MikeT's C5r 1.6 hdi Estate

[GiveMeABreak]

Excellent job Mike. They still stand out even when just sidelights are enabled. A huge improvement overt the stock bulbs.

[CitroJim]

You're just like me Mike... I will keep on trying until I get some success...

Funny thing about cuts n scars - the only cut I suffered this time was trying to open the stupid Nighbreaker box!

I know only too well Some types of packaging can be positively lethal! Especially the type where the item is kind of laminated between two stiff sheets of plastic welded together... Hate those...

[MikeT]

The trick with those laminated style plastics Jim is take a large pair of scissors to them, inside the weld.

Seriously, if you like rubics cubes, chinese puzzles, etc, seek an osram nightbreaker case and look on the underside, then try and open it. Wear leather gloves though because it's hard moulded plastic and they didn't de-burr the enclosed surfaces.

[MikeT]

A couple of nightshots (albeit under strong street light) of just the sides.

[MikeT]

Oh, ps, forgot to mention the new headlights. I think they do give a cleaner (whiter?) light, meaning more detail to the eye, and the peripheral lighting seems much improved meaning I won't have to use my fogs to illuminate the bambis and thumpers that like to wait until the last moment to play chicken.
Not sure the claimed deeper penetration is noticeable, they always did pick out very, very distant objects as standard. So much, I only have to use full beam when travelling at & near max legal speeds as the dipped cutoff is very effective on undulating roads!

[MikeT]

pps

I just found I'd captured the sides with the indicators too which reminds me...

I've noticed a fair few cars with such bright side/dlr's that I'm often having to do a double-take to notice any indication for certain. I know my eyesight isn't what it was, but I'm sure it's not all me?

And while I'm ranting about too bright lights (how ironic), what's with those auto-dimming full-beams? You know the one's that allow you to engage full beam without a care and are supposed to auto-detect oncoming traffic and dip the lights?
Well they're too bloody slow! Quicker to make the obligatory full-beam salute to ensure the sensor "gets it" to get them to "auto-detect" me quicker and in unison, preferably! Yes, they will not dip both beams without a damn good algorithmic reason such as only direct headlight beam, not side glare, or any other obvious indications of oncoming traffic, only direct beam to sensor is authorised.

Anyway before I got carried away I was saying it's good to see my indicators aren't looking overpowered in this pic. I'll make a point to eyeball them again tomorrow evening to confirm.

[CitroJim]

Those sidelights look distinctly spooky in the pictures Mike! They are really good and artistic to my eye

[MikeT]

Agreed Jim. Those night pictures were screengrabbed from my camcorder, far better quality than my phone.

A cursory inspection of the failed led sidelight reveals bad workmanship from poor soldering to great globs of flux bridging several contacts. Using a 12v power source showed even the bulb's terminals were flaky and not always conducting. Hopefully the replacements are of superior quality and will not require servicing again.

Now, what else can I replace with LED's? I feel the boot light is far from adequate for starters, and the interior courtesy and map lights get too hot for my liking. I also wonder if it's possible to add puddle lights, especially those funky laser etched lenses that project a logo. Chevrons maybe?

Meanwhile, I'm just going to leave this here for reference

[GiveMeABreak]

Ok for the Sill, Courtesy & Trunk lights - they are standard W5W bulbs, as are the Map Reading lights.

However the Vanity Lights behind the sun visors are a different story - they use a 3W bulb no longer supplied by Citroen - it looks a bit like a festoon - so you might need to leave those.

For all of these I have replaced with the following type of LED: You need to check out the various suppliers, as they do vary considerably in length. The ones here are 15mm in length, by 5mm wide and 1mm thick. They are available in various colours for when you want to 'pimp your ride' I used these in my X7, but your MK II fittings may be slightly different although the bulbs are the same - so I would do a quick reccy on the space you have available for fitting.

Here's the link to the above which I used for mine Mike:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CAR-SIDELIGH ... cZ_sl0x7YA

Here's a few shots from mine - using Ice Blue and Purple (yes I know...)

[MikeT]

I do like a bit of ambience. I tried a colour-changing led festoon in my luxurious Granada cabin years ago which I found quite soothing. I believe you can now get remote-controlled RGB LED's now. I have those in strip-light form in the home and they are excellent.
My car doesn't have sill, puddle or under dash/seat/door lighting etc so not sure I can retrofit them without buying lots of parts but I would like them if possible.
So the focus on the moment is to upgrade what I do have - I'd forgotten about the vanity mirror lighting as they don't serve any purpose I'm aware of. The rear view mirror is a much better option for admiring oneself or checking for spinach in teeth before a meeting

[GiveMeABreak]

The rear view mirror is a much better option for admiring oneself or checking for spinach in teeth before a meeting

Whoops, I should of checked out the specs first - sorry about that Popeye!

[MikeT]

I'll give those a go. Do they dim ok, ala courtesy lights?

[GiveMeABreak]

Perfick

[MikeT]

Marc, I don't suppose you know where the correct levering points are on these interior light lenses? I've got a phobia after accidentally levering the whole light unit out of another car once because it never sat flush again.

I'm liking these new lights more and more. Got me thinking if the rear exterior lighting could be improved. The side repeaters could certainly do with replacing, or the lens rinsed out at least.

Meanwhile, returning home tonight, celebrated the 60mpg threshold by wasting fuel and giving the DPF a blow through on a NSL stretch. Looked like a big cloud of ash shining through a Porsche Carrera's headlights as I visited rpms I don't usually see. It's deceptively smooth wafting from 30 to naughty.

[GiveMeABreak]

Nice one Mike.

Regarding those lenses - I have to agree the lenses on the MK I & IIs are a nightmare to get off and you are in constant fear of breaking the damned thing.

No prizes for guessing where these fantastically high quality images came from...

The lenses are levered as shown in the second picture - in the middle, but you need a very thin flat screwdriver and then possibly a flat trim removal tool to help get the thing off.