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[andyc]

Mine are just as bad but they also seem to go dim  and its as if you have turned the lights off, then all of a sudden they come back a bit brighter but still crap.

we came back from Norwich the other week at about midnight and if it wasn't full a full moon i don't think we would have got home

Andy

[mark.adams]

Its not just me that drives around at night with front fog lamps on as well so i can see where i'm going then
Seriously, with just regular headlamps on, when its dingy out, its hard to tell when they're on.... And yes i've cleaned them

[tunnie]

i upgraded the bulbs in my 2.2 CD to Philips 50+, did make a big difference!

Hids are the way to go, much better. But in my opinion, its dangerous to retro fit, without headlight washer system. Due to the type of light of HID's dirt seriously reduce the light, washing system is essential!

[PMitchell]

I had a bit of time on my hands over Xmas so I decided to tackle the dismal headlights.  I replaced the earth cables and connectors and wired the new ones straight to the battery -ve, one from each headlight.  I used 17 amp cable.  Then I fitted a relay, using the old headlight dip beam (off side) wire for the relay coil  and fitting new 27 amp cable back to the battery +ve and to both headlights on the switching contacts. My God, the lights actually work now, and although they are still only 'quite good' they are a long, long, long way better than they were.  Only one minor niggle to sort out, the lamp failure warning, but I can live with that now I can see where I am going at night. I can now see signs, the road edge, white lines, cats eyes and even with oncoming traffic.
The old connectors on the earth terminals were 'blued' from heat or poor connection causing resistance and therefore heat I presume.  All fixed now.
This helped me lots, I hope it helps someone else.
Incidentally I am using the Osram Nightbreaker bulbs and they are very bright (now).

[Paul M]

I had a bit of time on my hands over Xmas so I decided to tackle the dismal headlights.  I replaced the earth cables and connectors and wired the new ones straight to the battery -ve, one from each headlight.  I used 17 amp cable.  Then I fitted a relay, using the old headlight dip beam (off side) wire for the relay coil  and fitting new 27 amp cable back to the battery +ve and to both headlights on the switching contacts. My God, the lights actually work now, and although they are still only 'quite good' they are a long, long, long way better than they were.  Only one minor niggle to sort out, the lamp failure warning, but I can live with that now I can see where I am going at night. I can now see signs, the road edge, white lines, cats eyes and even with oncoming traffic.
The old connectors on the earth terminals were 'blued' from heat or poor connection causing resistance and therefore heat I presume.  All fixed now.
This helped me lots, I hope it helps someone else.
Incidentally I am using the Osram Nightbreaker bulbs and they are very bright (now).

Ah the old relaying the lights trick, this can indeed provide a good improvement depending on how good (or bad) the original wiring is. I have HIDs on both my cars (wouldn't be without them now) but I used this trick to great effect on my old Audi, which had terrible lights. One of the major flaws with that was that the power for the lights actually goes through the switch, no relay. So by the time it's went through all the rather borderline thickness wiring to reach the lights, there had been a voltage drop of a few volts.

Relaying with heavy duty cable means the lights will be getting full battery voltage, which can make a significant difference if there is much of a voltage drop with standard wiring. Easy enough to check with a multimeter. I'd expect the standard Omega setup goes through a relay or two though, but there can still be benefits in adding a direct relay to the battery. Don't forget to add an inline fuse as close to the battery as possible though.

Doing this also allows you to run higher wattage bulbs safely, at least as far as the wiring goes. There's no guarantee the lights themselves will be able to handle the extra heat, if the lenses are plastic I'd seriously doubt it. It's also illegal for road use of course so not really recommended. Stick to good quality road legal bulbs, like the Xenon gas filled type, but avoid blue tinted ones like the plague!