Project REB's Wonderful World Of DERV - MavisNotMavis Lives

[Lacquer Peel]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NIGHTEYE-9000LM-H4-HB2-LED-Headlight-Dual-Hi-Lo-Kit-3-Sided-Bulbs-White-Beams-/272917572255

 

I bought these for my van, I think 205s use H4 bulbs too. There isn't much of a distinction between dipped and full beam but they're very bright, unfortunately to the point of upsetting a few other drivers.

[Tickman]

I'm sure they're not aimed right, but also they give out around the same amount of light as a pair of expired glow sticks....

 

EFA (Edited For Alfa)

[reb]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NIGHTEYE-9000LM-H4-HB2-LED-Headlight-Dual-Hi-Lo-Kit-3-Sided-Bulbs-White-Beams-/272917572255

 

I bought these for my van, I think 205s use H4 bulbs too. There isn't much of a distinction between dipped and full beam but they're very bright, unfortunately to the point of upsetting a few other drivers.

I don't like the idea of LEDs in H4 lamps, they just don't seem to be capable of throwing the correct beam. I'm tempted by a pair for the high beams in the volvo though, which are currently still unbranded H1 bulbs that look a tad pathetic compared to the nightbreaker dip beam.

I'm told that some of the more expensive H4 LEDs work really well, unfortunately they're a bit, well, expensive.

 

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[Supernaut]

Why not just get some nightbreakers in H1 fitment for the full beams?

 

I bought some H4 silver stars for the Mondeo, and realised they were for the dipped beam. I fitted them anyway then bought a pair of H1 nightbreakers for the full beams. I now have rather good headlights and it only cost about £20 all-in. Ebay FTW.

[Lacquer Peel]

I don't like the idea of LEDs in H4 lamps, they just don't seem to be capable of throwing the correct beam. I'm tempted by a pair for the high beams in the volvo though, which are currently still unbranded H1 bulbs that look a tad pathetic compared to the nightbreaker dip beam.

I'm told that some of the more expensive H4 LEDs work really well, unfortunately they're a bit, well, expensive.

 

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The beam is correct, they're just very bright.

[reb]

Why not just get some nightbreakers in H1 fitment for the full beams?

 

I bought some H4 silver stars for the Mondeo, and realised they were for the dipped beam. I fitted them anyway then bought a pair of H1 nightbreakers for the full beams. I now have rather good headlights and it only cost about £20 all-in. Ebay FTW.

Because I had Philips ExtremeVision bulbs in the polo, Nightbreakers in the Golf (including the fancy EVEN BRIGHTER ones in the low beams) and have (had) about six million forward facing beams on the 205, I need to carry onwards and upwards in my childish crusade to singlehandedly turn night into day.

The real reason is at the time I was picking up service parts for the volvo they only had one set of each fitment in stock at ecp, which would be fine if I didn't need two pairs of H1.

 

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[reb]

The beam is correct, they're just very bright.

Bright enough to potentially invoke the wrath of passing rozzers? That said a coworker got pulled for having LED sidelights, I also had LED sidelights as did another coworker. Of course ours weren't bright bloody green. With that in mind I suppose as long as they're not blatantly obviously wrong, I should get left alone?

 

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[Lacquer Peel]

I think people are offended because the brightness is emanating from a rusty old van, not an Audi Q7 or something.

They might not be strictly legal but the beam is correct, I carry spare halogens just in case.

[Supernaut]

Go big or go home. Mount a couple of these down low inside the front bumper / grille.

[reb]

Thankfully we already have a guy around here that drives his 850 T5 estate around with his unbelievably bright high beams on all of thr time, so the people of st andrews are used to some level of shonky old cars with bright lights.

 

I wonder how many of them I could fit in the slot below the bumper that looks like it should have a grille in it but doesn't.

A much more childish part of me wants to mount, but not wire in,really obvious LED strobes behind the grille/in the bumper just for the ultimate "No, of course this isn't a police car" look.

 

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[reb]

A pair of decent halogen H4s will do just fine. The bulbs in it will be the worst ones available to mankind. They might be 100/80s, which would explain the switch consumption.

