Xenons upsetting other drivers

[Jay160]

ive noticed with these lights i get flashed alot from oncomming drivers

self leverling is working ok as they go up and down on the driveway ok

when behind another car they dont seam to have a problem and they dont look high
seams the main problem is when there a fair distance off :shrug:

[Holy Count]

I think its just a modern phenomenon ---- xenons are just painfully bright compared to other lights and look on full beam when they are not.

[Dragrad]

Thread moved to appropriate forum. Re-direct left in old.

[VVC-Geeza]

Were yours factory fitted?

Seem to be quite rare on the facelift.

On my to do list.

[Arctic]

ive noticed with these lights i get flashed alot from oncomming drivers

self leverling is working ok as they go up and down on the driveway ok

when behind another car they dont seam to have a problem and they dont look high
seams the main problem is when there a fair distance off :shrug:

Hi Jay have you checked the leveling system on the wishbone mine and Dominics had broken when we checked ours
http://i46.tinypic.com/24m6xzs.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/34xf1v7.jpg

http://i42.tinypic.com/adnltd.jpg

[mh007]

I thought the Xenons dipped more to the ground when the bracket on the wishbone breaks ?
They certainly do on all the ones i've had in, my 190 included.

[Parker]

I have a second hand set they were fitted to the 1.8 then swapped over again to the V6, both cars cleared the MOT fine and I've never been flashed at from oncoming traffic.

Maybe they are just sitting that bit too high and are dazzling.

[chris75]

I think its just a modern phenomenon ---- xenons are just painfully bright compared to other lights and look on full beam when they are not.

I must confess that I find xenons very irritating :rant:

[Jay160]

Hi Jay have you checked the leveling system on the wishbone mine and Dominics had broken when we checked ours
http://i46.tinypic.com/24m6xzs.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/34xf1v7.jpg

http://i42.tinypic.com/adnltd.jpg

hi steve .. when the cars parked on the drive (facing up) at night turn lights on you can see the lights evenly moving up and down leverling .. so my thinking is that there working ok .. but ill have alook later today to check
might ask the mot place over the road to check them for peice of mind if there not broke
make sure there lined up

[HarryM1BYT]

I thought the Xenons dipped more to the ground when the bracket on the wishbone breaks ?
They certainly do on all the ones i've had in, my 190 included.

That very much depends on where the arm comes to rest, when the bracket breaks. The tendency will be for the unattached arm to be pushed up, as if the front suspension was low and the light aim to be raised to compensate.

[Brek]

Had a drive out last couple of nights and no ones flashed me. However I there are times I want to flash other cars as the lights are ridiculously bright it really does look like the got full beam on. I think it needs some kind of limit on the output as I think some maybe way more than needed.

[Frank Incensed]

............ there are times I want to flash other cars as the lights are ridiculously bright it really does look like the got full beam on..........

It's not just older cars or ones that obviously are after-market, either. I've noticed quite a few new cars that seem to have badly adjusted lights. It's as bad as when someone parks on the wrong side of the road, facing you, with their headlights on. Some idiot in a new Audi with xenons did that to me after dawn this morning and I could hardly see anything but his lights.

[greendriver]

I have always been sensitive to bright lights and have noticed that this problem has been getting worse. Lights are too bright nowadays

[pab]

Have you had the bumper off and disturbed the lamp units? The lamp retaining bolts have a degree on the percentage of the beam pattern. Perhaps take the car to a MOT station and have the beam alignment checked anyway.

[Gate Keeper]

I was in heavy traffic doing a crawl and came across an Avensis with the brightest Xenons I have ever seen. They must have been the 12K ones and were quite distracting.

[pab]

12000K is the colour temperature,this will have no effect to the brightness,dimmer if anything.

[Jay160]

yes there factory fitted " as far as i know " i have no level switch in the car

my thinking was that if there going up and down on there own the arms should be ok

the bumper hasnt been off but it did have a smack few months ago but they said it just popped off one of the clips on the off side

but yes a trip to a mot station over the road to make sure

i used to moan about them when they were comming at me.. flash them .. then they would flash back
you are then blinded :D

[MrDoodles]

12000K is the colour temperature,this will have no effect to the brightness,dimmer if anything.

