I need some help. I want xenon for my mini since the first day I got it. However, I did some research and found that aftermarket HID kit are not as affecting and dangerous for on coming vehicles. So I went to E-bay to find some used xenon headlights. Mostly, I found headlights with ballast and bulbs, but missing the washer chrome piece. I was wondering if these units are easily install into my car or do I need more parts to make it work properly. Many thanks

 

hey im actually retrofitting xenons in my 05 mc. its not that hard. if you find a wrecked headlight with a good ballast and good bulb you can take them apart use a few pieces and scrap the rest. pop the bulb in and double stick tape the ballast and the ignitor to the light. im almost done with the retrofit i didnt use the the complete headlight. if you retrofit the whole assembly then you need the zke controller and sensors for the wheels so that the motor adjust the lights. what i have the headlight is already adjusted but its pretty much like putting aftermarket xenons. but with the factory ones.
send me a pm of you want and ill keep you updated.

 

Or if you don't wanna do that here are the tips and link and they both are simple...just plug and play.

A. Buy the whole stock MINI xenon headlights which simply plug&play (washers will not work though). I put them on 3 months ago with plenty of use (mostly driving at night) and they work just fine. Self-leveling works fine as well. bmwparts@classicautocampus.com 20% discount if you mentioned NAM member.

B. This after market link http://www.http://www.hidretroexpres...PROD&ProdID=14

 

many thanks for the help guys. I went to mini2 before and read some old post. Most of them said that it can be done, but very complicated so I was very dissapointed. You guys made my night.

PS: mytaimymini, are you talking about retrofit kit? I heard they are very expensive.

 

I'm also curious to hear about the xenon retrofit too. I already have xenons on my '03 but was looking to see if I could upgrade to the newer projector style.

 

atomic...your upgrade is much easier then the retrofit....your dealer offers the change you are looking for

 

That's what I've heard before I intall mine Trust me, you will be very surprised how they work. You do not need to do anything but buying the headlights (Stock Xenon). Just pop the old ones out and put the new ones in. That is it. Let me know and good luck.

 

Are you saying you put xenons on a non-xenon car and the auto-levelling works? I have been doing research and all the information i can find points to non-xenon minis not having the ZKE module or suspension sensors necessary for the auto-levelling system...

If your's does work without installing those things...that would be awesome

 

If you only replace the bulbs and add the ballast, you won't get auto-levelling. That feature needs additional sensors/circuits in the car which are not present for non-xenon cars.
shoveit made this clear in his comments above ...
Also, upgrading from older xenons to the new ones requires some electronics to be replaced; not a plug & play and not as inexpensive as might be hoped. I don't know the exact details or reasons, but I do know the electronics changed (sometime in '04).

 

Does this help at all?
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=40478

 

yah...thos cars seeme to have a lot of glare in that video...and the pattern they are emitting is reminiscent of the poor quality of xenon retro-fits....Not exactly a good thing for night driving

GBmini- thats what i thought. It is indeed necessary to get the ZKE module, along with a lot of wiring and sensors that install onto your suspension components front and back. You also need to have the dealer reprogram the car to know about auto-levelling...it didnt make sense that just installing the headlight housing would give you auto-levelling

 

YES, it worked with 6500 miles on it. I mostly drive at night. If your Mini's friends have Xenon so try to pop your friends' Xenon out and put it to yours. I tried that and it worked as I compared my MSC to my friend's MCS that has stock Xenon. That's why I have them on for 3.5 monhts without any problem. As the matter of fact. I brought my car for Inspection Services, full maintenance services at LongBeach Mini 2 days ago, no comments from the dealer

 

It's funny that you guys seem to know lots more than I do. Theoretically, you might probably right. Put your theories into actions I always believed that actions better than words.

 

Well could you do me a favor since i don't have access to xenon lamps. Can you park your car (at night) fairly close to a wall....5-10 feet i would say. Turn your car off....restart it, now switch on your xenons. Do they do the auto-levelling test? It would look like the lights are moving up then down or something like that.

Let me know if you can do this...thanks

 

Like I said early on the thread, self-leveling worked. Last night I tried to do what you told. The lights are moved up (noticeably quick)when I turned them on. it's like the frist day I installed. I belived that is self-leveling, my friend's MCS does that too.

 

Maybe but I can see so much more then with the Halogens I had. And with my car so low, they don't bother other drivers.

 

That actually sounds like it is *not* working - unless your description misses some info.
Typically the lights will move up then back down again - like they move to an end-of-range test position, then move back to correct position.

 

Yah, that sorta just sounds like its your xenons firing up, and maybe it going into the first position, but it doesnt sound like its actually doing the test, which i would assume its not moving while you drive either.

 

it is the xenons just firing up. i took apart a pair of xenon lights which i am in the process of installing them in an 05 mc headlight setup and i plugged the harness in to see if the zke motor would work and it does not. the car has to either be programmed to do it and also have the sensors for the leveling to work. but thankfully i do not need the motor for the leveling to get my lights to work. and i just removed it from the assembly and scrapped it. i will post my results with pics once i get done. too much work no time to play these days.

 

Typically the lights will move up then back down again - like they move to an end-of-range test position, then move back to correct position.[/QUOTE]



That is it. They do like you said GBMINI. Sorry, I missed typing all the info. I'm not very handy so I don't even knew what ZKE means.

 

That seems to make a lot more sense...thank you...i didnt think it could auto level without the proper auto-levelling parts