New C5 daylight running lights

[Richard_C]

I have a recently acquired C5 III on a 10 plate, and wondered how to turn them on. Re-reading the manual I found that the relevant menu only appears when you momentarily press down the left hand 'thumb wheel' on the steering hub with the engine running and the car stationary (I think handbrake on). The menu appears in the speedometer ring, not on the main screen. You then navigate through the menu (from memory it was under "car parameters" or some such term) using using the thumbwheel and using a press to confirm selections. Then use the return arrow to get back out of menu.

If yours is not a C5 III, or you have already tried this, then not sure what to suggest.

My car has the My-Way navigation. Using this menu I was able to set the language to German. No use to me, but my son who is doing GCSE should at least know the words for right and left, straight on, roundabout and a few numbers after a couple of weeks

[yaesu]

Hi folks, I know this is a long time since the last post on this subject but here is my 2 pennorth!
To avoid having to retrieve a dropped lamp stuff a towel into the space just under the headlamp. make sure you turn the fitting in the right direction!! One of mine was already in the released position but I turned it and couldn't get it out, obviously.
I used G4-13SMD5050 replacements from E-bay or Amazon, cost? less than a tenner for 2. You might have to remove the stop bar from the led fitting and also, depending on the pin length, "modify" the original Citroen fitting with a craft knife. Small price to pay when the dealer wants £160 plus VAT to replace 2 bulbs. One last point, you DO NOT have to remove the bumper.
Hope this helps someone. Regards, Yaesu

[hedC5MK2]

jpn369 Thank you for posting a very clear description about DLR on C5 2008. I have replaced a dead bulb, but only with your help.
Just for the record, I got LED 20w G4 bulbs (small cost, by Chinapost) but I was not happy with their brightness or blueness.
I did some research and found that Halogen 12v G4 might fit the bill. It has indeed, two bulbs for 75p, so I have a spare. These are the Halogen bulbs used in the home, quoted 2000hr duration, also I will now know how to service a front fog lamp.

[jpn369]

Halogen bulbs are a lot cheaper, but considering the hassle changing the bulbs, the projected 30-50,000 lifespan of the LED versus the 2,000 hrs of the halogen sold me on LED.
Also heat is a concern when not replacing like for like with halogen.
When looking for any replacement bulb colour can be an issue. Some suppliers give very easy to understand descriptions of "Cool White" i.e. more blue or "warm White" more orange. "Warm White" tends to be a closer match to Halogen. Other suppliers refer to Colour Temperature expressed in degrees Kelvin i.e. 3000K.
3-3500K is a more orange colour, whereas 5000K is a more blue colour.

[hedC5MK2]

Halogen G4 are not suitable they overheat. Not an acceptable solution.

[vborovic]

I'm waiting for my LED bulbs to arrive, hopefully next week (fresh from Chinaland, like 90% of world items) ... I've decided to try with the bulbs which can be found in many online places, and go by the name/code G4 13SMD 5050 DC12V, they look something like this:

http://www.ledquotations.com/media/cata ... 103_1_.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'll let you all know when I try them whether they're suitable for the C5 DRL lighting solution. I've ordered mine as cool white, which hopefully they will be.

[vborovic]

Finally, I've received my led bulbs today ... hopefully I'll attempt the replacement procedure tomorrow, and let you know how it went

[vborovic]

So, here's the update ... I've managed to replace the existing HP24 Citroen DRL lights, with the LEDs that I've linked before, it was easier than expected, no damage whatsoever to the old parts or the car itself ... it wasn't required to take off the front bumper, or anything that big anyway ... the only thing I had to prepare, as plug out the main power cord (the one with the red plastic protective cap on top), on both sides ... I didn't event need to remove the battery, it was a tight squeeze for the hand, but more than manageable ... it would be very good to have smaller hands for the process, and the proper tool ... the torx in question is the T40 (thanks to the forum member jpn369 on pointing that out -> http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... =3&t=36838) ... the HP24 "bulb" is actually the bulb and the plastic base, which can be screwed in place with just the fingers (has plastic wings of some kind that allow for this action), but is made to only be allowed to turn it opposite and remove by the T40 torx ... it is tight, so you'll maybe have to jerk it around when you turn it open, because it won't just drop out easily (which is good, because it would be a bigger risk to fall down somewhere inaccessible in the front bumper) ... the putting in place was a breeze ... here are the steps

