[FLORO]

I find the headlights pretty useless on unlit roads at night so wondered if these work well? I have the lensed headlights like a 4C Spider and US cars. it’s a UK 2017 coupe. I think they are led anyway but weak?

Any advice appreciated

 

[caemca]

I think the lensed headlights can only be halogen or bi-xenon. You can surely check what you have.
If you have the basic halogens, you could install such LED conversion bulbs. If you have the xenon, I think you are stuck with what you have.
My guess is that you have xenon lights, EU-coupes did not get the lensed halogens.

 

[IanW_UK]

@FLORO I have been wondering this myself for my Spider. I believe we have the Bi-Xenon headlights in the UK models and use D5S Xenon bulbs and for those there are LED replacements. Example link below. I have not done this yet so can't confirm it will work. If it was a simple thing to swap I might have tried it, but it is a chore to access via the wheel arch so was waiting for someone else to confirm that it works! 😀 Also not high priority for me as I rarely drive the Spider at night. It should work but not 100% sure if they the diagnostics on the 4C will be happy and not flag as a bulb failure.

As you say, the D5S bulbs are not not great. My understanding is that they are only 25W (instead of 35W) because EU regulations limit to 25W for headlights that are not self leveling.

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Bright-Headlight-Conversion-7600LM-Replacement/dp/B083XCJ9HB/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2N6FEFZIQWSWU&dchild=1&keywords=d5s+led&qid=1613994763&sprefix=d5s+%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-1

 

[caemca]

@FLORO I have been wondering this myself for my Spider. I believe we have the Bi-Xenon headlights in the UK models and use D5S Xenon bulbs and for those there are LED replacements. Example link below. I have not done this yet so can't confirm it will work. If it was a simple thing to swap I might have tried it, but it is a chore to access via the wheel arch so was waiting for someone else to confirm that it works! 😀 Also not high priority for me as I rarely drive the Spider at night. It should work but not 100% sure if they the diagnostics on the 4C will be happy and not flag as a bulb failure.

As you say, the D5S bulbs are not not great. My understanding is that they are only 25W (instead of 35W) because EU regulations limit to 25W for headlights that are not self leveling.

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Bright-Headlight-Conversion-7600LM-Replacement/dp/B083XCJ9HB/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2N6FEFZIQWSWU&dchild=1&keywords=d5s+led&qid=1613994763&sprefix=d5s+%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-1

This is great news! I hope someone will soon try such a kit, it would solve one major issue with spiders all over the world!

 

[FLORO]

Yes Ian I too suspect ours are Bi-Xenon. I seem to remember that in the blurb.
I will buy those ones you found and report back

 

[OriginalForza]

Look at the embossed writing on the side of the lenses, that will tell you what assembly it is.
If halogen, great, buy cool Morimotos and enjoy.
If BiXenon, you will be opening a can of worms:
The LED's won't work directly with the bixenon unless you buy a specific kind with the appropriate 35V or 65V voltage igniter ballast and connector/plug/pigtail formats.
Also the BCU will get angry and may need resistors/capacitors/relays depending on what led bulb kit you bought.
In the end, you will LOL at the whole stupidity of corporate types (wasted money/cost/profit IRL) and just buy the 90mm Hella BiLED headlights on a liquidation sale for about $311 each side amd amazon the pigtails which plug right up with the euro/spider-eye headlight bracketing.

Then when it all works brilliantly and you never have to think about the bulbs/headlights again, send an email to Stellantis calling them out on being stuck in the 90's and plain stupid with "headlight options" and just make it all LED already, so upgrades come in the form of encrypted software patches and weigh less and cost less and use less power and our batteries can shrink and weigh less and cost less... Ad infinitum.

 

[IanW_UK]

@OriginalForza I think the D5S Xenon bulbs in our 4Cs are different to most other Xenon bulbs because it works off a 12v circuit (see image below) and there is a step up transformer built into the bulb housing. There are LED replacements which claim to be plug compatible with D5S, but as per my previous post I have not tried it yet. The other alternative is that there are 35W D5S replacements which should be brighter but they are more expensive than the LED replacements.

 

[FLORO]

Well according to Amazon I will receive them tomorrow so we will know for sure one way or the other. The car is still at the garage waiting for KW to send a THIRD set of coilovers. KW are falling further in my estimation. I guess the guys can see see if these led bulbs work though.

 

[IanW_UK]

Well according to Amazon I will receive them tomorrow so we will know for sure one way or the other. The car is still at the garage waiting for KW to send a THIRD set of coilovers. KW are falling further in my estimation. I guess the guys can see see if these led bulbs work though.

