LED lamps.

handyman · Post by **handyman** » 18 Dec 2010, 11:20

Has anybody fitted LED lamps in their Xantia?

I am particularly interested in changing/replacing the abyssmal parking lamps in the headlights of all our Xantias. I do get a little concerned that our cars cannot be seen in our unlit country roads when parked up.

Any recommendations?

Handyman

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 18 Dec 2010, 11:25

Funny you should bring this up, I've got some sidelights from ebay to try.
I'll see about fitting them and taking a photo.

Also have some tail lights on the way from HK too.

falling-out-with-my-car · Post by **falling-out-with-my-car** » 18 Dec 2010, 11:59

our local MOT tester has been failing a lot of 3 year old cars with the supposedly brighter headlamps apparently unlike the old style lamps they have no definition even if they are 50% brighter.

although these days it seems once you are out of the MOT bay you can stick what you like in your car and no-one will bat an eyelid.

led brakelights are so bright when you are in a que of traffic and the idiot in front doesnt use his/her handbrake their brakelights lightup the whole interior of your motor red like a brothel window in amsterdam.

they are very blinding.

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 18 Dec 2010, 12:04

The advantage of leds is the life expectancy

handyman · Post by **handyman** » 18 Dec 2010, 12:09

And lower power consumption.

I think Nigel has confused LED sidelights with headlamps.

HDI · Post by **HDI** » 18 Dec 2010, 12:18

falling-out-with-my-car wrote: led brakelights are so bright when you are in a que of traffic and the idiot in front doesnt use his/her handbrake their brakelights lightup the whole interior of your motor red like a brothel window in amsterdam.

they are very blinding.

That annoys the hell out of me also !! It's almost as bad as the muppets that leave their cold weather lights (fog lights to you and me, but they don't seem capable of discerning when they should be used !) on for days on end !

falling-out-with-my-car · Post by **falling-out-with-my-car** » 18 Dec 2010, 16:05

Ok whilst we are havin a groan how many cars have you seen recently with only one headlamp, very bad even in these trying conditions perhaps they should consider long life led's? I couldnt imagine not bothering to change a bulb just driving on one headlamp, mind you I looked on for few minutes as a hap hazzard volenteer from Halfrauds tried to remove the fromt grill of a new BMW just to put some new bulbs in, manufacturers shouldnt make a saftey issue so hard to get at.

"sorry officer but I'd have to take the whole front off the car to get to the headlamps I'm not qualified and I dont have 3 grand for the special tools to change a bulb, hence the bicycle lamp hanging off the bumper, it was cheaper"

amjake · Post by **amjake** » 18 Dec 2010, 16:25

Hi Guys,

Just to add 2pence worth,

Tried the multi led replacements from HK, not overly impressed. Light didnt seem as bright as ordinary bulbs particularly when braking in daylight the ordinary bulb was brighter. As I travel east to west to work and west to east home low sunshine is a problem.

In past I was one with foot on brake, led high level brake light blazing in early sunshine and the lady medical rep on phone still slammed into back of car!!! No win no fee solicitor gained me a handsome payout!!

I have LED sidelights in front but 2 years on trot MOT garage didnt think lights were on until covered with coat! However parked at night you cant miss them.

On headlights I use Phillips Extreme Power, excellent but on the C5 you require set of H7 and H4, but ebay kept price down.

By the way talking of lights had idea published in past re Fog Lamps.

Idea: Many lives could be saved if your Foglamps flashed when braking. How many times have near misses occured when car in front brakes with bright fogs on and the brake lights have been missed.

Old Bill always rolls out old chesnut that cars too close too fast but Ive been in queues and watched cars crump because the didnt realise brakes were on.

Whereas if traffic braking and fog lamps flashed you could be certain cars in front were braking or stopped and likelyhood of accidents may be lessened.

Told couldn't be used as police use Blues and reds for accidents or assistance stops, blues only for crime etc

Hope this helps

Kev

Post by **myglaren** » 18 Dec 2010, 17:37

amjake wrote: Told couldn't be used as police use Blues and reds for accidents or assistance stops, blues only for crime etc

Re: Police blue/red flashing light bars.