I can get a correct brand new stalk for £23, which is better than the £35 car parts 4 less want for a phase 1 shaped stalk. I will be using the difference on a set of Nightbreaker Lasers, as I'm fairly sure it is the bulbs' fault. I'm not sure they're higher wattage though, because then I might actually be able to see.

 

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[reb]

A working stalk has been acquired for £9 from a member of the owners club on facebook, that's a win. I seem to remember it being a pain in the arse to fit, but that might just have been me being stupid.

 

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[reb]

Time for this weeks update!

The volvo has developed a complete lack of power and makes terrible noises and vibrations. I suspect it may be running on 4. This may have something to do with the ignition components all being 23 years and 120+k miles old. It's made me realise how little I know about spark ignited engines.

With this in mind I swapped over to the pug thinking I'd rather deal with shit headlights than a poorly running engine. Of course one of the bloody bulbs has gone, and it's the passenger side which is a massive pain to get at.

Come payday I'll be replacing all of the bulbs I've not touched on both cars, as pretty much every problem has been caused by inappropriate bulbs. Also the sidelights and number plate lights have been blowing in a clockwise direction around the car on the volvo, and the high level brake light only works half of the time. Only a matter of time until it decides it's had enough and knocks the tail lights out too.

 

In brief, i hate cars and will be shoving both into a skip soon.

 

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[Tickman]

If you don't have a Halfords trade card for the bulbs let me know as I do.

[CreepingJesus]

As I've said in the past, as I know to my embarrassment, those B5s will run with the ignition components worn down to stubs. Then all of a sudden...problems.

Check the plug caps carefully when you're going through it, a bad plug can burn the cap out, which doesn't help.

[mat_the_cat]

Go big or go home.

 

That's not a light... /crocodile dundee

 

 

(I've put one of the 100w HIDs into a torch, and it's EPIC!)

[reb]

As I've said in the past, as I know to my embarrassment, those B5s will run with the ignition components worn down to stubs. Then all of a sudden...problems.

Check the plug caps carefully when you're going through it, a bad plug can burn the cap out, which doesn't help.

I had a cursory look at the plugs when I bought it, the main thing I noticed is they weren't the right type, they were multipole ones. They looked to be quite new, so probably fitted after the last service it had at volvo last year. So it's very possible they're not gapped properly. Genuine volvo ones aren't too pricey, so it'll get a set of them soon.

 

In other news, I'm enjoying using a slightly more appropriate vehicle for delivery again, fuel efficency and gap fitting ability is 10/10. Warmth is 3/10, close to putting both my winter and autumn jacket on at the same time.

 

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[reb]

This is the first time I've really seen the car in daylight for a while. I think it may be slightly filthy. Shame it doesn't really work either.

 

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[reb]

Part 1 of the problem.

Can knackered spark plugs kill a distributor?

 

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[reb]

Assorted French Tat

 

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[Matt]

I need to carry onwards and upwards in my childish crusade to singlehandedly turn night into day.

You're not doing it single-handedly

 

DSC_6235 by Matt S, on Flickr

 

Go big or go home.

K

 

 

Should be a bit of an upgrade! Just need to wait for my rivet gun to arrive and get a couple more bolts.

 

 

It has highlighted exactly how shit the headlight bulbs are though. Maybe I'm just spoiled by having nightbreakers in the volvo?

I've seen people with similar old cars with shit headlights modify the wiring so that the headlight high beam is activated in the same way your spotlights will be (i.e. with a relay allowing direct current from the battery to the high beam). Google headlight wiring upgrade for more information.

[reb]

 

 

I've seen people with similar old cars with shit headlights modify the wiring so that the headlight high beam is activated in the same way your spotlights will be (i.e. with a relay allowing direct current from the battery to the high beam). Google headlight wiring upgrade for more information.

I've been thinking about doing exactly that, since the french appear to be scared of relays. I'll be in about the headlight wiring soon to wire in the lower pair of spotlights, and also to tidy up the mess I made of the top set. Namely add a switch and fuse, and reattach the trigger wire that decided it didn't like being in a scotchlock and fell off when I poked it because the spots were flickering.

I'm interested to know how the spotlights are treated come MOT time, am I right in saying if they're switched off/covered they're not tested?

