IslandRoadster
Former Owner of #609
What purpose is the decoder supposed to serve and why don’t you think you needed them?
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What purpose is the decoder supposed to serve and why don’t you think you needed them?
Part 2 - Ripping out the Xenons
Time to upgrade the XENON's to LED technology. The Xenon solution has worked well for the last, 8, 9, years but in the last few I've noticed that the output seems to have been falling... or my eyes are getting older. Whilst LEDs have been around for a while, even cheap ones I've just not gotten around to upgrading until this week. Same drill as before, jack the car up, install the bulbs but this time, the process is even easier. Remember having to find somewhere to fit the controllers? Well, that's all gone, the tiny controller fits into the lighting enclosure allowing you to close up the back without any wires hanging out... Just make sure not to leave the wires where they might impede the spinning fan on the back.
The regular bulb is plug-and-play, the H9's in the high beams are still fiddly with wiring but nothing a bit of tape can't handle. Oh and the whole debate about whether to switch the high-beams to Xenon - hi-brightness/slow warmup - moot. The LEDs in the high beams are instantaneous and a no-brainer.
So, goodbye to my faithful old Xenons, you served be well
So which LEDs did I choose and why?
After looking through dozens and even purchasing a few I found these to be a good solution:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PR1NTWM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Choose the 9005/HB3 for regular and the H11/H9 for the high beams. As you can see, they fit, and I can confirm that they work well. The light output is similar to the very best 55W Xenons on day-one at 5,000 lumens each and the power consumption is back down to 35Wish. The color temperature is regular daylight 6500K. There's a slight dark patch as you look directly down at the bulbs as the light is only emitted from the left and right sides of the bulb but, it's in exactly the same place as an old halogen filament. As for the fans on the back, I think I can hear them if I stand close up. I was going to say 'crickets' but I don't know, the crickets here at night are pretty noisy, far more than these lights.
Happy days - I love flashing the highs!
Check back in another 8 years where I'll be trying out after market laser headlight bulbs... maybe.
Time to upgrade the XENON's to LED technology. The Xenon solution has worked well for the last, 8, 9, years but in the last few I've noticed that the output seems to have been falling... or my eyes are getting older. Whilst LEDs have been around for a while, even cheap ones I've just not gotten around to upgrading until this week. Same drill as before, jack the car up, install the bulbs but this time, the process is even easier. Remember having to find somewhere to fit the controllers? Well, that's all gone, the tiny controller fits into the lighting enclosure allowing you to close up the back without any wires hanging out... Just make sure not to leave the wires where they might impede the spinning fan on the back.
The regular bulb is plug-and-play, the H9's in the high beams are still fiddly with wiring but nothing a bit of tape can't handle. Oh and the whole debate about whether to switch the high-beams to Xenon - hi-brightness/slow warmup - moot. The LEDs in the high beams are instantaneous and a no-brainer.
So, goodbye to my faithful old Xenons, you served be well
So which LEDs did I choose and why?
After looking through dozens and even purchasing a few I found these to be a good solution:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PR1NTWM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Choose the 9005/HB3 for regular and the H11/H9 for the high beams. As you can see, they fit, and I can confirm that they work well. The light output is similar to the very best 55W Xenons on day-one at 5,000 lumens each and the power consumption is back down to 35Wish. The color temperature is regular daylight 6500K. There's a slight dark patch as you look directly down at the bulbs as the light is only emitted from the left and right sides of the bulb but, it's in exactly the same place as an old halogen filament. As for the fans on the back, I think I can hear them if I stand close up. I was going to say 'crickets' but I don't know, the crickets here at night are pretty noisy, far more than these lights.
Happy days - I love flashing the highs!
Check back in another 8 years where I'll be trying out after market laser headlight bulbs... maybe.
IslandRoadster
Former Owner of #609
One question I’ve had about going with these brighter lights is whether people are constantly flashing brights at you thinking you’re on high beams? My wife’s MINI has low beam shutters that truncate the top of the light so the light stays on the road and doesn’t blind oncoming drivers. Given how low my Roadster headlights sit, in worried that the lights will shine up into driver’s eyes too much.
Thoughts?
I wish! Actually, being serious, the lights in the Roadster are separate low beam and high beam on the original lights - these aren't the shuttered Xenon upgrades from Tesla - and the design on the lens produces a pretty sharp cutoff. The lights are only a few feet above the ground and come from the factory pointing downwards! When I originally installed the Xenon bulbs, I took the car to a large level parking lot and adjusted the height of the beams to be about level... so basically I'm illuminating everyones shins!
I've had a MINI, an 05' original and '08 MINI E who's headlights were stellar. I think at that time, the sharp cutoff - high contrast between the viewer being above the beam and below the beam, the bouncy suspension and the high power at a time when people were used to halogen did trigger the same for me. I'd almost be pleased if I got the same reception for the Roadster!
When I opened the covers on the back of the headlights, after 9 years I guess, I was pleased to find the interior was spotless and, that was with my running wires out under the cap to the inverter. I don't anticipate any problems going forwards however, I did select bulbs (can you call them that?) that automatically dim if they heat up. I expect that the end-of-life for these lamps (better?) might be when the small fan bearings cease up but, the manufacture (importer probably) is quoting 30,000 hrs. Let's watch...
