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pjbracer1



Member Since: 25 Aug 2014
Location: Southampton
Posts: 409

England 
Headlight Xenon bulb change L494

HI all has anyone dont this? Ive not seen many instructions on it, found tube vid that shwoed taking out the airbox behind them is a way to avoid remoibng the headlights but wondered if anyone has tkaen the lights out or done the airbox removal way?

Thinking of upgrading the bulbs to the Osram Night Breaker Laser's as they get good reviews.

Cheers If a jobs worth doing, get a someone who knows what they are doing to do it!

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Post #608741 Sun Jan 17 2021 12:09pm
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PauloAmore



Member Since: 27 Jan 2007
Location: Bonnie Scotland
Posts: 1292

Scotland 

Yes. It’s a fiddle. But can be done by just taking out the back cover to remove bulb.

No air box removal required. 2022 P440e AB

Post #608752 Sun Jan 17 2021 4:58pm
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pjbracer1



Member Since: 25 Aug 2014
Location: Southampton
Posts: 409

England 

Ahh ok cool i might have a look then, didnt really fancy messing about with the bumper if im honest as they never go back quite as easy as they are supposed to, the old L320 head lights came out really easy couble of bolts I think and a pull tab

Cheers If a jobs worth doing, get a someone who knows what they are doing to do it!

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Post #608753 Sun Jan 17 2021 5:44pm
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DZ



Member Since: 28 May 2020
Location: Warwickshire
Posts: 18

United Kingdom 

Hi,

I changed the D3S HID bulbs this past weekend and followed the "airbox removal" method. It is very straight forward and gives you much better access to the bulbs.

Removing the airboxes is a matter of undoing 6x philips head screws (to lift off the top cover and remove the actual filter element). Loosen the jubilee clip holding lower airbox to the airflow meter. Remove 1x rubber airhose from the lower airbox cover (only on the passenger side airbox - UK MODEL). The lower airbox cover is held in place by 3x plastic pins. To remove it, first lift the engine-side of the box UP and then push the airbox towards the centre of the engine. Now that the airbox is out you'e got ample access to the headlight bulb.

To remove the bulb, first remove the plastic cover by twisting it counter clockwise. To remove the bulb, twist it counter clockwise and carefully pull it out. Note that the connector is located at the bottom.

Reassemble the airbox in the reverse order making sure that you reattach the airhose on the passenger side! This is easy to miss.

A bit of advice, when installing the new bulbs make sure you attach the connector first. Trying to do this when the bulb is already in the housing proved nearly impossible due to access restrictions. Also, twisting the new bulbs clockwise proved quite tough. When properly installed, the bulb connector should be at the bottom and the D3S "box" perfectly square (not at an angle - sorry, I don't know how else to describe this).

All in all, the whole operation (both sides) took me about 30 minutes and only required a philips head screwdriver (airbox screws) and a flat head screwdriver (airflow jubilee clip).

I replaced the original Philips XenStart HID bulbs with Osram Xenarc Night Breaker Laser bulbs (D3S 35W) bought on Amazon. They're expensive but you pay for quality. Both are rated at 4500K but the Osrams appear to throw the light much further.

I hope this little write up is of use to someone.

Best,

Dan MY17 RRS Autobiography - Corris Grey

Post #609230 Tue Jan 26 2021 6:23pm
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pjbracer1



Member Since: 25 Aug 2014
Location: Southampton
Posts: 409

England 

Ok cool, I bought a set of the Osram Xenarc Nightbreaker Laser DS3 bulbe yesterday form AutoBulbs Direct (also known as HID's4U) they are only up the road from me so could go an collect.

I've just taken some pics of my oem ones that are in the car so will try and change them over tomorrow, as it sounds like an ok job and post some pics after to see if there is a difference or not (im mainly changing as the current ones the passenger side occasionally gives a flicker so my be on its way out so just getting ahead of the game whilst there is tiem to kill!

The Osrams are supposed to be the best ones to get and yeah not cheap but I guess they last quite a while so why not!

I did buy a set off of ebay at first so called open box ones at a snip of the price so thought id risk it, but when they arrived they were just the Xenarc Originals bulbs as the part part numbers were different (I think the guy selling them might have thought they were as they said Xenarc on them or he could have just been a male chicken! I sent them back after many arguements trying to explain that they were the bulbs he sent but they were not the ones being advertised! (he gave me a refund and I sent them back) just as well he gave me the refund first as the male chicken tried a scam by telling me they were broken and I had sent back different bulbs, basicllay trying to pull a final scam!

So word to the wise dont buy from ebay unless they are a business seller and only use paypal so you are covered, as these are expensive bulbs people will try it on!

Correct part number is 66340XNL

I took the gamble as he accepted an offer for £60 as they were open box!

