[SunnyBoi]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

This would be funny if it was not for the fact that many enthusiasts have spent money on something they arent fully satisfied with.

I have not had any interaction with Mr Rajat but have spoken to Shyam a few times and I found him to be quite professional and decent.

Hope you guys are able to find some solutions for this mess.

I echo your thoughts completely.

If anyone will be doing this as DIY, you need to check if the supplied brackets work for your car or not. In my case I had to make custom brackets to fit mine. However by looking at the installations done, it seems the generic brackets supplied should work for most cars.

[Dr.Naren]

XP Micro is the same IPHCAR fog projector available in Ali express. But, XP claims that their projector is "customised IPHCAR".

The low beam of this fog projector could be made completely plug and play by sourcing respective connectors. I am worried about high beam. S-Cross has fuses for both high and low beam. How about Fuse tap for high beam connection? Is it safe?

[sudeepg]

Time-Out Post
With all the issues that have been reported with XP Micros with installations done in Evo, Bangalore, XenonPlanet had asked time to fix and also regulate their processes. Being an affected customer myself, I had waited until today, the time they asked, before posting anything. I'd just summarize the issues and actions taken so that everyone knows. Please note, this no personal attack on anyone or Organization, but merely information that the community can use to make their decisions

Product: Given the aftermarket options, the 3 inch XP Micros have been good for me for the last one month or so. Long term reliability is still unknown, but XP said the product carries a two year warranty which includes stone chips on lens. Let's hope that no ne has to go in for warranty and the product is trouble free. Given the right bulbs are installed, they are an excellent solution for cars which have poor OEM lighting. For Swift/S-Cross and many cars in Maruti stables this would be a good fit.

Installation Woes (From Evo, Bangalore)

• Original installer, who is claimed to be better than current one is out since over a month. Who gets so much leave in this business? I myself get 20 days paid leave and 10 days sick leave in a year
• There are three connections which will make Micros Plug and Play namely, the stock connection input into ballast, the output from ballast to bulbs and the high beam solenoid connection matched with stock head light signal. In the current situation, the solenoids do not come with connectors which makes it a permanent connection if you choose to mesh the wires and tape them up. Not to forget the long term reliability is lost because they are not water proof. They sit in an area which gets the maximum water splashes. So a water proof connector is mandatory and not an options
  
• More info here: Link
  
• With the "premium" bulbs they had offered to us, pigtail connectors were supplied which made it plug and play to tap power from the stock connector. But prior to this, the harness used was crappy and almost broke my stock fog lamp connector. Remember this - if your stock connectors are broken or wires messed up, there is no way to replace just that without replacing the entire wiring harness. Estimated cost for replacing the harness - 16K for swift.
• For some installs, speaker wires were used instead of 22-24 AWG wires for the solenoid wiring. I just don't get how an installer like Evo can goof this up when making tall claims in market of a quality work. End result for those folks - Maruti found that out and flagged it in their database. An electrical warranty claim is going to be tough now!
• Although not critical, Ballast could have been secured better. Some installations have them moving around in the base of the bumper. Ideally, the connectors should be facing downwards to ensure no water entry.
• We made a bulk order as a group and were told that there is a shortage of supply and will have to wait some time. A month later, no projectors. It's not until then people started walking away from the deal that XP started shipping the projectors. A couple of them still walked away from the deal. Finally in my case, when they were delivered, I got the old CN bulbs instead of the offered premium bulbs. I had no clue about all this until we started sharing information in our circle of friends on the install. I got 5000K bulbs instead of 4300K which I asked. Neverthless, XP did acknowledge the issue & replace the bulbs.
• XP has a member in Bangalore, Mr. Shyam Hegde. He's a nice gentleman but have missed verifying the installation is proper when the new installer took charge.
• Multiple folks have had to go multiple times to sort out problems related to bulb seating, streaking, and wiring mess up, some of it is still unresolved.
• XP ack'd that Evo did a bad install and fired them as install partners, but they are yet to find another installer in Bangalore that meeds their installation standards. None of us agreed to use Evo and eventually all they offered was Evo as a place to rectify the issues.
• We offered what we believed is a solution to make the product plug and play which includes but not limited to - Shipping proper water proof connectors for all connections, Wiring harness, wiring diagram, installation Manual, screws etc. Only the wiring harness has come through and nothing else. XP made tall claims that they are going to improve based on our feedbacks, but yet very little has been done in the deadline they set for themselves.
• Rajat from XP was very responsive in groups, forums and in showcasing the product. Actions speak louder than words and in this case, unfortunately there were very little actions to fix reported issues. The promises almost always never translate to actionable items. Sigh!
• The high beam for Micros is synced with the head light high beams using a splice connector from the stock headlamp signal wire. This is a permanent change and not a long lasting connection. This is the typical method for tapping power, but keep in mind that it is still a "splice" on the stock wire. You need to take additional care to make it water proof rather than just tape up the connection. Most importantly, this is entirely optional for customer since the high beam of Micro hardly gives you any usable light. Low beams should suffice for most and high beams are merely usable to ding the high beemers on the road

