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[Iainv6]

Sounds like they are, do you have a beam levelling control on the dash or headlamp washers?

Hi,just been out to look (i'v only had the car 4 days),i can't find a levelling control wheel,but i do have headlamp washers....??

You have HIDs then

Sweet

I finally have a car with 21st century light's!

[CaptainZok]

HID lights are affected much more than halogen by dirty lenses, hence the headlight washers and when factory fitted must be automatically adjusted to prevent dazzling oncoming traffic so the lack of a levelling control is the give away here.

[Iainv6]

HID lights are affected much more than halogen by dirty lenses, hence the headlight washers and when factory fitted must be automatically adjusted to prevent dazzling oncoming traffic so the lack of a levelling control is the give away here.

Thank's for that,when i first used my lights a couple of days ago,i noticed the lag that i mentioned earlier,
it freaked me out a bit to be honest,because i had alternator probs with my other car recently and thought that maybe this
lag might be the alt. not delivering enough amp's.

So,is this the xenon warming up,as it were?

cheers

Iain

[CaptainZok]

Yup like a flourescent tube coming on. Nothing to worry about, mine do the same.

[Iainv6]

Yup like a flourescent tube coming on. Nothing to worry about, mine do the same.

Thank's CaptainZok,and TB as well

 

[davlad22]

Yep, they all take a second to start up   Can't you tell by the brightness!?! The downside - replacement bulbs are a fair few quid. Hopefully though that won't matter for a good few years yet  

CDX, ELITE, MV6 and Sport (I think?) all fitted with Xenon HID's. Only GLS & CD do without. GLS doesn't have front fogs either.  

[caolan_p]

davelad , i have a 2001 2.2 cd when i took it for a test drive they said it had exnon lights , i thought it ment they were blue to look at ,but driving tonight there was a white car infront about 200 yards and my lights made it look a bit blue . are  they exnon ? my head lights are not good until i put the spots on its a bit better,is this what people are talking about ?  

[Marks DTM Calib]

If it has HIDs on a CD then they were fitted as an option....again, do you have a headlight level dial on the head light switch....if yes, you dont have HID's

For those interested

HID = High Intensity Discharge lamp....

It works in a similarish way to a flouescent lamp and requires a very high voltage arc to get them to strike (this is way there is a seperate power supply which is sometimes in-correctly refered to as the ballast) and hence the delay and slight flash at turn on, they then run at many hundreds of volts to keep them working.

The plus points are:

1) MUCH greater light output
2) MUCH whiter light
3) MUCH longer life
4) Lower power (they only consume about 30W each compared to 55W for a filament lamp)

The bulbs are more expensive but, the price is always dropping as HID technology is used in more and more places (now even in the homes!).

Bulb life is normaly 10 years+ although the actual life span is related to the number of power cylces (hence not ideal for full beam as it gets turned on and off much more!) and burn time.

[ians]

Yep, they all take a second to start up   Can't you tell by the brightness!?! The downside - replacement bulbs are a fair few quid. Hopefully though that won't matter for a good few years yet  

CDX, ELITE, MV6 and Sport (I think?) all fitted with Xenon HID's. Only GLS & CD do without. GLS doesn't have front fogs either.  

pretty sure my 98 CDX has normal halogen projectors..

[Marks DTM Calib]

Yep, HIDs were only standard on CDx's from Facelift on.