xantia headlights (morettes)

[lurchy666]

hi i've been looking for some better headlights for my xantia as i think my low beam are completly useless, at the min i'm running standard headlights with 100w bulbs (as i know i cant put hid's in the standard lamps as they have the pattern on the glass not reflector/projector style) and i've removed the shields (i found a thread on here some where saying to do it to get more light),

also i've upgraded the wiring loom via a relay straight from battery using the standard loom as the switch for the relay as when i measured voltage on the standard loom i was only getting 10.7 volts at the headlight with the engine running, now i'm getting same as batter voltage at bulbs,

i've seen some morettes for the xantia (quad headlight conversion with projectors as low beam), i just want to know if any one has done the conversion before and if the morettes give a better light than the standard headlights, and if i could fit hid bulbs in them, also are they worth the £340 ish price tag

i cant attach pics but heres the page with the morretes on

http://www.morette.com/products/HEADLIG ... XANTIA.htm#

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45057607@N08/

the 2nd link is a link to a pic of the morettes on a lhd xantia but they do a rhd version of the lights,

[Peter.N.]

If they are similar to the XM type with a plastic diffuser in front of the bulb, it yellows and reduces the output, removing it and the hood and cleaning the reflectors results in a tremendous increase in light output. The reflectors need to be cleaned very carefully or the silver coating will come off. Gently slosh some soft tissue soaked in meths around it and dry it very carefully with sift tissue, whatever you do dont press on the surface.

[Kowalski]

hi i've been looking for some better headlights for my xantia as i think my low beam are completly useless, at the min i'm running standard headlights with 100w bulbs (as i know i cant put hid's in the standard lamps as they have the pattern on the glass not reflector/projector style) and i've removed the shields (i found a thread on here some where saying to do it to get more light),

also i've upgraded the wiring loom via a relay straight from battery using the standard loom as the switch for the relay as when i measured voltage on the standard loom i was only getting 10.7 volts at the headlight with the engine running, now i'm getting same as batter voltage at bulbs,

i've seen some morettes for the xantia (quad headlight conversion with projectors as low beam), i just want to know if any one has done the conversion before and if the morettes give a better light than the standard headlights, and if i could fit hid bulbs in them, also are they worth the £340 ish price tag

Xantia headlights don't have the transparent plastic diffuser that XM headlights do, there is nothing you can remove from the to make them more effective without making them more prone to dazzle oncoming drivers. Which shields have you removed? Do you mean the part of the headlight that surrounds and is in front of the bulb? That part is there to stop the headlights from dazzling other drivers.

The biggest problem that the Xantia headlights get is that the silver comes off the plastic reflector and as it happens the lights become less effective, on my first Xantia they got pretty bad towards the end of the car's life. There is normally one cause of this, the rear covers are often missing on Xantia headlights and that allows water and muck inside the lights. As Peter recommends, I'd clean and inspect the headlights and if the silver on the reflectors is not in good condition consider replacing them with. GSF sell new lights, there are some Lucas manufactured lights that reputedly give a better beam pattern than the OEM ones, alternatively second hand lights are available but may not be in any better condition than the lights you already have in your car.

[lurchy666]

yes removed the shield in front of the bulb (i found a post on here what said it helped so i did it and it did help a bit, ) glad i did cause inside the shield was completly black and wasn't reflecting light back to the reflector,

the reflectors are fine in fact they are better than any other car i've owned lol, its just the light is so crap coming out of the lights,

lol a old mini running sealed beams went past me the other night and i could see his lo beam over my 100w uprated loom lowbeams,

the headlights them selfs are fine no cracks in glass, reflectors nice and clean in fact with out the glass on the lights they are stupidly bright,

the last xantia i had was just as bad,

maybe i'm just expecting to much as last car i had was a volvo with projector headlights and hid's

the back covers are both there and are doing there job,

[Peter.N.]

I was concerned about dazzle especially as the light is so bright now, but comparing them with modern cars they are no brighter and there is no dazzle problem providing the lights are set up correctly. I have checked for stray light by looking at them in fog and there isn't any, and I don't get flashed at. I have had my son follow me in his which I have also modified and although the lights are bright they dont dazzle ,again providing they are properly adjusted.

Peter

[Stunned Monkey]

I'm with Lurchy on this - the Xantia headlights are bleeding awful (and both my units are fairly new thanks to a stray pebble on one and a deer on the other - don't ask).

I've been getting a little worried about my vision at night recently, till I drove the other half's smart roadster - what a difference! Imagine: high beams that actually light up the whole road and not just a blob immediately in front of you! That thing has little sealed beams and H7's.

Hell, a DeLorean chucks out better light than a Xantia - 4x6" Hellas with H4's.

