Hi all

I thought that I should share a little knowledge regarding FL2 Headlights

I've been battling with headlight output from my 2013 Facelift Freelander 2 S, which came standard with LED DRLs and halogen main/dip beams by way of a projector lens.

I was finding that the standard halogen bulb output was noticeably poor compared to most other cars on the roads, and I was getting tired on the drive home, especially through winter and inclement weather conditions!

I tried Nightbreaker Ozram bulbs, but despite a good light output, I was doing roughly a set of bulbs every 5/6 weeks, which is ridiculous!

Finally I did some reading around LED replacements, and was lucky enough to find a product review by a fellow 2013 facelift owner who had similar issues. The bulbs are Novsight LED, HB3/9005 fitment, and work flawlessly without any canbus error- simply plug and play

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NOVSIGHT-Headligh...&psc=1

The light output is powerful and wide, and the white light looks good externally through the projectors. Can't yet speak for longevity, however they are aluminium housed and fan cooled, and I don't notice any decrease in performance once they are up to temperature.

All facelift owners who don't have HIDs fitted as standard- do yourselves a favour and shell out the £45 on these, to save your eyes and your pocket in the long run!

Thanks for the info.
This has been problem facing all late models projector lights - they get very hot and the bulbs burn out. Using brighter bulbs just makes the situation worse.
After trying numerous bulbs I gave up and I just carry a spare bulb and a 10mm spanner.
Ive also tried a couple of LEDs and sent them back as the beam pattern was awful.

Later versions do seem better though.

The issue for some is that these LEDs are illegal from an MOT perspective. So you should probably swap back to OEM for the test, unless you are sure the tester will ignore them. Jules

I was was told LED upgrades were now illegal by a LED supplier. But I'm now not sure.

Ive checked the MOT guidance

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection...-equipment

I can only find this...
"Existing halogen headlamp units should not be converted to be used with HID bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp."

It doesnt mention LED upgrades in any way. Jules

This is from Auto bulbs - its all you need to know

https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/blog/are...0halogens.

"LED upgrade bulbs can't be classed as road legal because they cannot be E marked or have the British Standard mark. The reason that LED upgrade bulbs can't be E marked is simply because no legislation exists for the use of LED technology in a headlight unit built for halogens.

But...
The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations states a bulb needs to be E marked, approved or have the correct wattage in order to be road legal. However this is not a requirement that is checked by an MOT testing station.

...As long as the beam pattern and the colour of the light is correct – then there is no reason an LED upgrade bulb will fail an MOT."

I stand corrected.  Jules

Technically illegal to fit Led bulbs ( or hid conversation kits ) into halogen projector units. Subject has been covered extensively on the forum.
However people have had good results with both hid conversions and led bulbs although main beam distance reportedly not too good on latter - and MOT testers don't seem to have a problem with either as long as they are correctly adjusted.
I believe originally it was LR intention to fit hid units to all models when they introduced DRLs in 2013 and moved to a single bulb with shutter system. Then on cost grounds they decided to only fit Hid to top models ( HSE Lux and then Metropolis ) and introduced the HB3 halogen bulb for the rest of the range. Not sure if HIDs were even a factory option on the rest. The result is poor light output and often blown halogen bulbs due to overheating. So if this true then the projector units were designed for hid bulbs ?
Anybody throw any more light on this ?

In summary legislation has not kept up with technical developments in aftermarket lighting

I opted to fit some hid units from a Metropolis but they weren't cheap! But the difference was night and day ! FL2 SD4 XS 2013 Orkney Grey

As I just posted on another thread I fitted HID replacements from abd.co.uk to my HB3 headlights (as have some others on the forum) and they work perfectly - went through MOT test with no comments. All the HID gubbins fits inside the headlamp housing so as long as they are well adjusted I can't see that an MOT tester would even notice.

I took great care to check that the beam pattern with the HIDs matched the HB3s because glare from badly adjusted HID replacement bulbs is a scourge of the roads at the moment, and anything like that should rightly fail an MOT and be illegal. But those HID bulbs are designed so the arc position exactly matches the HB3 filament so the beam pattern is identical to the HB3, just about 5x brighter.

