xenon headlight throw

[Ryza]

Hi all,

just bought another mini..(this is my second)

it is a 54 plate cooper s convertible...

when driving to work this morning i noticed that the xenon headlamps are not very bright.... i have 20/20 and could hardly see anything in front of me.......

can i adjust the throw or does the dealer have to do this....

or am i just papranoid and looking for faults....my halogens on my last cooper lit up the road fine...

your help would be greatly appreciated...

Cheerz

Ryza

[Gismo]

I always complained of crap headlights and in the end put 4 spots on :(

[BJN]

I had a Polo and the Xenon on that were awful, kept dipping down too low, always found the lights on the Mini to be excellent

[The Dogfather]

The Xenons on my Civic were cack as well, I found out how to adjust them up though and now they're great. Mine was as simple as turning a screw with a screwdriver.

[Ryza]

i have to go back to dealers and get them checked (Douglas Park).... it had it's MOT there so should have been checked But, worth a try...other than that spots may be an option if they can't be manually adjusted...

Thanks All...

[JCWmini]

I find the xenons on my mini pretty poor too.

Beam seems to be very low.

[Ryza]

do you think this could be remedied by trying different bulbs..... ???

[AndyP & Lenore]

If you have Xenons, I doubt you need different bulbs. I suspect it is an alignment issue. However, all cars with Xenon bulbs must also have self levelling mechanisms. So there may even be fault with them.

Like you say, back to dealer.;)

A.:D

[The Dogfather]

I think most cars will be set low from the factory and then fine-tuned by the dealer during the PDI, what's the betting it's something they forget to do?

[Sweeney]

Yeah thats the general method these days, the throw etc is set to UK requirements in part of the pdi and if you were to travel on the continent (europe) it often results in a costly dealer visit to switch them over. Unless you know how to do it, lots of grief involved im told :p

[Ryza]

Guys,

thanks very much.... hopefully it's just the alignment....back to Doogie Parks on Monday then...

again thanks for the info..

Ryza

[Ryza]

Sorry guys just another thing....

surely if i'm straining to see in front of me....then this should not have passed an MOT .... thus leaving the car non- roadworthy..???

I think that will be my tact at the dealers....along with "my brothers a traffic cop and he says it doesn't look right"..... ;-)

[Gismo]

Sorry guys just another thing....

surely if i'm straining to see in front of me....then this should not have passed an MOT .... thus leaving the car non- roadworthy..???
I had my old S and recent Cooper in many times for headlight readjustment and even took a mechanic out with me to show how poor the headlamps were, sadly, all alignment ws correct and even with power bulbs the "throw" was very poor.
I should add that no adjustments were made cause the aim was spot on.
The only suitable solution for me was to fit 4 spots, but, even on dipped beam oncoming cars overpowered my lights resulting in me having to be very careful watching the side of the road :(

[Ryza]

thanks bonnie scotland... much appreciated..

surely that is a fault then.... my understanding was that these so called "xenons" were the bizz.... visibility was vastly improved... Not so apparently...

Can you not be done for driving with your spots on???...

[The Dogfather]

If you ask the technician (a mechanic who costs 4 times as much) how they would adjust them if there was a problem, then do it yourself. Like I said the Civics Xenons were pants, I figured out how to adjust it myself and now its like driving in daylight.

[Sweeney]

No disrespect to gorbash but i and others i know who have dealt with douglas parks (hamilton that is, not glasgow) service/workshop department have had nothing but grief etc.

They sold a completely unroadworthy vehicle (330ci m sport) to a colleague which had been passed through an MOT 2 days before he collected it.

Kick up a fuss if it isn't right, don't let them charge you for setting them properly as chances are they will try to.

