Hey, I'm not that used to doing this sort of thing to newer cars with canbus and such, but I would like to run an hid kit (with aftermarket lens headlight). The issues I have come across are the dipped beam error, when I start to drive they turn off, and when they are on they're flickering. 

Before I tried the hids I did try out some basic led bulbs and they had similar issues, but didn't shut off until you hit the high beams. 

The reasons why I would like to run hids is the increased performance and when running 55w kit they have just enough heat to melt some snow and ice. And I want to keep the auto function. 

Now what I'm looking for some info about is if anyone has experience with the issue, and they have a solution to it. Is coding the only solution? Do I need to wire it up with a relay. 

 

Also if this has been handled in earlier threads I would appreciate any leads

2 hours ago, Ztaal3 said:

... The issues I have come across are the dipped beam error, when I start to drive they turn off, and when they are on they're flickering.

HIDs that flicker are usually a symptom of a faulty ballast unit. Also, HIDs have largely been superseded with newer LED bulbs. 

2 hours ago, Ztaal3 said:

...I did try out some basic led bulbs and they had similar issues, but didn't shut off until you hit the high beams.

I don't understand, dipped beam stay on even if you activate high beams, why would you want them to shut off?

15 hours ago, StephenFord said:

HIDs that flicker are usually a symptom of a faulty ballast unit. Also, HIDs have largely been superseded with newer LED bulbs. 

I don't understand, dipped beam stay on even if you activate high beams, why would you want them to shut off?

Well I know HID aren't as modern as LED, but they have more heat wich helps with driving in winter as it melts the snow and ice. There isn't any issues with the ballast as the LED did the same, its usually the car that is doing it through canbus. Also tested it with direct 12v from battery and no flickering. 

No, the dipped beam error message doesn't appear until the high beam is turned on and then the error and dipped beams shut off. I don't want them to shut off, that's why I asked for any solutions people had. 

That error was with halogen also?

On a Focus MK3/MK3.5 aftermarket HID lights require the headlight parameters of the Central Car Configuration (CCC) to be changed.

Parameter #14 "Headlights, Type" need to be changed from "02-Halogen lights with adjuster" to "03-Alternative HID".

This setting was originally designed for USA market Focus MK3/MK3.5 vehicles which were available with optional HID lights with manual height adjustment. However this setting is also perfectly suitable for aftermarket HID or LED lights without the need for any "CANbus" cancellers.

What this setting basically does is:

* Deactivate the bulb check system of the dipped beam lights -> The light will not switch off if the current within the circuit is different than expected.
* Change the power supply of the dipped beams from PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) to DC battery voltage -> To reduce premature bulb failure the halogen lights are dimmed by the PWM system to approximately 80%. The PWM system however will drastically reduce the life expectancy of the electronic components that are built into HID ballasts or LED lights
 

 

Nice really.

Question after installing Hids in my car why didn't any error appear?

3 hours ago, JW1982 said:

On a Focus MK3/MK3.5 aftermarket HID lights require the headlight parameters of the Central Car Configuration (CCC) to be changed.

Parameter #14 "Headlights, Type" need to be changed from "02-Halogen lights with adjuster" to "03-Alternative HID".

This setting was originally designed for USA market Focus MK3/MK3.5 vehicles which were available with optional HID lights with manual height adjustment. However this setting is also perfectly suitable for aftermarket HID or LED lights without the need for any "CANbus" cancellers.

What this setting basically does is:

* Deactivate the bulb check system of the dipped beam lights -> The light will not switch off if the current within the circuit is different than expected.
* Change the power supply of the dipped beams from PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) to DC battery voltage -> To reduce premature bulb failure the halogen lights are dimmed by the PWM system to approximately 80%. The PWM system however will drastically reduce the life expectancy of the electronic components that are built into HID ballasts or LED lights
 

 

Oh, perfect, will try to see if anyone has the tool or if I will need to buy it myself. 

Pwm power would explain a lot of things with the flickering and all. I do wonder if it does that is it noticeably more light from halogens if you run dc power on those too? 

On 10/19/2024 at 8:47 AM, JW1982 said:

On a Focus MK3/MK3.5 aftermarket HID lights require the headlight parameters of the Central Car Configuration (CCC) to be changed.

Parameter #14 "Headlights, Type" need to be changed from "02-Halogen lights with adjuster" to "03-Alternative HID".

This setting was originally designed for USA market Focus MK3/MK3.5 vehicles which were available with optional HID lights with manual height adjustment. However this setting is also perfectly suitable for aftermarket HID or LED lights without the need for any "CANbus" cancellers.

