Hi guys,

My monte Carlo headlights are not bright and look awful because of the yellow colour. what is a cheap and legal way to get bright white headlamps? Can I just replace the bulbs?

Thanks in advance

Good choice of car ;-)

There are several posts on here about Nightbreakers and Philips Extreme bulbs etc. I thought my headlights were poor, but actually, I haven't driven too much in the dark, when I do, it's either in lit areas or quiet enough to switch to main beam, so I've gone off the idea of changing anything for now. DRLs are fine for what they do - throw a little extra awareness out there, hopefully to stop people pulling out on me.

Here's the Old git (36) rant (not specifically aimed at you Dan):

I sometimes wonder if people on here spend more time looking at their car's reflection than the road.

Who cares if the DRLs/Fogs or headlights have a "yellow" light? You're inside and can't see it. chances are, that switching to brilliant white will just dazzle people and give them a headache...

And I drive one, so this isn't an insult, but newsflash, you're in a Skoda, so you're not going to be the coolest kid on the block, even with white lights.

Old git rant over. :-)

Hi and thanks for the comment, I live in a very rural area so a lot of roads are completely unlit and the headlamps are very poor next to my parents Mitsubishi. It's just something to light up more of the road.

Cheers

i use nightbreaks which were a vast improvement in my opinion. i also found that the headlights were set way to low out of the factory so a slight tweak under the bonnet sorted this out for me

Andsoutham's got a point - several have said that the lights were low from new.

I guess they should get checked at service time (uh huh...) or MoT when it's old enough.

If you're rural, then go for it - make mods to make your car safer.

Have Nightbreaker + bulbs in ours and had the beam raised up a little by the dealer, which has resulted in an acceptable level of light for back country road driving.

TP

.........i also found that the headlights were set way to low out of the factory so a slight tweak under the bonnet sorted this out for me

Can't you simply adjust the headlights up from the height adjuster on the dash? That's how I fixed mine.

Thanks guys got nightbreaker+ on order

Andsoutham's got a point - several have said that the lights were low from new.

I guess they should get checked at service time (uh huh...) or MoT when it's old enough.

If you're rural, then go for it - make mods to make your car safer.

I was thinking the beam is too low, even when at the highest setting on the dash 'wheel'

I thought about raising them a little but wasn't sure how high to go in case I dazzle other drivers. Can you let me know how many turns out part turns you did to optimise the beam please?

Cheers

I was thinking the beam is too low, even when at the highest setting on the dash 'wheel'

I thought about raising them a little but wasn't sure how high to go in case I dazzle other drivers. Can you let me know how many turns out part turns you did to optimise the beam please?

Cheers

 

sorry about the late reply... it's true that the lights are adjustable from the dash but mine were on the highest setting and still dangerously low (in my opinion) so i parked on a flat surface facing a brick wall and the bricks were a good guide to see how much i had raised the lights... it only needed a small tweak, a few turns at most and they were ok. if you adjust them with the dash control set in the middle you can then make finer adjustments from inside the car as you go along until youre at a height youre happy with which wont dazzle other drivers. just a bit of trial and error really.

 

andy

...... it's true that the lights are adjustable from the dash but mine were on the highest setting and still dangerously low (in my opinion). 

andy

Dangerously low? So are we saying that Skoda are supplying cars to the UK market that don't comply with Ministry regulations? I don't think so. If by some miracle it was the case, all our cars would fail their MOTs.

In my opinion I deemed it to be dangerous even if regulations say they were ok. The first time I drove the car on an unlit road at night I could barely see ahead of me. And seeing as my new car wouldnt need an mot for 3 years it wouldnt be picked up for ages. I know the cars go throufh a test at the dealers before handover but ive never driven a car with such little visibility due to the beam being set too low. I could see where the light stopped on the road infront lf me

Ofcourse it could just be my car that was set too low but quite a few people have been mentioning it

I've fitted a HID conversion now and took it to my local independent MOT test centre. The beam was set too low so I have had them raised.

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A UK car pretty well comes with them to suit the Maximum National Speed limit of 60 mph when on dip on a single carriageway,

70 mph on Dual and Motorways.

 

full beam usually works pretty well at or around National Speed limits to light your way.

I find that dead bright lights on Full Beam can blind myself on Motorways & other roads when the big Traffic Signs shine/reflecting back  at me from far into the distance..

 

george

I've fitted a HID conversion now and took it to my local independent MOT test centre. The beam was set too low so I have had them raised.

