406 poor dip headlamps

Anyone got any ideas as to how to improve my 406 hdi's headlamps. I find it hard to drive over 30mph on unlit roads if I can't use full beam (which is great). Perhaps different bulbs?? Regards Phil Western.

Reply to
Philip Western
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Are you sure your headlamp bulbs haven't blown? I've got a 406 HDi 2001 and the dipped beam is fine on unlit roads. Having said that recently both headlamp bulbs blew within days of each other and with just sidelights it was as dim as your decribing. If you have front fog lights they will give you the extra illumination till you can get the bulbs replaced.

Reply to
Longshot

It doesn't have a diffuser inside the dip portion of the headlight does it? I've had that with a Citroen XM and it gave similar symptoms. Chucking the diffuser worked but gave a very sharply defined beam which is a bit narrow (although perfectly acceptable for the MOT)

Reply to
Malc

A few years ago I purchased Halogen bulbs from Halfords for the 405 my wife then had and they made a terrific difference.

Reply to
Keith

Halogen bulbs are standard on both 405 and 406

Reply to
Bob Minchin

It seems a bit of a coincidence that they both blew at around the same time.

Is your alternator charging correctly, i.e. the voltage should be 13.8 - 14v and no higher with the engine running?

Chris

Reply to
Chris Howarth

I stand corrected, the replacement bulbs were High Performance Xenon and made a world of difference,

Reply to
Keith

Have you checked the head light height adjustment thingy on the dash. The one for load compensation.

I've often thought my eyes are failing because I can't see the road only to find that the headlight height ajustment has moved to the lowest position. I think it's supposed to be in the middle.

Reply to
RyanO

Hi Keith,

Did you get reasonable life out of the Xenon ones? I tried some a few years back and yes they were brighter but both had died within a few months so I returned to halogens.

Regards

Bob

Reply to
Bob Minchin

you might find it surpising that all of my bulbs went in one or two weeks after eachother....

Reply to
Marc

I've tried it on my 406 as well. Driving out of my garage one day, I noticed, that one headlamp didn't work. The lights are always on here in Denmark, so I would have noticed it, if it didn't work, when I parked the car. Then I went for 2-3 km (2 miles) to pick someone up. When I started the car again, the other headlamp wasn't working either.

I've made it a good rule of thumb to always change bulbs in pairs. The one on the other side normally blows in a short time anyway. The new one might also be brighter than the old one on the other side. If you change them both, they have the same intensity.

Reply to
Henrik Münster

Aren't they illegal as well? I think, that EU rules say, that lights must be made specifically for xenon, have automatic height adjustment and be fitted with washers. Unless of course, the ones you buy in the supermarket aren't real xenons but just halogen bulbs with a fancy coating.

Reply to
Henrik Münster

Hi Bob,

Sorry I'm late getting back to you. They were in my wife's 405 for a couple of years and I took them out when we sold the car. They are still on the shelf. If they fit her 306 I may well put them in there (when I get around to it).

Cheers,

Keith

Reply to
Keith

It was a few years ago when we bought them so the rules may well be different now, interfering politicians no doubt!

Keith

Reply to
Keith

Hi Keith,

I guess mine must have been poor quality ones. I think they came from the local car shop - an independent. I used them in a MK2 Astra. I now have a

405 and normal halogens seem Ok to me. I do note that the volts drop on the wiring is a bit marginal as the lights do get brighter when the AC clutch drops out. I don't know why car manufacturers are so bloody mean with wire diameters these days. It can't save them much on the original manufacture costs.

Bob

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Reply to
Bob Minchin

Change the bulbs.

Philips Vision Plus are ok if you wanna stay legal - pick up a pair for about a tenner.

A much better bet, is to get some higher wattage units - assuming you've got a pair of 60w bulbs right now, then change them for some 100w units. It's technically not legal to run bulbs brighter than 60w, but there's no feasible way for anyone to check, so you can't be caught. Make sure they're adjusted properly though (your local MOT center can perform headlamp adjustment) - you don't want to be dazzling people with

100w bulbs :)
Reply to
Nom

You're talking about Xenon HID bulbs. A completely different system :)

Yes, that's the ones. The fancy coating works just fine. The fillament is surrounded by Xenon gas, so they ARE real Xenons. They're just not the HID Xenons that you refer to above.

Reply to
Nom

Assuming your headlights are adjusted correctly, it should sit at the HIGHEST position, when only you are in the car.

As you carry more weight/passengers, then you should lower it accordingly.

Reply to
Nom

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