(O/T) Mondeo Mk5 -- converting halogen headlights to LED or Xenon?

[John Vine]

My Mondeo Mk5 Zetec came with what are probably the feeblest headlights I've ever encountered on a modern car.  Main-beam and dipped are equally poor.  I don't do a lot of night driving, but when I do, it turns into quite a tricky (not to say dangerous) adventure.  

One option appears to be to swap to LED or Xenon bulbs, such as from these people.

Does anyone have experience of bulb swaps on this model?

JV

[SM25T]

Isnt it instantly illegal and UK MOT fail

[SM25T]

If reflectors and lenses are still clean, have you tried brighter halogen bulbs ?

[John Vine]

Thanks, Ian.  You may well be right.

My fallback position is the Philips Xtreme Vision+130% (or similar).  I had those on the 7 and was impressed.

JV 

[SM25T]

I would start there. LED bulbs in headlights designed for halogen is a no no

[John Vine]

Thanks, Ian. 

I've been looking at Philips RacingVision GT200.  They seem to offer up to 200% more light, so could well be the answer. Any experience of those?

JV
 

[SM25T]

In the distant past I used to use some of the brighter halogen bulbs .... Ring Xenon were good. Recall some of the ultra brilliant ones didn't last long ... the filaments seemed very fragile. Best look at reviews these days.

[Jonathan Kay]

My first choice would be LED replacements, and I'd ask in a UK Ford forum. And I would worry about the MoT inspection, but not a lot.

But, as above, better halogen lamps can be much better.

Jonathan

PS: There was an independent supplier whose advice and products used to be recommended in these parts... Classic Car LEDs... https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/search?q=mondeo

[Nigel Fox]

Notice 01-21 makes any halogen light unit converted to HID or LED an MOT fail.

[Wrightpayne]

I know a member who is an MOT tester who has said if a headlight passes the beam tester check it'll pass even if an LED bulb!

JV - VW transporter T6 vans with H4 headlights have the worse illumination ever! I changed to Osram nightbreaker bulbs with some improvement! 
 

I've recently changed light units to those from a Shuttle / Caravelle that have twin H7 bulbs for dipped and main and have programmed them to both be on with main beam and they are a revelation. The new lights just plugged in (albeit I had to remove the bumper to fit them!)

I wonder if there is a higher model Mondeo you could rob the headlights from? 

I feel your pain!!

Ian 

 

[7 wonders of the world]

Tried Phillips, GE and now on these Osram Night Breaker NEXT GENERATION - significantly better than the previous two, 

https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/h7-osram-night-breaker-laser-next-generation.html

H7 OSRAM Night Breaker Laser 150% Next Generation 12V 55W (Pair)H7 OSRAM Night Breaker Laser 150% Next Generation 12V 55W (Pair)

[John Vine]

Thanks, chaps.

I wonder if there is a higher model Mondeo you could rob the headlights from? 

Good thought, Ian.  I'll investigate, but no doubt the cost would be a lot more than a high-performance halogen.

...Osram Night Breaker NEXT GENERATION

Thanks, Neil.  Any thoughts on this Twenty20 +200% jobbie, or this Osram +200% one? 

JV

[Gnockoff]

After a suggestion on here I replaced the halogen bulbs in my 7 to the uprated Phillips ones, what a difference! So I would suggest trying that before you lash out on new headlights.

[John Vine]

Well, I've taken a punt on the Twenty20 +200%.  Should arrive by the w/e so I'll report back.

I wonder what genius designed the headlight fitting on a Mk5 Mondeo, where, to change a bulb, you first have to remove the front bumper and then the headlight unit itself?   Who's going to do all that when faced with a failed bulb on the road?  Sounds like a deliberate ploy to steer you towards a Ford dealer.  "Ah, yes sir, that will be 1.5 hours labour plus parts.  Shall we say £200 all in?"  Utterly ridiculous.

JV

[Jonathan Kay]

How about a comparison photo of the beam when you've done one side, please?

Jonathan

PS:

"I wonder what genius designed the headlight fitting on a Mk5 Mondeo, where, to change a bulb, you first have to remove the front bumper and then the headlight unit itself? "

And similar for dipping left and right on too many vehicles!

[John Vine]

Re #15:

Will do, Jonathan.

