Has anyone fitted extra driving lights or an LED light bar to a facelift FL2 that uses the HB3 single filament bulbs. I ask because you would normally feed off the main beam bulb wire but I guess in this case you would use the wire that operates the shutter instead? Would that be ok or would it cause problems elsewhere?

Anyone?

I swapped the HB3's to HID replacements from ABD.co.uk, didn't need more lights after that.

I think you would have to feed a relay with the shutter wire as it won't have the power capability to drive something else.

Thanks for that that's what I was thinking as well. The reason I'm not keen on going down the hid route is the potential insurance invalidation.

I can't see a scenario where a change of headlight bulb could invalidate your insurance, unless it caught fire and the cause was directly related to the headlights, most unlikely. I have the stealth x kit as well and really pleased with it. Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

Or perhaps a night time collision where the other driver claimed they were dazzled? 2014 Freelander 2 TD4 Manual Dynamic
1956/7 88" Series One Land Rover
1956/7 88" Series One Land Rover - undergoing restoration

Last edited by PRadd on 9th Dec 2020 6:14 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Hi

Please find below an extract from www.gov.co.uk web site appertaining to HID headlights.

"General legislative guidance on after-market HID Headlamps
In the Department for Transport’s view it is not legal to sell or use after-market HID lighting kits, for converting conventional Halogen headlamps to HID Xenon. If you want to convert your vehicle to Xenon HID you must purchase completely new Xenon HID headlamps.

The reason for this is that the existing lens and reflector are designed around a Halogen filament bulb, working to very precise tolerances. If a HID “burner” (bulb) is placed in the headlamp, the beam pattern will not be correct, there will be glare in some places and not enough light in other places within the beam pattern.

The legal situation
The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 regulate the situation in the UK. Under these regulations, HID/Gas Discharge/Xenon headlamps are not mentioned and therefore they are not permitted according to the strict letter of the law.

However new vehicles have HID headlamps. This is because they comply with European type approval regulations. The UK cannot refuse to register a vehicle with a European type approval. These approvals relate to ECE Regulation 98 (for the HID headlamps which are tested on a rig in a laboratory) and ECE Regulation 48 (lighting installation on the vehicle).

For the after-market, a used vehicle cannot obtain type approval because this only applies to new vehicles. However DfT does not think it reasonable simply to ban HID in the aftermarket. Instead the department makes analogies with new vehicles. It seems reasonable to require HID in the after-market to meet the same safety standards as those for new vehicles. The same level of safety should apply.

HID headlamp unit requirements Therefore a HID headlamp unit sold in the aftermarket should:

be type approved to ECE Regulation 98 as a component
when fitted to the vehicle should enable ECE Regulation 48 to be complied with (although no government inspection will take place)comply with RVLR as far as “use” is concernedIn practice this means:

the headlamp unit (outer lens, reflector, bulb) shall be type approved to ECE 98 and be “e-marked” to demonstrate this. That can only be done by the headlamp supplier - Hella, Valeo, etc - who must test the headlamp in an independent laboratory
once fitted to the vehicle it must have headlamp cleaning and self-levelling (which can be for the headlamp or can be in the vehicle suspension - some expensive estate cars have “self-levelling suspension” and that is adequate). Also the dipped beam must stay on with the main beam
the headlamp must be maintained in good working order, kept clean, and aligned/adjusted correctly in the same way as any other headlamp
Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is an offence to supply, fit or use vehicle parts which are not legal.

In summary: it is not permitted to convert an existing halogen headlamp unit for use with HID bulbs. The entire headlamp unit must be replaced with one designed and approved for use with HID bulbs and it must be installed in accordance with the rules stated above."

