Xenon dust inside lens covers = brand new lights?

[nonamepony]

Hi

 

I've noticed that my HIDs/xenons are looking awfully dim. They're recently replaced as well but made no diff. Changed ballasts too.

 

Dealer says that there's a build up of "xenon-dust" or something like that which builds up on the inside of the lens itself over time and is specifically bad with my model ('11 legacy). The only solution is to change both headlights which he says will cost around 3400 USD.

 

My dealer has always seemd pretty straight forward and no nonsense. However I can't seem to find anything on this anywhere else. Has anyone else encountered this? Is there really no other way?

Edited January 26, 2021 by nonamepony

[Scubaboo]

Probably due more to deteriorated reflector bowls, happens to many HID headlights over time.

 

You can take it to a headlight retrofitter who can replace the projector assembly for you.

 

I've never heard of "xenon dust" but a retrofitter can take the light apart and take care of that too I suppose.

[nonamepony]

Thank you very much friend. I had no idea. What I don't understand is what exactly makes the reflector bowls deteriorate. Anyway thanks for the advice. Will try and get away with spending a lil' less moneys. Was actually hoping to do this myself. Anyone have had any success cleaning the reflector bowls or is it pretty much impossible and they need to be replaced somehow?

[Plastixx]

Thank you very much friend. I had no idea. What I don't understand is what exactly makes the reflector bowls deteriorate.

 

I've never seen or experienced it myself, but I would guess it's caused by the intense UV output of the bulbs. The glass of the bulb is coated to help filter UV, but it's still a great deal higher than a traditional incandescent bulb.

[Scubaboo]

The reflector bowls are plated with a very thin reflective coating. This fades or peels off over time and many heat cycles. And UV does play a big role, a lot of the less expensive bulbs have less or no UV coating and causes deterioration faster.

 

It happens to halogens too, easier to see through glass lenses, unlike projectors where the reflector is hard to see through the lens and shroud.

 

TheRetrofitSource sells a Subaru Legacy-specific projector kit with brackets so they pretty much bolt on. Member Brunzo here has shared his diy too, but you have to cut your own brackets from a template.

[ivan.ej255]

Hi, just saw this while browsing the forum and sorry for bumping up an old thread.

 

Subaru actually has a TSB (SB15-048) regarding this back in 2015 for factory-equipped HID headlamps on 2010-2014 Legacy/Outback(non-USDM markets). It's only a TSB however, just an updated part number for the headlamp assemblies and the HID bulb instead of a recall. As others have said here, they're citing the reason for the deterioration is "very strong ultraviolet emitted from this bulb under continuous long period of use". The new HID bulb with the new part number allegedly emits less UV which saves the reflector inside the projector from deterioration. Once the deterioration has occurred though there's no other solution other than to buy new headlamp assemblies($$$) or have new projectors retrofitted to your old ones (imo this is the better solution, as you can now have bi-xenon projectors).

 

If you're going the projector retrofit route, I suggest G5-R, G5-BRT, or MLED 2.0 projectors. These are the current top dogs in the aftermarket and will outperform even the latest factory LED/bi-LED equipped cars without blinding other drivers.

 

SB15-048

https://i.imgur.com/H9Vtzoj.png

[Scubaboo]

Good info, thanks Ivan!

 

Have you retrofitted yours? If so which did you pick and who did the work?

 

Thinking about doing a retrofit, maybe with these or with the parts Brunzo linked.

[ivan.ej255]

Good info, thanks Ivan!

 

Have you retrofitted yours? If so which did you pick and who did the work?

 

Thinking about doing a retrofit, maybe with these or with the parts Brunzo linked.

 

Hi, Scubaboo!

 

Yes, I had mine retrofitted. I bought facelift headlights from a 2013 LGT, then had those retrofitted. So the stock headlights with the stock projectors are still with me, kept them as spare.

 

While researching about this conversion I found out that for our cars which are factory equipped with HIDs, buying the cheap(relatively) facelift assemblies from/for USDM cars won't work since they're not factory HIDs- they don't have the wiring for auto-leveler(because they don't have the auto-leveler motor at all) and no built-in enclosure for the HID ballasts. There are aftermarket solutions but I want everything to look OEM.

