S80 HID headlight questions

[bratwurstnrice]

Hi All,

It's been a while since I posted and actually have a couple of questions regarding the active HID headlights - 2008 S80 V8.

First off I have a nasty crack in one headlight lens. I believe someone backed into it and drove off. It's sealed for now with epoxy which of course has started to yellow. Meanwhile I've been looking for a replacement lens. At the moment the only option I have is to buy a used halogen unit and take the lens from that. Anybody aware of an aftermarket source for these?

The other thing I'd like to do is switch to LED's. I had them in my '99 and they were great. Has anybody done this? I see the two challenges as - mounting of the bulb itself (the HID mount geometry is quite different from halogens); and logic related to bulb monitoring, i.e. feedback from ballast to car indicating the bulb is working. All other wiring I am ok with.

Thanks for any help.

[Rattnalle]

You're supposed to replace the entire assembly so the headlight isn't designed to be taken apart. Thus there are no separate lenses sold.

Regarding conversions I'd strongly advise against converting the low beams to led. You'll not get the proper beam pattern and the main disadvantage with xenon which is startup time isn't an issue for low beams. For the high beams I'm sure a led conversion will do well though. Using regular halogen socket led bulbs.

[bratwurstnrice]

Okay that sounds pretty reasonable. I have already put LEDs in the high beam position and they're great. The issue I had with the HIDs, believe it or not is they don't seem very bright . . . distance down the road is lacking in my opinion anyway. Maybe I should get them aimed at the dealer. I have not yet looked at whether brighter HID bulbs are available.

Regarding the lenses, there are various sources that talk about heating of the housing to soften the sealer which holds the lens on. You can then remove the lens and replace by similar method. I will have to watch the temp to protect the internals, but I think I can do it. Otherwise the rare used ones are hundreds on eBay and dealer price is something like $1200 each up here in Canada.

Thanks for the advice.

[bratwurstnrice]

Opening and re-sealing headlights:

and

I will need to muster some courage, but this would allow me to buy a slightly more common used halogen housing for the donor lens. Far better would be a new lens. I only found them for the S60.

[Rattnalle]

Gen 1 S60 used glass lenses to begin with. I'm guessing that's what you found?

How old are the bulbs? HID bulbs are supposed to get slowly weaker long before they die or the colour changes. A new pair of good bulbs from one of the big brands plus an alignment check is a relatively easy first step to make.

[bratwurstnrice]

Okay I will try replacing bulbs and aiming. I've only had the car for just over a year so I don't know how old the bulbs are.

I believe the S60 lenses I stumbled upon were glass . . . 2000-2010. ebay and CARiD has a couple aftermarket solutions for entire headlight assembly or new aftermarket lens only.

LOL this thread could really help out a S60 owner The '07 onwards S80's seem to be a bit more challenging for aftermarket parts.