What this setting basically does is:

* Deactivate the bulb check system of the dipped beam lights -> The light will not switch off if the current within the circuit is different than expected.
* Change the power supply of the dipped beams from PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) to DC battery voltage -> To reduce premature bulb failure the halogen lights are dimmed by the PWM system to approximately 80%. The PWM system however will drastically reduce the life expectancy of the electronic components that are built into HID ballasts or LED lights
 

 

Back again, finally received the cable and stuff, but after getting forscan up and running I could not see the option of alternative hid, only a bi-xenon option, but if that does the same change, but for both high and low it's not a big deal. So if not would changing the region of the car as it's a EU car maybe? 

Forscan does not show all available configuration options.

Configuration #14 needs to be changed to hexadecimal value 03. This value corresponds with Alternative HID.

Setting this configuration option on a European Focus MK3 will probably cause a U2101 DTC code (control module configuration incompatible). This is completely normal since this setting is not considered to be a valid configuration option for this region. The DTC code does not affect functionality in any way.

On 11/9/2024 at 1:10 PM, JW1982 said:

Forscan does not show all available configuration options.

Configuration #14 needs to be changed to hexadecimal value 03. This value corresponds with Alternative HID.

Setting this configuration option on a European Focus MK3 will probably cause a U2101 DTC code (control module configuration incompatible). This is completely normal since this setting is not considered to be a valid configuration option for this region. The DTC code does not affect functionality in any way.

Okay, tyvm, haven't tried any hex edits before, is there some how to for it? Don't want to be going in changing it willy nilly 😂

 

How I understand you right now is that line nr14 in bcm needw to be changed to a value of 3, does it need to be in a hex like 0003 or something? 

And again tyvm for helping out a newb

I suggest to try the FoCCCus software.

The FoCCCus software can be downloaded from here:

Downloads – FordCom


The FoCCCus software can work with files with the .ab file extension and the .xml file extension (when renamed to .ab). This way the FoCCCus program can also be used to just edit the configuration file. This way you can either use Forscan or FoCCCus to write the configuration into the car.

Okay thank you, will look into this! 

14 hours ago, JW1982 said:

I suggest to try the FoCCCus software.

The FoCCCus software can be downloaded from here:

Downloads – FordCom


The FoCCCus software can work with files with the .ab file extension and the .xml file extension (when renamed to .ab). This way the FoCCCus program can also be used to just edit the configuration file. This way you can either use Forscan or FoCCCus to write the configuration into the car.

Yeah the focccus was a bit more simple, but it did give me an option for alternative hid, so now that is done I'll try hooking up the xenon kit again. 

On 11/12/2024 at 10:26 AM, Ztaal3 said:

Yeah the focccus was a bit more simple, but it did give me an option for alternative hid, so now that is done I'll try hooking up the xenon kit again. 

@Ztaal3 did you manage to get it working, I'm looking to do the same.

49 minutes ago, ash29109 said:

did you manage to get it working

It's been quite a few weeks since they last visited the forum.

On 1/13/2025 at 1:29 PM, ash29109 said:

@Ztaal3 did you manage to get it working, I'm looking to do the same.

Yeah after using the focccus software it gave me the correct option for headlights and have been working fine, next I want to see how a bit better AC xenon kit compares to the super cheap small dc set, could also be the cheaper headlight lenses, but way better lights than oem halogens. 

On 11/9/2024 at 1:10 PM, JW1982 said:

Forscan does not show all available configuration options.

Configuration #14 needs to be changed to hexadecimal value 03. This value corresponds with Alternative HID.

Setting this configuration option on a European Focus MK3 will probably cause a U2101 DTC code (control module configuration incompatible). This is completely normal since this setting is not considered to be a valid configuration option for this region. The DTC code does not affect functionality in any way.

Hi,

I also experienced the low beam error message when changing from halogen bulb to LED bulb. I also do not have the alternative HID option under parameter #14. I set its hex value to 03 and wrote the config back to the BCM.

Unfortunately I still get the error message, but not right after switching the low beam on, instead delayed with 10-15 seconds.

Do you have any other suggestion to overcome this issue, without installing a canbus adapter.

Thank you,

Levente

On 2/26/2025 at 7:02 PM, Levente said:

Hi,

I also experienced the low beam error message when changing from halogen bulb to LED bulb. I also do not have the alternative HID option under parameter #14. I set its hex value to 03 and wrote the config back to the BCM.

Unfortunately I still get the error message, but not right after switching the low beam on, instead delayed with 10-15 seconds.

Do you have any other suggestion to overcome this issue, without installing a canbus adapter.

Thank you,

Levente

Yeah I just used the focccus software instead, that fixed it for me with xenons, don't think it's any difference to led. I tried a basic "canbus" resistor and first of they get as hot as a halogen bulb, but it didn't fix it for me. 

On 1/13/2025 at 1:29 PM, ash29109 said:

@Ztaal3 did you manage to get it working, I'm looking to do the same.

Yeah it worked with focccus