I've just had the entire n/s xenon headlamp unit replaced on my Dec'01 Citroen C5 due to a failed igniter unit in the original, for the painful cost of £430 (which was after 10% off and free fitting)!
However, I've now discovered that whilst the original xenon has a blue tint, the new xenon is more white/yellow and infact looks much more like a halogen. Additionally the new unit doesn't appear, at a glance, to be quite as bright as the original o/s lamp.
Having had a look at the labelling on the two units, they do seem to more or less match, so not sure what to do about this...is it legal to have different coloured headlamps?!?
Cheers
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PhiL
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It certainly is illegal. My car failed the MOT last year because the headlights were slightly different tints. But a bulb from Halfords only cost £9.99.I could have bought several new cars for the money you paid!
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When the car is MOT'd, the colour at the lamp is not the issue. The colour of the lamp output is checked by what is seen on the headlamp alighnment gauge.
Many lamps can be seen to be putting out a "blue" light, and yet will show a clear white light on the gauge.
It is possible however to buy blue coloured bulbs that do put out a blue light, and these do fail MOT tests. I would suspect that the light may change in use, or that the ignighter has been modified.
Regards Tony
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I'm sure I've read somewhere that the output from discharge lamps does change colour slightly in the initial operating period.
JS
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HID bulbs do become slightly bluer as they age, it sounds like the new headlamp has a new bulb too. If only the ignitor was faulty (more common than a failed bulb) you will probably find that refitting the original bulb (assuming it's still in tact) with the new headlamp/ignitor will solve the problem. Alternatively, fit a new bulb in the the other lamp too (you won't get much change out of £100). If you just live with it I wouldn't be surprised if the difference becomes less obvious once the new bulb has got a few hours on it.
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I'm so pleased that the Dutch salesman for the V70 2.4T that I imported to the UK talked me out of spending ?1000 on Bi-Xenon headlamps. He reckoned that on the V70, the halogen lamps are so well designed that negligible Bi-Xenon (i.e low and main beam) performance advantage came nowhere near to justifying replacement cost, even with many Volvos burning halogen lamps out several times a year due to "always on" daytime running lights.
He was right, even though cost was not an issue to me.
The V70 halogen lamps are superb, and neither I, nor my friend who drives a V70 with Bi-Xenons can tell any real difference between the setups beyond their colour temperature, even in rain where xenon is alledged to have an advantage.
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RE SJB's post I can say likewise Mondeo, in fact I prefer the halogen headlights due Mondeos such fitted having a level adjustment control which is not fitted to the self levelling Xenons.
However this does not help Phil P, all I can say is that I hope you kept the old headlight because it has various items aside from the dodgy igniter that you may be able to re use not least of which is the bulb, also if you ever cracked the new lamp you might be able to fit the new igniter to the old lamp. As suggested above you could refit the old bulb to the new lamp to see it if evens out the colour.
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Thanks for all your advice guys. I do indeed have the old headlamp, complete with bulbs, sitting in a box in my flat. You don't realise how huge these things are until you see them off the car!
Another interesting difference between the two headlamps is that the fringes of the new n/s unit's light beam have a red colour band (you can see it on your trousers if you stand directly in front of the lit headlamp), which is not visible from the o/s original.
I guess it would be possible to refit the original bulb, only problems being that a)these xenon units have a warning sticker stating they have 25,000 volts running through them, and b)I think it's a bumper off job! Neither of these facts make me very keen to try it, so I'll either see if the dealer is willing to switch them, or just live with it and see if the colour changes over time.
Out of interest cheddar, since the xenon equipped Mondeo's headlamps are self-levelling as you say, why would you want manual adjustment inside the car?
Cheers
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PhiL
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