2005 CLK Bi-Xenon Headlamps - are they terrible?

[MuckMouth]

Hello!

I have a CLK 320cdi and I love it, but unless my eyes are failing me (they are a bit rubbish, but I don't have this issue in any other car) the headlights are just so, so, so dull... Looking at the breakdown after putting my VIN in, it says it is fitted with '616 Bi-Xenon Headlamps W. Headlamp Cornering Fct.' which sound great, but honestly - they are terrible. They are just so dull on standard beam (full beam is pretty impressive to be fair)

The question - do I have an issue (new bulbs needed?/angle of bulbs needs adjusting?/something else?) or are they just bad and I have to live with it?

I have cleaned them thoroughly (and de-yellowed them as well), but yeah, any help/intel on what I could do to make night driving a bit better would be gratefully appreciated.


VIN if it is of any help: WDB2093202F173940

 

[Blobcat]

I had the Bi-Xenon option in my late 06 W211 and they were great. They do wear out though so you might need to replace them to get the brightness back

 

[Botus]

as above, they wear and dim down over time.

there are upgraded xenon's now... a bit like halogen night breakers

mate had a insignia with factory xenon's and they were incredible.... way brighter than my Omega, the BMW 335d or the S class. The only thing was that was a 2010 car and all the others were 2007 or earlier

the other issue the 335 and the S class (night vision robs them for ir rubbish) only use one set of xenon's instead of the 4 you need

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/93348/best-hid-headlight-bulbs-2018

To give an idea of just how much extra light HID (xenon) bulbs put on the road, we tried Osram’s standard performance H7 bulb in a VG Golf Mk6 headlight. The arc burning between two electrodes in HID systems delivers around 3,200 lumens, compared to the 1,500 lumens you get from the halogen’s filament. This makes a big difference on the road, with visibility greatly reduced and tapering off past the 50-metre measure. The halogen beam is also less consistent, with more dark patches.

 

[MuckMouth]

Excellent, thanks so much for the info, Blob' and Botus!

So, I most likely just need 4 new bulbs? I can do that... *edit* oooh, bulbs for these are not cheap are they! Wonder which ones I should get...

 

[Botus]

lots of fakes.... Philips seem less widely copied and went with a harder to fake logo on the box earlier.

if they are under £65 a pair prob fakes (look out from euro car parts over Christmas and big discounts) won't mean they aren't fake... but you'll have better comeback than some fly by night guaranteed to be fake ones on ebay. Our Chinese friends now make 95% of everything you buy and its all copy trash.

just get the outer ones (2 bulbs), inners will have done much less hours of use, and may not even come on with high beam?
check how it works, on my 335d the inners where only to flash the lights. on my S class it uses the inners for IR night vision and are plain dangerous. The omega did all 4 (inners halogen) and you could almost see where you were going !!!

 

[flowrider]

Excellent, thanks so much for the info, Blob' and Botus!

So, I most likely just need 4 new bulbs? I can do that... *edit* oooh, bulbs for these are not cheap are they! Wonder which ones I should get...

Bi-xenons only need 2 bulbs total (1 per headlight).