One of the changes that make a big difference in the over all look of your car are the head lights! I have e '03 S60 and i have upgraded my headlight with HID's and I would much rather change the whole headlight if possible. Is there any way to change the headlights or the over all look of the headlight by upgrade or after market euro style headlights? WHATEVER!! ANY ideas please throw them my way. I also would like my yellow signal lights to match my amber fog lights.

I know i am asking a bit much, but his is the most informative forum i have seen in refernce to Volvo's.

 

I have an '01 and swapped the headlights with the '05+. It looks so much better. A friend of mine asked if I got a new car when he saw it.

Look on fleabay for some used ones. I managed to get mine for about $100 for the pair (it helps to have patience). I have not seen aftermarket ones available for the S60 yet. I think the older halogen bulbs are H7 and the newer ones are H11, or maybe the other way around. Either way, if you go that route its possible your HIDs may not fit.

It is a bit of work to replace the headlights, but it is worth it. You have to remove the bumper. The newer headlight wiring does not match up well with the old wiring, so splicing is a must. The newer headlights are deeper than the older style and it makes fitting them that much harder.

Decide on the bulb color before you mount the headlights. Once you finish you are not going to want to redo all of that work to change them.

 

That does sound like a lot of work how how long did that take you? before i put in my HID's the regular bulbs i had in had to be changed very often, if i change to the '05 headlight housing will it be a problem for me to put in projector lights instead of the OE lights. I will actually be changing the bumper anyway so this would be a perfect opportunity to make any changes.

Do you have any pics?

Thanks for the advise, I'm gonna start looking today.

 

It ended up taking me the better part of 2 afternoons trying to figure out the best way to piece it together. A lot of that time was spent scratching my head. I blew a fuse during the initial trial and error causing the driver's side to not work. The old wiring has 7 wires and the new headlight has about a dozen. Doing it again it might only take a few hours. Unfortunately I have no pictures during the project. But the before and after is night and day difference.

My concern with the bulbs is that they probably lock into the housing differently (but IDK). If that is the case you might want to sell your HIDs with your headlights together and start fresh with the newer headlights and a new HID kit.

My advise for you is to incorporate some sort of quick disconnect from the old to the new wiring that way it's still possible to remove the headlight. I skipped doing that; by the second day I just wanted everything buttoned up so I got lazy. I can try to find my notes on which wire does what.

 

That would help a lot, i have a feeling i am going to take twice as long being that this will be my first electrical project. the '05 lights are REAL nice, that is exactly the look i am looking for. i might need to dedicate an extended weekend to this. i cant remember were i saw it but i think with getting the '05 headlight housing i might be able to intall projector lamps and try something funky with it.

if you have any pics, i would really like to see them.

again thanks!! i am going to take picks of my car this week after and post them.

 

The previous owner of my 2001 S60 T5 somehow managed to tear the lower lip of my front spoiler. Whatever they hit, they reversed direction afterwards, and proceeded to break many of the clips holding the bumper cover on. It appeared tolerable until I went to get an esitmate on installing a IPD front spoiler. It was then noted that the damage was quite extensive. With the realization of having to replace the entire bumper cover (it's all one big piece), I began to inquire about replacing the stock S60 nose with a S60 R nose. I ran it by my local Volvo service department, and they said the bumper cover will most likely fit, but they just weren't sure on the specifics. They refered me to their body shop (also a Mercedes/Land Rover shop), Keeping the Weight Off who agreed with the Volvo folks. It looks as though it will fit, BUT there may be a slightly different support structure undernneath the bumper cover which will require the purchase of some additional parts. The price difference between the 2 bumper covers is not too bad. Total estimate for stock replacement was a little over $700 US. I'd guess the R bumper cover would be maybe $800.
So the question is, anyone heard of this being done? The body shop wants me to gather data Fettabsaugungfrom Volvo - detailed schematics of the R bumper design, etc, so they can get a feel for what this will involve. But they said they've never heard of it being done - it would be a first for them. Is this a first? And if not, any advice as to its feasibility? Help would be very much appreciated!!!

 

I got a PM yesterday regarding this thread, so I just wanted to do a followup. I found the notes that I made. Here is the gist of it.

When you remove the original 2001-2004 headlight you will see two wiring harnesses (one for hi/low beam and another for turn signals). If you reuse the turn signal bulb and socket, then you are halfway done. Below you will see how the other harness is wired. You can find the numbering on the wiring harnesses themselves. Hopefully this helps.

Car's Wiring Harness

Pin--Left Side Color--Function-----Right Side Color
1---Black-----------Ground-------Black
2-------------------No Function-------------
3---Blue-White------Low Beam----Blue-Yellow
4---Blue-------------Hi Beam------White

New Headlight Plug

Pin---Function
3-----Low Beam
7-----Hi Beam
10----Ground
(There are a bunch of other wires that you really don't have to worry about.)

If you are really cool, then you can splice interconnects so that you have the option of disconnecting the wires and pulling the headlight. I cut the end off the headlight harness but left the car's harnesses intact, then I spliced the corresponding wires.

Good luck.