Yank wank bought- Headlamp help required

[cort16]

The v5 arrived for this yesterday and unsurprisingly it's on the special car register.

Another honest eBay seller, it was cheap enough I suspected something like this.

 

 

I've now sourced all the bulbs this thing needs (xenon), side light/dip and running lights.

I might as well replace them all now I've got the front off as I don't want to do it again.

[cobblers]

If you're buying cheap chinesium bulbs off ebay or amazon you'd probably be as well leaving the old originals in that still work. Off brand HID bulbs don't last well at all.

If you do need a new lamp housing, you might be able to modify a US one - projector lights just have a shade in the optics which sets the cutoff pattern. You could just swap in the one from your old lamp if you can get them apart.

[cort16]

The last time I did that on my Merc the canbus packed up and went on holiday to tenerife for 2 weeks.

[dome]

Arses on the vcar thing. No comeback with the seller? I thought they were a trader?

 

Still building up to the clios timing belt. It also has step 1 as removing the bumper.

[cort16]

Arses on the vcar thing. No comeback with the seller? I thought they were a trader?

 

Still building up to the clios timing belt. It also has step 1 as removing the bumper.

 

 

If I'd paid 2 grand for it I might be bothered but given what I paid for it, it's probably fair enough.

From what I can see it was pretty light damage.

 

Is it the lack of space that makes the timing belt hard or do you need need specialist tools?  You must be overloaded with shite after winning that Lexus.

[dome]

If I'd paid 2 grand for it I might be bothered but given what I paid for it, it's probably fair enough.

From what I can see it was pretty light damage.

 

Is it the lack of space that makes the timing belt hard or do you need need specialist tools?  You must be overloaded with shite after winning that Lexus.

 

Fair enough.

 

It's a combination of access, special tools and the procedure itself-the pulleys are floating so it's easy to mess up apparently. I'll let you know when I actually start it...

 

I am at shite bursting point but my good lady has humoured me with the roffle Lexus, we're both agreed that something needs to go but not until spring hopefully when I'll probably shift the Clio. 

[The Moog]

I am at shite bursting point but my good lady has humoured me with the roffle Lexus, we're both agreed that something needs to go but not until spring hopefully when I'll probably shift the Clio. 

 

 

Ohhhh Clio ... .let me know when you do ... I will start saving now 

[cort16]

I ordered these 2x xenon bulbs from Amazon. Not the most expensive of the selection available and of course they didn't work. They fitted, plugged in and look generally identical to the old ones but there was no light from either bulbs when I turned the lights on.

 

Either they're borked or I've somehow managed to buy the wrong thing.

 

The one on the left is original the one on the right is the new one. Anyone any idea what I did to buy the wrong thing? It seems a but unlucky both bulbs are borked.

 

[Jifflemon]

Plenty of Fake Xenon bulbs out there...

 

[cort16]

The amazon store had a decent rating. I'm sending them back so hopefully i'll get my money back.

[cort16]

I bought a new bulb and it didn't work, which makes me think the light is borked. 

 

Having just sold the Rover and in the interest of clearing things out for 2017 if anyone would like to give me a drink  on this and cross my palm with around 1100 quid they could take it away. 

 

Top of the range 3.6 quad cam engine. Electric everything, sat nav and all that jazz. 

 

On vcar register, looks like it's had a light thump on passenger side at some point

One headlamp doesn't work (dip doesn' t, side and main work fine)

airbag light on

mot end may 17

In nice condition over all.

 

I have the v5 in my name. It drives well and is quite fast. AMERICAN ROLLSROYCE.  pre 2006 car tax pain.

I'm in Ayrshire Scotland. If not i'll no doubt just drive it around in the day light for a bit.

[cort16]

I've tested the headlamp properly swapping them over this time and it is borked. 

 

 

I suspect the problem is with the ballast ignitor on the bottom of the  headlamp (the one with all the high voltage instant death warnings on it).  The braided wire that runs from the lamp to the ignitor also looks to be pinched or damaged.

 

 

Of course right hand drive ones are made of unobtainium. Can this be fixed the ballast ignitor looks like a generic kind of part? The other thing is there are a couple of tabs burst off the headlamp so is it really worth fixing?

 

The other option is to buy one from the states where they're dirt cheap. This new one $120 delivered to the UK,  which at the current pity full exchange rate is £98. 

 

 

Of course the beam will be going in the wrong direction. Cobblers mentioned previously this can be altered and although I read you can rotate the the bulbs but I can't see this working on this xenon setup. I also read something about some yank stuff dipping down and not to the left so it passes the UK mot. Anyone any ideas? 

