Bravo HID Installation

[buck-egit]

LOL you beat me to it... I was going to do one when I got off for the hols

I bought the exact same kit 6000 from hids direct as well and yes everyone I show them too syas they are realy bright but not blinding......

Goood job witht he guide....

 

[colinurquhart]

Does anyone know if its possible to have your side lights the same colour as the HIDs?? just so that you don't see the nice modern look of the HIDs and the yellow side lights!

 

[Juliet Bravo]

not sure which bulbs they take but usually they are 501's if so you can get LED replacements in ultra white and blue for the sides

try this

http://www.solware.co.uk/customise-car-part-accessories/501-led-sidelight-bulb.shtml

http://www.m-99.co.uk/Car_Neon_LED_Lighting/Indicator_Light_LED_Bulbs/indicator_light_led_bulbs.html

or just type LED sidelights into google there are hundreds

 

[gball]

Isn't it the law that they must be auto self leveling?

 

[Thomas Hougham]

Isn't it the law that they must be auto self leveling?

Yes but there is a bit more to it than than. This is the official fact sheet on the subject from the UK governments department for transport issued December 2006.

In the Department's view it is not legal to sell or use after market HID lighting kits, for converting conventional Halogen headlamps to HID Xenon. If a customer wants to convert his vehicle to Xenon HID he must purchase completely new Xenon HID headlamps. The reason for this is that the existing lens and reflector are designed around a Halogen filament bulb, working to very precise tolerances. If one places a HID "burner" (bulb) in the headlamp, the beam pattern will not be correct, there will be glare in some places and not enough light in other places within the beam pattern.


The following is the legal rationale:


The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 regulate the situation in the UK.
Under these Regulations, HID/Gas Discharge/Xenon headlamps are not mentioned and therefore they are not permitted according to the strict letter of the law.


However new vehicles have HID headlamps. This is because they comply to European type approval Regulations. The UK cannot refuse to register a vehicle with a European type approval. These are to ECE Regulation 98 (for the HID headlamps which are tested on a rig in a laboratory) and ECE Regulation 48 (Lighting Installation on the vehicle).


For the after market, a used vehicle cannot obtain type approval because it is only applicable for new vehicles. However we feel that saying "HID is banned in the after market" would not be reasonable. Instead we should make analogies with new vehicles. It would be reasonable to require HID in the after market to meet the same safety standards as on new vehicles. The same level of safety should apply.


Therefore a HID headlamp unit sold in the after market should:


1. be type approved to ECE Regulation 98 as a component.


2. when fitted to the vehicle should enable ECE Regulation 48 to be complied with (although no government inspection will take place).


3. Comply with RVLR as far as "use" is concerned.


In practice this means:


1. The headlamp unit (outer lens, reflector, bulb) shall be type approved to ECE 98 and be "e-marked" to demonstrate this. That can only be done by the headlamp supplier - Hella, Valeo etc. who must test the headlamp in an independent laboratory.


2. Once fitted to the vehicle it must have headlamp cleaning and self-levelling (which can be for the headlamp or can be in the vehicle suspension - some expensive estate cars have "self-levelling suspension" and that is adequate). Also the dipped beam must stay on with the main beam.


3. The headlamp must be maintained in good working order, kept clean, and aligned/adjusted correctly like any other headlamp.


Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is an offence to supply, fit or use vehicle parts which are not legal.


In summary it is not permitted to convert an existing halogen headlamp unit for use with HID bulbs. The entire headlamp unit must be replaced with one designed and approved for use with HID bulbs and it must be installed in accordance with the rules stated above.

This is the police line as issued on January 5th 2009 from officer Andy Edgar Durham Police.

unless it is a manufacturers part, the fitting of these HIDs does not conform with the Lighting Regulations. ie European Standard marking (E) , the parabolic casing and glass defraction are not complied with.

And this FAQ may help too

Q: Are retrofit HID bulbs that replace Halogen bulbs road legal?
A: No. All headlights are approved for there bulb type and only a approved bulb of that type can be used. For HID bulbs you must use a ECE98 approved headlight coded with a “E98” and “D”. These will take a HID approved bulb type such as a D2S or D2R.