I have zero knowledge on xenon bulbs!

So why's a 6,000k bulb brighter than a 4,800k then?

[Gate Keeper]

12000K is the colour temperature,this will have no effect to the brightness,dimmer if anything.

That's interesting pab. Mmmm I wonder what temp they could have been then? The only way of knowing would have been if I had stopped the driver and asked　

[pab]

I have zero knowledge on xenon bulbs!

So why's a 6,000k bulb brighter than a 4,800k then?
The Burners all contain the same filament,it's the gas which makes the difference when ignited,hence the colour temperature.

OEM fitment is 4.3K and has a hint of yellow where for instance 6k will burn whiter,but not brighter. The higher you go up the scale as previously stated they appear or are dimmer.

[Gate Keeper]

Clearly my assumption was wrong. I wonder how many drivers with Xenons carry spares when they are out and about.

[capese21]

The Kelvin scale explains colour temp.

[kfieldin]

Clearly my assumption was wrong. I wonder how many drivers with Xenons carry spares when they are out and about.

I do :shrug: but then I always carry a small box of spares and of course cable ties and gaffa tape :D

[pab]

Clearly my assumption was wrong. I wonder how many drivers with Xenons carry spares when they are out and about.
The service life of a Xenon Burner is much greater than that of a conventional Halogen bulb,ten years is achievable. The burners have been known to loose colour and become dull before failure so this would give you ample time to source a replacement.

The changing of Burners is a bumper off job and lamp off,see the 'How to' section I have just compiled a thread on the procedure.

[Gate Keeper]

The service life of a Xenon Burner is much greater than that of a conventional Halogen bulb,ten years is achievable. The burners have been known to loose colour and become dull before failure so this would give you ample time to source a replacement.

The changing of Burners is a bumper off job and lamp off,see the 'How to' section I have just compiled a thread on the procedure.

Thanks for the advice about how to change the burner as it is a must if the worse happens on a dark and wet night in the middle of the moors for example. Per chance where abouts did you get your spares from? :)

[Simon.h]

I had a problem with mine, have you looked at my thread?

http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=92796&highlight=xenons

[HarryM1BYT]

my thinking was that if there going up and down on there own the arms should be ok


If the controller and the mototors etc. are working, they will go up and down when they are turned on, irrespective of whether the suspention height sensors arms are actually connected to the suspension. You need to check the arms visually behind the wheels.

[Jay160]

i finally got round to checking the arms today .. both in good condition

but pretty stiff .. so +gas them and lots of wiggerling about till could move them easy with my hand and somemore copperslip worked in

so will see if i still upset anyone :D

cheers

[batz]

ive noticed with these lights i get flashed alot from oncomming drivers

self leverling is working ok as they go up and down on the driveway ok

when behind another car they dont seam to have a problem and they dont look high
seams the main problem is when there a fair distance off :shrug:

They are kind of annoyingly bright. Sorry! Just a personal thought!

[Jay160]

They are kind of annoyingly bright. Sorry! Just a personal thought!

yes i thought the same before i got this car .
so know how it feels and want to make sure im not making it any worse than it would be normally

[rathlindri]

Hmmmm, my off side light doesn't move while the neasrside does the little up/down dance when I switch on the lights. Both settle at the same height and lights appear normal when driving. I have xenons and the height sensors seem to be in good nick. Does it seem one of my adjusting motors has stopped working? If so how do I fix it (MOT due in 2 weeks time!!)

[philfatkid]

I do :shrug: but then I always carry a small box of spares and of course cable ties and gaffa tape :D

What spares can you carry for xenons ? i have recently changed the burners on mine, had to take the bumber off, i wouldn't like to do this at the side of the road at night time !

[calibrax]

What spares can you carry for xenons ? i have recently changed the burners on mine, had to take the bumber off, i wouldn't like to do this at the side of the road at night time !

Exactly, no point in carrying a spare. If one of your xenons dies while driving, the other one will still work. I would just put my front fogs on as well (to ensure nobody mistook my car for a motorbike in the dark), and get to the end of the journey. Then sort the problem afterwards.