I have a 2003 Mini Cooper S. Is it possible to replace the Xenon headlight assemblies with standard Halogen assemblies? I am having problems with the Xenon lights. What is required?

 

im not 100% positive since you have an 03, but i have an 05 that had xenons and i put in the halogen assemblies. plug and play for me, no problems at all.

edit: washers... you have washers on your xenon assemblies. i removed the sprayers and left the hoses. i closed the hoses with some plugs i picked up at the hardware store.

 

why would you want to do that? what problems are you having?

 

in my case the gears that allow the motors to raise and self adjust the assembly stripped. so only one side was going up and down. cost of 1 new xenon assembly is higher than getting 2 halogen assemblies.

 

Right side light does not work. It is not the bulb. Not sure, yet, if the problem is the control unit or not. The Ignition Element is hard to change out. I can buy a Halogen assembly for less than a control unit. All xenon parts are expensive. When I bought the car, I was told that xenon bulbs are expensive but they last a long time. My bulbs are still good but other expensive parts are failing.

 

swap out your ballast with the other side. see if thats what failed. can be had for less than 100 bux on eBay. Id sell my hood before i got rid of my xenons.

 

It is not the bulb. It is not the control unit (ballast). I changed out both from the other side.

 

i also have an 03 mcs and have been having the same exact problem. i've tried swapping bulbs and ballasts too but the problem persists on the passenger side.
i've read that it could be the igniter but i've also read that it's hard to get to and you really can't just buy one unless you get it used from a diassembled headlight assembly.
i've emailed miniusa since i've read of more than a handful of 03's having this problem w/ the passenger side xenon. no surprise, i received no reply.
i've also considered switching to halogens but have no idea where to start. for now i've been flicking the switch on/off until the headlight ignites.
best of luck! let us know how your conversion goes.

 

I just bought used 03 halogen lights. I will post results.

 

I put halogen headlight assemblies in, inserted plug and they worked.
I removed headlight washer fuse. A person who has a MINI Cooper shop
who has changed out several xenon light assemblies believes that the problem
often is not one of the major componants (bulb, control unit, igniter) but is a problem with wiring or connections inside the assembly. He has not had the time to figure it out. I think that it might have something to do with the fact that the lights are mounted on the hood and get slamed when the hood is closed.