Excellent summary of the legal and technical situation - thank you.
Legislation has not kept up with advances in technology re HID and now LED. Presumably LED bulbs would also fall foul for the same reasons as the light unit is often originally designed and approved for halogen. More recent LED bulbs appear to have improved considerably with regard to beam patterns.
The automotive trade seems to accept both HID conversions and LED for MOT purposes either because it is unaware or just turning a blind eye provided the adjustment is correct and the lights do not dazzle - which is of course the most important factor.
The insurance situation appears unclear as ever. Technically I think you are duty bound to register any changes to the original specification of your vehicle which in practice is impractical and unrealistic as the vehicle changes hand. A crash caused by incorrectly adjusted headlamps regardless of design could always invalidate insurance as could any neglect of maintenance which renders a vehicle unroadworthy.
The Freelander 2 MY2013 is an interesting case. Rumour has it that the projector unit was designed for an hid bulb but on cost grounds this unit received an HB3 single filament halogen bulb in all but the top spec model. I have examined a headlight unit on both a Metropolis ( Hid ) and an XS ( halogen ) and the basic architecture appears identical?
Theory and Practice!
Owners have success with both HID conversations and latterly LED bulbs ( easy to fit ) FL2 SD4 XS 2013 Orkney Grey

Totally agree, I've explored both routes and was also tempted by the stealth-x hid kit until I read about the legalities and possible insurance problems. I too have looked at both the 2013 hid and halogen setups and the only differences seem to be the bulb holder moulding on the back of the reflector bowl and the fact that you need to attach the ballast as per the hid headlight unit. The reason for going for the light bar is that as far as I can tell as long as it is e marked, wired to the main beam and able to be separately switched off, it should be legal just like any other auxiliary lighting such as additional driving lights or spot lights. Anymore thoughts?

In my opinion it is worth making the technically illegal change to HID just to get the headlamps up to a reasonable level of brightness for normal (dipped headlamp) road driving, when additional driving lights can't be used.

I have no information about the last minute change to HB3 suggested in the other posts, but the headlamp performance is so poor that I can believe it. I also have a Renault Scenic with halogen projector headlamps and they are a lot brighter than the Freelander.

As all the HID gear is neatly fitted inside the headlamp body without any wiring changes, and the headlamp beam pattern is unchanged, and the car is available with HID headlamps as standard, I think it is highly unlikely that there would be a legal or insurance issue with that approach. But of course this is something we each have to make our own decision over.

motlymo wrote:

Has anyone fitted extra driving lights or an LED light bar to a facelift FL2 that uses the HB3 single filament bulbs. I ask because you would normally feed off the main beam bulb wire but I guess in this case you would use the wire that operates the shutter instead? Would that be ok or would it cause problems elsewhere?

This guy has LED light bars (although not with HB3 bulbs) fitted, he built a remote control to enable the turning on-off the lamps both inside and outside the car.

https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic30346.ht...te+control

Now that is neat !!





..... and in my view, how not to fit them.





don't know if this guy changed to HB3's , but each to their own.

congoblue wrote:

In my opinion it is worth making the technically illegal change to HID just to get the headlamps up to a reasonable level of brightness for normal (dipped headlamp) road driving, when additional driving lights can't be used.

I have no information about the last minute change to HB3 suggested in the other posts, but the headlamp performance is so poor that I can believe it. I also have a Renault Scenic with halogen projector headlamps and they are a lot brighter than the Freelander.

As all the HID gear is neatly fitted inside the headlamp body without any wiring changes, and the headlamp beam pattern is unchanged, and the car is available with HID headlamps as standard, I think it is highly unlikely that there would be a legal or insurance issue with that approach. But of course this is something we each have to make our own decision over.

for a tenner, i just bought these .... whilst the glass bulb looks blue, they say it throws out a white light. ?

from the product reviews ...

"I've been using MTEC bulbs for 10 years and Up to now I've never had a dud or duff bulb yet!
I prefer the 4,350k colour as it's as near to pure white as I've seen, I detest the 'warm white/yellow' look bulbs and also there's little chance of being pulled over for having too blue a light colour!"


"Very bright white no need for LED when you have these very happy with these"

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172958839012

When they arrive, ill fit them and let you know.

These look like replacement bulbs only - not hid conversion kit ? So how can they be proper hid bulbs  FL2 SD4 XS 2013 Orkney Grey

They aren't HID bulbs, just halogen with blue paint. Hence the rather dubious phrase "H.I.D class halogen".