If they have it jacked up and wheels off anyway it will be much easier to try. I am fairly sure the bulbs will work in that it will light up, but whether it convinces the car diagnostics that all is OK is the unknown as flagged in the posting by OriginalForza. Good luck with it (and your coilovers). Hope it all gets sorted so you can get it on the road as the weather is improving and I see we have a path out of COVID lockdown too! 😀

 

[FLORO]

Agreed! thank you

Here’s what I just read on the 124 forum...

 

[smc4C]

I find the headlights pretty useless on unlit roads at night so wondered if these work well? I have the lensed headlights like a 4C Spider and US cars. it’s a UK 2017 coupe. I think they are led anyway but weak?
Any advice appreciated

Did you look up your VIN on the window sticker site? That should let you know what lights are installed on your 4C.
https://www.chrysler.com/hostd/windowsticker/getWindowStickerPdf.do?vin=YOUR VIN HERE

 

[FLORO]

The link doesn’t work, the car isn’t here and my wife won’t be in the mood to find the vin BUT in the meantime I can say that they have carbon bit’s inside them and that is the Bi-Xenon light I think.

 

[IanW_UK]

Here’s what I just read on the 124 forum...

I think you will be OK because you would be going from HID (Xenon) to LED, not from halogen to HID or LED. I am pretty sure no UK 4Cs had halogen headlights. It was either the "spider eyes" LED (default on coupe) or more conventional Bi-Xenon (default on Spiders), but you could option the other way. That said, the only thing is whether they would know that we don't have self-leveling headlights and check the luminosity. The D5S are rated at about 2100 lumens which explains why they are not that bright, not much brighter than old fashioned 55W halogens are around 1800 lumens.

If the LED replacements work, I suggest keeping the D5S bulbs and if needed swap them back when you have the MOT done.

 

[FLORO]

The mot law/rule doesn’t prohibit upgrading Xenon to LED, just Halogen.

thanks for the information though, really hope we have the fix to something that has bothered me for a long time! Cheers

 

[IanW_UK]

Did you look up your VIN on the window sticker site? That should let you know what lights are installed on your 4C.
https://www.chrysler.com/hostd/windowsticker/getWindowStickerPdf.do?vin=YOUR VIN HERE

Unfortunately I think this really useful facility only works for N. American FCA (Stellantis!?) cars. I tried my VIN number and it says VIN not found.

@FLORO I know when I bought my Spider, the dealer can run an HPI report which shows the specification of the car including options, but I think it might be a dealer only service as I can't find such a report service on the HPI website. I did come across this carVertical – VIN Decoder & Car History Report which claims to be able to get the factory original build sheet for a vehicle which would tell you. But I have not tried this service so can't confirm that it does what it claims.

 

[IanW_UK]

@FLORO Final post on this subject. Just to say that I hope I haven't misinformed you on the model of Xenon bulb as having looked it up in several places, they say several different things! A previous thread on this forum said D5S which seems to corroborate the info I found on this site. Philips D5S 12V 25W DC 9285410171 Xenon HID Bulb which lists the 4C as a compatible car for the D5S.

Confusingly the user manual which came on the CD-ROM with my car says D1S and some other headlight supplier websites say D2S. All very confusing. I cross checked back with the xenons4u.co.uk and for the D1S and D2S it doesn't list the 4C.

I guess we won't know for sure until you get a chance to take out the bulbs from your 4C. Suggest not opening the LED replacements so that you can return to Amazon if it turns out not to be D5S. Fingers crossed they are, apologies if they turn out to be something else.

 

[caemca]

My Owner’s Manual lists D5Ss as replacements for bi-xenon equipped cars.

 

[FLORO]

No problem as long as my lights are bi xenon then...
I read that none of the UK glass covered headlights are halogen so that would rule halogen. I thought only the bug eye lights were LED. Anyway, mine are glass covered with carbon looking bits and chrome bits inside. I’m sure they are Bi-Xenon. 2017 UK Coupe.

 

[Chris1712]

Be exciting if this works, the lights are indeed terrible. Is there even an adjustment screw somewhere? Mine seem pointed at the floor half the time.

 

[smc4C]

No problem as long as my lights are bi xenon then...
I read that none of the UK glass covered headlights are halogen so that would rule halogen. I thought only the bug eye lights were LED. Anyway, mine are glass covered with carbon looking bits and chrome bits inside. I’m sure they are Bi-Xenon. 2017 UK Coupe.

I think one way to tell for sure is when you first turn your headlights on. If they turn on right away, then they're halogens. If they turn on bright for just a sec, then go dim and slowly get brighter then they are the bi xenon bulbs. The first brightness is the ignitor, then the bulbs fire up.