UK HID's, going abroad
 

Hi,

My X5 has hid's and Im going to France tomorrow. My local stealer has sold me a kit (well, two stickers for £13!) which he said I need to apply to my head light lens to make it legal in France. BUT when I look at the instructions, it looks as though they are for standard head lights because I have to stick the stickers on certain parts of the pattern, but my hid`s dont have a pattern on the headlight part.

Any ideas?

A bunch of BS...And consider yourself lucky, cause they charged me 500 quid to put those poxy stickers on, and I had to get the stickers for them!! Did they give you the ugly white ones? Ill look for the link since I just got mine last month, but someone on ebay does a pretty cool transparent one that you can hardly see..Plus they're a pain to get off sometimes...Just think, I have to drive over here with those things for 4 years!! And they dont do SH**!!

I drove for a year and a half without them and never got flashed...Guess what? I still dont....:damn:

Thanks for that, the problem is I go tomorrow so dont have time for ebay. I might not bother with them but what I wonder is, do I actually by law still need them even though I have HID`s and not standard lights? If I dont need them, then I`ll take them back and tell them what to do with them.
By the way, they are the ugly white ones.

I dont think its law, just a precaution. They do say that European Standard ECE-R27 is the law governing the driving of vehicles withing the EU...I have yet to read it, but I'd be willing to bet the local cops dont carry it in their back pocket either...

I say take them with you, but put them on only if you start to get flashed, or get stopped.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HEADLAMP-BEAM-...ayphotohosting

but the HID lights have a lever built in to change the dipping. I went to the dealer and got them to show me where it was becasue I could not find the levers as they have been changed in the new face lift model. You cannot dip the lights by using stickers!!!!

On the back of the light is a round 3 pronged plastic plug. Take them out (1/3 of a turn) and feel inside. About a fingers length in you should feel a small lever sort of wrapped around the back of the headlight unit just push it (about an inch) round the light. I cannot remember which way it goes but it should be one way and you slide it the other.

THe only problem I came across is if you push it too much it unclips from the headlight all together and I had to take the back off the light to put it back on. THe clip did not have a way other than friction of clipping to the back of the light, THere was a fixing hole but nothing in it. I think it was wrong and I will take it up with the dealer next time I am in.

I know it is a bit of a poor explanation but I am pushed for time and relise you are going soon? If you want more info let me know.

John

Oh! I didnt know that..perhaps you wont need them then Adrian...I know on the e46's, there is a VERY simple spinwheel behind each headlight and you can adjust the direction with a touch of the wheel....I had the stickers on there and during one of my MOT's the bloke asked me what the stickers were for....He told me that it was a load of rubbish, and took the car through the lighting bay and showed me where the wheel took care of it no problem..Right then I took the stupid stickers off...