Xantia Headlights

Way2go · Post by **Way2go** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 5:36 pm

MULLEY wrote:Factory fit HID's have self levelling mechs build into them, hence why they are legal & aftermarkets are illegal & blind everyone......

If the car ie BX or Xantia is self levelling - are they still illegal to retrofit?

Seems to me that such a mechanism on the bulbs cannot react any quicker than the BX suspension if the headlamps are adjusted correctly after their fitting.

CitroXim · Post by **CitroXim** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:48 pm

Way2go wrote: If the car ie BX or Xantia is self levelling - are they still illegal to retrofit?

Cars fitted with HIDs also need to be equipped with headlamp washers, so if you have those on a BX or Xantia, technically, they should be legal.

Practical Classics this month say they're going to fit a car with HIDs and then take it for an MOT. Will be interesting...

Baldbazza · Post by **Baldbazza** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 9:33 pm

MULLEY wrote:Factory fit HID's have self levelling mechs build into them, hence why they are legal & aftermarkets are illegal & blind everyone......

And that's just the problem - they detect a difference in level and so then move to adjust. And in that brief moment until they do, they flicker blue, green, pink and dazzle. The better ones merely distract (so are dangerous); the worse ones take ages to react and dazzle (so are dangerous). And that's just the ones that are in alignment.

A colleague was telling me how his H*nda Acrud had the best lights ever (standard factory fit, not after-market). I passed him that night coming out of the car park. He went over a speed bump and I suffered total white-out as his HIDs tried to self-level. So bright it actually hurt. If I hadn't have been stationary waiting for him to pass I wouldn't have stood a chance.

Why these things aren't banned is beyond me.

And now I'm in rant mode, what about those cr@ppy LED side lights inthe shape of an 'L' on new Audis? Passed one in broad daylight last week and it dazzled even without the moronic HIDs.

Problem is that the brighter the light emanating from the front of any vehicle, the brighter the light you need to counteract it. So the poor old Xantia and XM don't stand a chance.

I think I might start using four 2000Kw theatre spotlights...

Dickieg · Post by **Dickieg** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 9:47 pm

Baldbazza wrote:And now I'm in rant mode, what about those cr@ppy LED side lights in the shape of an 'L' on new Audis?

They look awful and make the car look like a 'Blingmobil'

, mind you they are on an Audi.

CitroXim · Post by **CitroXim** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 10:31 pm

Bazza,

Don't get me started...

Baldbazza · Post by **Baldbazza** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 11:48 pm

Dickieg wrote:
Baldbazza wrote:And now I'm in rant mode, what about those cr@ppy LED side lights in the shape of an 'L' on new Audis?
They look awful and make the car look like a 'Blingmobil' , mind you they are on an Audi.

You have to hand it to Audi though, they have succeeded in making one of their tosser-mobiles look even more hideous. Quite an achievement

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » Fri Nov 16, 2007 1:55 am

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Let the original headlamp wiring control the relay coils, then let the relay contact set feed the bulbs - via a fuse on the battery plus clamp.
Remember also to renew the earth wiring directly from the battery minus clamp to the bulb sockets.

The Xantia headlights circuit is born as a light output killer :
Plus 12V clamp via +12V distributor via +12V main fuse to fuse box via lights switch to bulbs fuses to lamp sockets via PSA cheapo electric wiring.
How easy do you think it is to get a voltage drop of 3 - 4 Volts in such a circuit

It gets even worse on MkI models because of the very bad chassis earh points under the battery.
At approx 2.5Volts voltage drop you have lost almost 50% light intensity output from your bulbs.
At 5Volts voltage drop you are left with some 20% light intensity.

If you do the poor man's logic and fit 100W bulbs, it may well result in even LOWER light intensity : simply because of ohm's law applied

If you eliminate the voltage drop using a relay circuit, you will suddenly know how the Xantia headlamps were supposed to function with standard bulbs : very well

Most car accessory shops should have a ready made relay kit including the fuse and new bulb sockets - all ready wired up. There is even a male bulb socket to insert in the original bulb socket for direct control.
Expected some £20 price level

Reblack68 · Post by **Reblack68** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 10:03 am

I'll give another vote against HIDs. I recently had to pull over and let a Golf past because it was dazzling me so much. I was on my way to a bonfire at a place where a race meeting had just finished so I had the added delight of a several pick-up trucks with face-level HIDs coming the other way.

What is their reference for self-levelling? I don't see how they can differentiate between the car being loaded and the car being on an incline unless they take information from the suspension, which seems awfully complicated.

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 7:46 pm

Do they have a gyroscope mechanism in them to aid the self levelling?

Ricky Latarche · Post by **Ricky Latarche** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 9:17 am

AndersDK - Can you give me any details on where and what kit to get for an N reg xantia - i've tried the best 55W bulbs on the market (nightbreakers) and they dont make any difference!!

Anyone have a walkthrough on what to do and how to fit the wiring upgrade kit??

admiral51 · Post by **admiral51** » Mon Nov 19, 2007 9:48 pm

is there any way of recoating the reflector surface of the headlight units as i have been able to remove the lenses and clean the inside of the glass but the refective coating is very dull looks like its been sprayed on a little wipe reveals white underneath it

colin

CitroXim · Post by **CitroXim** » Mon Nov 19, 2007 9:58 pm

admiral51 wrote:is there any way of recoating the reflector surface of the headlight units as i have been able to remove the lenses and clean the inside of the glass but the refective coating is very dull looks like its been sprayed on a little wipe reveals white underneath it

colin

Replacement will be the only option

This used to happen on early 405 headlamps. My old 1988 405 headlamps looked black when off and new ones were both well worth the outlay and a revelation

admiral51 · Post by **admiral51** » Mon Nov 19, 2007 10:38 pm

Thanks Jim
another cost cutting avenue turns out to be a dead end

colin

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Mon Nov 19, 2007 11:52 pm

Can't the inside of the lights by re-sprayed?, or would the results be rubbish anyway?

I've got quite a few lights where the silver chrome has dulled or dissappeared, the rest of the unit is in good nick, so would be shame to bin them if they could be easily & cheaply fixed....

CitroXim · Post by **CitroXim** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 7:56 am

MULLEY wrote:Can't the inside of the lights by re-sprayed?, or would the results be rubbish anyway?

Unfortunately, they're likely to be rubbish

The reflective coating has to be optically very smooth as well as shiny. I'm not aware of any product on the market that might do the job but a tin of chrome paint, if such a thing is available, would be worth an experiment perhaps...

It may be worth looking up the clasic car restorers as such a service must be available for owners of vintage cars but then they'd be deaing with metal reflectors rather than the plastic ones we have. On plastic I guess the reflective layer is deposited as a vapour and whatever technique might work with metal reflectors may not be applicable to plastic ones.

I gave the subject a quick Google and only real vintage lamps came up.