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Headlights - Are they Xenon or Halogen...?

thunder2

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Location
Peterborough
Car
Honda Accord
I have just bought a 2004 2.4 Honda Accord, Saloon, and want to replace the headlights with newer units. But, do these cars come with Xenon lights or Halogen? Or, doesn't it matter?

New units are available on Ebay but they specifically state Halogen, but I don't know how to tell the difference between the Halogen and Xenon units.

Any advice much appreciated.
 
yours is ex model,? has it washers on the headlights, if so its HID lights.

not main beams just normal lights but they are very good., for the main beams i put on osram night breakers, cant beat them.
 
All execs have headlight washers but yes the pre facelift Accord 2.4 Exec had Xenon lights as standard.
 
Ok,

Have the info now.

Mines is a 2004, 2.4 Petrol, EXEC model. As such, it comes with Xenons fitted as standard.

You can tell by the fact that it has no headlamp adjustment switch in the ****pit and the car has headlamp washers installed (by law, you've got to have headlamp washers if you have Xenon lights).

Also, Xenon headlights start off dull and then get brighter over the next few seconds. Halogens are instantly up to brightness.

Finally, Xenon headlights are a lot more expensive than Halogens to replace! Quote from local Honda dealer: £338 for the unit, £62 to fit.

You can get new Halogen units on Ebay for £70 - £90...
 
I'm surprised you couldn't tell the difference....I've been in accords with/without factory HID lamps and the difference is like night and day!
 
same problem here...how can i tell if i have halogen or hids?
i do have washer on the headlights , 06/09/2003 facelift and is executive A...
how can i tell?
 
same problem here...how can i tell if i have halogen or hids?
i do have washer on the headlights , 06/09/2003 facelift and is executive A...
how can i tell?

As Ron said above:

You can tell by the fact that it has no headlamp adjustment switch in the ****pit.
Also, Xenon headlights start off dull and then get brighter over the next few seconds. Halogens are instantly up to brightness.
 
So - the HID fleabay kit mentioned by Crespo in my recent headlight thread (a couple of posts down on the forum) ... can this be fitted straight into the standard halogen headlamp unit and, if so, does he link to the correct one?

Been out in the car this evening and the headlights are shockingly bad. Only other car I've had with such poor night vision was a Mazda 323F - which had a smilar setup with the spherical lens thingy.
 
I don't know about the fitment I thought it was supposed to be H1, don't know what mine is! When you get the right one the bulb just goes in as normal and you have to cut a hole in the round screw in thing that fits behind the bulb hole, the wires come through the hole and all the connections for the ballast and the regular loom ends that used to connect to the bulb all sit outside of the housing.
 
What husky man said. I have fitted x2 of these kits to my accord now and it's not difficult. H1 bulbs. Go for a 55w kit as there is a big difference over 35w. Cut a hole in the in the plastic lid/cap at the rear of the headlight unit install the grommet, secure the ballasts somewhere, secure the bulbs with the retainers and your good to go.
 
ok, that's the question, why we don't mount the ballast-slim one inside the headlight case?
it's somebody who did this in the headlight case? or you don't have how to secure it? space it's a lot!
 
Powerbulbs is where I got replacement HID bulbs for the Euro R from. The had bogof on philips bulbs. £80 for pair. Did try halfords but they were £85 each. Then they would only sell them to me (even though they were easily available on the shop floor) if they could charge me another £10 to fit them!

Also to note with HID bulbs, when they need replacing the start dull, brighten (as normal) but after a couple of minutes go dull again.

Also to keep the colour match (they changle slightly over time) change them in pairs.

:)
 
ok
i have headlamp adjustment switch in the ****pit and the bulb is h1...
ok, that's the question, why we don't mount the ballast-slim one inside the headlight case?
it's somebody who did this in the headlight case? or you don't have how to secure it? space it's a lot!
 
When I did a HID retrofit on the diesel I cut a hole into the back of the headlight cap. However, I believe another member took the headlight out and there is a hole underneath through which you can feed the wires. Then you can secure the ballasts out of sight under the lamps.
 
... the wires come through the hole and all the connections for the ballast and the regular loom ends that used to connect to the bulb all sit outside of the housing.

Does this mean you have to cut a big hole in the dust-cap - that is, to get the original bulb connector through it and to the outside of the lamp unit, to connect to the ballast in the engine bay?
 
Does this mean you have to cut a big hole in the dust-cap - that is, to get the original bulb connector through it and to the outside of the lamp unit, to connect to the ballast in the engine bay?

Thats what I did. A 20mm circle cutter that you attach to a drill. The HIDs I bought had rubber gromits on the cable running from the bulbs to the ballasts. They pop in the holes to keep the newly cut holes sealed.
 
OK doke - thanks. Now to get hold of a circle cuter (might be one somewhere in the garage in among all the other stuff there I guess).
I found the best size is a 25mm hole saw for this.
 
I put Xenon bulbs in my 6th gen. They were purer white and seemed brigher. Just a straight replacement for the halogen bulbs.

What exactly are HIDs?
 
I put Xenon bulbs in my 6th gen. They were purer white and seemed brigher. Just a straight replacement for the halogen bulbs.

What exactly are HIDs?


They are not real xenon or a high intensity discharge (HID) bulb. There is a big difference.

Unless you put something like this under your bonnet they were not xenon bulbs.

HID-Xenon-Kit.jpg
 
I put Xenon bulbs in my 6th gen. They were purer white and seemed brigher. Just a straight replacement for the halogen bulbs.

What exactly are HIDs?

Bulbs that create light by making an electric arc across two contacts. To do this they fill the bulb with a gas, Xenon is one of the gasses they use. You can buy Xenon filament bulbs which use the same technology as regular incandescent bulbs but that include the gas Xenon inside the bulb - they still create light by making the wire inside glow rather than creating an arc like HIDs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_discharge_lamp
 
They are not real xenon or a high intensity discharge (HID) bulb. There is a big difference.

Unless you put something like this under your bonnet they were not xenon bulbs.

HID-Xenon-Kit.jpg

Nope, they looked the same as standard bulbs, until I switched them on.

Type "xenon bulb h1" into Amazon or eBay and you'll probably see what I'm on about. The ones I got said "100% Xenon" on the box. If they're not xenon bulbs then what exactly are they?
 
Bulbs that create light by making an electric arc across two contacts. To do this they fill the bulb with a gas, Xenon is one of the gasses they use. You can buy Xenon filament bulbs which use the same technology as regular incandescent bulbs but that include the gas Xenon inside the bulb - they still create light by making the wire inside glow rather than creating an arc like HIDs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_discharge_lamp

Cheers.

How long before LED headlights are the norm? :rolleyes:
 
real HID/Xenon bulbs need a high voltage ballast, if they don't have that they are just a fad tbh. Otherwise why would all the OEM manufacturers go to the trouble of sticking a cumbersome ballast under the hood.
 
back after took a good look inside my headlight unit and i saw inside on one wall it's a white paper like the bubble envelops from post office...
do somebody else got this inside the unit? what is that?
 
how can i upload the picture with the weirdness?
cheers

crespo i was thinking the same but i thought that the heat it self will absorb the condensation made...
and why i have this and others not?
 
back after took a good look inside my headlight unit and i saw inside on one wall it's a white paper like the bubble envelops from post office...
do somebody else got this inside the unit? what is that?


Its to help absorb condensation. Like the things you get in the box when you buy new trainers. They are supposed to be in there.
 
anyway how can i upload the picture with it...
do you really think that why are there?
if so, why someone have them and others dont?
 
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