Hey guys so i been looking around(napa auto parts and eBay mostly) for replacement headlights bulbs..and the more i look into it the more confused i get. so i have a 2003 S-type and in the door panel there is a white sticker that says "HID Headlights". So my question is what type of builbs do i buy? I ask this because i see conversion kits for some and some bulbs run from 5 to 200 bucks!! can anyone please shine some light on this? thank you in advance

 

srjag, with the HID bulbs, what you are looking for is bulbs that are designated as D2S bulbs. With that being said, you are going to find a lot of variation with these. The other numbers that you need to look for along with this is first that they are 35 watt (35W) bulbs. You will also possibly find them in 50 watt (50W). The 50 watt bulbs will overload your ballasts and lead to a lot of issues later on. The other factor that you need to take into consideration is what color light are you looking for from your headlights. The factory ones appear to be either 4300K or 5000K bulbs. Those give a pretty white light and the most light. If you dip down into the 3000K range, the light will be yellow and probably not what you want for your main (DIP per UK terminology) beams. You get up to 6000K and they start to develop a blue halo around the edge of the white light. Get up in the 10000K range and the bulbs start turning blue in color. Go higher and they will go purple on you. Most people want something in the range of 4300K to 6000K. If you need me to get more specific, let me know.

 

ok thanks for the clarification but is the 35watt the fog lights or headlights? can you give me the correct wattage i should put in for the high beam, low beam, and the fog light? thank you

 

srjag, as for the bulbs, this is the info you need to select the correct bulbs for you car.

Low beams: D2S style bulb, Xenon (AKA, HID) bulb, 35 watt, factory color: 4300K (some are 5000K).

High beams: HB3 style bulb, halogen bulb, 55 watts.

Fog lights: H3 style bulb, halogen bulb, 55 watts.

As long as you stick with the style bulb I mention, it will be a direct unplug/plug in swap. As for the power that I mention, this is the factory wattage rating. Stick pretty close to this. Going to a higher wattage bulb may give you more light, but it also comes at the price of possibly having future electrical issues due to overheating the bulb plugs. Some people have luck, some don't. The fix is somewhat cheap if you have wiring background. If not, depending on the shop, it could be pretty pricey (what is the price of new headlight housings?).

If you have more questions, just ask. If you are looking to upgrade to better lighting, let me know and I will answer any question that you may have. I work around electronics/electricity all day long and will be able to answer whatever you may have in mind.

 

Thank you very much Thermo thats alot of help ill be looking into doing this soon so ill be sure to take you up on your offer btw what color would blue be? like 6k? or higher? and is it ok to switch colors or can that lead to problems?