Anyone else have dim head lights? I thought xenons were supposed to be quite good? Could it also be my car (56 plate) with 105k miles may have time expired bulbs?

Before I go out and replace both xenon bulbs, any thoughts? Looks like they are Phillips D1S...

Brand new battery and lights aligned 3 times already!

Eurocarparts say new bulb is D3S but the bulb in the car is D1S...have they updated?

I use the Osram bulb finder, which I have found accurate.

https://am-application.osram.info/en

According to this:

- Up to MY 2006 = D2S
- MY 2007-2009 = D1S
- MY 2010- = D3S

This sort of bulb is expensive to buy from Euro Car Parts, Halfords etc. I recently purchased some cheap Chinese imports via eBay, for about £20 the pair, which appear to be working fine. Current: 2010 Range Rover L322
Vogue SE, TDV8 3.6, Bournville
-----------------------------------
Now gone: 2002 Range Rover L322
Vogue, TD6, Giverney Green

so much cheaper from ebay and you now have the opportunity to get some 'whiter' 6000k bulbs...

Thanks guys. Hmm the light ratings are quite confusing...

Do they dim with age?

They definitely change colour with age, tending towards a lower colour temperature - more yellow and less white/blue. Not sure whether they also get dimmer, but halogen bulbs definitely do suffer with age and I had assumed that these must have something similar going on.

Google consensus is that they do get dimmer with age, so it must be true  Current: 2010 Range Rover L322
Vogue SE, TDV8 3.6, Bournville
-----------------------------------
Now gone: 2002 Range Rover L322
Vogue, TD6, Giverney Green

I think I'll just change them

Are they easy to change in situ? Haven't been able to find instructions anyway without removing the entire light assy.

Thanks in advance!

Trivial 2 minute job on MY 2010+

Does not look as though its any harder on earlier cars.... No need to remove the light fitting. The following from p2400 of the workshop manual for MY 2006-2009

Click image to enlarge

Many thanks Steveball

That removable clamping ring looks unusual, I assume that acts like a bush/holder for the bulb?

Looks pretty tight to get access on one side but hopefully I'll be okay!

Do replacements come as a complete unit with the ballast/igniter?

Jase71 wrote:

Anyone else have dim head lights? I thought xenons were supposed to be quite good? Could it also be my car (56 plate) with 105k miles may have time expired bulbs?

Before I go out and replace both xenon bulbs, any thoughts? Looks like they are Phillips D1S...

Brand new battery and lights aligned 3 times already!

Going to replace yours GDM? I'm going for D1S Phillips ones.

Most probably. Ours is a 55 plate, so it looks to have the D2S type. These seem to be just replacement bulbs without the driver unit, so they are a lot cheaper. There are some good deals on E-bay but not sure about the quality. Also, not sure what rating to go for.

Does yours have working cornering lights?

I must admit that, although mine is a newer car taking D3Ss, I just bought some Osram Unlimited to replace the eBay ones as they are a bit brighter. The eBay ones were as bright as the originals but not as bright as the Osrams - as i get older any increase in brightness is welcome.

The eBay ones cost less that £40 (although one was faulty on receipt it was replaced without quibble) the Osrams cost £140 but are a bit brighter so to me worth the cost of a tank of fuel (and a bit)

Unlike some I am not interested in the colour of the headlamps (as perceived by others) but rather the light they put on the road for me  Geoff

Many thanks to Steveball; just changed my xenons over and the instructions worked a treat! Had them done in 10 mins. One side was trickier than the other and I was most worried about touching the glass or damaging during seating of the bulbs but all went really well! Tonight will be the test to see if they are brighter. They certainly appear much brighter just looking at them (much whiter light).

GDM: Doesn't look like I have cornering bulb as mine has chrome blank in place of bulb.