So is it worth it?
Answer is - It depends. The product appears good, no issues so far. For some of us who have cars with extremely poor lights, XP is a good choice. You can source the components and do a DIY rather than depending on their current installation partner. Evo charged us 2750 per install and their work is not worth any such money. Note the link above on the wonderful DIY on how to go about it. Do expect that XP might give you runarounds and ship things which are inaccurate as per what your order is. Do expect delays and your stuff being given to someone else. One has to be careful and watch how the install is. For folks who don't understand car electricals or don't bother, ignorance is bliss.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by sudeepg

Answer is - It depends. [/b] The product appears good, no issues so far. For some of us who have cars with extremely poor lights, XP is a good choice. You can source the components and do a DIY rather than depending on their current installation partner. Evo charged us 2750 per install and their work is not worth any such money. Note the link above on the wonderful DIY on how to go about it. Do expect that XP might give you runarounds and ship things which are inaccurate as per what your order is. Do expect delays and your stuff being given to someone else. One has to be careful and watch how the install is. For folks who don't understand car electricals or don't bother, ignorance is bliss.

Hi, I think you have been extremely generous in summarizing your experience. From a unbiased layman's point of view (and based on affected users's posts), going to all this trouble and risking:

1. HIGH chance of an electrical fire and/or malfunction of expensive electrical components
2. Blacklisting of vehicle VINs in MS's database,
3. Wastage of precious bandwidth (time!) in running around to various installers and messaging on social media, and
4. Restoring various affected parts of your vehicle to normal.

All this for a secondary lights install which was meant to be P&P?
Please avoid! This tale sounds like a super custom engine / transmission / suspension gone bad, NOT a lights installation.

[Dr.Naren]

I drove all the way to Kasaragod yesterday just to get my S-Cross back. I tried to check the wiring mess done by Authorised XP installer : EVO Bangalore. It looks like the damage is irreversible. I should change the entire wiring harness. The stock wiring harness is tampered everywhere (tapping high beam signal and for some reason, Fog lights harness is also tampered). Insulation tapes were used and they have already given up. The wires are now exposed (Rats should be happy). Fog lamp connector is unplugged and exposed. Such a mess it is!!!

Insulation of stock harness cut, wires exposed etc for high beam tap


Fog lamp connector unplugged and exposed to dirt, water and everything


Deadly speaker wires in Engine bay


Thanks to XP authorised installer : EVO Bangalore for this wiring mess and voiding electrical warranty (I think it would cost me around 20k for new harness)

Thanks to Xenon Planet for voiding the warranty of XP Micro in the most unprofessional manner.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

Insulation of stock harness cut, wires exposed etc for high beam tap
Attachment 1654236

Fog lamp connector unplugged and exposed to dirt, water and everything
Attachment 1654238

Deadly speaker wires in Engine bay
Attachment 1654237

Thanks to XP authorised installer : EVO Bangalore for this wiring mess and voiding electrical warranty (I think it would cost me around 20k for new harness)

There is a way to fix the wire. The cut made on the insulation by the wire tap
is small if the right size splice for the gauge is used. Anyway if you need to fix it carefully remove the particular wire from the connector. There would be a lock on the pin which when pressed would release the pin along with the wire from the connector. Now apply some liquid electrical tape into the cut and once that sets slide in a heat shrink sleeve and heat it. The wire will be good as un-cut.

