Mégane II Xenon headlight misbehaviour.

[R9UKE]

So I've learnt that having a car with rare optional extras fitted is all well and good until they go wrong... And it's such a scarce feature that it's impossible to find knowledge or parts!

So the near side xenon headlight on my mum's Mégane has been flickering a little bit over the past few weeks. A hard winter for headlights, they're never off! I noticed this evening that the bulb doesn't ignite or shine with the same strength as the other. It flickered a lot as she drove away and by the time she was pulling into the drive after coming home it had gone off completely.

Now I know even without going outside what a complete PITA this is going to be. A regular headlight bulb change on a Meg isn't the most pleasant, but a xenon is just going to be horrible. And first comes determining the fault.... The bulb, the ballast or some mysterious Renault wiring issue.

Anybody have any experience with genuine xenon headlights (not the nasty aftermarket HID rubbish) before I just chuck it by my auto electrician and have done with it?

Here's how they shone once upon a time!

[evilally]

I believe standard equipment, or at least common, on the RS model. I know there's an RS Megane owners forum about somewhere, might be worth asking on there?

[R9UKE]

Thanks, all sorted. I bit the bullet today and went for the mammoth task of swapping the bulbs to make sure it is the actual bulb at fault, and thankfully it was. For any Mégane Xenon owners coming across this, the bulb is an Osram Xenarc 66040 which has since been renamed with the part number 66240. They can be had for £40 on eBay, and that's a genuine bulb from a 100% trusted seller - I'm just about to order one.