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D2 - Lights Headlights, xenons, foglights. Everything outside the car that glows

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  #11  
Old 8th March 2017, 12:58 PM
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moltuae moltuae is offline
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You're welcome For reference/comparison, these were the fakes I received. It's hard to tell from the photograph, but the holographic element is 'flatter' on these than the genuine units. Comparing the bulbs with photos of fakes online suggests they fakes have been gradually improving, making it more difficult to tell but the lack of weld points was the clearest indicator.

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I won't publicly mention the seller since it may have been a genuine mistake (if you pardon the pun) or an issue with his supplier. PM me if you need know.
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2002 FE S8 Ebony Black Pearl
------------------------------------------------------

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Cars Owned:
The Tesla Era: 2020 Model S Performance Ludicrous+ (present)
(Black, with all black premium interior and carbon fibre décor, 21" sonic carbon twin turbine wheels and FSD capability)

The Audi Era: '97 A8 4.2 (Ming Blue) --> '96 A8 4.2 QS (Dark Green) --> '02 FE S8 (present)
The Citroen Era: '84 BX 1.6 RS --> '89 BX 1.9 DTR Turbo --> '94 XM 2.0L Turbo --> '96 XM 2.0L Turbo Exclusive --> '00 Xantia Activa 2.0L Turbo
The Banger Era: '76 1.2L Lada VAZ-2101 (Ruski Fiat 124) --> '80 1.7L Morris Ital HL, finished in Ermine White and Rust

Last edited by moltuae; 8th March 2017 at 01:00 PM.
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  #12  
Old 8th March 2017, 02:52 PM
HPsauce HPsauce is offline
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Thanks for those pictures Mark, where would these weld points appear and what do they look like?

My eBay seller has 99.5% positive feedback on almost 50,000 sales so I'm hopeful it will be genuine. Looking at the recent negatives they all seem to be rather dumb people who can't fit LED sidelight/interior bulbs properly.
__________________
2003 D2 FL S8. Irish Green Pearl/Beige. Solar sunroof, auto-dim mirrors, electric rear seat functions, ski hatch retrofit; extended leather. Aftermarket DVB-T, reversing camera and full XCarlink (Bluetooth etc.).
2016 Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country (4WD) with ALL the toys including adaptive cruise etc. etc. Osmium Grey with Blonde/Charcoal leather interior. Polestar performance "optimisation". (A much rarer model than a D2 S8 by the way!) Oh, and a brand new engine at just under 30,000 miles on the factory one!
Finally: gone, but not forgotten.....
1998 D2 PF S8. AgateGrey/Platinum. Every option (I think) except electric rear seats, tiptronic steering wheel, ski hatch, towbar & dimming door mirrors.
e.g. Cruise control, NavPlus/TV, Bose, GSM, Xenons, Solar roof, Parking sensors, Alcantara/leather everywhere of course. (internal dimming mirror added later)
1998 (very early) Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec; ABS/TCS, Heated screen/mirrors, Aircon, Auto-dim mirror, Leather, Trip computer, Cruise control, OEM Ford SatNav with CD changer.
And before that a lot of Rover 800s, a few oddities, a lovely Triumph Dolomite 1850HL with Overdrive and way back in my schooldays an Austin Seven aka Mini 850!
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  #13  
Old 8th March 2017, 03:21 PM
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moltuae moltuae is offline
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These are the weld points (genuine bulb on the left):




The image was taken from here, which gives a few more things to look for:
https://www.powerbulbs.com/blog/2014...e-real-or-fake

It seems to vary from one fake to another which of the traits are present. The fakes I had were almost identical to the originals (as far as I could tell) apart from the missing weld marks and the missing 'curved' part mentioned here:
http://www.hidconcept.com/blog/a-war...eadlight-bulb/

The seller I bought from also sold on Ebay (and had lots of positive feedback) but I bought them from their website instead.

The name of the seller's business you bought from doesn't happen to contain the word 'style' does it?
__________________
Mark
------------------------------------------------------
2002 FE S8 Ebony Black Pearl
------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------
Cars Owned:
The Tesla Era: 2020 Model S Performance Ludicrous+ (present)
(Black, with all black premium interior and carbon fibre décor, 21" sonic carbon twin turbine wheels and FSD capability)

The Audi Era: '97 A8 4.2 (Ming Blue) --> '96 A8 4.2 QS (Dark Green) --> '02 FE S8 (present)
The Citroen Era: '84 BX 1.6 RS --> '89 BX 1.9 DTR Turbo --> '94 XM 2.0L Turbo --> '96 XM 2.0L Turbo Exclusive --> '00 Xantia Activa 2.0L Turbo
The Banger Era: '76 1.2L Lada VAZ-2101 (Ruski Fiat 124) --> '80 1.7L Morris Ital HL, finished in Ermine White and Rust