If you cannot remove the wire from the connector then proceed to apply the liquid electrical tape into the cut in the insulation, let it dry and wrap it (not too thick) with good quality electrical insulation tape. I trust only 3M electrical tape (Super 88 or Super 33), rest all of them available locally are crap and bleeds adhesive after an year or so. Liquid tape is to prevent moisture entry. Can be messy.

Just application of electrical tape over the wire tap cut is good enough for most. But if you need it to be absolutely proper then do that. No need to change the harness.

But yes that is a messy looking wiring!

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by Sankar

There is a way to fix the wire.

Many thanks for the advice I just want to fix the wiring and make it safe. Maruti has already voided electrical warranty. I want to check if they would be OK if I change the entire harness. If I am not getting back the warranty, I will fix the existing setup.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

Thanks to XP authorised installer : EVO Bangalore for this wiring mess and voiding electrical warranty (I think it would cost me around 20k for new harness)

Below is the mess they created for a simple head unit change in my car. Excess length wires just kept loose below steering wheel, not even the basic courtesy of using a ziptie.

During an emergency breaking, it fell down from the plastic part, and I was shocked to find wires obstructing the pedals. Luckily I got another second to react before crashing into the vehicle I was trying to avoid.



I guess it shows their grave incompetence in such simple jobs are connecting speaker wires. Forget complicated work like installation of projectors.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

C_D Sir, Why not attempt a DIY?! Product is good, installer's aren't. That's why I did it as a DIY. We'll all help if you need anything.

It is very simple and straightforward with the low beam connections. Plug and play, literally.

Anurag Sir, Unfortunately I'm not a DIY person. Time and space are also constraints as I am struggling to find time for giving enough justice to the vehicles (specially the bike) and the basement parking slot of the apartment is not much suited for such jobs either.

Need to start with simple jobs. Soon, as keep I promising myself every time.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Below is the mess they created for a simple head unit change in my car. Excess length wires just kept loose below steering wheel, not even the basic courtesy of using a ziptie.

I wish that I had seen the EVO Bangalore thread before my installation . Xenon Planet instructed me to get the installation done at EVO as they were their authorised installer and the guys at EVO were specially trained by Xenon planet for retrofits

[sudeepg]

Update on the XenonPlanet Micro related issues

As you may know, some of the early adopters of XP micro had poor install done by Evo as detailed on this thread.

Short Summary - Good news! - Issues in affected cars are being sorted out and install is pretty robust now.

Details

July 3rd was the deadline set by XenonPlanet for delivering us with a kit which will fix the shortcomings from a previous install by Evo. XP did ship a couple of kits to the affected folks by this time but didn't have the workshop to fix the problem since the affected folks declined to goto Evo. Today, Shyam reached out to us to fix the issues. The fix summary:

1. Input power cables from stock connector provided. They are a secure fit now
2. Ballast securely fixed with custom made brackets and bolted to the body.
3. High beam solenoid connected with the water proof connector. This makes it easy to remove as well as plug and play
4. Solenoid tapping with new set of PVC insulated wires, and the tap sealed with heat shrink tubes.
5. Separate tapping for left and right projectors.
6. They removed bumper and did a clean job.

About BlackWorks: The garage is a good place with ample space, tools and hardware to carry out major hardware level upgrades on the car. Venkat and Shyam were hands on with the work today along with their installer, whom I would say - talks less and does his work. He definitely knows his work well and it was demonstrated in the way he went about doing it. More importantly, it was their attitude of doing things right that struck a chord with us. They are proficient in tools and knowledge of car wiring. Our suggestions were not met with excuses or counter arguments, rather where feasible they did the correct work. Venkat personally did some of the connector crimping and wire related work.

A big heartfelt thank you to Shyam, Venkat and his installer. We are pretty sure the wiring is robust now.

Some pictures

Ballast Mounted using proper custom made brackets (Right Side)


Ballast Mounted using proper custom made brackets (Left Side)


Water proof connector used for solenoid wiring with new proper PVC insulated wires.






Custom made brackets to hold the ballast - Neat work BlackWorks! Full marks to you guys for giving us this. It was above our expectations.

[Dr.Naren]

@sudeepg : Good job by Blackworks . I was pretty sure that they will fix the mess. I couldn't make it today as I am in Mysore. I will get my wiring setup corrected soon.

