the lenses aren't designed for them and hence blind everyone on the road?

Can't be arse looking up the necessary regulations

[Rubin215]

Buy the cheap st ones off ebay again; you've just been unlucky.

I have never had any problems with any I have bought and my first set are still going strong at five years old.

Depending who you buy from, they are as little as £20 for a pair now; that's cheaper than buying quality lamps like nightbreakers etc.

[buzzer]

Monkeylegend said:

Ideally one like yours.

They were never fitted to mine, its too old!

[mozza42]

gizlaroc said:

If done properly they look no different to normal xenons.

Surely the only 'proper' ones are 'normal' xenon's?

Anything else says 'cheapskate'

[gizlaroc]

mozza42 said:

Surely the only 'proper' ones are 'normal' xenon's?

Anything else says 'cheapskate'

if you just shove an HID into a standard 'non projector' halogen headlamp it will look pants, if you have projector headlights and get an oem temperature 3400-4300k HID it will look exactly the same as the factory fitted xenons.

A xenon is an HID.

[Rockape]

AndyLB said:

Aren't aftermarket HiDs non regulations compliant by virtue of the fact that the lenses aren't designed for them and hence blind everyone on the road?

Can't be arse looking up the necessary regulations

Yep. The bulbs must be e marked and the light unit must be e marked for gas discharge bulbs

[Monkeylegend]

buzzer said:

Monkeylegend said:

Ideally one like yours.

They were never fitted to mine, its too old!

What they all said then.

[okie592]

I have a hid kit from eBay in my car and it's never blinded anyone, set up right with the right bulb type there is nothing wrong. Mines the &26.99 at the top of eBay with a a4 in the photo.

If you want to get them from a car in a scrappy, a Laguna 2 is bound to be in there, many x types, most cars have a xenon option available. I'm not sure if you can plug and play though. A hid lot is the easiest way.


And before people bang on it states that led and hid headlights if fitted must have self leveling which can't be tested for and headlight washers. It stipulated IF fitted it must work, if it's not fitted then it doesn't need to work.

if you think that's wrong look at the facelift E class with LED headlights, not a washer in site.

What car is it going in? If you have h7 get a R Bulb which has a film on to prevent glare. If you have projector headlights no need to bother, get 5000k or 6000k though. Best light

[Monkeylegend]

okie592 said:

if you think that's wrong look at the facelift E class with LED headlights, not a washer in site.

Just out of interest how do you know this? Not saying you are wrong.

All my E classes have had washers, all hidden from sight in the front bumper and only pop out when they wash the headlights. I have a 60'plate 212 with washers and would be amazed if they have discontinued this on the facelift model.

[buzzer]

Monkeylegend said:

buzzer said:

Monkeylegend said:

Ideally one like yours.

They were never fitted to mine, its too old!

What they all said then.

I have used them in a load of my cars for years... 7 series BMW, Caterham, Elise, to name but a few... They are great, if adjusted right they don't dazzle, they give a far better light and make it safer for me to drive at night, which I do a lot of. One of my cars has them as standard, and that is great at night. When I jump in my old corolla the lights are like candles in comparison, even with quality bulbs.

My only problem is I have had a few ballasts fail, so I wanted a couple of better quality ones.

Do I care people think my car look Chav? nope.

Do I care they are not approved for use in the UK? nope.

Do I care that the PC brigade suck their teeth and look down on me? nope to that as well!

[Rockape]

Hid equipped vehicles need to have a wash system fitted if the light output is more than 4000 lumens if I remember rightly.

[Monkeylegend]

buzzer said:

Monkeylegend said:

buzzer said:

Monkeylegend said:

Ideally one like yours.

They were never fitted to mine, its too old!

What they all said then.

I have used them in a load of my cars for years... 7 series BMW, Caterham, Elise, to name but a few... They are great, if adjusted right they don't dazzle, they give a far better light and make it safer for me to drive at night, which I do a lot of. One of my cars has them as standard, and that is great at night. When I jump in my old corolla the lights are like candles in comparison, even with quality bulbs.

My only problem is I have had a few ballasts fail, so I wanted a couple of better quality ones.

Do I care people think my car look Chav? nope.

Do I care they are not approved for use in the UK? nope.

Do I care that the PC brigade suck their teeth and look down on me? nope to that as well!

Agree, once you have driven a car with them you will never want to be without them.

[buzzer]

okie592 said:

I have a hid kit from eBay in my car and it's never blinded anyone, set up right with the right bulb type there is nothing wrong. Mines the &26.99 at the top of eBay with a a4 in the photo.

If you want to get them from a car in a scrappy, a Laguna 2 is bound to be in there, many x types, most cars have a xenon option available. I'm not sure if you can plug and play though. A hid lot is the easiest way.


And before people bang on it states that led and hid headlights if fitted must have self leveling which can't be tested for and headlight washers. It stipulated IF fitted it must work, if it's not fitted then it doesn't need to work.

if you think that's wrong look at the facelift E class with LED headlights, not a washer in site.

What car is it going in? If you have h7 get a R Bulb which has a film on to prevent glare. If you have projector headlights no need to bother, get 5000k or 6000k though. Best light

Thanks, the Laguna is a good shout, plenty of them in the yards, just not so many yards these days!

[okie592]

Monkeylegend said:

Just out of interest how do you know this? Not saying you are wrong.

All my E classes have had washers, all hidden from sight in the front bumper and only pop out when they wash the headlights. I have a 60'plate 212 with washers and would be amazed if they have discontinued this on the facelift model.

You have the pre facelift E which does indeed have headlight washers, you can see the cut outs in the bumper for them. The new one which has led lights as standard or full led as a option doesn't. See link here

http://blog.mercedes-benz-passion.com/2012/12/das-...

Eta clinking that link and now it's in German. Was in English previously

[Monkeylegend]

okie592 said:

Monkeylegend said:

Just out of interest how do you know this? Not saying you are wrong.

All my E classes have had washers, all hidden from sight in the front bumper and only pop out when they wash the headlights. I have a 60'plate 212 with washers and would be amazed if they have discontinued this on the facelift model.

You have the pre facelift E which does indeed have headlight washers, you can see the cut outs in the bumper for them. The new one which has led lights as standard or full led as a option doesn't. See link here

http://blog.mercedes-benz-passion.com/2012/12/das-...

Thanks for that, I have learned something new today. I must admit I am not keen on the facelift headlights.

[mmm-five]

Surely LED headlights are not by their defintion HID/xenon though, so the rules for HID/xenon lights do not apply.