Q: If I take a ECE98 HID approved headlight and approved HID bulbs from another car and fit them to my car is that ok?
A: No. All such approved bulbs also fall under ECE regulation number 48. As these bulbs are so bright they require a few extra safety systems that must be fitted to legally used such headlights.


Q: I hear ECE48 only applies to new vehicles so they must not apply to me retrofitting HIDs Right?
A: No. This is a myth that has done the rounds on the internet but is simply not true. In no parts of ECE 98 or ECE48 does it exempt already registered vehicles. All E approved parts apply to new and used cars.


Q: There are all European regulations cant I just ignore them and just comply to the English ones?
A: Yes. You are correct however the UK regulations do not allow any sort of HID light to be used on the road. So this will not help if you are trying to retrofit HID lights to a road car.


Q: I hear that all this is erelevant as the law has never been tried in court, is this true?
A: No. This is yet another internet myth. Both the Road Safety Act and Road Traffic Act are both sound laws tried many times in court. If the Police did find you with illegal lights on the road they are perfectly within there rights to fine your on the spot or even confiscate your vehicle without having to go to court. However the option is still there for them to take you to court if they wished to throw the book at you.


Q: I really like these blue and purple headlight bulbs are these road legal?
A: No. There are stringent regulations covering the colour of headlights. You can only use E approved headlights bulbs and these will be white or yellow in colour.


Q: I have found HID sold as 10,000K and they say they are E marked are these legal?
A: No. As of the date I wrote this the HID bulb with the highest colour temperature to achieve E approval was 5800K. Anything much over that and your safe to assume they are fakes and have a fraudulent E marking.


Q: I have a vehicle that came with 35W HIDs and wish to upgrade them to 50/55W is this legal?
A: No. They will not have valid E approval. If you wish to use the vehicle you will have to retain your 35W bulbs.

Lastly take a look at this link for more info on it all http://hid.moonfruit.com/

 

[colinurquhart]

Hi when oredring the kit what bulb fitment do i need? Cheers

 

[Bravosteve]

Nice guide!

Is the difference in amount of light on the road that noticable?

 

[Juliet Bravo]

Technically you can be failed on your MOT if you fit these and have no washers and they arent auto leveling

 

[captain chaos]

The light difference is massive compared to the standard bulb.

If you do get failed on an MOT (which i doubt) just put the norm bulb in on the re-test and re fit later!

 

[elation]

They are technically illegal, BUT, I have been running hids on my other half's astra for about a year, and never had any issues. That dosen't even have peojector lights, like the bravo. The only issue with these kits is that they can cause problems with Bulb Faliure warnings.

 

[Ciguena]

Hi Captain Chaos!

Good guide but i'm missing information about the powersupply for ballast.

Can you give more information on which cable you have connected the ballast on?

And are you using special can-bus ballast?

Thanx!

 

[dave]

power supply for ballast comes from the plug that went on to the oem bulb

 

[The Rat]

Will these lights not activate the bulb failure?

 

[captain chaos]

nope

 

[Drei]

So any idea what to use now since the link on the original post is not working?

Found these:
http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/hid-projector-lamp-kits/

 

[ramonbravo]

I was looking for that, thanks

 

[nunney]

Great guide really helped. My ballast's were slightly larger. The left one I secured to the under side of the beam between the wheel arch & headlight as per the picture.The one on the right was a bit more difficult to fit, as I had to remove the beam to gain full access to the headlight enclosure (Don't have to but makes it easier) & the battery gets in the way. So left it between the Air Filter Box & wheel arch wrapped up in plenty of Velcro. I went for the 6K type & the difference is amazing.I work nights so noticed the difference. I was going to Spec Savers but not any more!! Also bought the Canbus adapter but so far I haven't needed to fit it,(£7.50 Ebay)

 

[Peter Pick-Up]

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/forum.php

 

[Ashley1]

Great guide!
I have a problem, managed to release the connectors positiv/negative, but my HID p/n wires don't seem to fit in the negative connector, is this common or am I just not pushing hard enough!