:: Hangs head in shame :::
Set off for London at 05:20 this morning in pouring rain. NS dipped beam failed. Pulled in to a garage to change the bulb under cover but still no luck. Tried fuse with similar results. [click] Ah. Changed sidelight lamp on that side yesterday, have obviously dislodged a wire. Much swearing and bruising of hands later and still unable to get anywhere near the terminals in the headlamp body. Concede that this is going to be a Headlight-out job.....
So with heavy heart switch on front fog lamps and one remaining dipped headlamp, dial in maximum load to depress the lamps to the max and head off up the M27 and M3, on into central London.
I apologise. I really do.
Suffice to say I will be whipping the headlamp out this evening to sort this. I'll probably post something pithy about the moron that designed the lamp access on the 156 as well.
ND
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I had to replace the dipped beam bulbs on my 156 a couple of weeks ago. The handbook makes it look so easy, but when you lift the bonnet, you realise that you have to about 3mm of clearance to try and remove the cover, extract a bulb, replace it, and reconnect everything. And without being able to see what you're doing. Suffice to say my hands still show the scars....
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It's particularly tight on the JTD as the NS lamp is behind the trunking that comes out the top of the filter housing and heads off in the general direction of the intercooler. Mind you, many modern cars have the same problem. It's usually the power steering pump that gets in your way.
Grrrrr.....
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"switch on front fog lamps"
"whipping the headlamp"
Right then ND, if there is any whipping to be done you will be publicly flagelated by the anti fog light brigade repeating the religeous mantra "I will check the lights after I work on them" a thousand times.
BTW would you like a nice set of blue led washer jets to go with the foglights? perhaps a green underbody neon?
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"I will check the lights after I work on them"
I know, I know. I went as far as checking the sidelights. Didn't think to go as far as checking the dipped beam. I am a very silly No Dosh and no mistake.
BTW would you like a nice set of blue led washer jets to go with the foglights? perhaps a green underbody neon?
I said I'm sorry! Anyway, the washers on the 156 are tucked away under the trailing edge of the bonnet and so only visible if you are leaning across the bonnet. Not sure about a green neon kit.... Don't suppose you've got anything in purple?
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I would venture that the vast majority of drivers would have remained unaware of the light failure for weeks or months.
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The sooner we get LED headlights, the better - at least from a maintenace point of view. Have to admit that the ones shown on concept cars do look a bit weird, though.
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I don't suppose switching on the front fogs on a JTD also switches on the rear ones does it....?
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" I'll probably post something pithy about the moron that designed the lamp access on the 156 as well."
Don't be unkind. He's an Italian designing a Fiat .. sorry an Alfa.. What can you expect?
:-)
madf
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I don't suppose switching on the front fogs on a JTD also switches on the rear ones does it....?
It doesn't and if it had I would have pulled the fuse for the rear ones. I figured my actions were the lesser of two evils (the alternative evil being a 115 mile drive in pouring rain with a "Cyclops" headlight)
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Tut tut. 20 lashes with a wiring loom is the only suitable punishment :-) I hope you are not going to start wearing a baseball cap backwards ....
teabelly
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Tut tut. 20 lashes with a wiring loom is the only suitable punishment :-)
Any volunteers? That would save a quid or two this week......
I hope you are not going to start wearing a baseball cap backwards ....
Heaven forbid! Although a nice Diesel skull cap might be appropriate.
;o)
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Well done, ND.
They say confession is good for the soul.
A lesser chap would have kept quiet ...
Hawkeye
-----------------------------
Stranger in a strange land
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ND I've done several of mine on the JTD recently, NS headlight took 45 minutes of swearing and even then went in cocked so the beam pattern was all over the place. The piece of plastic just behind it that covers the intercooler & trunking unscrews and gives a bit more room and its just 2 screws. Try the sidelight bulbs not only damned expensive but a complete pig to change.
And the smug one who said its a FIAT type design, try a Mondeo the head light has to come out according to the hand book and even I gave up on that!
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What makes it worse ND is that you could have just left your parking lights on and driven at high speed in the dark and rain in the "fast"lane and it would have appeared that all was normal. To make it even more normal I suggest you carry a spare BMW bonnet badge to stick over your Alfa badge in case it happens again!
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Nah - its too obvious he's not a BMW driver, two hands on the wheel for starters...................
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Nah - its too obvious he's not a BMW driver, two hands on the wheel for starters...................
LOL! Have you been following me? Classic 10 to 2 everywhere I go. It's that straight arm, short leg driving position so beloved of Italian manufacturers and Orang-utans the world over.
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Oh, I ought to add that I need to drop the bumper to get the headlamp out. Think I'll get the multimeter out and try poking every terminal in sight before I do that.....
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Oh, I ought to add that I need to drop the bumper to get the headlamp out.
So, your tractor has something in common with my Vectra after all ;o)
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Sounds like the same moron who designed the lamp access on the Mondeo.
How to change a headlight bulb on the Xantia:
a) Open bonnet
b) Remove cover
c) Replace bulb
Job done.
How to change a headlight bulb on my Mondeo:
a) Open Bonnet
b) Locate Torx screwdriver
c) Remove entire front grille
d) Unscrew 4 screws from around light housing
e) Prise entire headlight unit out
f) Remove cover
g) Replace bulb
h) Replace headlight unit, with considerable difficulty getting it to fit
i) Screw everything back in
j) Screw grille back on.
Which is just the sort of thing you want to do at 2am, in the dark, and in the rain, when your bulb has blown :) Quite why it's also Torx - as if everyone carries one of those - is another unanswerable question.
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Which begs the question, why is ANYTHING torx? And why, sometimes, is it 12 point torx. Or worse still, 5 point (what joker dreamed that one up?).
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Which begs the question, why is ANYTHING torx? And why, sometimes, is it 12 point torx. Or worse still, 5 point (what joker dreamed that one up?).
They make the production process easier and quicker (and hence cheaper) Torx are very easy to use with an airgun or robotised assembly.
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so it's got absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with making things main dealer servicing only rather than DIY...
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Although I don't work in the motor industry I imagine the cost pressures are much the same in most manufacturing industries : saving a few seconds here & there on assembly by using power tool friendly fittings is considered a worthwhile exercise.
Whether the resulting product will be maintainable by the average DIYer in 5 / 10 years is not a major consideration, as it has negligable impact on the bottom line. Never mind torx screws; I think we will soon be at the point where any newish car has to be taken to a main dealer to get the fault codes read.
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Sorry, I was slightly TIC, which I should have made clear. But there's a big difference between using 6 point torx fixings (which we all have a set of; they now come in even the cheapest set of screwdriver bits available for £2.99), or 12 point torx fixings for bigger bolts requiring a higher torque, and 5 point torx fittings which are just to take the mickey and to make you have to go out to buy a new set of fittings, expensively, from a specialist shop. Or seven (or were they 5?) sided allen keys.
Trying to change the front pads on my Audi last week. Essential tool: 7mm allen key. Not a standard size; so had to reassemble car & drive to Halfords to buy one. I cannot believe that a 7mm allen head bolt achieves anything that a 6mm or 8mm one wouldn't.
Citroen were notorious 20 years ago for requiring special tools so that you had to go to a main dealer rather than a 'back street' garage who wouldn't have the tools - or so my father used to complain about the Dyane.
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"Citroen were notorious 20 years ago for requiring special tools"
Yes, metric spanners were hard to come by! Damned foreigners...
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