There is a bit of dust on the inside but not really anything which would obstruct the beam.
I have the xenons set to come on when the car is unlocked. I also use the follow-me-home function to get from the car into the house quite often, so am wondering if it's just a case of me over-using them.
Or the beam may need adjusting, I found that mine were just not set high enough so whilst driving they seemed less effective,
Park 18ish feet from a wall or fence etc and the beam should measure from floor to the top of it roughly the same hight of the headlamps (an inch or two less maybe.
There was a thread about the adjustment knocking around..
Also there are two sensors that can get knocked during maintenance that can affect it, one is in the uk drivers side wheel well and the other is around the exhaust back box area.
Thanks for the tip! The headlamp levels looks OK, and also the same height as they have always been.
I have thought about this, and as the headlight were set to come on when unlocked, I would image that this means 5x -10x times more on/off cycles compared to just manually switching them on at night, especially when doing errands and having multiple stops in daytime.
And I read that the cycles are what kills them, (due to the high voltage surge at start up), not the duration of use.
I am going to just order some replacement bulbs and fit them when I have time. (Probably Osram Xenarc Nightbreaker or Cool Blue).
Thanks for the tip CS155. I wouldn't say blue, but a bit purplish. They definitely have yellow and pink on the top edges when the beam is a against a white wall. That would be the top edge which is cut to dip them, if that makes sense?
I still haven't ordered new ones. It's strange, it was very rainy today and I found the headlights OK.
I think I will order a set of new bulbs and keep an eye on them (literally).
I haven't called the dealer to find out how much it costs in labour to swap them, but if they insist on a bumper-off job, then I will try it myself when it's a bit drier.
(I read on the German forums that you can unscrew the metal cover to the RHS headlamp transformer/controller thingy, and access the bulb inside).
to be honest, even on the halogen equipped cars it's pretty much a bumper off job tyo replace the bulbs... At least I'm sure some wished they had gone that way.
I would try it without taking thebumper off, but I'm probably more experienced in changing various bulbs than most here. But if I get annoyed, off goes the bumper!
Bumper off for headlights seems a bit excessive. Admittedly mine are only halogen lamps and i haven't seen the xenons to see what the fitting/access is like but i changed both my main and dipped beams on both sides in about 20 minutes. Unless the xenons are more restricted I'd say give it a go before you fork out for a dealer to take a bumper off.
Had a xenon bulb fail on my giulietta cloverleaf, was replaced under warranty and I waited about 15mins while it was changed by the dealer, so no need to remove the bumper.
I assume that the patience and tolerance to hand-scrapes we have on our own cars may be more than a dealer having to do it day in and day out. (Or maybe even dependent on the size of hands!)
My dealer said that they take the bumper off and remove the headlight, as it's too tricky the other way so looks like I will try and tackle it myself when I have time.
I need to first get the bulbs, to do that I need to figure out if I stick to original, or try 5500K.
Then figure out if my wife will allow me to get a new scudetto (or even notice if I do) to possibly benefit from already having the bumper off (if I need to, that is), then factor in the priority of changing the bulbs depending on how bad they get. Decisions decisions decisions.
When I do find my way, I will report back to let you guys know how it went.
Honestly the dealer in Aachen will find the most expensive way to repair your car.
Go to Stolberg for a second opinion.
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