 

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[Matt]

I've been thinking about doing exactly that, since the french appear to be scared of relays. I'll be in about the headlight wiring soon to wire in the lower pair of spotlights, and also to tidy up the mess I made of the top set. Namely add a switch and fuse, and reattach the trigger wire that decided it didn't like being in a scotchlock and fell off when I poked it because the spots were flickering.

I'm interested to know how the spotlights are treated come MOT time, am I right in saying if they're switched off/covered they're not tested?

 

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Bloody scotch locks man. I was thinking about removing the wire from the socket and soldering the signal wire direct to the factory terminal to avoid using any more of them. I'm honestly not sure how they are treated during an MOT test. It's quite likely that my car has been tested without the light even being wired up and I didn't hear anything about it but so long as they aren't remarkably misaligned and the wiring isn't likely to foul on anything I think it should be fine.

[reb]

Bloody scotch locks man. I was thinking about removing the wire from the socket and soldering the signal wire direct to the factory terminal to avoid using any more of them. I'm honestly not sure how they are treated during an MOT test. It's quite likely that my car has been tested without the light even being wired up and I didn't hear anything about it but so long as they aren't remarkably misaligned and the wiring isn't likely to foul on anything I think it should be fine.

I've looked at my options for switching the high beams, I think I'm going to build a custom loom that connects to one of the original sockets and powers/controls both the headlights and the spotlights. Will actually make an effort to make it neat and strong. So no scotchlocks at all. It would stop killing headlight stalks then at least!

 

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[reb]

Wind catches door, door says hello to wing, door no longer opens. Very gentle application of a screwdriver with a cloth round it to tease the wing back out reveals a quantity of filler. Arse.

Hopefully it's just where the door has met the wing before and not the entire bloody wing. Will get my patented "paint it black and deal with it later" asap. Respraying the entire wing isn't a job I particularly fancy, but if I have to, so be it.

Particularly annoying given I was planning on giving it a polish tomorrow.

 

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[CreepingJesus]

Part 1 of the problem.

Can knackered spark plugs kill a distributor?

 

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If the plug's not firing properly, especially if the gap's opened, it'll overheat. Resistance then goes up even more, and it's possible to burn out the relevant pole in the dizzy cap, and the lead. So basically, yes.

[reb]

If the plug's not firing properly, especially if the gap's opened, it'll overheat. Resistance then goes up even more, and it's possible to burn out the relevant pole in the dizzy cap, and the lead. So basically, yes.

Basically the whole ordeal could've been avoided by buying new spark plugs when I looked at them an thought they looked slightly grim. That's it got new plugs, leads, rotor and cap now, has made a big difference!

 

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[CreepingJesus]

You might get away with a quick shot of the brass brush (or even a light filing), and tightening the gap down a bit, when they're at the 'iffy' stage. That used to buy you a bit of time with single electrode plugs, but I think these two, three and four electrode jobs don't like it so much. Think the tolerances are much finer on these.

[reb]

You might get away with a quick shot of the brass brush (or even a light filing), and tightening the gap down a bit, when they're at the 'iffy' stage. That used to buy you a bit of time with single electrode plugs, but I think these two, three and four electrode jobs don't like it so much. Think the tolerances are much finer on these.

These won't last long enough to need it, I'm changing them for single electrode ones as soon as practical. I don't think they should ever go in an engine not specced for them.

 

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[reb]

I think I need to beg for forgiveness for going a bit Two Bucket Wrong'un...

 

 

Both cars were looking a bit sad from hundreds of miles in shit weather without being washed because they switched off the jet wash when it looked like it might be remotely cold. Also got a bit sick of feeding it all of my pound coins.

Enter birthday present of a Nilfisk pressure washer. Some snowfoam and an appropriate car washing nozzle was procured.

 

 

 

The supplied foam lance is... Adequate, just. It produced very watery foam and has no adjustability whatsoever. The foam stuck around just enough to probably loosen up the dirt, but not enough for an attention seeking "look at me I'm washing my car" Instagram post.

 

 

Leave foam for 5 minutes, could've done with longer but it was rapidly sliding off the car, rinse off using the car washing nozzle. It certainly takes off the worst of it, which is perfect for this time of year, but I think both cars are still fairly filthy.

 

Definitely a good tool to have about, I'll figure out where it fits in soon enough.

 

 

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