Cheers for the heads up Ill give it a go tomorrow If a jobs worth doing, get a someone who knows what they are doing to do it!

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Post #609231 Tue Jan 26 2021 6:55pm
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DZ



Member Since: 28 May 2020
Location: Warwickshire
Posts: 18

United Kingdom 

My passenger headlight occasionally flickered for about 3 weeks before giving up the ghost completely.

Good luck with the swap - it's not as difficult as it looks. MY17 RRS Autobiography - Corris Grey

Post #609243 Wed Jan 27 2021 12:10am
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Davenport



Member Since: 17 Dec 2023
Location: Stockport
Posts: 35

United Kingdom 

Pjbracer1 how did the Osram’s work out?
I’m looking at refreshed next gen model of the night breaker, but diving into YouTube the LED technologies leapt forward in 6 months in terms of light output on aftermarket bulbs - offerings from twentytwo and various uk websites (HID’s 4U, xenonsonline etc.) trouble is v little to no test data to make a decent call.
If anyone’s got 1st hand of decent bulbs would be appreciated. My 2015 xenon’s are really reall dim on dipped beam, high is ok but that isn’t required most of the time.

Post #644629 Wed Oct 09 2024 5:13pm
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pjbracer1



Member Since: 25 Aug 2014
Location: Southampton
Posts: 409

England 

The bulbs were really good nice and bright with good coverage, I then tried some LED bulbs that use the same power connectors and they were also really goo and so quick to react on high beam, but, and there is a massive Kim Kardashian but here, the LEDs increased the amount of mousture build up and fogging in the head light unit to a stupid level.

The LED bubls have a fan built in to aid cooling and as such the bulb doesnt get as hot as the xenons so burns less mositure off, and as such the fan also draws in more cold moist air form outside making the headlight fog up worse than normal.

headlight fogging is normal and natural as they are not sealed unit to allow for atmospheric changes in pressure, and the lamp unit has 2 little breather holes in the case that are covered with a goretex patch so it can breath, but whlst goretex is good as letting air in and out but traps moisture iside the lamp if the air is not heated sufficiently to allow the vapour to be passed back through the patch, removing the patches doesn really work the well as there is even less barrier for moisture.

I used a hairdryer on the outer edge and took the rear cap off and let it vent and then palced some silica gel pouches (bigger than normal one inside the lamp to see if it would help and then it did a little but when driving for a long stretch and the lights were on for a few hours they still fogged up just less than before. So i went back to the xenons, i have since tested some of the after market Chinese LED headlamps that had the later LED drls and lights just in the same case as the non facelift l494 lights and these have been very good so far they also have the nice dynamic inidcators that match my door mirrors and the facelift style rear led's nicely.

If you want a set of those Xenons I still have the ones I tried and have probably only had about 4 hours worht of use as i only do abotu 4k per year!

DM me if you wanna get soem a bit cheaper

The pics are the difference between led on right and Xenon on left shown on the garage door, pic of the new style head lamps and then the LED bulbs in the older lamps

As I said the LED bulbs were good and cheaper than Xenons but I just couldnt stand the fogging in the headlights as it looked terrible If a jobs worth doing, get a someone who knows what they are doing to do it!

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Post #644651 Thu Oct 10 2024 11:45am
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Davenport



Member Since: 17 Dec 2023
Location: Stockport
Posts: 35

United Kingdom 

Thanks pjbracer1 loads of aspects to touch on in your response! like you I don’t fancy moisture messing up the lights when I’d looked at the cost of two leds from uk sellers was comparative if not in excess of the Osrams. Last night as a total punt thought I’d try the tectico items from Amazon as an experiment, claims of good stats and reviews so we’ll see how they go for now….£25 delivered seemed worth a shot.
I’ve installed dynamic indicators from AliExpress for £15 which 6 months on work a treat so it’s not as if you have to pay top dollar all the time. They also have roadsun LED’s for £40 but your comments on moisture scupper that.
The longer game is get the facelift headlight units which fit the pre-facelift apertures and keen to see your photos which don’t seem attached? (And updated Tesla style screen, Royal re-trim on steering wheel, powerful uk fog delete etc) Don’t have sufficient funds for those currently the car needs timing belt, a service, brakes and an alloy refurb as the previous owner couldn’t park evidently.

If you can link up the headlights would be great. May PM on the bulbs if amazons finest go up in smoke 😆

Post #644652 Thu Oct 10 2024 12:15pm
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pjbracer1



Member Since: 25 Aug 2014
Location: Southampton
Posts: 409

England 

pjbracer1 wrote:
The bulbs were really good nice and bright with good coverage, I then tried some LED bulbs that use the same power connectors and they were also really goo and so quick to react on high beam, but, and there is a massive Kim Kardashian but here, the LEDs increased the amount of mousture build up and fogging in the head light unit to a stupid level.