I don't want to be chavvy, but I like the look of the Morette units -anything is better than standard. Do they make them for a mk2 Xantia?

[lurchy666]

stunned monkey, i have onmly found them for a mk1/mk1 facelift at the min, and at 340 ish quid they are expensive , but the low beam looks like a projector style light so in theory you could put a hid in there like range rovers and audis

also check ur voltage at your lights cause mine were down to 10.7 volts instead of what the battery was, mine needed a relay with a feed from the battery (fused) to the headlights which brightewned them up,

if u havent got a multi meter just try getting engine running put heads on so u can see them agenst a wall or something and then get a cable from the battery to the connector on the back of the bulb, if they are visually brighter i'd do the relay, the morettes come with a relay to do it

if you want to do relay get a 4 pin 30 amp relay take a feed from battery (fused 25/30 amp) to pin 30 on relay, feed from relay to headlights on pin 87/87a (it depends on what sort of relkay u use to what its labeled)
86 is the feed from the existing headlight loom to the relay to act as a switch and 85 is an earth

[bxman]

Do not forget to up-grade the Earth.
When on main beam it has to sink twice the current.
You will need to by-pass the multi plug for best effect

It does make a worth while improvement
but still leaves something to be desired.
Good Luck
Patrick

[lurchy666]

on mine the headlight has 2 earths one for high beam and one for low beam, but it is a good idea to upgrade them as said

[Kowalski]

yes removed the shield in front of the bulb (i found a post on here what said it helped so i did it and it did help a bit, ) glad i did cause inside the shield was completly black and wasn't reflecting light back to the reflector,

If you've removed that shield, your headlights will be prone to dazzling oncoming drivers, it was installed for a reason.

The way the Xantia headlights (any many similar lights) work is that you have a single point light source (small bulb filament) and all light coming from the light source has to go out via a parabolic reflector then through the fresnel lens built into the glass on the front of the headlight. If you remove the shield, the light coming out of the front of the bulb is able to go straight through the fresnel lens at angles it wasn't designed to, so you do have more light coming out of the headlight but a large proportion of the extra light that is coming out is not going in a useful direction, e.g. into the verge, the ground, oncoming drivers eyes etc, it'll have no intensity at any distance. The reason that the shields are black inside is that the headlight needs a point light source, if they were reflective there would produce a second light source of significant size which would mean that the headlight couldn't control where the light it produced went so well, i.e. glare for other drivers.

When I'm driving at night I have to put up with other people with badly adjusted headlights and at times it can be dangerous, especially when you can't tell where an oncoming vehicle is, where the verge is, whether the road ahead is clear. I would encourage you to put the shields back into your headlights, the other drivers who you share the roads with will be glad if they can see where they're going. If you're planning to leave the shields out, get your headlights checked by an MOT testing station, perhaps they'll change your mind.

[lurchy666]

Kowalski i have let my mate drive my car so i could see if the headlights are dazzling etc and they dont dazzle me or him and if i put the shields back in i may as well have some candles on the bonnet

the pattern is exactly the same as before cause before i did it i drove my car up to garage wall (well about 5m away and drew some chalk lines where the beams were and where the car was , done the shields and then looked again and the beams were still exactly where they were, maybe a little extra light lighting up the verge side (but for me that is a good thing, especially when everyone else has better headlights than you, even my 1986 mini with sealed beams had better light than the xantia headlights, )

trust me i have had them looked at by the mot tester who adjusted them for me at last mot and he said they was fine with the shields removed,

they are still crap compared to new cars and even old cars

[Peter.N.]

I agree (see my earlier post) when these cars were first produced the average headlight output was much lower, removing the lens (XM) and the hood brings brightness comparable to that of a modern car with no dazzle or stray light, not only have I satisfied myself of this but the lack of headlights being flashed at me confirms it. The dipped headlights in their unmodified state are downright dangerous

Peter

[Paul-R]

I find this thread very disturbing.

The only reason I can think of that you're not being flashed at by all and sundry at night is that H4 bulbs generally have the ends of the glass envelope coated in a black material which would go some way to limit the uncontrolled forward light dispersal.

I'm with Kowalski 100% on this. The light shields are there for a purpose.

Incidentally, no-one seems to have picked up this either but 100W bulbs are illegal for road use anyway.

[Peter.N.]

I think that the only way you will be convinced is to see them in action. All my XMs have been modified in this way for some years with no complaints from other road users or MOT testers. The dipped beam has a very sharp cut off, especially so with the diffuser removed and provided it is aimed correctly, causes no dazzle. I have driven in front of and toward my sons car which is similarly modified and the lights are no more uncomfortable than any modern car.

Peter

[Paul-R]

Hmmmmm.

Where's the dubious smiley when you want it?