 

For projectors I chose G5-R projectors with Osram CBI bulbs and I initially reused the factory 10 year old ballasts. The G5-R looks identical to the latest Morimoto D2S 5.0, but the beam is much fuller and much more intense. G5-R with the factory 35 watts ballast can match the output of D2S 5.0 on 55 watts. Eventually though my factory 10 year old ballasts started to show signs of deterioration (intermittently turning off/on) which made me upgrade to aftermarket 55 watts. I made sure they still fit inside the OEM location (inside the headlights). Now with the 55 watt ballasts, the light output is unreal lol. Even beside newer luxury cars with their fancy adaptive LED lights my lights still come out on top. Not to mention the ultra sharp cut-off that is unmatched by ANY factory car.

 

Also, since the projectors are now bi-xenons, the high beam is much more intense since I now have 4 lights for high beams (high beams from the projectors + separate OE halogen high beams).

 

The best available bi-xenon projector right now in terms of output would be the G5-BRT. It is almost the same as the G5-R but with added AR coated blue lens. This makes the light beam more intense(+∼10%) at the expense of reducing color temp, a reduction of around 500Kelvin.

 

Best combos for me would be:

G5-R + Osram CBI bulbs(5500K)/+ 55 watt ballast:

-This is my no.1 choice and is the combo I used. Resulting color temp would be around 5000K(5500K bulbs + color reduction of the high power 55 watt ballasts).

 

G5-BRT + CBI/CBB bulbs (these 2 have the same color when warm, both around 5500K, CBB is just more blue at startup) + OEM/aftermarket 35 watt ballast:

-Color temp would be around 5000K too but a bit less intense then the first combo since this is only 35 watts. If you use 55 watts the color temp would be around 4500K, almost like a halogen color. Color is "all-weather" as some would call it, but I've personally experienced no significant gains by going from 5500K down to 4300K.

 

You can also use Philips XV Gen 2(XV2) or Osram Nighbreaker Laser(NBL) HID bulbs which are both arguably the brightest OEM-grade HID bulbs available in the market right now but their color is around 4500-4800K. They're a lot warmer than CBI and if you pair them with 55 watt ballasts + BRT projectors, the color is literally like a good halogen bulb at around 4000K or less.

 

So, G5-BRT + XV2/NBL + 55 watts = the best of the best among the bi-xenons in terms of output but the color will be like halogen as mentioned.

 

MLED 2.0: I haven't seen this personally but based on the reviews and tests online, it can match the G5-BRT's output and is the best bi-LED projector available in the market right now. Also there's no one locally who sells this projector. If you want this you can import it yourself(I recommend Lightwerkz) then either diy or have one of our local retrofitters fit them for you. No warranty for the latter of course since the part didn't come from them.

 

I had mine done by Redline Auto Works in QC. I've known the owner(Tots) for almost 10 years now, he also did the retrofit on my older car 7-8 years ago and had no problems with it so this shop was the safe choice for me.

 

Also heard good things about TheRetrofitShop(GaryQ) who's also an OG in this field locally. One thing about GaryQ though, you won't be able to specify G5-R, G5-BRT, etc. as he's not very open about what's the equivalent of his projectors when comparing them to what's available overseas. The projectors I mentioned change names depending on the region. So, researching about GaryQ's projectors via cross referencing won't be possible lol. Both these guys have been doing retrofits for 10 years or more now and their pricing is also close so choose whoever you prefer.

 

Sorry for the long post lol, hope this helps!

[Scubaboo]

No, thank you Ivan for the very detailed post!

 

I will look into the parts, I want light output like that!

 

I had a friend go to Redline recently and he was happy with the work. I had a projector foglight retrofit on another car done by Firedrake and they were good too.

 

This place always costs me money lol!

[ivan.ej255]

No, thank you Ivan for the very detailed post!

 

I will look into the parts, I want light output like that!

 

I had a friend go to Redline recently and he was happy with the work. I had a projector foglight retrofit on another car done by Firedrake and they were good too.

 

This place always costs me money lol!

 

Ah yeah forgot about Firedrake! I always see their posts in social media and they seem to be great too. I think you're in good hands with any of those 3 shops. You're right every time I visit this place and also the FB group my wallet gets thinner lol. Even though this 5th-gen platform is known to be "lacking" in terms of aftermarket support, I still find it very enjoyable as there's still so much we can do to it. Case in point: I recently found out that the JDM 5th-gen Legacy tS (tuned by STI) has an all black headliners and pillar covers like the modern WRX STIs... but that's a topic for another day

[Scubaboo]

 

This place always costs me money lol!

 

 

Case in point: I recently found out that the JDM 5th-gen Legacy tS (tuned by STI) has an all black headliners and pillar covers like the modern WRX STIs... but that's a topic for another day

 

Yes, case in point indeed