S1 C5 hid headlights?

[wurlycorner]

Hi all,

Ihatemyself popped round for a Lexia session on Saturday. He has an s1 exclusive, it appeared to have hid headlights - didn't know they existed!

I'm still intending to fit a facelift front end when I find one in the right colour, for the right amount (and at the right end of the country ) but, in the meantime...

So were HID headlights standard on exclusive models? Or options? What is involved in fitting them? I noticed during running lexia, it finds an ecu for each headlight. Are these built into the headlights themselves, or separate modules? If so, where are they, how much wiring do I need to get and is that plug and play, or are the main looms different?

(ooh, questions, questions!)

[Stickyfinger]

Xenon = option on Mk1 Exclv cars

[wheeler]

The ECU's are built into each headlamp unit, the headlamps just plug straight in but you need to reconfigure the BHI (suspension ECU) to the xenon headlamp setting so that they self level. To make is 100% legit you should also add headlamp washers as cars fitted with HID headlamps need to have a cleaning system. Also you will loose your front foglamps as xenon headlights don't have them built in.

[wurlycorner]

Ah... Lack of front fogs is an interesting/annoying omission!

Thanks for the info.

why does the suspension ecu need to be changed? The car self-levels anyway?

[vborovic]

Xenon headlamps self-level function is not related to the self-leveling of the hydractive car (2 independent systems) ... also, why would you need to have fog lights with the Xenons? They should provide more than enough light on the road in the foggy conditions (at least more than halogen lamps)

[wurlycorner]

Xenon headlamps self-level function is not related to the self-leveling of the hydractive car (2 independent systems)

Yes.
My point was, why do the Xenons have self levelling in them, when the car self levels anyway.

And clearly they are not actually seperate systems, if you have to go into the suspension ecu and change a setting - there is obviously some link between them... (That wasn't the point/question however, at all)

... also, why would you need to have fog lights with the Xenons? They should provide more than enough light on the road in the foggy conditions (at least more than halogen lamps)

Because fog lights aren't just to do with intensity/lux the, they have a different beam pattern to suit the changed conditions (lower, so you don't get glare back). That's exactly why you don't use main beam in fog.



(which is another point I've never understood about the standard s1 c5 anyway - how putting the fog lights high up in the main headlight units was a good idea, instead of where they are in other cars (and the s2) I.e. low down... However, that I'd an entirely different question)

[wheeler]

why does the suspension ecu need to be changed? The car self-levels anyway?

The car doesn't self level fast enough to adjust the beam height, you would see what I mean if you park the car with the lights on facing a wall, if you bounce up and down on the back of the car the beam reacts & adjusts to the change in body height almost instantly, the beam appears to be almost stationary on the wall despite the car bouncing up and down.

[wurlycorner]

Excellent - thanks. That ^^^^^ was the answer to the question.

[wheeler]

The adjustment function is built into the headlamps themselves, the BHI just has to be told you have xenon's so that it can communicate with the headlamps as they use its information from the body height sensors which are connected to the BHI.

[vborovic]

You might have misunderstood me ... I meant that the cars self-leveling doesn't necessarily impact the beams, basically what wheeler said in plain english ... ... of course I understand the reasoning behind the separate fog lamps, usually as low as possible on the front bumper, but the Xenons also have a slightly different light pattern that regular halogens (due to the nature of the light, lens and intensity). Probably they decided it is enough (in theory) that this will throw enough light in the fog on the road ... I for one would like to have quad fog lamps, you can never have enough light when needed ...

[GiveMeABreak]

I've dug this up from the service box using a MK1 C5 2.2 HDi as the basis. The technical documentation describes the system as follows:

4) Xenon lamps with dynamic beam correction
The vehicle can be fitted with xenon dipped beams.
Advantages of xenon lamps :
Width of field of vision doubled
Better lateral vision on winding roads
Superior lighting performance at night
Improvement of visibility in dipped beam position, without dazzling vehicles coming in the opposite direction
The xenon lamps do not contain filaments.
The light from these lamps is generated by two electrodes in a quartz bulb containing a high pressure gas (xenon).
Xenon lamps last 4 times longer than an incandescent lamp.

The lighting system of a xenon lamp consists of :
A bulb D2R
The headlamp incorporating the corrector linked to the lamp ballast and the control unit
Vehicles fitted with xenon lamps have dynamic beam correction and headlamp wash.
The correction system, when there are changes in vehicle height, maintains a constant beam in relation to the adjustment made at the factory or in after sales.

The correction system consists of :
An actuator for each headlamp incorporating a stepper motor
An electronic management unit at the rear of the headlamp
N.B. : A vehicle with Xenon lamps is not fitted with front fog lamps"

Hope this helps.

[wurlycorner]

Spot on, thanks all.
And yes vbrovic - that's why both you and I wod want fogs as well if poss
So the xenons are a bonus in some respects and a loser in others

[Stickyfinger]

?? My Mk1 and Facelift had fogs in the bumper lower corners and not in the headlamps, thus an easy keep/retro-fit

[citroenxm]

Mk.1 retro fit.. facelift standard in bumper...

[citroenxm]

Xenons standard in exclusve SE spec too.. option on exclusive.. remember in c5 mk.1 Exclusive is one trim level exclusive se is another above ...