Within the past few months I have passed a few police stops and been seriously dazzled by their flashing lights. Dangerously so as it was virtually impossible to see oncoming traffic or anyone on the carriageway.

Sometimes safety measures are couterproductive to their defined purpose.

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 18 Dec 2010, 17:54

Funny you should say that Steve, last Friday on the A5 down to Luton we came across a police car with blues flashing, so bright we couldn't actually see the bloke in a hi-vis in the middle of the road trying to direct traffic!

Post by **CitroJim** » 18 Dec 2010, 17:54

vehicle recovery vehicles seem to suffer from an excess of lights nowadays. They would seriously embarrass a Christmas tree and indeed, the glare is not conducive to safety.

I find an odd problem with the Yankee-style sirens the emergency services use. I hear them but haven't a clue which direction they are coming from and it seems I'm not alone; chaos happens whilst all road uses try to figure out where the emergency vehicle is and take appropriate avoiding action. I wonder how many accidents this causes

I never had this problem with the old two-tone horns. You knew what they were and the direction they were headed. Simple. And I bet the old rotating blue light never dazzled anyone either...

Time to abandon the fancy stuff and bring back the good old traditional blues and twos...

falling-out-with-my-car · Post by **falling-out-with-my-car** » 18 Dec 2010, 18:12

Jim, I could hear the old dee daa sirens miles away even over my car radio, the american replacement I often cannot hear until the emergency vechicle is two cars behind me. newest technology isnt always best.

emergency vechicles police cars, highways agency etc don't seem to have
lenses on their flashing lights anymore even some headlights on cars dont seem to have so much fragmentation to the beam anymore, looking at a pair of xantia headlamps for example compared to the C6 lamps the lens doesnt seem to have pattern on the exterior, perhaps this is what the mot tester means by definition of the beam? I have looked into many different types of so called brighter lamps for the xantia but I am always wary that they might not be legal and end up failing an MOT, much of the packaging says legal when they are not.

Unfortunately it would seem that manufacturers will fit anything legal or non legal to save money. apparently there is no EU requirement for a manufacturer to filt road legal bulbs at the moment but as soon as you have a mot with a garage that know his stuff you have lost out.

personally I think I shall stick with the old style bulbs as long as they are available with my MOT's in february it is a very cold time to be phaffing about out in the cold changing bulbs. as for cost there are plenty of the old style bulbs on the scrappy really cheap. Ive got scrappy bulbs in at the moment and theyve been in for years.

DickieG · Post by **DickieG** » 18 Dec 2010, 18:14

CitroJim wrote:I find an odd problem with the Yankee-style sirens the emergency services use. I hear them but haven't a clue which direction they are coming from and it seems I'm not alone; chaos happens whilst all road uses try to figure out where the emergency vehicle is and take appropriate avoiding action. I wonder how many accidents this causes

I never had this problem with the old two-tone horns. You knew what they were and the direction they were headed. Simple. And I bet the old rotating blue light never dazzled anyone either...

Time to abandon the fancy stuff and bring back the good old traditional blues and twos...

The "Yankee-style" sirens are far more effective in warning others of the emergency vehicles presence than the older style two tones, they also have the ability to chop and change tone when a motorist doesn't respond to the one being used, the volume can often be adjusted according to the circumstances, i.e. tones required to make progress but not so load as to alert a thief in action. The option for each car in a convoy to use different tones is also rather useful.

With the older style horns they were simply a compressor blowing through trumpets, unfortunately they invariably ended up with only one tone working

hobblerian · Post by **hobblerian** » 18 Dec 2010, 18:14

I've fitted these-

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Extreme-1w-Sideli ... 4cf2e379bc

in my XM sidelights, far better than the old yellow ones. Nice and bright and a good colour match to HIDs. The light only shines forward though not an all round glow like a normal bulb.

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 18 Dec 2010, 18:15

Totally agree, what's the use of a siren that you can't tell which direction it's coming from?