Lighting question?

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Jetjockey
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Lighting question?

Post by Jetjockey »

Good evening.

I notice that dipped beam halogen bulbs on my 2008 C5 2ltr Hdi X7 have metal rings surrounding them, however.......
These “rings” look as if they are adjustable, either manually or automatically by the car. At the moment they seem to be full deflection left, ie:- the metal rings are not central around the bulbs but are almost touching the left side of the bulbs when viewed from the car front.

Is this normal or is there a problem? BTW the beam pattern appears to be ok, which is more than can be said for the main beam which is way out.
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Re: Lighting question?

Post by GiveMeABreak »

There is a levelling system for the Halogen headlamps to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic, as the suspension system is not fast enough to correct the pitch.

Each lamp has a corrector on this type of headlamp, item 15:
Headlamp Corrector.PNG
However, the bulbs if not fitted correctly can obviously result in an incorrect beam pattern. The bulbs should sit flush when fitted. If they have been forced in on replacement then that may account for the angle, but the bulbs themselves should be flushly fitted.

Here is a better close up of the corrector unit and as you can see it only attaches to the back of the fitting - not the bulb directly, so I suspect the bulbs may not have been fitted properly when replaced.
Headlamp Corrector B.PNG
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Re: Lighting question?

Post by Paul-R »

On non-projector type headlamps (possibly those as well but I've never looked inside!) there is a ring around the dipped beam bulb to shape and control the pattern. The ring support is not strong and it's all too easy to push it to one side or another when fitting a replacement bulb. When the bulb is correctly seated the bulb should be central to the ring. If not a delicate adjustment can be made using a finger or other blunt podger. But be careful!

The headlamps on our 308 were like that as I discovered when I put uprated bulbs in last year.
Last edited by Paul-R on 30 Jun 2019, 09:34, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Lighting question?

Post by Doxat »

As I can see, also there is hexagonal manual adjustment possibility above... (just to mention it)
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Re: Lighting question?

Post by GiveMeABreak »

No - that's the Beam setter - and should not be touched unless you are having the beams adjusted professionally using a beam setter tool. Otherwise if you adjust that then correct the bulb fitting your lights will be out of alignment.

Better to get the bulb seated correctly.

@Paul - Projector ones are dynamically controlled up, down, left and right and are easier to fit - the igniter block is square and just plugs straight into the fitting with a sprung wire crown on each side of the fitting to guide and hold it in place.
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Re: Lighting question?

Post by Paul-R »

As I said, I'm unfamiliar with projector headlamps in general. I'm just imparting information on what I found on one of our cars with standard H7 bulbs.
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Jetjockey
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Re: Lighting question?

Post by Jetjockey »

Hello and thanks for the information, it’s first class.

Half the problem is solved I think. Examination showed that each main beam bulb has a metal “strip” above it, the bulb runs below and in line with the strip. On the offending side they were not in line! Undoing the clip and reseating the bulb seems to have corrected the problem. Unfortunately I now have to adjust the hexagon head plastic screw to realign the dipped beam which had been adjusted in error to try and fix the misaligned bulb. 🤦‍♂️
This C5 is turning out to be a voyage of adventure, the previous owner had obviously not a clue!

Thank you.
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Re: Lighting question?

Post by GiveMeABreak »

You can always take it to your local MOT / ATS station who usually have a beam setter to get it set correctly. You don't want to be responsible for an accident by dazzling :wink:
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Re: Lighting question?

Post by Doxat »

I adjusted my directional lenses on my own, in front of an wall ... previous owner left them too low, I couldn't see anything driving above 40km/h... so I raised them up a little...
Jetjockey
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Re: Lighting question?

Post by Jetjockey »

Funnily enough I’ve just used my garage door in the dark. The near side headlight is a known good quantity.
I’ll now align the offside beam to match before taking it for a test drive. If it doesn’t look good it’s off to ATS.

Tomorrow I’ll take out the dipped beam lamps and gently “adjust” the ring that surrounds them. If the ring is supposed to be equidistant around the bulb then the metal rings have been knocked out of adjustment.
The supports do look frail.

My last vehicle had HID lights but these are egg yellow by comparison. Can anybody recommend a good replacement bulb with a whiter brighter light?

Thanks. Gerald.
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Re: Lighting question?

Post by bobins »

There's 2 flavours of quality headlight lamps frequently recommended - 1 is Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited..... and the other I forget at present, but someone will be along shortly with the correct answer :-D
Just make sure you get genuine ones as there are a lot of fakes out there. There's also a lifespan payoff with the brighter lamps i.e. they have a shorter life
Sadly no longer a C5 owner :(
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Re: Lighting question?

Post by myglaren »

Philips X-treme vision.
There are several types to choose from.
These are the ones I have been using and they seem to last a fair while.
Jetjockey
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Re: Lighting question?

Post by Jetjockey »

Thanks everybody, yes, I have heard of those, I’ll try and get some tomorrow, the currently fitted bulbs look worn out.

Now, a daft question for a Citroën, but how do you set the headlamps for driving on the continent? Is there an adjustment that can be made, or do you have to buy those stick on films to go on the lenses.
Or, does it have something to do with those metal rings surrounding the dipped beam bulb?

Thank you.
Jetjockey
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Re: Lighting question?

Post by Jetjockey »

Well, I centered those metal rings that surround the dipped beam bulbs today, but I’m not convinced it was the right thing to do. The metal rings took quite a bit of force to move and I’m therefore not convinced that previous contact with new bulbs had bent them.

I’ll take the car for a test run tonight and we’ll see what the beams look like.

Hmmmm.
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Re: Lighting question?

Post by bobins »

This is what they should look like....
C5 X7 Headlamp Ring - own work
C5 X7 Headlamp Ring - own work
However, the one on the driver's side of my car is a bit off centre.... which is odd as I'd previously centred it. I wonder if they bend with the heat given off by the lamp ?
Sadly no longer a C5 owner :(
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