C5 Mk I - Xenon problems.

[Carsten S]

Hi,
For about 6 month ago i bought a C5 V6 with xenon headlights.
But rather disappointing the light output on my C5 1,8 with regular halogen lamps were better. I thought that maybe the bulbs were near end of life, and yesterday i replaced them with £££ Philips Extreme Vision D2R. But the light is still not impressive, xenon should have ~double light intensity vs halogen. When i'm parking up against a wall, the light does not have a sharp cut-off line, it is somewhat diffuse. That made me think of the flimsy guard inside the lamp, can they sit in a wrong place?
Will try to provide a picture later on the day.

Any suggestions?

[Peter.N.]

Were these lamps original or aftermarket fittings?

Peter

[Carsten S]

Hi Peter,
It's original lamps.

[Peter.N.]

OK, not had anything to do with them but I do know the output should be considerably more than a tungsten lamp. I would check the supply voltage across them, if that's around 12v or probably nearer 14v with the engine running you must have an optical problem but never having used them I am out of my depth there.

Peter

[Carsten S]

The supplyvoltage - Will check it to the starter. But i doubt thats the problem.
The xenonlamps run on 80-85V from the starter. I don't know how safe it is to probe it with a multimeter, since there is 25 kV to strike the arc, and get the lamp going! The socket is almost impossible to probe in anyway.

[GiveMeABreak]

OK, some other possibilities: Where did you buy the Philips bulbs from and how much did you pay for each one? The reason I ask is that it is a well-known fact that many sellers on places like ebay are selling counterfeit products. They look like the real deal, but they are not made the same way and are totally inferior in quality and light output. Many of the genuine manufacturers like OSRAM and Philips have an authentication process that you can check your bulbs against, check out their websites for info. Do you still have the original packaging of the bulbs - keep these as you may need them if you have to return them.

The second thing is the lamps themselves. Are these in any way dull or opaque? They can dis-colour over the years and can become 'hazy'. If this is the case, then you would need to get to a body repairers and they should be able to polish out the dull looking plastic back to it's original finish - maybe cheaper than replacing the headlights on these.

Look at this report AND the video - they show you the differences:

http://www.powerbulbs.com/blog/2014/11/ ... al-or-fake

[GiveMeABreak]

The supplyvoltage - Will check it to the starter. But i doubt thats the problem.
The xenonlamps run on 80-85V from the starter. I don't know how safe it is to probe it with a multimeter, since there is 25 kV to strike the arc, and get the lamp going! The socket is almost impossible to probe in anyway.

DON'T play with these - the voltages are in excess of 20,000!

[Carsten S]

I bought them from a reputable shop, they cost 750 DKK each, which equals to ~£75/piece.
According to http://philips.com/original they are genuine. The lamps are fine and dandy, will take a picture later.

[GiveMeABreak]

OK, not had anything to do with them but I do know the output should be considerably more than a tungsten lamp. I would check the supply voltage across them, if that's around 12v or probably nearer 14v with the engine running you must have an optical problem but never having used them I am out of my depth there.
Peter

The supplyvoltage - Will check it to the starter. But i doubt thats the problem.
The xenonlamps run on 80-85V from the starter. I don't know how safe it is to probe it with a multimeter, since there is 25 kV to strike the arc, and get the lamp going! The socket is almost impossible to probe in anyway.

Peter / Carsten DON'T play with these - the voltages are in excess of 20,000V!! As I said, prime candidate is that these could be fake bulbs, and if not the discoloured lamp lens, then the next suspect would be the ballast units - and these you have to be very careful of because of the voltages. They also hold a residual current when the car is switched off and battery disconnected - so don't touch the bulb connectors or wiring unless you know what you are doing.

[GiveMeABreak]

One other thing there can also be a milky white residue that collects over time on the inside of the reflector - whether you can gain access to clean this with a microfibre cloth though is another matter - you may have to disassemble the headlamp, but you could easily damage the coating. If I remember correctly the MK 1 doesn't have an elliptical lens, which means there will probably less space to work in.

[Peter.N.]

I know about high voltages I was a TV engineer for 50 years, but yes, caution should be exercised.

Peter

[GiveMeABreak]

I know about high voltages I was a TV engineer for 50 years, but yes, caution should be exercised.
Peter

Appreciate that Peter - but for the benefit of others reading the post that may not have as much knowledge.

[vborovic]

DON'T play with these - the voltages are in excess of 20,000!

Why not? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger ... or at least glow in the dark ...

[Mdon]

OK, not had anything to do with them but I do know the output should be considerably more than a tungsten lamp. I would check the supply voltage across them, if that's around 12v or probably nearer 14v with the engine running you must have an optical problem but never having used them I am out of my depth there.
Peter

The supplyvoltage - Will check it to the starter. But i doubt thats the problem.
The xenonlamps run on 80-85V from the starter. I don't know how safe it is to probe it with a multimeter, since there is 25 kV to strike the arc, and get the lamp going! The socket is almost impossible to probe in anyway.

Peter / Carsten DON'T play with these - the voltages are in excess of 20,000V!! As I said, prime candidate is that these could be fake bulbs, and if not the discoloured lamp lens, then the next suspect would be the ballast units - and these you have to be very careful of because of the voltages. They also hold a residual current when the car is switched off and battery disconnected - so don't touch the bulb connectors or wiring unless you know what you are doing.

Voltage doesn't kill you. A taser is 50,000V and that just gives you a tickle!

[GiveMeABreak]

Well someone's got to do the 'elf and safety' bit!