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Stock Problems/IssuesDiscussions related to warranty related issues and repairs, or other problems with the OEM parts and software for MINI Cooper (R50), Cabrio (R52), and Cooper S (R53) MINIs.
Hello, I have a 2004 R50 with the OEM Xenon package, but the lenses are getting really really yellow and faded. I hate the way that they look right now, I've tried restoring them multiple times but I got no results. It's also very hard to see at night with my lenses all icky. Now here's my question, would the Spec-D projector headlights work on a xenon equipped car? What if I transfer the ballasts over (or buy a new HID kit)? I love the look of the projectors, but I don't want to spend $1000 on a pair of new xenons. So I would like to go with the eBay projectors. Please help me out here
Don't know about the aftermarket, because I'm not familiar with there setup, but one thing you might consider is taking them apart, like you do with a joey mod, and trying to polish the inside of the lense also. If you're thinking of reolacing them anyway, why not give it a shot, all it will cost is the price of a heat gun, if you don't already have one.
Try to buy lenses. I believe they are a separate part.
They are not unfortunately.
Originally Posted by ACallahan
From what I hear, you get what you pay for with the Ebay lights. I just kinda kept a lookout for used OEM and went that route.
This is true, plus with the OEM setup it might require some rewiring or otherwise it might not be plug-n-play. See if you can get used facelift projectors or I think there were some pre-face lift ones like yours on the marketplace a few days ago. A few hundred bucks at best for used OEM might still be better than $300 for ebay stuff.
Correct on the lenses not being a seperate part, but that also gave me another idea, again going the Joey mod route I do believe the lenses are the same, hid or not, double check this, but if it's correct, you could buy a used set of non hid headlights much cheaper and simply change the lenses.
Taking them apart is very simple, the idea of the process is much worse than the process itself, once you've done one & see exactly how the go together, you will see how simple it really is.
The only thing that you would want to be careful about is whether or not these headlights were designed to throw high intensity light. Even though some of them have a projector housing, that doesn't mean that they were designed to be used with HID lighting. You would also be losing the auto-leveling feature that your current headlights have.
I'm going to agree with the others in saying you should purchase a set of used OEM headlights to replace your current set, or purchase a non-HID pair and swap the lenses.
Correct, you'd have to find out for sure that the factory wiring to charge the ballasts & ingniters is 12v or if they have changed something in the "pre-hid" wiring for factory hid cars.
If it is, then yes it would work, you'd just have to splice in your new plug wiring pre-ballast, or wherever in the system is the last true 12v source before conversion.
Clamport, I still think your first step should be to at least try & polish the inside of the lens also, as I said earlier, it'll only cost you about $30.00 for a heat gun if you don't have one & should only take an hour or so per side for a first timer, I've had my lights apart a few times already, it's really no big deal, PM me if you want to try it & I'll walk you through it step by step.
Last edited by BlwnAway; Feb 13, 2013 at 02:08 AM.
From: Perth West Australia in an industrial unit with my numerous cars.
There are 2 'boxes' for each light. One is under the lamp unit - The other inside the cabin in the dash. Cannot say exactly where - The stealer when in there under warranty and I haven't been back. I just recall what I was told. Maybe you need a manual - Haynes / Bentley??
just wondering if this project was ever completed. I have the same problem with my non projector HID's. My HID fogs throw more light than the headlights. I did see ipcw's somewhere that come prewired with 35W HID's
If it were me, I would buy halogen headlights, take the lenses off with Joeymod, then put the new lenses on your old oem hids.
Regarding eBay projectors, they are designed for halogen bulbs, and are not intended for HID bulbs -even though hid bulbs are available, the light output is not good, and they cause a lot of glare for oncoming drivers.
The light source in an hid bulb is an electric arc going through hot xenon gasses in the glass tube (light bulb) The light source in a halogen bulb is the wire element. The wire element or the illuminated gasses are NOT in the same place relative to the base of the lightbulb, therefor the reflector bowl in a true hid projector is shaped a little differently than a halogen projector.
I hope this is the right thread to post in. I read the earlier questions about having OEM Xenon lights. My question is this my stock lights are not Xenon or HID what is involved if i want to upgrade my lights to projector headlights? I found a set on amazon,
Sorry I just remembered, I'd like to put in fog/driving lights in the open spots in the lower front fender, is there a kit for this? I've found the one that mount to the grill, that's not what i'm after.
If you want the direct fit and very close to OEM look and feel of the newer projector style, we have them above and below for the Gen 1 MINIs. You have to watch those EBay and amazon ones as the fitment guides most of the time are way off. And its a hit or miss chance.