[original halogen HP24 DRL off & on]



[DRL location, right headlamp ... located below the high beam at the front of the headlamp, 2nd image taken with the lep of a mirror and the bulb bottom lighted with a LED hand lamp]





[HP24 taken out & replaced]
the facts: original HP24 complete bulb is 55 mm tall (top of the bulb, lower torx end, side flaps not included) ... the bulb itself is 44 mm (pins included), the used LED is 45,5 mm tall (pins included), the light output of the LED is rated as 129 lumen, pure white color (I'm guessing 6000 K). The used tool is 11 cm long, 4,4 cm tall (the torx tip at the top is replaceable), and is IMO the perfect fit anything longer/higher would make the operation more difficult.





[LED DRL + original DRL & both led DRLs]



[LED DRL close up]



[LED DRL at night]







So, did I conclude anything from the change? The old halogen bulbs are more visible at day than the current LED, that's a fact. I need to find other, similar LED bulbs that pack more of a punch, regarding the lumen output... my guess would be anything below 300 lm just won't do the trick. The night shots (you hopefully won't be driving on DRLs at night ... ) are great, the LEDs are nice, but only visually ... functionally, sadly no. I have some other LED alternatives in mind already, and I'll give them a go, just have to purchase several of them to try them out.

[vborovic]

I've received the new LED G4 lights today, and already tried them. The strongest 7W unfortunately don't fit in the tight hole of the DRL (maybe a 0,5-1 mm extra in diameter would be just enough to squeeze it in ... I've had to cut off the quad plastic clips that hold the original halogen bulb (see section HP24 taken out & replaced), since the 7W body is too wide to fit inside the clips) ... so, I've had to settle down for the 5W variant, slightly smaller body, but if fits perfectly in the DRL compartment, and it gives twice as much light as the previous LED solution ... now the entire DRL "line" is visible by day, previously, just the space around the LED bulb was lighted ... it must be, since the new LED is declared at 400 lm output ... I'll put photos day/night in a day or two ... btw, happy new year to all forum members and forum guests ... ...

[falling-out-with-my-car]

Have you considered checking out Halogen motorcycle headlamp bulbs for a 12 volt circuit? Perhaps a Motorcycle dealership might be able to help?
Our local MOT station has been failing LED headlamp bulbs in 3 year old cars at their first MOT because they don't have enough definition in daylight.
happy New year.

[jpn369]

Just be wary of previous posters experiences of halogens running too hot.

[vborovic]

@ falling - No, I didn't consider the halogens, since the previous bulb was a "classic" one ... there are 2 reasons (or goals, to be more precise) which I'm trying to achieve by switching over to the leds ... one is the visual aspect, since my Philips BlueVision lamp bulbs give a blue/white look, I'd like for the DRL to also be on the same track in color ... and the second, achieving more light, if possible, compared to the original HP24 bulbs ... it's basically a trial and error run, until I find a decent solution ... as for the MOT, in my experience (Croatia) the DRLs aren't actually tested, since they're still not considered road lights ... although many cars nowadays of course have them ... so, that's not something I worry about at this time ...

@ jpn - exactly why the DRLs won't be going the halogen route in my car

[jpn369]

The other aspect as mentioned previously is lifespan.

[vborovic]

Well, the lifespan of the LEDs shouldn't be a problem ... even if they had a shorter life span than the original HP24 bulb, at least they're about 6 times cheaper, so I can buy 5 LEDs for the price of one HP24 ... ...

[jpn369]

LEDs should have about 15x the lifespan of halogen, so changing the bulbs on 15x fewer occasion has got to be a huge positive.