I appreciate Mr. Shyam for helping us out and provide wiring fix at Blackworks. Venkat should have done a good job as usual and sorted out all the issues. Peace of mind is what matters at end of the day.

Cheers!

[sudeepg]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

I think you have been extremely generous in summarizing your experience. From a unbiased layman's point of view (and based on affected users's posts), going to all this trouble and risking:

1. HIGH chance of an electrical fire and/or malfunction of expensive electrical components
2. Blacklisting of vehicle VINs in MS's database,
3. Wastage of precious bandwidth (time!) in running around to various installers and messaging on social media, and
4. Restoring various affected parts of your vehicle to normal.

All this for a secondary lights install which was meant to be P&P?
Please avoid! This tale sounds like a super custom engine / transmission / suspension gone bad, NOT a lights installation.

While your points are valid, I think you are overreacting by saying "please avoid - This take sounds like a super custom engine/transmission". Certainly that's not the case. There is a reason why my post was so detailed

For S-Cross Alpha owners, the poor headlights is pretty dangerous at nights on highways. Poor visibility will cause you to miss vehicles, obstacles and people on road during night drives, unless of course one is keeping speeds very low. Try driving the alpha in rains and you will realize you are 99% blind! That was the tipping point for me. I find that a grave disadvantage.

The feedback here is just to make alpha owners aware and help them take a proper decision - There are installers who get it totally wrong and there are some who do it right. Any install, if done properly will be a long lasting secure solution. Mine and some of the affected folks needs far outweighed the issues we had to deal with and we kept pushing until we got a proper work done as detailed in my previous post. So time and bandwidth spent is good for us. Again, thanks to Shyam and BlackWorks

I want the community to know that the product has been good so far, issues happened BUT can be fixed - Whether anyone finds it as a pain in the butt to get it done OR stay away from it is an individual decision based on their requirement.

About MASS - Well, you install an aftermarket bulb yourself which has the same wattage, they will blacklist you. I asked them to install an aftermarket better bulb with same wattage in the fogs and they flatly refused citing warranty going void.

You attach an after market LEDs with proper connectors which are reversible connections, they note it down in their database.

What can anyone say to these? But I know some MASS technicians and managers who are more sensible than going by blanket stand. I believe there is a reason to why they do it. There are installers who do a bad job and in future if a warranty claim or legal injunction arises, Maruti can use that information to insulate themselves. But as we have seen before, there have been incidents where the company has taken a positive stand to help the customer.

Originally Posted by Sankar

There is a way to fix the wire.

You are absolutely correct Sankar. BlackWorks did fix the mess in lovetorque's car using proper procedures and tools. They did remove the splice connectors, remove the pins, make a proper tap, insulate well and reattach. Their attitude to doing it right really made it worth the time and effort.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by sudeepg

Try driving the alpha in rains and you will realize you are 99% blind! That was the tipping point for me. I find that a grave disadvantage.

Yes, this is the reason why many S-Cross Alpha owners have opted for this Bixenon Fog Projector. Many of us blindly believed the lies by Mr. Rajat that XP Micro is Fully Plug & Play and no issues with warranty. Anyways Maruti has voided the electrical warranty in my case and what I can do is fix this mess at Blackworks and drive with peace of mind

Rajat should not have marketed this product as fully plug and play. When he did that, he should have made sure it's really plug and play. He was just putting XP sticker to IPHCAR fog projector and selling it as XP Micro with more premium . Anyways, I have heard that XP is providing connectors /fuse taps etc for new XP Micro kits.. Thanks to this thread!!

P. S : Driving to Blackworks today to fix the mess!!

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

Yes the cut off for XP Micro is below the stock HL in low beam. I have placed it that way with the only intention of not blinding others.

Bulbs are 4300K HID and it should be fine for fog/rains.

IMHO headlight/ foglight is going to work very well around 2500K to 3500K, higher K-rating will not be appropriate for heavy fog & will hinder visibility. We experience fairly heavy fog in winter here in North India, hence talking from my experience.

Cheers

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

IMHO headlight/ foglight is going to work very well around 2500K to 3500K, higher K-rating will not be appropriate for heavy fog & will hinder visibility. We experience fairly heavy fog in winter here in North India, hence talking from my experience.

You can choose the bulb kelvin based on your requirements . 3000K HID bulb would be perfect for your driving conditions. It's golden yellow in colour.