Bi Xenon Bulbs upgrade

[tallguyuk]

Bit of advice please i have 2015 Titanium x with the Bi Xenon headlights now there good but ( no pun intended } not brilliant my old Omega and Laguna initiale were much brighter has anyone upgraded the bulbs or are you pretty much stuck with the OEM ones. If i changed them would have to be done by someone like Halfords or a national chain 

Thanks all

[StephenFord]

I've been fettling with headlamp bulbs for 4 decades, never taken then to anyone for replacement. If you're confident, and can learn from a YouTube video, it's a straightforward job. If you ask if you have to take it somewhere, you may indeed be better off taking it somewhere...

 

[JW1982]

This instruction video is for the standard H7 halogen bulbs. The OP has Bi-Xenon headlights. Changing the Bi-Xenon bulbs is quite different to the standard H7 halogen bulbs. 

 

Be aware that the Focus MK3/MK3.5 Bi-Xenon headlights are just not as good as Bi-Xenon headlights of other car manufacturers. The light output of these lights is just not very impressive. Changing the Bi-Xenon bulbs for premium ones (I peronally prefer the Osram Xenarc Night Breaker Laser bulbs) will improve the light output a bit but do not expect a major improvement.

Another problem of HID projector headlights is that the reflector inside the projector becomes affected by the UV light. I have seen before that within a few years the chrome reflector inside the projector became completely dull/coroded. This also reduces the light output of HID headlights.

[StephenFord]

Good point! I just changed the Xenon bulbs in my C class merc last month. They are slightly different, but to be honest, all bulbs basically slot into a holder, and have an electrical connection at the back. The only 'difference' I made was to ensure I did it first thing in the morning to ensure any latent charge in the bulb had dissipated, and wore a pair of sturdy gloves! The only nightmare I ever had was a neighbours old Audi where it turned out that access could only be gained by removing the front bumper, an atrocious design! You're also correct in that the Osram Nightbreakers have a great reputation,though I've never used them myself.

[Matt92]

53 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

The only nightmare I ever had was a neighbours old Audi where it turned out that access could only be gained by removing the front bumper, an atrocious design!

Same on a Bentley Continental, only it was an indicator bulb we were trying to change. We didn’t try to tackle that one.🤯

[tallguyuk]

1 hour ago, JW1982 said:

This instruction video is for the standard H7 halogen bulbs. The OP has Bi-Xenon headlights. Changing the Bi-Xenon bulbs is quite different to the standard H7 halogen bulbs. 

 

Be aware that the Focus MK3/MK3.5 Bi-Xenon headlights are just not as good as Bi-Xenon headlights of other car manufacturers. The light output of these lights is just not very impressive. Changing the Bi-Xenon bulbs for premium ones (I peronally prefer the Osram Xenarc Night Breaker Laser bulbs) will improve the light output a bit but do not expect a major improvement.

Another problem of HID projector headlights is that the reflector inside the projector becomes affected by the UV light. I have seen before that within a few years the chrome reflector inside the projector became completely dull/coroded. This also reduces the light output of HID headlights.

Ok thanks for that at about £70 a bulb if not that much difference i,ll leave as is 🙂

[StephenFord]

2 hours ago, Matt92 said:

Same on a Bentley continental, only it was an indicator bulb we were trying to change. We didn’t try to tackle that one.🤯

I'm guessing the Bentley mentality was that if you can afford this car, you can afford the 2 hour labour cost to replace a £2 bulb LOL

[Rob20236]

I have the bi xenon setup on my focus and the lights are terrible. I have also installed the osram Xenarc laser bulbs with no difference in light output. 

So my question is as jw1982 said these are not good and they dull over time can they be cleaned or replaced? Without having to replace the whole headlight unit

Thanks in advance

[michaelburrows]

i also have the bi xenons on my 62 titanium x.  the bright lights look lovely.  do they actually light up the road in front of you      do they f--k. absolutely hopeless.  iv asked for advice on this for a long time  and been steered towards the xenarc lasers but told not to get ure expectations up.  so for 160 quid or thereabouts to get no noticable difference in lighting i have decided at the moment to put up with it.   i do a fair bit if dark driving along m11  a1m etc and am alqays glad to get back on the m25  because most of it is lit up.   

[StephenFord]

3 minutes ago, michaelburrows said:

...do they actually light up the road in front of you      do they f--k. absolutely hopeless.  ...  

I had the same issue with LED Bulbs on my GT4, they looked incredibly bright, but on driving, you would think they weren't even on! Took me over a year (and several experiments!) to get ones that were actually better than standard halogen ones. On my old Merc C class, I did uprate the standard bulbs to Xenons and there was a noticeable improvement, I guess it can be very car specific to the end result...