Cars Of My Life – The Ignis (2021)

[mayankdixit]

.
did a major upgrade to my IGNIS. That’s a long story to share with you all … Just wait for some time.
Meanwhile, just guess from this picture- what could be it is!

View attachment 289473

Well call me dumb but I thought you installed driver seat with hieght elevator.
But now that every one pointed out, I guess they are correct.
It's looking good.

 

[Dr MUDHAN]

@ CRACING, deville_56, mayankdixit and, Also those who liked 350Z, vijesh_360, Farhan, Nairrk, Suryaputhra

Thank you very much dear friends for the kind responses which assured me that you are all with me as always.
I will post the new head lights throw later as asked by CRACING.
I would request you to go through fully this write up and I need your guidance to understand whether my observations are correct.
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IGNIS HEAD LIGHTS – ZETA TO ALFA UPGRADATION

PLEASE NOTE:
One cannot find this IGNIS Zeta to Alfa Head Lights conversion process IN DETAIL anywhere in the web world ; many Car Enthusiasts / Auto Electricians are not conversant with the intricacies during such conversion, though some of them have done for BALENO & SWIFT.
I made a detailed study and soon would like to share here in this forum for the benefit of IGNIS owners worldwide.

My IGNIS 2021 ZETA is missing with the Iconic, Stunning Head Lights of ALFA.

Zeta (and all other versions) has the regular Multi Reflective Head Light Assembly with H4 Main, WY21W Turn Indicator and T10 W5W Parking Halogen Bulbs.

I don’t want to blind any one coming opposite by adopting the LED Main Bulbs in the reflective housing, as it is not only illegal & bad, but soon the head light lenses would become dull, will look like cataract affected eyes.

HID is good, but again one need to do open heart surgery to adopt projectors inside that not only requires a skilled professional work but expensive, comes around Rs.25K Locally.
I don’t like just inserting aftermarket DRLs in the original reflector housing, again it requires opening of the lens and the body. Some online sites are selling this type for Rs.20K.
We don’t get any good Taiwan make aftermarket modern head lights with Projector and DRLs as available for SWIFT, as the number of IGNIS Cars on Indian Roads are insignificant.

Local Maruthi Dealer categorically told replacing ZETA head lights to ALFA is impossible as ZETA doesn’t have the required electrical circuitry / wiring harness; moreover, the cost of original - OE ALFA head lights comes around Rs.55000. Also, I am made to understand that these lights are specially made by Indo Japan collaboration.

What to do?
My search started…

No where I could find OE ALFA lights except in two shops, one at Delhi (BINDRA MOTORS, GS BINDRA @ 9871807131) ready to give for Rs. 12500 the used and refurbished set in a good condition as he informed. I did not want to take the risk against a used one, those may be even from an accident vehicle, and also I don’t know how many hours those LEDs run so far.

Another one from Kerala (BROMAX CUSTOMZ @ 95399595930) for a price of Rs.35k including shipping for the same lights that I bought..

Luckily I found this shop online (OM CAR ACCESSORIES) , and also in their YouTube channel, where I could not find even one negative remark. He appeared to be a specialist in all modern head lights for all most all cars and what he and his customers, say that they are really OE part and not a copy / counterfeit items.

I took the risk after seeing many of his works on YouTube towards head lights upgradation for IGNIS and other cars as well.

Contacted Mr. Mohit Jain of Om Car Accessories, Delhi. The only problem he is not comfortable with English and I am not with Hindi during conversation, but thank God his wife came to my rescue as she speaks a very good English. Agreed to send to my address and I paid Rs.22K (actually 24K, Special price for being a TAIGER ) towards cost including for the extra ordinary packing & shipping. The unexpected Delhi rain made me to wait for 10 days, finally delivered to me by DELHIVERY Courier safely.

On opening, first I was little disappointed to look at the Head Lights, as the front glass part was flawless, neat exactly looked as original housing, but the rear black body and screws were little dull, and the Butyl /Silicone sealing was irregular .. that made me to feel as an old stock, opened and resealed. Moreover, the materials used for rewiring
( made to match ZETA wiring harness for avoiding any wire cutting) disappointed me as it was not of the standard as expected.

The right side unit is good but left side, see the pictures here, disappointed me very much. Surprisingly, I could find a HID Dim/Dip controller unit (DUAL HEAD LAMP RELAY?) underneath.
I assume, they would have replaced OE LED main bulbs with HID ones. Correct me, Please.

I was convinced by the couple for it's flawless performance, with two years Seller’s Warranty and made me to realize that these are original but factory seconds, rejected for minor external structural defects which are no way going to affect the performance as they checked.

As I always expect a neat work, I decided to redo the wiring neatly as for as possible & fit the lights by myself, and DID TO MY SATISFACTION.

