Headlight bulbs

[henrym3]

Have to ask, does anyone know if you can buy the clear plastic cover?

[strummer]

not available as a spare part!

[X5-D-Sport]

I managed to destroy the lenses on my lamps a few months ago with crud stuck on them that heated up & transferred the head to the lenses thatstarted to bubble.... mind you, I am running 100Watt HID's on all 6 forward lights.

i learned the expensive way to KEEP THEM CLEAN.

[Turks]

Why would you need 100W HID's? Seems excessive.


Turks.

[X5Sport]

Competing with low flying aircraft over Salisbury Plain perhaps?

[grumpywurzel]

I made sure my headlight lens was clear and not suffering from the crackle type issues some other cars get.

The 55w unit won't cook your headlight unit unless you have underlying issues. Fully agree the lower K will give you a the standard warmer light. I have the crisp white lamps fitted instead of the blue ish tint that the "Barry boys" tend to David.

All down to personal choice obviously, I have tried the upgraded halogen lamps before fitting the Hid kit and I wasn't overly impressed.

[the shreksta]

Hey guys

I have a facelift 2004 x5, will mine have the xenons? How do I tell?

[X5Sport]

Standard fit where HIDs were optioned are 35W Xenon (HID) in the outboard (dip beam) headlamp only.  The inboard (main beam) spot is a conventional as are the front fog lights.

The simplest way to tell is to turn them all on, the HID bulbs will flash (ignition pulse forming the arc) and warm up to a blueish white.  The other lamps will light instantly and look more yellow in comparison due to the warmer colour of a filament bulb.

If you do have HIDS across all of them you will have a plethora of ballast units under the bonnet - one per bulb - driving them.

[the shreksta]

[quote="X5Sport"]
Standard fit where HIDs were optioned are 35W Xenon (HID) in the outboard (dip beam) headlamp only.  The inboard (main beam) spot is a conventional as are the front fog lights.

The simplest way to tell is to turn them all on, the HID bulbs will flash (ignition pulse forming the arc) and warm up to a blueish white.  The other lamps will light instantly and look more yellow in comparison due to the warmer colour of a filament bulb.

If you do have HIDS across all of them you will have a plethora of ballast units under the bonnet - one per bulb - driving them.
[/quote]

Yeah mine do Pulse when  1st activated........like my own little disco

[X5-D-Sport]

Yup,
6 x 100 Watt Ballast units under the bonnet... looks like a National Grid Sub Station too.
I have all my lights powered thru relays & additional resistors hooked to the original lamp power.
All the relays are in a waterproof case next to the Webasto Unit to keep them warm & dry.

All the wiring is spiral wrapped & tied neatly into the original loom.

I have found the the 6 Ohm resistors get so hot, that the soldered connections drop off, so I need to fit them to a heat sink of some sort.

*****
Re the HID's, as I have done, ensure the dips are set to a sensible level, as they are pretty drastic to on-coming traffic if set too high & risk accidents if poorly set or leveled.

I live out in the sticks where there is ZERO strreet lighting or road edges, or lines any where for 30 minutes driving... & at night... it is soooooo BLACK. the high wattage HID's are a Godsend.

[X5Sport]

Fit some bigger resistors - like 150W rated - or put fans on them.  You're running underrated if the solder melts!  That's how fires start.

I suspect they are keeping the Webasto warm and cozy, not the other way around!  )

A couple of slots in the bonnet, a lever, and you have a built in toaster.....