Projector headlights

[MilehighLR3]

Was wondering if anyone has info on how far the headlights should illuminate while set on low beam. I have the projector style lights, the sticker on the light housing says they're HID but the output isn't what I expect.

I only get about 20 feet of light, which is really a vision problem on the highway at night, particularly with corners and turns.

I had the dealer adjust them but they still are, in my opinion, terrible, compared to my other vehicle experiences.

Any insight (pardon the pun) would be most helpful.

 

[Houm_WA]

Hmmm...not sure what to tell you, my HID lights are awesome.

I will tell you this, though....the performance may depend on the conditions. HID lamps are high intensity, but that is different than how much illuminance they provide on the surfaces that are being illuminated. The spectral reflectance of the objects being illuminated matters too.

As for your specific question, if you're saying that the light pattern cuts off at 20 ft in front of you (measured on the road) then yeah sounds like it needs to be adjusted...or something. They are not terrible at all from my experience.

 

[bbyer]

100 meters, same has halogen

The distance that the low beam xenon bulbs project is about the same as with halogen, (100 m or 330 ft); it is just that the xenon pattern tends to be alot wider as the xenon bulb put about 3 to 4 times more light on the road than halogen.

The link below relates to lighting design. What is actually hard to find is just how far high and low beam are supposed to project but re 20 ft, something is wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlamp#Low_beam

 

[MilehighLR3]

I shadowed a Ford Explorer . . . . my headlights were about half his . . . I'll call my dealer service department and bug them, doesn't seem right, even though they already adjusted them once.

Appreciate the input from all.

 

[paabator]

Was wondering if anyone has info on how far the led car headlights should illuminate while set on low beam. I have the projector style lights, the sticker on the light housing says they're HID but the output isn't what I expect.

I only get about 20 feet of light, which is really a vision problem on the highway at night, particularly with corners and turns.

I am not sure how to tell you, while my led car headlights work well. Maybe you should replace them.

 

[Trynian]

How long have you had the car? It took a little time for me to get use to the xenon projectors at first. There is a more abrupt stoping point of the top of the beam compared to previous halogens I had.

So far I have not heard of anyone having any issues with the output but I did meet one fellow that changed his in for the halogens because his wife did not like how the xenons projected.

 

[MilehighLR3]

How long have you had the car? It took a little time for me to get use to the xenon projectors at first. There is a more abrupt stoping point of the top of the beam compared to previous halogens I had.

So far I have not heard of anyone having any issues with the output but I did meet one fellow that changed his in for the halogens because his wife did not like how the xenons projected.

Trynian,

I've had the rover for about a year now. Maybe the abrupt stopping point is what I'm not used to. That said, still seems to be abnormal . . they folks at the shop say it's fine.

I may just buy one replacement light assembly and see if it makes a difference (a little spendy for a trial and error project but it's kind of annoying).

 

[bbyer]

Flat top pattern and flipper inside.

There is one possibility re your HID headlights - that the flippers/shutters inside are not flipping up out of the way to provide hight beam.

In brief, the round lens that you see and the internal reflector within yield what I would call a high beam light with a flat top pattern. This flat top is more pronounced when on low beam. You can see the flat top when parked say 10 ft from your closed garage door or a wall.

To get low beam, a metal plate or shutter drops down or flips up inside each headlight assembly and blocks off some of the illumination such that the light that escapes from the lens is effectively "low" beam with a very pronounced flat top - actually a flat top that angles up to the right so as to illuminate road signs. This shutter or what I call the flipper is the bi in bi-xenon. A xenon HID does not have the shutter and usually just generates either a low beam or a high beam pattern, but not both.

In the 3, high beam is a combination of the full output of the two 35 watt D2S xenon bulbs plus the turning on of the two lower and somewhat inner located 55 watt H7 halogen bulbs. It may be that the HID flippers are stuck on the low beam so your high beam is effectively just the two H7 bulbs plus the light from the HID's stuck on low beam.

I have not heard of both flippers being stuck at the same time but having one flipper stuck is not really rare. I suggest you park in front of a store window and play with your high and low beams and see if you can see a change in the HID's when the inner H7's illuminate.

If there is no change in illumination of the HID's, I think the circuit that tells the shutters to operate may not be working as having both stuck is unusual.

About all I can say is the not HID's lights are like a normal vehicle and the HID's when working properly tend to turn night into day, particularily in the winter when all is covered with snow. As mentioned in a previous post, it is not so much that the lights shoot further ahead as a more even greater width of brighter light is provided.

http://www.**************/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=3801

Substitute for the ***** the words disco3 co uk with a period in each of the two spaces. There is a file that may be of interest related to the D2S xenon bulbs.

 

[Houm_WA]

...sounds like a stretch, bbyer. Then again...being in a vehicle with HID lamps and feeling that the illumination is inadequate is a bit far-fetched too.

Milehigh, have you had any experiences in other HID-equipped vehicles?

 

[ryan-in-oregon]

I can honestly say that the hids in the LR3 vs my prior BMW do not seem as bright. I attributed this to elevation off the road surface more then anything.. I also thought the LR3 lights were not bi-zenon and were zenon main with h7 high beams...