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What HID kit did you buy and did it throw up any canbus errors when you fitted it?  Cheers.

What HID kit did you buy and did it throw up any canbus errors when you fitted it?  Cheers.

Hi Jim

 

I bought these http://www.car-mod-shop.co.uk/35wcanh7r-6k-h7r-xenon-hid-conversion-kit-canbus-6000k.html with the 6000K bulbs. No error messages on the dash. I have used this retailer many times and can highly recommend. The products are normally sent recorded delivery and arrive within 2 days of ordering. Delivery is free, even in the UK Highlands (mainland) although the system charges you for some reason and you have to email a request for a refund which is immediately applied. This is the 3rd kit I have bought from them (3 different cars) and all have lasted well. The first kit I installed was a bit tricky as I was nervous, I phoned for advice while fitting and James talked me through it! The guide on here is second to none though and I wish I had seen that 4 years ago!

 

I only have one negative thing to say and it's not so much about the conversion kit its more about the 'shutter' system on the headlamp unit itself. As the car uses the same H7 for both dip and main when you do not have the headlights on and attempt to flash the bulbs take about 5 seconds to 'warm' up so the flash goes un noticed. When the dip beam is on there is no problem. It doesn't bother me really but it may annoy some. The light output benefits far outweigh the inability to flash during the day. Up here in the Highlands there are so many deer on the road at night, I work shifts, I mainly finish work at 12mn and on days with an earlier finish I start at 6am so in the winter when the roads are unlit the conversion is a must!

 

As I have said earlier I would recommend taking the car to an Mot station and have the lights levelled after fitment.

 

long post...sorry  

^^^
Top man, thanks very much.  Where did you fit the ballasts?

I mounted the near side behind the air filter and the off side on the floor below the headlight.

I how the pictures show, I'm on my phone.

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In my opinion I deemed it to be dangerous even if regulations say they were ok. The first time I drove the car on an unlit road at night I could barely see ahead of me. And seeing as my new car wouldnt need an mot for 3 years it wouldnt be picked up for ages. I know the cars go throufh a test at the dealers before handover but ive never driven a car with such little visibility due to the beam being set too low. I could see where the light stopped on the road infront lf me

I completely agree. The first time I took my vRS out on dark country roads I was amazed at how bad the dipped beam was and can honestly say it was the worst car I have driven in this respect. The shut off of the beam pattern was very abrupt and with very little forward light penetration on dip. Fitting Philips Extreme bulbs and raising the beam height sorted it out.

I completely agree. The first time I took my vRS out on dark country roads I was amazed at how bad the dipped beam was and can honestly say it was the worst car I have driven in this respect. The shut off of the beam pattern was very abrupt and with very little forward light penetration on dip. Fitting Philips Extreme bulbs and raising the beam height sorted it out.

same here but i used osram nighbreakers much improved...  the bulbs were a barsteward to change though

same here but i used osram nighbreakers much improved... the bulbs were a barsteward to change though

Really? I found it absolutely no problem at all. The bulb holder is a bit fiddly to relocate but the access is good. I've found the lights easy to work with. Not as easy as my old Megane, the whole cluster just slid out giving an extra 6" of space.

I do rate the NightBreakers. They do make the sidelights (OEM) look a little yellow though. PowerBulbs used to be competitive and they offered free sidelight bulbs.

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the drivers side one was ok but i had problems getting a hand between the battery and light cluster on the passenger side. i didnt try to slide the cluster out or anything though so looks like i missed a trick there!

 

I've never been sure on the side lights... they seem really dim to me (maybe opening a whole new can of worms here!) I usually just turn headlights straight on when daylight goes, i think my DRLs are more effective than the actual side light bulbs

Edited 11 July, 201312 yr by andsoutham

The cluster slid out of the Megane not the Fabia :-(

From memory isn't the battery on the near side? There is less room on the off side but can't remember why. I do remember having to disconnect the indicator harness to remove the rubber cover.

The DRLs give off much more light, I've always put that down to the sidelights just being more of a marker rather than to be used to light the way ahead. Unless, like me, you upgrade to CREE :-)

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andysoutham,

Daylight running lights are designed to be brighter than side lights.

The function is to be seen in broad daylight, and not use in poor visibility or the dark.

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/safety/daytime-running-lights.html

 

vRS DRLS, become the Sidelights, only less bright.

(even still too bright sadly.)

 

Most people do drive with dipped headights and not only sidelights thankfully.

 

george