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So in getting everyting back together I forgot to instal the headlight adjusting sensor that goes under front the inner ball joint, to the lower control arm. I'll be darn if I'm taking the brakes off and pulling the axle out to get there so I cut a slot in the positioning sensor bracket so I can slide it under the bolt.
I think that will work, but that being said, do I really need headlights that self-adjust if I put an elephant in the back seat and am I incapable of wiping off my headlights?
What I would like to do is ditch the self-leveling headlights and ditch the headlight washers. Talk about over engineering!
Any recommendations for replacement headlights and if I did this would it require any reprograming?
I was looking at these, but are there cheaper alternatives out there? $400+ seems a little steep to shed crap that was overkill in the first place! And would there be any codes thrown or reprograming involved?
I did exactly this on my race R53 (also a $500 bargain!). I took out the heavy self-leveling headlights and replaced them with a pair of the basic OEM halogen headlights that I picked up on these forums for $100.
If you don't care too much about weight and this is for a street car I would recommend keeping what you have. I almost wish I kept the xeon lights now that I'll be doing some night racing, the halogens just aren't as good. LED projector lights seem nice but not at $400 for an aftermarket set.
[QUOTE=angusp;4511766]I did exactly this on my race R53 (also a $500 bargain!). I took out the heavy self-leveling headlights and replaced them with a pair of the basic OEM halogen headlights that I picked up on these forums for $100.
Angusp,
Sorry to be uninformed but the R53 came with both type of lights? the Xeon and the Halogens ? I'm guessing the Xeon self-leveling were an upgrade/option?
Did the switch cause any codes, etc..? These just seem like a lot of unnecessary complexity to me.
Mine are in pretty good shape if anyone would like a swap.
robj
P.S. After doing some headlamp research, I'll probably keep the OEM headlights, at least for now. Never had a vehicle with these type of lights before so I'm going to give them a try. Now to figure out how to adjust the "leveling" part as I forgot to mark the position when I removed the sensor. Duh!
You can just leave the levelers off and manually adjust the headlights. They just won't move with the suspension movement if you add weight and such. Basically like a car from the 90s.
Those Xenons are brighter than the aftermarket so I would stick with them.
You won't get an error or anything, but if you were to read out the data in the BC1 you may see codes for the levelers but it won't hurt anything.
Thanks so much for that information, definitely helpful. I cut a slot in the mounting bracket for the leveler so it will slip under the ball joint bolt so I'll probably put it back together the way it's supposed to be.
But again thanks for the info, it's good to know.
robj
Here is another option, you can disconnect the headlight washers plug. Some people like these more then the OEMs, as the OEM headlights tend to fade over the year, Mine are doing this on the inside and even after refinishing them over the years, eventuality they get really yellow and pitted. Helix ones are a great deal and have an OEM look minus the washers.
Some people upgrade to led or xenon retrofit kits and they have a the cutoff so you dont blind oncoming traffic. Heliix clear OEM styles are in stock. The blackline ones are on backorder right now.