JV

[7 wonders of the world]

JV,

My Accord is the same, modern cars are peppered with poor design in that respect, they are geared for ease of production line assembly and bollocks to anything else.....

I had looked at Philips Ultinon Pro9000 LED bulbs..... pricey though at around £120 a pair...

[aerobod - near CYYC]

Although many cars have the issue of not having the headlight bulbs accessible, BMW typically solved the problem by having a removable panel in the wheel arch to access the back of the light for any removable bulbs (all moot now with full LED headlights). For rear lights the whole light unit may be removable with either a depressible tab or one or two nuts to undo to slide the whole assembly out to access the bulbs, again becoming obsolete for full LED units.

[Golf Juliet Tango]

I wonder what genius designed the headlight fitting on a Mk5 Mondeo, where, to change a bulb, you first have to remove the front bumper and then the headlight unit itself?  

I quite understand, having tackled the front lights on a Hyundai i10.  OTOH like BMW, an old Astra had an access hatch in the wheel arch.

I doubt any headlamps are dimmer than those in a Caterham 21 (well, E types, TVRs will be equally bad).  I'll just swop the LED replacements for tungsten before the MOT and back afterwards.

[SLR No.77]

LEDs do fail as well! 

[John Vine]

I'll just swop the LED replacements for tungsten before the MOT and back afterwards.

Which is exactly what I was geared up to do on my 7.  But the tester at my last MOT wasn't bothered about LEDs at all; he was much more concerned about headlight alignment.  The thought of an annual dismantling of the Mondeo front end doesn't appeal one jot, hence the attraction of an uprated halogen bulb.

The full extent of the design ridiculousness will become apparent tomorrow....

JV

[John Vine]

Well, I've taken a punt on the Twenty20 +200%(link is external).  Should arrive by the w/e so I'll report back

The bulbs arrived this pm (Friday).

This account is really aimed at anyone with a similar model who needs to change a headlight bulb.  Who would ever believe that what should be a simple, two-minute job could be made so complicated and laborious?

I set about the first step (detaching the bumper on the LH side).  The procedure was set out in the handbook, appeared simple and straightforward (lots of push pins and a few Torx screws). However, when I came to detaching the bumper from the wing ("with a gentle pull", said the handbook) ... nothing doing.  It was getting dark so I stopped for the day and did a bit of research.

I found

that closely matched my model. It turns out that there's a hidden push pin behind the bumper connecting it to the wing.  To get at it, you have to pull the wheel-arch trim out of the way.  No mention of this whatever in the handbook, of course.  I'll try again tomorrow.

Feedback from the video:

That is some serious underengineering

...the less I want a mk5 mondeo

This is an absolutely ridiculous amount of effort to change a headlight bulb.

What on earth [are] ford thinking making a simple job like a headlight removal so stupid

I stopped taking car manufacturers seriously once they made the decision to make it impossible to change bulbs without taking a bumper off. A pox on all of their houses. I think thats  just put me off the Mondeo. I seem to remember VW started it.

The designers should be made to change them before they leave the factory.

I have to agree with all that.

More news to follow....

JV

[John Vine]

An update...

Completed the job today.  The offside was much quicker than the near.  For one thing, there was no hidden fixing pin to remove.  There was a tab for it, so either it's fallen out or the production-line fitter didn't bother with it.

This is where the bumper joins the wing (nearside):

This little devil, completely hidden behind the panels, was part of the undocumented bumper-wing fixing:

And this is the tab it goes through:

Following  the advice in the video, I didn't refit the pin.

When it's dark, I'll take the "after" lighting photo and post the comparison.

Out of interest, does anyone out there have a Mk5 Mondeo with halogen lights?

JV

[John Vine]

Here are the comparisons:

Standard bulbs on "high" dip setting (0715 in the morning):

Twenty20 +200% bulbs on "high" dip setting (0715 in the morning):

Note that the first photo was taken while my Eurolite beam-benders were still fitted, so the light levels on the far left are significantly reduced.

I took the following well after dark (high dip and low dip respectively):

Interesting how much whiter the light seems -- or is that just a camera correction?

All in all, I'm very pleased with these new bulbs.  Now I need to try them in anger.

JV

 

[Jonathan Kay]

Thank you. (I'm often surprised by the effects.)

Jonathan