[Ryza]

Sweeney/Vidal.... thank you very much.... probably need to get the gloves oot if not the outcome i expect....

i will try right enough to see if they can be adjusted manually...coz as far as i am concerned they are pointing approx two metres tops in front of the bumper..(surely not right)..

right now the only option i have is to strap two candles to the front of the bumper... ;-)

[euan]

I got my lights adjusted in the 3 series as the xenon throw was pants - BMW looked at it and said while it was within MOT accepted level they had raised them to be at the most they could be. Now it's much improved and not blinding other drivers (I've checked them from my mates car), so keep on at them.

I should add the first dealer I took it to about it said they would need it booked in, earliest was 4 weeks away. I took it to another (I had to get oil anyway) and mentioned it there, they did it there and then. So definitely shop about if your not getting the service.

[Gismo]

Can you not be done for driving with your spots on???...
They should only be on with the main beam

[Ryza]

euan/bonnie scotland... cheers..

if it's not up to scratch i may visit another dealer...i will give them a chance first....

if not spots may be an option..

thanks a mill

[Scottie]

unless of course some on has had the bulbs out of them and they are not been fitted back in correctly.

I had this very problem with one of my Cooper S's. Let me tell you it is a complete mare to take the bulbs out of them and a complete nightmare to get them back in. The ballast everything just awful. Allan had put them back in to what he thought was correct and they only lit up about 10 ft in front of the car. Took the dealer 2 hours to get the bulb and ballast fitted back right infact I think they ended up taking the headlights out to do the job.

Changing the xenons bulbs is nothing like changing the halogens.

[Ryza]

thanks scottiecoop..... i just hope they fix it.... obviously with no cost... but, if need be then i would probably have to pay to get it checked independently...

[Ryza]

hi all,

just to let you know...was a problem with the lights....apparently the holders for the bulbs had come loose from the bar that holds them....so after some adjustment...lights are brilliant...well happy...

so thanks all for your help and advice..

Ryza

[KenL]

If you ask the technician (a mechanic who costs 4 times as much) how they would adjust them if there was a problem, then do it yourself. Like I said the Civics Xenons were pants, I figured out how to adjust it myself and now its like driving in daylight.

Maybe so, but how do you know you are doing it correctly and not blinding other road users?

Xenons are bright enough, even when adjusted correctly.

[The Dogfather]

Maybe so, but how do you know you are doing it correctly and not blinding other road users?

Xenons are bright enough, even when adjusted correctly.

Well first I got the MX5 shining its lights against a wall, marked the position for the top of the beam and the position of the car. Put the Civic in the same position and set the top of the beam pattern to the same as the MX5.

I think that's a slightly improvised version of using a wall chart, which is what I was lead to believe they use on the MOT.

Doesn't everyone have two cars these days ;)

[AndyP & Lenore]

Well first I got the MX5 shining its lights against a wall, marked the position for the top of the beam and the position of the car. Put the Civic in the same position and set the top of the beam pattern to the same as the MX5.

I think that's a slightly improvised version of using a wall chart, which is what I was lead to believe they use on the MOT.

Doesn't everyone have two cars these days ;)

No.

We have three.:p :o

A.:D

[The Dogfather]

No, you've got two cars and an agricultural vehicle. :D

[Scottie]

hi all,

just to let you know...was a problem with the lights....apparently the holders for the bulbs had come loose from the bar that holds them....so after some adjustment...lights are brilliant...well happy...

so thanks all for your help and advice..

Ryza

what did I tell you. Some one has had a go prior me thinks before you got the car.

[The Dogfather]

what did I tell you. Some one has had a go prior me thinks before you got the car.

I thought messing with xenons was dangerous, big voltage and all that.

[Scottie]

I thought messing with xenons was dangerous, big voltage and all that.


I know that's why I sent Allan to do the job.;) ;) ;)

[AndyP & Lenore]

I thought messing with xenons was dangerous, big voltage and all that.

Safe enough if the power is isolated. The smoothing caps in a car xenon kit shouldn't hold the charge for long. Me thinks - not professional advice, you understand.:o

A.:D

[Ryza]

yeah scottie coop....looks like you were right....somebody out with there set of screw drivers they got for xmas...

Ryza