All the functions were working well like Dim/Dip, DRLs, Head Lights Positioning Motors, but found except two things.

1. No wire provision for front parking lights
2. No Automatic dimming of the DRLS during headlights are on.

But, I did not want to sacrifice front parking lights as it is RTO mandatory, I expressed my feeling to them. It seems, they did not realize this in their earlier fittings which they did for many others that the IGNIS ALFA HL DRLs have to act in dual mode as there is no separate bulb for parking inside the housing like Zeta HLs.

Mr. Mohit Jain took some personal interest to identify the wiring line and guided me from Delhi.

Unfortunately, I had to redo the whole process …. removing the front bumper, detaching the interconnection between right and left lamps, removing the lights, opening the sealed insulation tapes of each one, identifying the untouched / ignored wires meant for this functions and refitting to complete the process.

Honestly, as ‘One Man Army’ it was hectic but successful.

I will share soon how neatly I did the wiring…..

Please wait for the detailed DIY and for more pictures.

 

[mayankdixit]

The effort you are putting into your diy ,is praiseworthy. I like how you do things neatly and precisely. It reflects in your posts too. The results are very good.
for your effort. Want more pictures. Will wait for your next post.

 

[Suryaputhra]

What could be the price deference between Alfa and Zeta. In my opinion these kind of DIY will cause rattling in future. If electrical and electronics not properly synchronized may cause some data transfer issues between BCM and ECM.

HID's are gone long time ago, no manufacturer using now a days HID's. Some aftermarket people still using . MSIL uses LED projectors in ALFA. It is now industry practice using LED in Projectors. Could you share exact inside bulb image. Second image from bottom it does not look like HID ballast, it does look like common resistive type LED controller. Anyway only bulb will reveal what it is.

 

[Dr MUDHAN]

What could be the price deference between Alfa and Zeta.

Around one lakh more that includes increased Registeration and insurance charges.

Thanks for your feedback.

Yes, I understand, it’s not a HID Ballast but only a Dim /Dip Controller in a DUAL HEAD LIGHTS harness set up. What worried me ‘HID’ word is there on the unit.

Of course, there is no such HID Ballast as I see in some of the Baleno head lights as OE even now.

What confused me, if OE Bulb is a LED one, how do they vent out the heat and where is the necessitating small cooling fans or a ribbon-like heat sink?

The housing is sealed and the manufacturer says IGNIS LED bulbs are inbuilt within for long lasting performance that can’t be replaced. Only the entire unit to be replaced on malfunctioning. I don’t want to dissect and open to see what kind of bulb is there inside for now. I could see the difference in the light color which is warm white (around 4300+ K) in this when compared to original Alfa light of the IGNIS 2017 model, which is more of white (around 5000+ K). I need to explore more in this matter.

Regarding, issues between BCM and ECM, I feel it’s more relevant to cars equipped with Controller Area Network Bus (CAN Bus) and hope, it should not be an issue at present in Indian cars as I have noticed many cars underwent upgradation like this have never come across any such problem in the last three years.

Of course, I ensured (without damaging any original harness) restoration of original condition if required at any time.

 

[Suryaputhra]

No need to dismantle, if possible close shot of headlight is enough. Regarding the can bus it is a protocol, there are several streams using this protocol. In fact Suzuki uses K line data transfer. If you look at 16 Pin OBD socket pin-out some pins for data some for power and for earthing. There are two principles involved in reading data from sensors(It is not like 0 or 1 in digital electronics system) On the earth any sensor will output(varies)voltage or resistance. These variations are measured and analysed by BCM and sends to ECM from there what we say 0 or 1 electronics digital or analog to digital conversion will take place. So when we do raw modifications in factory assembled car and by design if it is not for the modifications some strange issues will pop up. Anyway we do not anticipate any trouble in your car.

The headlight assembly incorporates heat sink. So fan not required like aftermarket Led. one can change inside LED. I hope you are missing auto AC in ZETA right. In fact auto ac prolongs the life of AC system.

 

[mayankdixit]

I found this shop online (OM CAR ACCESSORIES)...On opening, first I was little disappointed to look at the Head Lights
All the functions were working well like Dim/Dip, DRLs, Head Lights Positioning Motors, but found except two things.
1. No wire provision for front parking lights
2. No Automatic dimming of the DRLS during headlights are on.

The effort you are putting into your diy ,is praiseworthy. I like how you do things neatly and precisely. It reflects in your posts too. The results are very good.
for your effort. Want more pictures. Will wait for your next post.

I have already liked your work, but may I ask why didn't you go straight away to Maruti parts retailer in your city, with all the part no for headlight and wires, and straightaway made a swap of lights. OEM replaced with OEM with no hassle??

