Dnasty

Hello, my halogen bulb went out again and I was thinking about putting a xenon hid in there as they are about the same price. They say they are direct halogen replacements does this mean they can be swapped without having to upgrade any equipment? I asked the seller and they say these can be used but I google search and people say you can't just do this. Not really sure what to believe. I would like to have brighter lights because these halogens are kind of weak.

renault12ts

Do they come with a ballast and igniter...no. They are just a blue bulb.

Dnasty

So.... yes I can put them in? or no....?

renault12ts

Yes...but the standard bulbs will be brighter.

Dnasty

Oh ok I wonder why they jazz it all up like these will be brighter then halogens is it mainly just to have the look of xenon lights without the actual lighting? lol

raymond g-

it's called advertising....spin. blue tinted bulbs which are halogen based give
the appearance of a brighter light but it is just playing tricks on you. truth is
that halogen bulbs have pretty much pushed the limits on output and if it is to
remain legal per DOT/NHTSA, it will still be 55 watts

next step up will be illegal but you'll get noticeable increase in light: 65 watt
'rallye' bulbs by Osram. about $50+ each

next step up will be the HID bulbs which have been franken-fitted onto an H7
bulb base. it will come with ballast and you will need to perform minor
retrofitting to your headlight and wiring assembly. using these will also be
illegal...and run $50-200 depending on features, seller, spin.

next step up will be to buy aftermarket projector based headlight from Asian
manufacturer (easily found on Ebay) which includes the HID franken-bulb
described immediately above. about $350-400. good light output, but usually
mediocre beam precision and some degree of uncontrolled glare....kind of
like a **** star with a boob job.

next step up will be D2R HID headlight from Mercedes but they'll run you about
$250-500 used...or about $2k new. most likely illegal but it looks like it is
factory fitted so unlikely you'll get busted unless you have some serious
vehicle examiner in your state.

next step up will be to take an OEM projector and perform some advanced
fitment into an aftermarket projector based headlight and get amazing and
precise beam. cost of this retrofit will be about $4-500.

Dnasty

The lights I was looking at said they had xenon gas in em but mabye they used some creative wording I dunno anyway thanks for the response you definitely went above and beyond any forum response i've gotten before. I ended up just getting the halogen but now seems to be another issue. The halogen i replaced had a broken filament so i thought for sure putting a new bulb in would fix the problem but the new one does not light either is there anything I am missing?

renault12ts

Check the earths (grounds) behind the lamp units...a bunch of brown wires.

raymond g-

it is not unusual for a manufacturer to use the slightly more expensive xenon
gas in place of halogen as part of the manufacturing process for a filament bulb.
Xenon allows the filament to burn brighter and much longer before failure.

but!....xenon is also used in high intensity discharge (HID) bulbs which lack a
filament.

so when someone says 'xenon' be sure you understand the distinction between
xenon filament vs xenon HID and what it is you're buying. don't focus on
the word xenon and think you're getting that super sexy glamorous HID bulb

As for your malfunctioning bulb it would be a simple check via volt meter to
1) see if you can detect 12 volts in the female plug of the headlight bulb,
2) using the continuity feature of the meter check to see if there is, in fact,
a close circuit (unbroken filament
3) if there is 12 vdc at the plug even when the headlight switch is off, then
you have a short circuit situation which may continue to blow each new bulb
...but i don't think so as I would guess the fuse would have blown first
4) check the fuse for that headlight - one for each side - to see if they're intact

and we'll go from there

pamiboy

If I remember my chemistry lessons, "Xenon" is also a gas belonging to the "Halogens". But that is beyond the discussion of this thread.
In my opinion the last option discussed by Raymond (retrofitting an HID projector) would be the best and give you stellar looks and performance. You can keep the costs lower than mentioned (but keeping quality of light nearly same) by using the closeout deals from "retrofit source". The only problem with retrofitting may be that opening an MB headlight is many times a PITA if it is permasealed.
As mentioned earlier any regular Halogen bulb advertised as a Xenon will simply have some xenon inside and a blue tint on the outside glass and therefore has reduced output but will still produce a slightly yellowish white light and will burn out quicker. Our advice is to please save your money and do a proper job the first time.

raymond g-

yeah, i recall that as well