Good news 😁👍

Ignore!

Edited 18 June, 20205 yr by slow_nick

7 minutes ago, slow_nick said:

I don't know if the BCM would even support CH/LH with the system you are using. You have one of the third party light switches with a light sensor, whereas the OEM system uses a light sensor behind the rear view mirror.

 

I don't know how that third party switch would work with it because presumably in the auto position, it just waits until its own light sensor determines it is dark and then sends the headlight ON signal. The OEM system doesn't work this way, the switch just sends position 2 (I think) and the car then knows you want the headlights controlled automatically. 

 

There is an option for the CH/LH lights to be activated by flashing the high beam quickly after taking the key out of the ignition. This doesn't require auto headlights at all.

 

Pretty sure that's for another thread nick

Whoops so it is.

Took the plunge this morning and enabled AFS II 😁👍

 

I parked in a dark covered car park and put tape on the wall to mark the current position.

 

Changed the coding, did the basic settings and I think it worked.

 

I assume nothing shows up in Maxidot menu?

Question that's not directly related to the topic but saves me searching or creating a new thread,

 

I have a preFL with halogen headlights(has headlight washers),  one of the level adjusters is broke so I had to look for new headlights.. I found a pair of xenon headlights so I went a head and bought them thinking that they should work?

 

Will they work? And if they do will the halogen level adjusters switch work on them?

 

And is the absence of an AFS unit on the car be a problem?

 

Thanks.

4 hours ago, Dzoser said:

Question that's not directly related to the topic but saves me searching or creating a new thread,

 

I have a preFL with halogen headlights(has headlight washers),  one of the level adjusters is broke so I had to look for new headlights.. I found a pair of xenon headlights so I went a head and bought them thinking that they should work?

 

Will they work? And if they do will the halogen level adjusters switch work on them?

 

And is the absence of an AFS unit on the car be a problem?

 

Thanks.

 

Halogen to xenon is not as simple as just changing the headlamp units

 

For a start the wiring looms are probably different (they are on the fl), the range adjustment motors are different and also automatically controlled on xenons which requires suspension level sensors and a range control unit in the car which you won't have. Xenon cars do not have the manual headlight level switch. Pre FL never came with AFS

 

Yea I didn't know all that I thought it's just a matter of housing, I contacted the seller and they kindly cancelled my order.. 

 

Now I am looking at a kit to fit on my existing headlights, on the forum they say kit from London colour is good but I can't find any of these, any idea which ones will work alright and won't fry the control unit after VCDS coding?

 

Thanks

There are no drop in "HID kits" that are guaranteed safe. They are also not legal to use on the road.

 

The inductive load that dodgy HID kits put back into the circuit are well known to kill MOSFETs in the CECM/BCM. One of the most common symptoms on the preFL is the rear wiper no longer works, on the FL it causes one of the front indicators to stay lit permanently (even with the key out). There are loads of posts on this forum from people who have had this happen.

 

The London Colour non-canbus kits seem to be the least likely to do any damage but there is still a risk. People who have fitted these and then coded the car as having xenon headlights fitted have had pretty good luck. But it's up to you if you want to take the risk. Personally I wouldn't, which is why I am retrofitting the full OEM xenon system, with the bonus that it will be completely legal, pass MOT, and be guaranteed to not blind anyone.

Edited 23 June, 20205 yr by slow_nick

 

Ironically in the first thread I link to in that post, fitting dodgy HIDs ended up costing the owner £710, which funnily enough happens to be substantially more than it is possible to retrofit the OEM xenons for, and the OEM system obviously has the advantage of automatic levelling and AFS which a drop in kit will not.

4 minutes ago, slow_nick said:

which is why I am retrofitting the full OEM xenon system, with the bonus that it will be completely legal, pass MOT, and be guaranteed to not blind anyone.

I could only source xenon headlights for about £160 the pair,then a decent pair of osram bulbs about £120, not to speak of an AFS unit and adjuster sensors front and back that's over £450 for a car that's worth £700 in px! To top all that I don't have the knowledge to wire all that and don't have VCDS!

 

Think I should just replace broken headlight for £30 of eBay and job is a gooden!

12 minutes ago, Dzoser said:

I could only source xenon headlights for about £160 the pair,then a decent pair of osram bulbs about £120, not to speak of an AFS unit and adjuster sensors front and back that's over £450 for a car that's worth £700 in px! To top all that I don't have the knowledge to wire all that and don't have VCDS!

 

Think I should just replace broken headlight for £30 of eBay and job is a gooden!

 

PreFL never came with AFS

PreFL xenon headlamps are in abundance on eBay and pretty cheap, plenty on there at the moment and under £100

Lots of second hand headlamps tend to come with all of the bulbs and control gear (on the preFL this is probably just the xenon ballast/starter as there is no AFS)

Range control modules also easily and cheaply available on eBay

Level sensors £20 each and easy to fit

Wiring loom probably available from Kufatec, should be mostly plug and play

 

Or you could fit a set of Osram nightbreaker laser bulbs and be happy, that's what I am using at the moment and they are pretty good for halogen. I'm only doing the xenon conversion as I want auto levelling and AFS

 

Edit: just re-read your post, £160 for the pair is a bargain. I paid £170 each for my FL ones although they have all the bulbs and control gear (as you mention a decent set of D1S bulbs is £100)

Edited 23 June, 20205 yr by slow_nick