Good Saturday morning, Volvo enthusiasts! So, with VF help, I installed two used eBay headlight units. Brother, did I learn a lot!! So, I have Xenon headlamps where the far headlamp has both high and low beam. Now, then, what is the purpose of the smaller interior headlamp? New bulbs, correct wiring, etc. but nothing I do turns them on. For non Xenon they are the high beams...I think. Are they just now window dressing? Spent some bucks on new bulbs.

 

So, I believe mt6127 (I think that's right) solved my problem. I have BI-Xenon lights. I.e. two bulbs in one unit. So, for non HID headlights (Halogen) you have the inner lights for the high beam. Unfortunately I spent a lot of time and cash getting the proper harness and plug to work them. Sigh. Sure wish I could use those inner bulbs. The high beams are pretty poor for Xenon. It was part of the reason I was looking for new headlamps. Also, all the bulbs are OEM new.

 

to update the board, I read an older post which noted the inner beams on the 2004 XC90s with HIDs are used for daytime running lights in the US market. That makes sense as the bulbs can be a lower wattage and trimmed downward. The separate bulb will also extend the life of the hi/lo beam lamps as well.