Headlights - useless!

G

Geezah

Senior member
 Monifieth
What's the sketch with the front lighting set up on the Zed? I can't remember ever driving a car with such poor lighting. My 2008 has Xenons as standard and the usual useless condensated foglights. I thought xenons were supposed to be the dogs ballcocks, they're as much use as mammaries on a bullock.

There are two main issues which need to be sorted out for starters as I see it:

The beam pattern on dipped doesn't stretch very far even on max setting on the wheel control in the cockpit.
The lens covers/headlight seem to be fogged up, not through condensation but just appear 'smoked' from the inside as do the HID bulbs.

Any ideas? I understand that there are small levers to adjust the elevation of the beam pattern but what about the fogged up headlamps and bulbs?

Also, is there only one dipped headlight bulb per side?
 
Factory OEM xenons are auto levelling and thus do not come with an adjustment wheel. Since your headlights do not sound like OEM, it's difficult to answer some of your questions.

Factory xenons are adequate, but they can appear insufficient because of the low mounting height. They illuminate the roadway but very little else above that because aiming the cutoff line above horizontal is illegal. The halogen headlights are even worse for the same reason, owners often adjust the aim to an illegal height out of frustration and fear of not seeing adequately. At least verify your dipped headlight cutoff is adjusted to aim exactly horizontally. The actual UK legal criteria may actually be slightly below level, but you cannot be that accurate without proper equipment.

The little levers you heard of do not affect level, they remove the upward kick to the left for continental driving.

Fogged lamps is a common problem in damp climates, plenty of posts here on ways to dry them out and suggestions for slowing the recurrence. Try searching about.
 
Geezah said:
The beam pattern on dipped doesn't stretch very far even on max setting on the wheel control in the cockpit.
Click to expand...

Don't think factory xenons have this wheel as they are self-levelling. Do you have washer covers under the headlights?

[edit - beaten to it!]
 
Thanks for that, maybe I'm getting confused, I read about the levers on another post and didn't realise they just referred to halogens.

Mine are defo OEM xenons, they seem to rise up when I start the car. The fogging is not condensation, maybe bulb failures creating smoke deposits on the inside at some point in the cars history?

Can the headlights be dismantled to clean the inside?
 
Factory xenons don't have wheel on LCM they should only be one the dash light brightness.
Xenons are self levelling but need to be manually set using Allen key at back of headlight in engine bay. The self levelling works if additional weight is added to boot etc.
 
Standard non xenons also rise up when you start the car. Definitely on the facelifts anyway.
 
I don't have washers on the headlights, sorry about the confusion, bought the car second hand and assumed as its a 2008 that it would be oem xenons. I think they are as they don't look like any halogens I've ever seen.
 
Sounds like its had a HID kit fitted...

Firstly... Get your beam height set... This can make a huge difference.
 
Geezah said:
I don't have washers on the headlights, sorry about the confusion, bought the car second hand and assumed as its a 2008 that it would be oem xenons. I think they are as they don't look like any halogens I've ever seen.
Click to expand...
If yours arent halogens then theyre definitely aftermarket as yours has the adjustment wheel and no headlight washers. All zeds beams go up and down on start up whether pre or post facelift halogen or xenon.
 
My dads old Passat had halogens that looked like xenons, but weren't.

Sounds like you have Halogen which are, as you've identified, pretty useless
 
Thanks for all the gen. I'll look under the bonnet for the High voltage stickers and I'll give BMW a bell to see what they can deduce from the reg plate. I hope to clear up the confusion tomorrow.

Cheers
 
Geezah said:
Thanks for all the gen. I'll look under the bonnet for the High voltage stickers and I'll give BMW a bell to see what they can deduce from the reg plate. I hope to clear up the confusion tomorrow.

Cheers
Click to expand...

No need, the fact you do not have headlamp wash means that you do not have OEM xenons.
 
srhutch said:
Geezah said:
Thanks for all the gen. I'll look under the bonnet for the High voltage stickers and I'll give BMW a bell to see what they can deduce from the reg plate. I hope to clear up the confusion tomorrow.

Cheers
Click to expand...

No need, the fact you do not have headlamp wash means that you do not have OEM xenons.
Click to expand...

+1
 
Do you have sidelight bulbs at the bottom of the inner high beam lamps ? If so, as said above, you have halos. The reason they look like xenons is the 'projector' lense... which is a bit of an oxymoron really :roll:

Mine was billed as having xenons when I bought it, soon realised it doesn't... So what you need to do is wind the lights up 1.5-2 turns (white plastic screw on the top of the light unit under the bonnet) and buy brighter bulbs. All of which will ensure you can just about see the tree / deer / parked car / other object that kills you befiore it does :P
 
Bing said:
Do you have sidelight bulbs at the bottom of the inner high beam lamps ? If so, as said above, you have halos. The reason they look like xenons is the 'projector' lense... which is a bit of an oxymoron really :roll:

Mine was billed as having xenons when I bought it, soon realised it doesn't... So what you need to do is wind the lights up 1.5-2 turns (white plastic screw on the top of the light unit under the bonnet) and buy brighter bulbs. All of which will ensure you can just about see the tree / deer / parked car / other object that kills you befiore it does :P
Click to expand...


My old xenons (pre-facelift) had side light bulbs at bottom of inner high beam lamp !!!
Xenon lamp is the outer lamp.
If you have xenons them you will have headlight washers, stickers in engine bay and only one wheel on LCM for dash brightness.
 
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