The LED bubls have a fan built in to aid cooling and as such the bulb doesnt get as hot as the xenons so burns less mositure off, and as such the fan also draws in more cold moist air form outside making the headlight fog up worse than normal.

headlight fogging is normal and natural as they are not sealed unit to allow for atmospheric changes in pressure, and the lamp unit has 2 little breather holes in the case that are covered with a goretex patch so it can breath, but whlst goretex is good as letting air in and out but traps moisture iside the lamp if the air is not heated sufficiently to allow the vapour to be passed back through the patch, removing the patches doesn really work the well as there is even less barrier for moisture.




I used a hairdryer on the outer edge and took the rear cap off and let it vent and then palced some silica gel pouches (bigger than normal one inside the lamp to see if it would help and then it did a little but when driving for a long stretch and the lights were on for a few hours they still fogged up just less than before. So i went back to the xenons, i have since tested some of the after market Chinese LED headlamps that had the later LED drls and lights just in the same case as the non facelift l494 lights and these have been very good so far they also have the nice dynamic inidcators that match my door mirrors and the facelift style rear led's nicely.

If you want a set of those Xenons I still have the ones I tried and have probably only had about 4 hours worht of use as i only do abotu 4k per year!

DM me if you wanna get soem a bit cheaper

The pics are the difference between led on right and Xenon on left shown on the garage door, pic of the new style head lamps and then the LED bulbs in the older lamps

As I said the LED bulbs were good and cheaper than Xenons but I just couldnt stand the fogging in the headlights as it looked terrible








 If a jobs worth doing, get a someone who knows what they are doing to do it!

RRS Autobiography Indus
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Last edited by pjbracer1 on Thu Oct 10 2024 3:18pm. Edited 1 time in total

Post #644654 Thu Oct 10 2024 3:02pm
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Davenport



Member Since: 17 Dec 2023
Location: Stockport
Posts: 35

United Kingdom 

Ffs you’re killing me those replacement headlights look dam good don’t they!! Piggy bank needs raiding, if I had one, and didn’t need decking 😢

A link to them would be good so I can daydream…

Post #644655 Thu Oct 10 2024 3:07pm
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pjbracer1



Member Since: 25 Aug 2014
Location: Southampton
Posts: 409

England 

I got them a while back direct from ALibaba before they even got to Ali express.

They are on Ebay now and buying high value from Ali is expensive since they now charger the vat and fees so paying a bit extras form an ebay sellers is not all as bad these days.

I did add a newer 2018 style black grille ages ago and it geis in nicely with that without looking looking out of place I chose the 2018 style rather than the SVR style and it just lifts the front a little bit.

The LED bulbs and the condensation are the same for all of them it the nature of the bulbs as they all have fans on them, work fine in nice dry days bit as soon as the air is damp its very noticeable and when its raining ofcourse. they do dry out evenetually but its unknown where the moisture goes in the back ground as its not always possible to get let them vent and heat with a hairdryer if you dont have a garage.

They did look nice and bright but awful when all misty it made the car look like it had problems! So id steer clear and stick with the Xenons, the LED blulbs should be much cheaper too only about £60 for a pair , I tried a few differetn brands for a review I was doing and they all turned out the same look and fit, with one being a bit more of a faff as it had like a universal seating ring to hell it fit which looked liek a problem waiting to happen!

This is the later model now out that I think had 4 led lights that have a start up sequence as opposed to the bulb lamps I have, jury is out on if they produce more light or if they just have more led's but are smaller, I dont know. If I was buying id probably take these, if they were not much more, if you look further down the page on the ebay advert thee are the other type like mine some in UK and some in China look like Chine is £1800 but you might get stuck with duty ontop when they arrive and UK is £2500. The blue hue is a feature you can set on start u so they glow blue and then slowly fade to white if you are into that kinda thing (its just unpluggin a cable ins side the lamp) I left it off as Im not into hangin out in Mcdonalds carparks polluting the air with Cherry flavoured Vapes!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394976220853?_s...R5LS6_DOZA If a jobs worth doing, get a someone who knows what they are doing to do it!

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Post #644656 Thu Oct 10 2024 3:37pm
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Davenport



Member Since: 17 Dec 2023
Location: Stockport
Posts: 35

United Kingdom 

Well the £25 Amazon bulbs are fitted and pretty pleased so far certainly the colour temperature alone facelifts the headlamp appearance, longevity…. is a massive unknown. Managed to drop two of the airbox screws into the engine abyss though which I’ve never done before, once through wearing thick plastic gloves and secondly starting off the screw clumsily with an electric screwdriver (if anyone knows where to source spares would be great)

Post #644795 Sat Oct 19 2024 3:52pm
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