Last edited by moltuae; 8th March 2017 at 03:25 PM.
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  #14  
Old 8th March 2017, 03:32 PM
HPsauce HPsauce is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moltuae View Post
The name of the seller's business you bought from doesn't happen to contain the word 'style' does it?
It does, and is fairly lengthy......
I am warned!
__________________
2003 D2 FL S8. Irish Green Pearl/Beige. Solar sunroof, auto-dim mirrors, electric rear seat functions, ski hatch retrofit; extended leather. Aftermarket DVB-T, reversing camera and full XCarlink (Bluetooth etc.).
2016 Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country (4WD) with ALL the toys including adaptive cruise etc. etc. Osmium Grey with Blonde/Charcoal leather interior. Polestar performance "optimisation". (A much rarer model than a D2 S8 by the way!) Oh, and a brand new engine at just under 30,000 miles on the factory one!
Finally: gone, but not forgotten.....
1998 D2 PF S8. AgateGrey/Platinum. Every option (I think) except electric rear seats, tiptronic steering wheel, ski hatch, towbar & dimming door mirrors.
e.g. Cruise control, NavPlus/TV, Bose, GSM, Xenons, Solar roof, Parking sensors, Alcantara/leather everywhere of course. (internal dimming mirror added later)
1998 (very early) Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec; ABS/TCS, Heated screen/mirrors, Aircon, Auto-dim mirror, Leather, Trip computer, Cruise control, OEM Ford SatNav with CD changer.
And before that a lot of Rover 800s, a few oddities, a lovely Triumph Dolomite 1850HL with Overdrive and way back in my schooldays an Austin Seven aka Mini 850!
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  #15  
Old 8th March 2017, 05:05 PM
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moltuae moltuae is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HPsauce View Post
It does, and is fairly lengthy......
I am warned!
Hmmmm. If it's the same company it'll be interesting to see whether or not they send you genuine bulbs (the first time). Hey, they may even send you the ones I sent back

I suspect they know what they're selling but I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully my suspicions are wrong and you'll be sent a genuine pair of bulbs the first time.

By the way, the number printed on the labels of the fake units checks out as genuine on Philips' website, so don't be fooled by that. I contacted Philips because the labels were identical and they confirmed that they should all have a unique number. After giving them further info and photographs they wanted to know who the seller was and requested a copy of the invoice. I felt that they were using me to gather evidence against the seller so I declined. I decided instead to tell the seller what Philips had said and he promptly offered to arrange collection and replacement of the fake bulbs.
__________________
Mark
------------------------------------------------------
2002 FE S8 Ebony Black Pearl
------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------
Cars Owned:
The Tesla Era: 2020 Model S Performance Ludicrous+ (present)
(Black, with all black premium interior and carbon fibre décor, 21" sonic carbon twin turbine wheels and FSD capability)

The Audi Era: '97 A8 4.2 (Ming Blue) --> '96 A8 4.2 QS (Dark Green) --> '02 FE S8 (present)
The Citroen Era: '84 BX 1.6 RS --> '89 BX 1.9 DTR Turbo --> '94 XM 2.0L Turbo --> '96 XM 2.0L Turbo Exclusive --> '00 Xantia Activa 2.0L Turbo
The Banger Era: '76 1.2L Lada VAZ-2101 (Ruski Fiat 124) --> '80 1.7L Morris Ital HL, finished in Ermine White and Rust
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  #16  
Old 8th March 2017, 08:31 PM
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tonupkid tonupkid is offline
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I changed my HID's a couple of weeks age. The originals were still working but had become weak (presumably 10 years and 120k miles old). I had Audi OEM fitted, and the difference is noticeable.
I think you'l be pleased with the result.
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  #17  
Old 9th March 2017, 11:36 AM
HPsauce HPsauce is offline
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OK, so they have arrived and I reckon they are fakes.
Same ID on each for a start, no inner tube to protect, hologram very flat, no visible welds.

The question is how to deal with this....

Edit: Just spoke to Philips, they are fake. Recommendations anyone?
__________________
2003 D2 FL S8. Irish Green Pearl/Beige. Solar sunroof, auto-dim mirrors, electric rear seat functions, ski hatch retrofit; extended leather. Aftermarket DVB-T, reversing camera and full XCarlink (Bluetooth etc.).
2016 Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country (4WD) with ALL the toys including adaptive cruise etc. etc. Osmium Grey with Blonde/Charcoal leather interior. Polestar performance "optimisation". (A much rarer model than a D2 S8 by the way!) Oh, and a brand new engine at just under 30,000 miles on the factory one!
Finally: gone, but not forgotten.....
1998 D2 PF S8. AgateGrey/Platinum. Every option (I think) except electric rear seats, tiptronic steering wheel, ski hatch, towbar & dimming door mirrors.
e.g. Cruise control, NavPlus/TV, Bose, GSM, Xenons, Solar roof, Parking sensors, Alcantara/leather everywhere of course. (internal dimming mirror added later)
1998 (very early) Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec; ABS/TCS, Heated screen/mirrors, Aircon, Auto-dim mirror, Leather, Trip computer, Cruise control, OEM Ford SatNav with CD changer.
And before that a lot of Rover 800s, a few oddities, a lovely Triumph Dolomite 1850HL with Overdrive and way back in my schooldays an Austin Seven aka Mini 850!

