One Headlight

Richard53

Building_Surveyor wrote: »

Ditto to this. The fog was seriously heavy this morning in Birmingham. Could not believe the amount of cars with no lights on at all!

The ones that make me laugh are the ones who think "it's only slightly foggy, so I will just use my sidelights". In every single case where this happens, you can see the whole car before you see the sidelights. Utterly useless.

Rear foglights where there is good visibility are more than just a nuisance, they are downright dangerous. I was driving up the M1 a while ago in heavy Friday night traffic, and there was a car 10-12 vehicles ahead who had his red lights blazing. You get attuned to normal rear lights, and brighter lights signal something that needs a reaction, whether braking or indicating. Every time the cars changed position and this guy's foglights came into view, I was getting ready to brake, thinking someone further ahead was braking. That's bad enough, but eventually I got used to it, and I realised that I would probably react more slowly if there was a genuine braking incident ahead. The boy who cried wolf, type of thing.

I bought a little pack of spare bulbs from Halfords for £notalot when I was going to France last year, and I have kept them in the car. Seems like a good idea. I haven't had to do it yet, but the Mk3 Mondeo seems to have quite a sensible system for bulb changes, with no tools required.

Avoriaz

Tilt wrote: »

..While on the subject of lights, the idiots are about who drive with their rear fogs on, even when visibility is good. I followed one for about 20 miles along the M3 last Sunday and flashed away to no avail. So I overtook him (yes was an old guy) and flashed my rear fogs at him. Nope, that didn't work either. I wasn't the only one who tried it but still oblivious. Again, you would f expect that the driver should notice the warning light on the dash wouldn't you?

Tilt wrote: »

The other annoying thing I forgot to mention is that he was sat in the middle lane doing 60 mph! :mad:

I thought the police were clamping down on that as well!

So you followed him for 20 miles, also sat in the middle lane doing 60mph.

Why didn't you overtake him at the first opportunity?

Avoriaz

Tilt wrote: »

..While on the subject of lights, the idiots are about who drive with their rear fogs on, even when visibility is good. I followed one for about 20 miles along the M3 last Sunday and flashed away to no avail. So I overtook him (yes was an old guy) and flashed my rear fogs at him. Nope, that didn't work either. I wasn't the only one who tried it but still oblivious. Again, you would f expect that the driver should notice the warning light on the dash wouldn't you?

How do you know he didn't turn his rear fogs off if you were then in front of him?

Please don't tell me you slowed down and made him overtake you so you could check his rear fog lights.

Jamie_Carter

tykesi wrote: »

That's because you're looking at it from the point of view of someone who DOES pay attention to what's going on around them. These people barely have a clue that there are other cars on the road let alone that they might need to do something to make themselves more visible.

Unfortunately it's becoming more and more prevalent nowadays and the only way to guard against it is to be super aware of what is going on around you and treat every other vehicle on the road as if it and it’s driver are out to kill you.

You are right of course. But people with such low awareness of what is going on around them shouldn't be on the road.

WTFH

Jamie_Carter wrote: »

You are right of course. But people with such low awareness of what is going on around them shouldn't be on the road.

What do you suggest? Make them abandon their cars on yellow lines outside schools?

Jamie_Carter

WTFH wrote: »

What do you suggest? Make them abandon their cars on yellow lines outside schools?

Only if they have a vulnerable passenger to escort.

theclonetrooper

On the subject of carrying a spare set of bulbs what about cars with Xeon headlights, I drive a Renault Laguna with Xeon headlights and once priced up a spare bulb... SHOCK, HORROR I was quotes £110 per bulb:eek: and was informed that each headlight unit has a ballast as well and the price for that again £110 each:eek:.
So in theory I could have to carry £440 worth of spares just for the front lights.
luckily for me I bought another Laguna a couple of years ago,(only cost me £300), off a work college, (same model Laguna but with a different engine and I cannibalized it for parts, keep what I thought I would need, Xeon headlight units being 1, sold the rest of the spare bits including the engine and weighed in what was left for scrap).
I actually carry the 2 Xeon bulbs & ballasts in the boot so if they do go when I call out the RAC the mechanic can have the pleasure of changing them:rotfl:

WTFH

I'm guessing the £110 was the price Renault quoted you. I had a Laguna years ago and the glass in one of the front foglights broke. £120 to replace it because it was the whole unit, not just the glass.
Alternatively, took it to a mate who ordered the glass in for £20 and fitted it in 15 minutes for the price of a pint.

...oh and if you need the bulbs: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Renault-Laguna-01-04-D2R-HID-Xenon-Replacement-Bulbs-/370253529842
£16.45 for 2

BeenThroughItAll

theclonetrooper wrote: »

On the subject of carrying a spare set of bulbs what about cars with Xeon headlights, I drive a Renault Laguna with Xeon headlights and once priced up a spare bulb... SHOCK, HORROR I was quotes £110 per bulb:eek: and was informed that each headlight unit has a ballast as well and the price for that again £110 each:eek:.
So in theory I could have to carry £440 worth of spares just for the front lights.
luckily for me I bought another Laguna a couple of years ago,(only cost me £300), off a work college, (same model Laguna but with a different engine and I cannibalized it for parts, keep what I thought I would need, Xeon headlight units being 1, sold the rest of the spare bits including the engine and weighed in what was left for scrap).
I actually carry the 2 Xeon bulbs & ballasts in the boot so if they do go when I call out the RAC the mechanic can have the pleasure of changing them:rotfl:

Xenons (not Xeons) don't normally just 'go'. They ordinarily dim or go yellow over time and should be replaced when they start to dim or discolour.

I've only ever personally seen one 'dead' Xenon and that, ironically, was on a Laguna in 2005, but the problem was traced to the car's electronics, rather than an issue with the lamp itself. To be fair, the rest of the vehicle (we had ten of them at the time, all just as bad as each other) was so unreliable one more wiring/electronics issue wasn't a surprise!

Ballasts also rarely fail - you shouldn't have been advised that ballasts are a consumable item, they're not - the capsules (Xenons don't have bulbs) are consumable but are intended to last the 'lifetime' of the car (in reality, normally they're past their best after 5 years/80K miles or so).

RAC/AA probably won't replace a Xenon capsule at the roadside in any case; I suspect 'their insurance won't cover' them for working on 'hazardous voltage' components.

Replacing Xenon capsules is as easy as replacing any other bulb, once you've accessed the capsule - that's the slightly hard bit on some cars for the reasons already discussed.

Xenon capsules can be had singly (although should really always be replaced in pairs as the colour changes over time) for a LOT less than £110. I bought a pair of genuine Osrams for my car for under £80 for two, and once fitted the difference was like (pardon the pun) night and day. Brighter, better throw, better colour temperature and quicker ignition.

None of the above applies to aftermarket Xenon kits - they can be truly awful quality.

BeenThroughItAll

WTFH wrote: »

...oh and if you need the bulbs: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Renault-Laguna-01-04-D2R-HID-Xenon-Replacement-Bulbs-/370253529842
£16.45 for 2

As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. Having experimented with cheap unbranded vs. Osram/Philips capsules, I would recommend spending the money on branded replacements.


However, just for cheap spares, these are probably better than nothing.