IslandRoadster
Former Owner of #609
Any chance you could find a concrete wall and shoot a photo with the new LED lamps on low beam and then another photo on high beam and post them here?
My wife's is a 2010 MINI Countryman. The lights just rock on that car both in terms of the cutoff I mentioned, but also in terms of the total brightness output on high beam, where the shutter goes away. They also have the best tracking. My 2017 Model S that I sold had Tesla's version of tracking. Very inferior to the Countryman headlights.
My driver's side stock low beam finally went out. I was about to replace with the xenon version, when I ran across this thread. Thanks mpt for the link! I ordered some and will give a 2nd opinion when they arrive. I didn't get anything to replace the high beams as I almost never use them.
I assume you remove the wheel, remove part of the liner, and access it that way? Any gotchas?
I cover the whole process at the beginning of this whole thread including opening the access panel in the liner but, If you find that inserting the new bulb is difficult, you can loosen the screws around the build but only a couple of turns otherwise the insides of the lamp fall in! When you re-tighten them, use as little force as you need - it's all flimsy plastic in there!
IslandRoadster
Former Owner of #609
I've always swapped both low and high beams. I have the original un-shuttered halogen lamps with fixed and separate low and high beam halogen bulbs. Tesla offered a $2k5 upgrade to Xenon that involved switching the low beam for a shuttered mechanical xenon combination low/high beam bulb.
I swapped only the low beam bulb for the LEDs: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PR1NTWM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The low beams come on as they should, but I still get the warning "Check left low beam bulb" #530 as well as the right low beam bulb message. Thoughts on how to get that to go away? The manufacturer recommends I order this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06WLM6LS5, but that's a lot to manage in that little space. I'd probably have to cut a hole in the rubber cap, attach the wires outside the headlight housing, and seal the hole with some marine goop.
On the plus side, they are super bright without being blinding to oncoming traffic. And they were even easier to install than anticipated. They seem to have a wider spread with a good cutoff. I was worried about the fan noise, but once inside the headlight housing, you need to have your ear right next to the car to hear the fan. In a quiet garage with nothing else running, I can't hear it from in the cabin.
The low beams come on as they should, but I still get the warning "Check left low beam bulb" #530 as well as the right low beam bulb message. Thoughts on how to get that to go away? The manufacturer recommends I order this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06WLM6LS5, but that's a lot to manage in that little space. I'd probably have to cut a hole in the rubber cap, attach the wires outside the headlight housing, and seal the hole with some marine goop.
On the plus side, they are super bright without being blinding to oncoming traffic. And they were even easier to install than anticipated. They seem to have a wider spread with a good cutoff. I was worried about the fan noise, but once inside the headlight housing, you need to have your ear right next to the car to hear the fan. In a quiet garage with nothing else running, I can't hear it from in the cabin.
I'm not seeing the error which suggests that the bulbs are using just enough power to satisfy the sensor on my car. Those capacitors look like they include a resistor likely able to increase the current consumption enough to trick the car into feeling that the lights are good, for you I'd recommend them. There's loads of space to the side of the light housing, inside, I think you'd have plenty of space to slide them in and out of the way. If not, you can run the wires out of the bottom of the rubber cap (no need to cut it) and just tape it over to stop it from falling off. I've had my xenons like that for 9 years and no crud has entered the lighting even given the location.
Does anyone know what the size of the projector lamp/lens is, I have a burnt one and its taken 2 sets of HID bulbs and ballasts to rule out anything to do with the actual lights themselves. I'm assuming the projector lenses are replaceable.
Sorry, but currently don't have time to go through all 21 pages...can someone give me a summary or answer these questions?
- Are all the LED bulbs plug and play or is it just the Sealight brand?
- Do i have to change my projector/housing, or will all just "snap" in?
- Should I just stick with Selight, or have others had good experience with other brands?
TIA,
Henry
- Are all the LED bulbs plug and play or is it just the Sealight brand?
- Do i have to change my projector/housing, or will all just "snap" in?
- Should I just stick with Selight, or have others had good experience with other brands?
TIA,
Henry
The final result for my 1.5 was:
Low beams: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PR1NTWM
And a resistor: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BMZG1XM
The seller, Senlite, apologized for the decoder mishap, but returning those was easy enough.
Probably unrelated... But the FM reception went to crap. Could it be interference? I doubt it, the reception isn't any better with the headlights off. Could I have bumped the antenna somewhere? Could it have finally come unplugged from the back of the stereo?
Low beams: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PR1NTWM
And a resistor: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BMZG1XM
The seller, Senlite, apologized for the decoder mishap, but returning those was easy enough.
Probably unrelated... But the FM reception went to crap. Could it be interference? I doubt it, the reception isn't any better with the headlights off. Could I have bumped the antenna somewhere? Could it have finally come unplugged from the back of the stereo?
fancy resistor harness!
i had similar looking resistors for my LED turn signals in my 2001 Audi (to keep them from blinking at a furious pace), but those had to be manually spliced into the car's original harness!
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