With the nights drawing in, I've been driving with my headlights quite a bit lately. And I have to say, compared to my old Sunny and my girlfriend's Clio, the Almera's headlights are absolutely awful. I have them pointed as high as possible, yet they only light a small distance in front of me. Aiming them lower makes them even worse.
They passed the MOT in March, so it shouldn't be a defective reflector or anything like that. Plus, the lights on my mum's (newer model) Almera are just as bad. My bulbs are the normal old-fashioned headlight type (usually called bulb 472) - any suggestions how to make them better? Uprated bulbs? ....or is there a way of changing the beam alignment further than the electric thingy inside the car can manage?
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I had the same problem till the headlights were replaced a couple of months back under a warranty recall.
Since then the lights have been much better - the beam is brighter and reaches further, but of course I've no idea exactly what the difference is between the old lights and the new
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If your current headlights are not halogen,it is possible to buy halogen bulbs with the old-type fitting;I've done this myself on several cars.
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The lights on all Almeras are halogen, as they are on almost all cars made in the last 15 years.
But it may be that there are better bulbs and/or reflectors available.
Or maybe there's some adjustment possible inside the light itself.
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If your current headlights are not halogen,it is possible to buy halogen bulbs with the old-type fitting;I've done this myself on several cars.
They're halogen, it's the very common bulb with the old-type fitting (big long one with 2 filaments). It was used on a lot of cars in the 90s.
I wasn't sure whether cars with electronic beam adjustment were also manually adjustable, I'll have to have a look before spending a fortune on extra-bright bulbs.
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"I had the same problem till the headlights were replaced a couple of months back under a warranty recall."
I think this only refers to the current model - the dip-beam looks like a bulls-eye lense. From about 2003 model on.
several years ago, I was able to separate the lense cover from the reflector (a Maestro I think) and gently clean the silvering, surprising how much muck came off. It improved the lighting.
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Halfords stock the 472 bulb at standard, up to 30% brighter and up to 50% brighter varieties - at increasing prices. Might be worth trying an upgraded bulb? Although the key phrase is 'up to...' i.e. might be the same, might be a bit better, might be a lot better.....
Maybe part of the bulbs have burned out as these have two filaments.
A google found: www.consumabulbs.com/files/bdet.php?id=109 which is much cheaper than Halfords
Also: www.carbulbs-direct.com/index.asp?function=DISPLAY...4
among many others
Please don't get the 'boy racer' blue tinted bulbs though!
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Another good source for bulbs is:
www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/home.php
Not used this company but may be worth investigating:
www.powerbulbs.co.uk/
which has a BOGOF offer on pairs of some bulbs.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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if you want the best and want them to last then stuartli's first link i see do osram bulbs
i recommend them.........
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Auto Express did a test on headlight bulbs a while ago, Osram Silverstars +50 came top. I've replaced the H4's in my Octavia and H7's in my Superb, vast improvement!
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For about £100 you can get a Chinese-made HID headlight upgrade kit off Ebay (pair). Includes bulbs, ballasts and all wiring. No idea how good they are or their legality - but might be worth looking into....?
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I agree these are H4 bulbs right? they seem to benefit most of all from the Osram 50%+
Avoid other bulbs claiming to be mega brite and such rubbish and stick with Philips or Osram.
The HID idea is also good. I fitted a HID kit to my Passat, because I had got used to them on my previous car of many years, there were no problems with beam pattern changing etc.. and it looks totally stock.
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I thought that legally, all HID systems have to have beam-levelling mechanisms. Do the retro-fit kits have this?
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Osram are good etc but....
instead of halogen 472, you should try xenon 472; same wattage, fittings etc.
Any decent motor factor should be able to supply at sensible prices.
Personally never had a problem with xenons from any supplier (tried loads through rally use etc)
Dont always be fooled by the brand label; often sourced from other places and own labels stuck on!
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Well I've now upgraded the bulbs, Halfords had a special offer on their "50% brighter" Xenon bulbs, 2 bulbs for £15, normally £15 each (which I think is a bit excessive for a piece of glass with a curly wire inside).
The marking on the cheapy ones was indeed E13, thanks for that bit of advice, the ones I bought have E1 markings. They're a hell of a lot brighter, but there's still a beam-alignment issue - it's just too low. When it stops raining I might go out and have a play.
Thanks for all the advice - if nothing else I now have much brighter headlights. Halfords own brand products usually seem quite decent, if a little pricey.
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I thought that legally, all HID systems have to have beam-levelling mechanisms. Do the retro-fit kits have this?
Only new cars made with HID lamps have to have the washers and self leveling systems, aftermarket conversions don't need to comply.
There are a few owners on the Seat forum I frequent that have carried out HID conversions and passed MOT's with no problem.
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Just went up to my local independant garage, the headlights were at the lower end of the 2 marks on their beam-alignment machine, so they kindly moved them to the higher marking. Hopefully I'll be able to see in the dark now!
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