Xenon troubles

[jams]

I was thinking of getting some Xenon's but when i suggested the idea to my brother he said that there can be problems when fitting aftermarket xenon's, such as them not always working.

Is this true????

I need my car everyday for travelling to work in and I drive in the dark so I need to know they will work!!!

Cheers
Jams

 

[manji]

Well, everything can fail sooner or later, but they should work most of the time lol

 

[V1NNY]

ive had my philips kit for many years now

 

[MATT BLACK]

I have brand new 182 xenon's in stock £300 + vat the pair. That price includes new xenon bulbs and new charger packs.

 

[JAMESSRICH]

i have had my xenons in the valver 4 nearly 2 years i think and have never failed once!!

 

[V1NNY]

the only thing i had to replace was the bulbs cause they were coming to the end of their life, i do loads of night driving lol

 

[jams]

Thanks for all the reply's people.

I have brand new 182 xenon's in stock £300 + vat the pair. That price includes new xenon bulbs and new charger packs.

I can't afford them at the moment but hopefully in a couple of months I will be looking for some. Where abouts are you mate??

 

[C.slicker]

PM BrianR he has a link to some autocar footage of the legallity of after market kits.

 

[Da]

Actual 182 Xenons like Matt is referring to do not come under the post that you refer to as they are the complete headlight so there is no problem with the beam etc. As for the washers/levelling system that still seems to be a grey area although I never had any problems with mine.

 

[BrianR]

This is the link: - http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/videos/featuresvideos/204742/xenon_test.html

Can I repeat what was said before as this question comes up time and time again.
Xenon lights are not HID lights. They are just high output (normally blue tinged) bulbs. They cost a few pounds.

HID or plasma lamps do not use Xenon gas They cost £100-£300 for kits that are sold with the suggestion that you can upgrade your lights to look like the type fitted to some cars. They are not legal if fitted into standard reflectors on cars without self-levelling lights and headlight washers.

You can tell a car with HID lights, when they switch on they take a few seconds to get going and up to 30 seconds to get up to full brightness.

If you want to read the full thread :-

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=202322

 

[Da]

HID or plasma lamps do not use Xenon gas They cost £100-£300 for kits that are sold with the suggestion that you can upgrade your lights to look like the type fitted to some cars. They are not legal if fitted into standard reflectors on cars without self-levelling lights and headlight washers.

can you please explain that a little more Brian as I'm confused? I'm not doubting your knowledge I would just like to expand mine a little.
As I understood things, a HID is a High Intensity Discharge light, and a xenon light (as in standard 172/182's etc not aftermarket) is a HID light that uses xenon gas in the discharge chamber to produce the bluey/white light we see today on our roads? Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

 

[BrianR]

No your not Barking,

Its simply the case that the commonly used words to describe these lights has become confused. Its like saying you have a Hoover when in fact its a Dyson.

HID is, as you correctly said, High Intensity Discharge lamps. They use exactly the same technology as street lights and the bay lights in shops and sports halls.
They use a mixture of gas and metals to produce a plasma when a high current is struck across the terminals.
The gas they use is either Mercury vapour which produces a yellowish light or Sodium which produces a white light more suitable for use in a car.

Does this help ?

I should have added that the Xenon bulbs are just high output lamps using Xenon gas instead of Halogen as the blue tinge achieved with Xenon gas has become fashionable as a look-alike for the HID lamps that first appeared on expensive cars but are now common on all cars as an option or top line version of some cars like the Clio.

 

[Da]

Yes that clears things a little thanks Brian. So where does the word 'Xenon' come from in describing standard fit on cars?

 

[BrianR]

Yes that clears things a little thanks Brian. So where does the word 'Xenon' come from in describing standard fit on cars?

Sorry Daz I added that info as an edit after I read throught the post

 

[Da]

Cheers Brian So as you say above, Mr Jo Public, became synonymous with referring to HID's as 'xenons' even though the two are not in anyway linked. The HID's on the cars of today probably use the Sodium you refer to above?

 

[BrianR]

Yes in a nutshell.

You can actually change the colour by using high pressure Sodium (HPS) or low pressure Sodium (SOX) which is why you may have noticed the different colours of street lights. SOX produce the yellow street lights. And those really bright lights they use in shop windows or on some Motorways and roundabouts are HPS.

What is very wrong though, is the number of companies who are selling Xenon bulbs as HID lights. They mostly come from China. You can find loads of them on Ebay.

 

[Da]

Yeah I understand all that Brian. Thanks for clearing things up.