There is another recent thread on here about someone fitting HB3 replacement LED bulbs from abd.co.uk and having good results.

@congoblue

which version did you go with ?

https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/hb3-9005-hid-conversion-kit/ Jules

The 59.95 ones "HB3 HIDS4U Stealth-X 35W Xenon HID Conversion Kit"

not in stock at present - just have to wait Jules

Yeah I got mine in about February and had to wait then as well. I think they must get them in batches from China, when they are sold you just have to wait for the next lot to arrive. ABD were very good about communicating what was going on though.

Found this interesting thread while looking at the search function regarding headlights. Only just got my HSE 2014 & I agree the lights are pretty poor.

Those of you that have fitted the HID conversion (stealth 35w) do they just fit straight in ? I really dont want to start cutting off connectors & stuff like that.

Is the kit reliable & I take it that it don't do any damage to reflectors etc regarding heat.

I also see that ABC now list a 55w version as well for £79.95, anyone tried these.

I also read that an MOT tester can fail the car for having these fitted, seems a bit silly if it improves vision & therefore safety as long as they are fitted correctly & dont cause problems for other road users.

The thread was a very interesting read but with all the different views on LED or HID I am undecided which one to get.

Many complain about light output but when you were bought up with tungsten lamps powered by a dynamo any modern headlamp is certainly not poor, unfortunately the legality is defined by the driver of a saloon car coming towards you not being blinded, rather than you being able see better and feel safer.  my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.

Projector headlights
Projector headlights are a newer invention in the world of headlight technology. They were first used on a large scale in the 1980s in some luxury vehicles. Since then, projector headlights have become popular on all types of vehicles.

Projector headlights are similar to reflector headlights. They contain a bulb in a steel bowl with mirrors to act as reflectors. However, a projector headlight also has a lens that acts as a magnifying glass, increasing the brightness of the light beam.

To ensure that the light produced by these types of headlights is angled properly, there is also a cutoff shield. This helps to direct the light down towards the road. Thanks to the shield, projector headlights have a very sharp cutoff.

Projector headlights are growing in popularity, and for good reasons. They have many advantages:

They're brighter. Projector headlights are significantly brighter than reflector headlights.
They're less likely to blind other drivers. Because projector headlights are directed downwards towards the road, they don't shine in other drivers' eyes.
Projector headlights give off a more even light. Reflector headlights can have darker spots.

Xenon HID bulbs can only be used with projector headlights. HID bulbs are too bright when used in reflector headlights, where the light they emit can blind other drivers.




I found this while looking online, still probably not legal but does suggest projector headlights are more suitable for HID conversion.

The ABD replacement lamps are fairly easy to fit - the lamp itself fits directly in place of the halogen lamp. Then there are 2 small controller boxes which you can fix inside the headlamp housing using sticky pads. Everything just plugs into the existing wiring no cutting or splicing needed. They actually run cooler than the halogens so better for the reflectors.

The HID lamps perfectly match the filament position of the halogen lamps so there is no danger of dazzling oncoming drivers with these particular ones - there's a very sharp cutoff line from the projector headlamps on the MY14 Freelander. It could technically cause an MOT fail - though in my opinion since you can buy the car with HID headlamps as standard, and the beam pattern is perfect, and all the control gear is fitted inside the headlamp, this is highly unlikely, but you have to make your own decision about that.

Thanks for the information congoblue, I don’t know that much about hid lights but have seen some on other cars. I think that if 2 freelanders stood side by side & one had halogen & one had hid would you see any physical difference until you turned the lights on. As you say the cut off is probably the important bit to avoid dazzle to others & from what I have read my projector headlights have that.

I can see more why fitting hid lamps on a standard reflector would cause a lot of light scatter & problems for others. I need an answer for the poor lighting so will give them a go, £60 is not a lot to lose if they cause problems & I have to change them back. Only had the car a week & noticed some tiny fragments of glass in the nearside light unit so looks like previous owner has had bulb blowing issues.