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.

 

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.

 

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)

 

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

 

Keith wrote in message ...

Halogen bulbs are standard on both 405 and 406

 

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

 

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

 

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.

 

Keith wrote in message ...

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

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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

Keith

 

Keith wrote in message ...

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

 

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

 

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.

 

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.