 

[Dr MUDHAN]

I have already liked your work, but may I ask why didn't you go straight away to Maruti parts retailer in your city, with all the part no for headlight and wires, and straightaway made a swap of lights. OEM replaced with OEM with no hassle??

Yes, I tried Doctor.
As I have informed in the write up that this particular Alfa Head lights Assy. is not available anywhere as OE part. Only the Authorised Dealer can make an indent (Official Order) and they informed that they can make only for Alfa version and can't be fitted in any other version. Now, I feel, I should have prefered Alfa version.

Thank you very much for kind words and appreciation.

 

[Dr MUDHAN]

Anyway we do not anticipate any trouble in your car.

This issue has not come to my thought process before upgrading the Head lights. Thank you for your guidance once again.

I understood from my research online that this one can't be simply ignored.

I also understood:

In some countries any modifications from OE is prohibitive and avoid warranties and Insurance support.

In India, it may affect warranty and Insurance. It may be noted, there is a provision in Insurance Cover to insure any aftermarket electronic /electrical items on extra premium on specifying the same.

More importantly
I learned, drawing multiple lines of current from a line that's meant for one purpose should be avoided as higher or lower Amperage may confuse some car ECM . Example, connecting Atmospheric, foot lights, Poodle lamps, illuminated scuff plates from a Doom light point.

I wonder, How people are adding multiple aftermarket lights .Even upgrading Hologen to HID, LED ones is not right in that way.

Fortunately Indian Cars ECM are not that sensitive.

I have connected my Alfa Head lights only in the provisions meant for that (ACC) with the in_line fuse in the circuit and with fire proof insulation.

Hope , I should not come across any adverse experience. Thank God, no such ECM experience so far reported in India.

Anyhow I will complete my write up in my next update , with all sensitive information.

No need to dismantle, if possible close shot of headlight is enough

I am posting the picture of head light here. Since the projector lens is very thick, nothing is visible inside. I could see a small light spot when switched on.

Please ignore the reflection of grill in the sit out at my home.
Are you able to find ?
Regards
Dr MUDHAN

 

[Suryaputhra]

Nope not able to find what type of lamp in the headlight assembly. Did you see any info on controllers like DC or AC ballast or just black box. Switch on head lights for 2 mins without engine running check heat at controller, you have two controllers(not the one HID dim/Dip controller) second and third in the bottom image. You have one controller for each head lamp . Are they very hot?

ECM issues or not reported much in India(few there) but sensor failures are reported these are due to reasons I explained in my previous post. Anyway instead of digging into too much technical we except safe and good run of your car.

Need not contact dealer, but you can order through Suzuki authorized distributor for spares. in your city one there I have brought rocker arms for my Zen. They will not ask anything they simply order. In Bangalore we have Essar, Neema and Popular each one have five branches across the city.

 

[Dr MUDHAN]

Did you see any info on controllers like DC or AC ballast

I have checked thoroughly before installing these head lights. I could not find anything outside except an unbranded Dim/Dip controller in the left headlight. That’s why I asked, where could be the heat sink?

FIY, even the original head light does not have any brand name like LUMAX… except one sticker as ‘INDIA JAPAN LIGHTING’ and a made in India mark on the body. Also noted, even the DIM/DIP Controller is not attached with the headlight itself in the original Alfa car. I assume, it may be there inside the dash.

No one is able answer my query at the dealer’s point.

I could not find any one opened this type of light in any websites.

The seller from whom I bought says its LED Bulb.

Anyhow its performing. Let us hope, it long lasts. I have safely preserved my original zeta lights.

 

[Suryaputhra]

Heat sink is different from Led controller. Heat sink incorporated inside assembly. Led controller usually outside. above image there is a small black box with red and black wire I hope that is the one. In OEM you can see grey color one on top of assemble that one is the Led controller.

 

[Dr MUDHAN]

above image there is a small black box with red and black wire I hope that is the one.

Sorry Dear, I can easily identify a heat sink or a LED driver , as said by you, it may be inside the housing.
What you have noticed is my 12 volt Laptop adopter that I used for checking the lights before fitting.
I do not want to trouble you further. Thank you for taking your time to guide me.

 

[Suryaputhra]

I have marked in the image provided by you in the above posts. The marked one could be the driver.

 

[Dr MUDHAN]

I have marked in the image provided by you in the above posts. The marked one could be the driver.

That's not the LED Driver. That's the only one unit fixed outside and I found as Dip/Dim controller. I have removed and took photo on the reverse side, identified as ' HID Dim/Dip Controller. That picture indicates both side of the same.
However I got clarified for my queries, shall share soon.
Thank you, Again.