Last edited by HPsauce; 9th March 2017 at 11:58 AM.
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  #18  
Old 9th March 2017, 12:55 PM
HPsauce HPsauce is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moltuae View Post
You're welcome For reference/comparison, these were the fakes I received. It's hard to tell from the photograph, but the holographic element is 'flatter' on these than the genuine units. Comparing the bulbs with photos of fakes online suggests they fakes have been gradually improving, making it more difficult to tell but the lack of weld points was the clearest indicator.

Attachment 15829 Attachment 15830 Attachment 15831 Attachment 15832


I won't publicly mention the seller since it may have been a genuine mistake (if you pardon the pun) or an issue with his supplier. PM me if you need know.
Well, well, well, exactly the same (unique according to Philips!) codes on both my boxes!

I'll post again when I've made some progress, meanwhile "lips are sealed".
__________________
2003 D2 FL S8. Irish Green Pearl/Beige. Solar sunroof, auto-dim mirrors, electric rear seat functions, ski hatch retrofit; extended leather. Aftermarket DVB-T, reversing camera and full XCarlink (Bluetooth etc.).
2016 Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country (4WD) with ALL the toys including adaptive cruise etc. etc. Osmium Grey with Blonde/Charcoal leather interior. Polestar performance "optimisation". (A much rarer model than a D2 S8 by the way!) Oh, and a brand new engine at just under 30,000 miles on the factory one!
Finally: gone, but not forgotten.....
1998 D2 PF S8. AgateGrey/Platinum. Every option (I think) except electric rear seats, tiptronic steering wheel, ski hatch, towbar & dimming door mirrors.
e.g. Cruise control, NavPlus/TV, Bose, GSM, Xenons, Solar roof, Parking sensors, Alcantara/leather everywhere of course. (internal dimming mirror added later)
1998 (very early) Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec; ABS/TCS, Heated screen/mirrors, Aircon, Auto-dim mirror, Leather, Trip computer, Cruise control, OEM Ford SatNav with CD changer.
And before that a lot of Rover 800s, a few oddities, a lovely Triumph Dolomite 1850HL with Overdrive and way back in my schooldays an Austin Seven aka Mini 850!
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  #19  
Old 9th March 2017, 12:57 PM
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pete-p pete-p is offline
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You could raise a claim against the seller on eBay. Their rules are here: http://pages.ebay.co.uk/safetycentre/counterfeits.html

if it's the same seller as moltuae, then perhaps also let Philips know and report them.

It's not right and I expect quite a few people are being caught out.
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Cars...
'93 Audi Coupe 2.0 Alpine White (sold)
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  #20  
Old 9th March 2017, 01:01 PM
HPsauce HPsauce is offline
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Yes, I've had counterfeit automotive products before and know what to do.
__________________
2003 D2 FL S8. Irish Green Pearl/Beige. Solar sunroof, auto-dim mirrors, electric rear seat functions, ski hatch retrofit; extended leather. Aftermarket DVB-T, reversing camera and full XCarlink (Bluetooth etc.).
2016 Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country (4WD) with ALL the toys including adaptive cruise etc. etc. Osmium Grey with Blonde/Charcoal leather interior. Polestar performance "optimisation". (A much rarer model than a D2 S8 by the way!) Oh, and a brand new engine at just under 30,000 miles on the factory one!
Finally: gone, but not forgotten.....
1998 D2 PF S8. AgateGrey/Platinum. Every option (I think) except electric rear seats, tiptronic steering wheel, ski hatch, towbar & dimming door mirrors.
e.g. Cruise control, NavPlus/TV, Bose, GSM, Xenons, Solar roof, Parking sensors, Alcantara/leather everywhere of course. (internal dimming mirror added later)
1998 (very early) Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec; ABS/TCS, Heated screen/mirrors, Aircon, Auto-dim mirror, Leather, Trip computer, Cruise control, OEM Ford SatNav with CD changer.
And before that a lot of Rover 800s, a few oddities, a lovely Triumph Dolomite 1850HL with Overdrive and way back in my schooldays an Austin Seven aka Mini 850!
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