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Headlight-Headlamp-Driver-Side-Left-LH-NEW-for-03-07-Cadillac-CTS-/110856514001?fits=Make%3ACadillac%7CModel%3ACTS&hash=item19cf9029d1:g:LuYAAOSwdV1XNtkf&vxp=mtr

 

I'm also still harbouring some thoughts of bashing it on eBay with a lowish BIN and just getting shot of it!

[Skizzer]

It may be that there's some sort of switch arrangement to convert between LHD and RHD. I remember on a xenon-equipped Audi A4 I had the manual said take it to your dealer before travelling abroad, so I did - the dealer showed me a springy wire thing that needed moving from one position to another and that was that. They didn't charge so I bunged him a note for a Christmassy drink.

 

Similar switching thing on the TT and Cayman that followed it. Yeti had (rather pointless) cornering lights so did the switchover via the onboard computer thingy.

[cort16]

Cheers skizzer. The thing that makes me think it's not that straight forward is the rhd stickers on them . What you say makes total sense but I suspect gm weren't that smart given the limited rhd cts sales.

[AMC Rebel]

Quite a few projector and HID lights have a little lever to move the beam kick-up for use in other countries - but all it does is flatten it - not convert to the other way.  

 

There's not much to go wrong (electrically) apart from the ballast so I'd either buy a replacement ballast (if they are available - they are usually interchangeable across a range of cars) or get the light unit from the US and just swap the ballast over.  All the ballast unit does is generate a stable high voltage for the "burner".  

 

Unlike conventional lights, the HIDs have no filament - they have two electrodes and the current passing between them excites the gas which glows brightly - hence the name High Intensity Discharge.

[cobblers]

Few ways of  going about it.

Basically in a projector lamp low beam, if you can get the lamp unit apart and take the projector thingy to pieces, there'll be a cutoff shield infront of the lense which simply shields the bulb and sets the beam pattern very cleanly.

 

 

If this is just flat then it's universal "flat" cutoff like old USA specs. If it's angled like in the picture then the beam will kick down at one side and you need to flip it over to turn the LHD lamp into a RHD lamp.

 

Euro RHD cutoff:

 (RHD is obviously a mirror of this)

Whereas the US spec doesn't have the "kick up" at one side. It's just flat straight across.

 

It might not be easy to flip it, so maybe you could just take the bits out of the RHD lamp, everything tends to be fairly modular and should swap over if the lamps were made by the same manufacturer.

 

Alternatively, take the wiring gubbins out of the LHD lamp and swap em into the RHD one.

[AMC Rebel]

According to this, the ballast unit is common to some Volvos -

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Used-Valeo-LAD5GL-4-PIN-D1S-D1R-D2S-D2R-Xenon-Headlight-Control-Unit-Ballast-ECU-/321693089016

 

Edit - and a pile of Audis, Citroens etc etc 

[cort16]

Thanks chaps, AMC that looks like the one on it. I guess I could swap the ballast resistor from the good lamp onto the bad one to prove if it is this at fault?

It's a pity the current light is damaged, I suspect changing the internals into the use one would be the way to go but I bet it's all glued together.

 

[cobblers]

Yeah I suppose you could swap the ballasts side to side and see if the problem follows.

 

The lenses are usually mostly clipped on, with a bead of non setting butyl stuff to seal them.

If you warm the whole unit in an oven to 80c or thereabouts, you can gently pry the lenses off, do what you've gotta do then warm them back up and clip back together.

[dome]

Thanks chaps, AMC that looks like the one on it. I guess I could swap the ballast resistor from the good lamp onto the bad one to prove if it is this at fault?

It's a pity the current light is damaged, I suspect changing the internals into the use one would be the way to go but I bet it's all glued together.

 

IMG_1223.JPG

Yep, this is the way forward. I've an intermittent fault with the xenon's on the e46 and this is the way to rule out the ballast. Mine are an arse to get out apparently so I've not bothered...

[cort16]

I'm going to try it tomorrow. The cheapest ballast resistor on eBay is 80 quid so I want to make sure it works before I buy one!

[gordonbennet]

Thank fook i've got no decent parking and limited funds, cos i reckon we'd have at least 20 bloody ex shiter motors.

 

These bloody xenon lights seem a right pain in the rectum though, WTF them leds going to be like when (if) they make shite fodder.

[cort16]

I need to get it on the road and get some enjoyment out of it. However I need to sell the Panda first so I can transfer my insurance and it's just broken it's gear linkage. Happy days. 

[Junkman]

Why didn't we have any of these problems when Cadillacs still had Sealed Beams?

[cort16]

I swapped them over and the broken light works with the good lights flux capacitor. I Think some water might have got in.