So I was hoping to move across my two month old Osram Night breaker Unlimited bulbs from my previous Freelander. The handbook says they should be D1S but when I open the back cover of one of the headlights they are actually D3S:



Needless to say I'll be putting the pair on the for sale section shortly... 

are these much better than standard Xenon bulbs.

I have a MY13 with Xenons - always looking at new toys. 

I have Phillips xenons on mine and don't rate them much, it is next on my list!

I have never changed Xenon bulbs, is it easy, given the high voltage. 

Me neither, will be doing some Googling.

Google .... Friends..... 

perfect, cheers.

do different bulbs really make much of a difference with Xenons, in the same was as halogen ones? 

A few people have upgraded to Xenon xtreme's ...see here

http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic21135.html

They do make a difference  Cheers Ian
Migrated over from Disco4
___________________________________________
MY13 FL2 HSE lux Orkney Grey (gone but never forgotten)
MY10 D4 XS Stornoway Grey
MY07 D3 SE Zermatt silver (traded in before any issues!)
Massey Ferguson 400 FIS AGTV - Arctic Cat by any other name...

According to the spec sheets from Osram, their standard Xenarc and Xenarc nightbreaker are both 3200 lumens, so on paper ..no?
The arc maybe different, ie longer so the light beam is changed, osram do claim a longer beam, they are slighter 'whiter' 4350K as opposed to 4150K for the standard Xenarc.
I forgot to ask the dealer yo have a look at mine, when I am behind, say a white car, there is an orange / yellow patch of light in the beam, they are not as good as the MY11 car I had. I have seen the reflector bowl scorched on a number of cars, the silver surface burns and this may give rise to the coloured bloom?

Edit: just had a look at the Philips, they seem to be the ones to go far, expensive though.

ok,just popped outside and removed the lens

I have Philips D3S's 

D3S are reportedly better, are a quick look at another car forum brought this up:

Currently, the factory Xenon HID market is divided into 4 bulb types (D1, D2, D3, D4) in which they are then divided into 3 other subtypes (S, R, C). The bulb types are not interchangeable. Either the physical connectors are different, or the voltage required is different. D1 and D3 types look physically identical, and D2 and D4 types looks identical. The subtypes differ slightly. S and R bulbs are not interchangeable, but the C (sometimes referred to as 'common') will replace both S and R bulbs. S bulbs are generally found in vehicles with projector housings, while R bulbs are found in the few vehicles with reflector housings. The C type bulbs can physically replace the R type bulbs, but do not have the ceramic sheild to limit the light from the bulb.

D1 and D3 bulbs: Aside from being just a bulb, these bulbs are easily distinguished by the metal box attached to the actual glass bulb itself. The metal box is an 'igniter' which is generally built as a seperate piece in D2 and D4 systems. These bulb types are much more expensive than its D2 / D4 counterparts for this reason (and also because the other bulb type is more common). There are 2 main differences between D1 and D3 bulbs. First is the voltage required to operate the bulb: D1 bulbs operate at 85V while D3 bulbs operate at 42V. Secondly, D3 bulbs are newer more environmentally friendly versions of D1 bulbs; D3 bulbs are mercury free. Because of these differences, D1 and D3 bulbs cannot be interchanged UNLESS their ballasts are replaced with the corresponding bulbs (you cannot mix components from 2 systems together). SD4 HSE Lux
Yeti 170 DSG L&K
Freelander 1 Td4 Overlander

Past: Freelander Metropolis, D3, D3, D2, Series 3, Series 3, Freelander 1 (still have this one bought new, the Monte Carlo blue kid)

I am happy with the lights on my MY15, however, it is noticeable there is no longer a further bulb to accompany high beam. I cannot understand why they have reduced the overall lighting power, it is also the same on other new products in the LR range, the D4 for example to name 1. SD4 HSE Lux
Yeti 170 DSG L&K
Freelander 1 Td4 Overlander

Past: Freelander Metropolis, D3, D3, D2, Series 3, Series 3, Freelander 1 (still have this one bought new, the Monte Carlo blue kid)

I need to go out and have a look but I am sure mine are projector type Philips, but I am not happy with the light thrown off, may be that is me but I just can't see that far in front. We live in the country, so no street lights. When I put main beam on, it lights up half of the village, so happy with that! My main beam are separate bulbs, possibly Osram, and I presume halogen?
I have been thinking about what to do with the dip beam bulbs as I think they should be better, I will take a look at what are on there.

Changing the D3S Xenon bulbs is very easy to do in the FL2. So long as you disconnect the wiring loom plugs at the rear of each light before removing the bulbs/lights, there is zero power going to the bulbs, so no risk of electric shock. The PowerfulUK video shows you how to remove the bulb, but it doesn't show how to remove the bulb from the black plastic horseshoe shaped bulb holder ring. Hold the bulb by the base and have the opening of the horseshoe part pointing away from you. Put an index finger on each 'point' of the plastic bulb ring and with both your thumbs applying even pressure on both sides, push the metal base of the bulb forwards and it will come out of the bulb holder. Getting the bulb out of the headlight was easy, but then I tought, "Right, but how do I get the bulb away from the bulb holder?!?". The owner's manual doesn't show how to do this either, ..half a$$ed effort that it is, lol.

As for which bulbs to use, I bought Philips Xtreme Vision D3S bulbs, which have a Kelvin temperature rating of around 4800K, so they are noticeably whiter than the standard 4300K bulbs. They also improve vision quite considerably too, but unfortunately they are not cheap at around £180 for the pair. I swapped them for a mixture of aesthetics (to lose the slight yellow tinge) and to light up the road better than the standard bulbs and I personally think they are worth the money. Up until recently the choice of D3S bulbs (which are more environmentally friendly, being Mercury free) has been very limited. Late last year OSRAM introduced another D3S bulb, which is the 66340CBI (Cool Blue Vision). As you can expect from a top brand like Osram, they will give you the perfect blend of good looks (pure piercing white light, not really blue at all) without losing any night time light output on the roads. They are rated slightly higher up the Kelvin scale and they reportedly settle (after burning in for around 20 hours) at between 5000-5500K. I have just changed my car (I didn't remove the Philips XV's from my last one) and I will soon be purchasing some of these Osram CBI's. They cost around £75 each in the UK. But you can buy them for some German EBay sellers for around £120 for the pair delivered.
Paula 😀