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Author Topic: headlights  (Read 2515 times)

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salvo3.0

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headlights
« on: 18 January 2007, 22:10:46 »
why o why are my headlight so rubbish at night?????????
does anybody have an answer to inprove them????????
theres a yellowish tint to them.
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Markjay

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Re: headlights
« Reply #1 on: 18 January 2007, 22:23:44 »
What year is your car?

Up to the 1998 ‘mini-facelift’, Omegas had pretty awful headlights. If your car is 1994 to 1997, you can do either or all of the following:

1. Take them apart and clean the lens from inside and the reflector area

2. Get second-hand headlights from a scrap yard or off eBay – from a 1998 or 1999 car – they are the ‘clear’ type which are much better (2000 cars are OK if they are not ‘facelift’ ones)

3. Get ‘+50’ bulbs from Halfords or off eBay – these produce 50% more light
« Last Edit: 18 January 2007, 22:29:52 by markjay »
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Matchless

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Re: headlights
« Reply #2 on: 18 January 2007, 22:26:32 »
Add some details to your profile, model / engine / trim / reg / where are you etc.

Basic checks are battery volts w engine running..14V ish. Check earths under battery tray are clean and tight.

I guess its a pre 98 with ribbed headlight lenses. The beam pattern on these is not good but light o/p suffers due to build up of waxes / road grime / tiny chips etc on the lens.
You can rub down gently with 800 wet&dry paper used wet, change to 1200 when you have an even surface then move on to T-cut to restore the clear finish.
Philips +50 bulbs increase the light o/p.

You can fit later 'projector' type headlights, these have clear lenses with a spherical lens inside. beam pattern is much better and +50 bulbs help again.
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Chopsdad

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Re: headlights
« Reply #3 on: 18 January 2007, 22:58:55 »
Look in this thread for pics of my +50 upgrade to my wife's car and some suggestions on upgrading headlamp units http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1168384948
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Paul M

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Re: headlights
« Reply #4 on: 18 January 2007, 23:09:49 »
Best solution is HIDs but it's not cheap. Both my cars have them and it makes you realise how weak and yellowish halogens are.

Good quality "+50%" halogens are the best option for little cash, they do make a noticable improvement over standard bulbs.
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TheBoy

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Re: headlights
« Reply #5 on: 19 January 2007, 08:06:30 »
Quote
Best solution is HIDs but it's not cheap. Both my cars have them and it makes you realise how weak and yellowish halogens are.

Good quality "+50%" halogens are the best option for little cash, they do make a noticable improvement over standard bulbs.
Proper retro fit of HIDs is going to be expensive and time consuming, and ultimately not worth the effort:

HID Headlights
HID bulbs
Ballast packs
2 levelling sensors
Levelling ECU
(Being an Elite, should already have washer system)
Lights switch
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Padster

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Re: headlights
« Reply #6 on: 13 February 2007, 11:35:35 »
I had the candle power lites on my 2001, so i forked out 240 quid for an HID upgrade kit off the www, you got two options - 600k (white day light) 8000k (blue light). I went for the 6000k and due to the nature of Omega reflectors, it still has a blue tint to them but the light output was much more intense. Night time driving, and night time in the rain is so much better! Took 45mins a side to fit. Worth the money if youask me, and they look cool!
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** Kenwood Head Unit + 12" Kenwood Sub / Vibe Amp ** Hillper's Boot Mod ** HID Coversion **

sophos9

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Re: headlights
« Reply #7 on: 13 February 2007, 12:23:59 »
Quote
HID Headlights
HID bulbs
Ballast packs
2 levelling sensors
Levelling ECU
(Being an Elite, should already have washer system)
Lights switch

Being an Elite should it not already have HIDs?
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TheBoy

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Re: headlights
« Reply #8 on: 13 February 2007, 12:26:47 »
Quote
Quote
HID Headlights
HID bulbs
Ballast packs
2 levelling sensors
Levelling ECU
(Being an Elite, should already have washer system)
Lights switch

Being an Elite should it not already have HIDs?
On post 98 cars, yes...
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Gaffers

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Re: headlights
« Reply #9 on: 14 February 2007, 12:29:17 »
I have a 97 cdx and I am looking at fitting a HID system I can get from the states for about £80 (wife works for an american airline)

Do the headlights I have already have the auto leveling fitted or will I ahve to factor this in to be road legal?

Also on legality, how difficult is it to retro fit the headlight washers?
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TheBoy

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Re: headlights
« Reply #10 on: 14 February 2007, 13:37:49 »
Quote
I have a 97 cdx and I am looking at fitting a HID system I can get from the states for about £80 (wife works for an american airline)

Do the headlights I have already have the auto leveling fitted or will I ahve to factor this in to be road legal?

Also on legality, how difficult is it to retro fit the headlight washers?
Its a grey area on whether the laws cover retrofit...

To do the levelling (a legal requirement when new due to light intensity) needs front and rear sensors, plus the ECU.

To do the washers (a legal requirement when new due to the way HIDs light output drop dramatically with even a small amount of dirt on lenses, far more than halogens) requires a new washer bottle, I believe an extra relay, the pump, the pipework, the nozzles, and on prefacelift, the extending bits...
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Re: headlights
« Reply #11 on: 14 February 2007, 14:35:50 »
Now by auto leveling is this the leveling controlled by the switch by the headlight switch (0,1...4) depending on the load.  Or am I completely off the mark in that it is a separate system?

I heard Hella do an aftermarket washer upgrade anyone know about fitting this?

Gaffers
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TheBoy

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Re: headlights
« Reply #12 on: 14 February 2007, 14:58:28 »
Quote
Now by auto leveling is this the leveling controlled by the switch by the headlight switch (0,1...4) depending on the load.  Or am I completely off the mark in that it is a separate system?

I heard Hella do an aftermarket washer upgrade anyone know about fitting this?

Gaffers
No, the autolevelling does not use the levelling wheel on light switch, it is fulling automatic, using sensors on the suspension...
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MaxV6

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Re: headlights
« Reply #13 on: 14 February 2007, 15:08:23 »
No... the HID system does not have the manually switched level control, it is entirely automatic.

it basically consists of 2 sensors, one on the front left,  one on the left of the rear suspension sub frame, attached to suspension components, and a control unit in the front right wheel-arch/suspension turret ..... the control unit computes the car's angle/attitude and then controls the Lamp position motors directly to adjust the beams more or less constantly to keep them within the required positional range to prevent blinding oncoming traffic.

in the event of a sensor failure or other fault, it automatically points them as far down as possible , and brings up an error message in the MID, which protects other drives form being dazzled, but   giving you an effective night vision range of about 10 feet....   >:(


In all honesty , as far as i can tell, retro fitting HID properly is expensive and time consuming....  and , legalities aside...  if you get it wrong...  MOT failure is certain.....  you even get warnings if the lights are ageing and showing blue around the edges.....  if they're the slightest bit out of position it's an instant fail...

My MOT's due on march 9th....  so I need to sort my sensors out ASAP really...

if i had a Meega without HID, i'd choose to use the +50 bulbs in the projector headlight units as my solution.....   it's easy and cheap.

and tolerably effective.


« Last Edit: 14 February 2007, 15:10:18 by MaxV6 »
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Essex_Andy

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Re: headlights
« Reply #14 on: 14 February 2007, 23:01:54 »
I've fitted a pair of new clear lens units..paid £110 for the pair and fitted the new osram silverstar bulbs...much much cheaper on E-bay....about 1/2 the price from Halfords and other auto factors
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