OK, the process for changing Xenon HID bulbs is very straightforward as long as you are a contortionist and don’t mind a bit of pain! It can all be done from inside the engine bay and no major disassembly is needed. The mount is different from earlier builds which use a wire clip, in mine it’s a twist mount (bayonet fit).
The bulbs I have replaced the original D1S type OEM fit (Osram Xenarc from 2010) with are these:
https://www.nightbreaker.co.uk/night-br ... ser-xenarc
WARNING! High Voltages present! HID lamps are arc lights with very high (25kV) starters that ignite the arc. Make sure your lights are off, auto lights are in position ‘0’ and everything is cold.
WARNING! HID bulbs may contain Mercury. Handle with great care and in the open air. Mercury is poisonous.
You will need.....
Safety Glasses - these bulbs are very high pressure and if mishandled will explode small shards of glass!
Gloves - tow pairs if concerned, but you must not touch the glass envelope with bare skin!
Torch - only a small one so you can see what you are doing.
A small cloth to wrap around the strut brace and protect your arms unless you have sleeves rolled down. The plastic mouldings have sharp edges!
About 30 minutes
A reasonable pain threshold
Rubber forearms!
A small towel to put under everything in case you drop it! A dropped bulb may mean headlight off or wheel arch trims off to recover it. You have been warned!
You can do this without taking the battery off.
The HID bulbs are located in the outer pair of lamps, with the inner pair just being where the H8 ‘Angel Eye’ illuminators are.
This means that you to get behind a brace and into the wing itself to get at everything.
The caps in the rear of the lamps are anti-clock twist off - same as for the angel eyes.
You should then be able to see the back of the bulb igniter (a silver metal cube) with its plug pointed straight down.
Carefully grip the igniter and rotate it anti-clockwise about 1/6th of a turn. It should then come out of its mount but may need very gentle manipulation.
Don’t pull it too far as you need to disconnect the high voltage connections, which needs to be done by pressing in a button on the short side of the connector and gently pulling it off.
You should now have the bulb and it’s holder as below...
The black plastic ring needs to come off by squeezing the catch and pulling it apart thus releasing the bulb.
Put the ring around your new bulb - it only fits one way. There are two ‘keys’ to ensure correct positioning.
Return the bulb to the wing and attach the power cable - you will need two hands - BEFORE putting the bulb back in. It only goes on one way around and ‘clicks’ when fully home. When offering the bulb back into its hole, the connector should be oriented in approx 5 o’clock position.
Once aligned, rotate the igniter block clockwise until it sits at the 6 o’clock position.
Replace rear covers. Do this before you switch everything on. It controls any shattered glass and Mercury vapour in the event of trouble.
Switch on bulbs and check function, leave the bulbs to warm up for a minute or so.
Find your First Aid kit to deal with the scratches and cuts on your forearms!
Bulb holder and bulb views...