850 headlight upgrade?

Post by **scot850** » 04 Nov 2016, 10:54

I met a new Volvo enthusiast friend, new to Volvos, running a really nice 850 Platinum wagon. He was asking if there is a conversion kit that is recommended for 850's that give better lighting coverage than standards. Like me he finds the nighttime performance of his lights relative to newer cars a bit weak as the nighttime eyesight worsens!

Appreciate the helps guys!

Neil.

Post by **sleddriver** » 04 Nov 2016, 11:08

What bulb does your headlight use?

I'm currently evaluating what's available as I need to buy a few more HDL bulbs. I ran across an old post of mine: http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/topic/87 ... v70-stock/. I too need more non-blue light with aging eyes.
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbth ... ost4240343

Post by **misha** » 04 Nov 2016, 11:55

I don't know....850s have excellent headlights and great light output...bright white light on the road.
I noticed that U.S market 850,s,v,c,xc70 have different headlight lens pattern than european....maybe that's the problem with headlights on U.S cars.

Post by **850 LPT** » 04 Nov 2016, 13:12

That's the reason why a lot of people here change over to so called e-code (euro code?) lenses. They are supposed to make quite the difference, maybe someone who has them installed can share their experience with them.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... -right-850
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... s-left-850

Post by **misha** » 04 Nov 2016, 14:24

I had a lot of different cars and i can say that neither of them had lights like Volvos....in this case 850....even with factory projectors on '00 A6 and '02 Opel Vectra "C" i didn't had better lights.
All of my friends are also amazed with headlight output of my 850 for both....low & high beam.

Post by **scot850** » 04 Nov 2016, 16:05

I saw Roberts video when he fitted HID bulbs to his 850:

I took note that at the end of his video he mentions that the HID lights don't like to work with daylight light circuits which could be a problem up here where we have day-light lights! Also he mentions to switch the headlights off when switching the engine off as the HID system does not like the spike when the engine starts.

I looked at the Euro lens option, and there is a great big noted from FCP which says they are illegal to use in the US!

I thought there would be a projector light system for the 850 out there that may be more effective. Again HID's are not recommended for high beams as they take a few seconds to warm up, and again don't like the switching.

Saw this older youtube for Spyder projector lights:

Carid has the Spyder option and HID also:

https://www.carid.com/1996-volvo-850-headlights/

There is more info out there, but thanks for the help so far! I'll link this to my 850 friend so he can see the conversations.

Neil.

Post by **FLXC90** » 04 Nov 2016, 16:52

What condition are his current lights in? As we all have experienced, our lights are like George Hamilton, they like to tan (as the electro-deposited reflector material erodes). Clean the lenses and get a new set of reflectors would be my recommendation. I tried redoing a pair for POS70 and they are way better than they were, but still only sufficient for my local commute of 6 miles on lit roads.

If POS70 is put back on the road when I redo the HG on the XC90, I'll "borrow" the lights from the T-5, it's on the list behind the XC.

Post by **misha** » 04 Nov 2016, 16:54

I'm not surprised that EU spec headlight lenses could be illegal in U.S since a lot of EU car brands have different style headlights made specially for U.S market.
I just want to say that HID conversion or "angel's eyes" headlights with projectors are not needed for european cars,because EU headlights have perfect lightening.You could install them just for cosmetic purposes,that's all.

scot850 wrote:...HID lights don't like to work with daylight light circuits which could be a problem up here where we have day-light lights!...

I don't quite understand what you're trying to say here but all later 850s have "daytime running lights" option which can be turned ON or OFF with a little flat screwdriver to correct position at right lower corner of headlight switch.

info2x · Post by **info2x** » 04 Nov 2016, 17:31

Both ecodes and HID retrofits are not DOT approved. Just sayin'

Post by **misha** » 04 Nov 2016, 17:35

In most EU countries,HID conversion is allowed(by law) ONLY for cars which are equipped with headlights washer/wiper system.