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

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  #21  
Old 9th March 2017, 01:10 PM
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moltuae moltuae is offline
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I told him that I had checked with Philips. I also told him that Philips were pressuring me to hand over 'evidence' (invoices, photographs, etc) ... which was true. I said that I was reluctant to do that and was willing to give him a chance to 'make good'. He promptly arranged (and paid for) collection of the fake bulbs and sent genuine bulbs in return. In the end I acquired genuine bulbs a fair bit cheaper than they were listed elsewhere.
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Cars Owned:
The Tesla Era: 2020 Model S Performance Ludicrous+ (present)
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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
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  #22  
Old 9th March 2017, 01:42 PM
HPsauce HPsauce is offline
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I've ordered some replacements from Powerbulbs, the GEN 2 version as recommended by Mark (Moltuae). Powerbulbs seem to "tick all the boxes" re authentic products so I'm hopeful.
They have a 20% discount offer at present (code: BULBLOVE) so "only" cost me just over £58 each delivered, less than £10 each more than the fakes.

Meanwhile I've kicked off the return/refund process for the counterfeits via eBay. No "name and shame" until that's done and dusted.

Edit: No response yet from the eBay seller, but my Powerbulbs order will arrive tomorrow morning. Knowing which courier it is probably about 9am!
__________________
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 04:59 PM.
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  #23  
Old 9th March 2017, 04:34 PM
HPsauce HPsauce is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HPsauce View Post
At the same time I'll probably replace the supplementary main-beam halogens ..................
They're probably 2002 OEM so pretty pathetic by modern standards.
Turns out they are not, I found out that I replaced those soon after I got the car, about 4 years ago so they must have been terrible.
The current ones are Osram but "only" a +20% variant; the Philips "Racing Vison" ones I've ordered are nominally +150% so should be around twice as bright.

Looks like I'll soon have a surplus of spare H7 bulbs; can't even keep them for the fog lights as I think they are H3's.
__________________
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 04:40 PM.
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  #24  
Old 10th March 2017, 11:54 AM
HPsauce HPsauce is offline
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All bulbs arrived, both deliveries within 10 minutes of each other, DPD (fast) and Hermes (slow).

And strangely they came from different trading names but have the same address, so presumably the same warehouse just "marketing" brands on the web:
Powerbulbs for the D2R ones which definitely look genuine and have unique codes on them. Check out OK too.
Upgrade Bulbs for the H7, which Powerbulbs didn't list.

Drizzling here so fitting can wait.

The fakes are on their way back now paid for by the seller; return request accepted without question.....
__________________
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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  #25  
Old 10th March 2017, 12:40 PM
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moltuae moltuae is offline
RIP 27/02/2021 :-(
 
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Glad you got sorted

I don't think there are any fake Gen2s (yet). Mine came in well-presented retail packaging like this that immediately looked genuine. Not that packaging like that can't be copied/faked too of course but the simple cardboard box of the Gen1s is just so cheap and easy to reproduce.

I think you'll be impressed with the X-treme Gen2s. The difference isn't so noticeable on well-lit roads but on dark country lanes they really shine (pun intended), or any unlit road for that matter. I was out driving on an unlit motorway last night, thinking how much better they were than they old bulbs I had. Makes night-time driving so much more pleasurable.
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------------------------------------------------------
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; 10th March 2017 at 12:43 PM.
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  #26  
Old 10th March 2017, 01:10 PM
HPsauce HPsauce is offline
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Just in cardboard boxes now, but all looks genuine and the hologram works as it should.

Edit: Job done, all fitted and working well. Bulb had exploded so my offside light unit is full of broken glass and metal from the shutter.
Not sure if I can somehow suck that out through the bulb fitting hole with a small tube attached to a vacuum cleaner or will need to dismantle it.
Is dismantling a reasonable job?

I did remove the air intake pipe but that only slightly blocks access for the H7 and probably makes no real difference.

Maybe a bit of "vigorous" driving will shift the debris out of harms way?
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__________________
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; 10th March 2017 at 03:01 PM.
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  #27  
Old 10th March 2017, 04:09 PM
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Adrian E Adrian E is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HPsauce View Post
Bulb had exploded so my offside light unit is full of broken glass and metal from the shutter.
Not sure if I can somehow suck that out through the bulb fitting hole with a small tube attached to a vacuum cleaner or will need to dismantle it.
Is dismantling a reasonable job?
Hi Andrew

Dismantling is relatively straightforward, but the unit does need removing from the car before you can take the lens off. It's covered in the refurb thread I did on the bi-xenons.

It would probably be wise to have the alignment checked after refitting as there's reasonable movement on the fixings.

A
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2011 S5 Sportback in Phantom Black with black Super Sports leather, 9x20s, tech pack high, adaptive xenon plus, intelligent key, memory seats pack, sunroof, B&O, Audi Drive Select & quattro Sports Diff, DAB, parking system plus

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  #28  
Old 10th March 2017, 04:22 PM
HPsauce HPsauce is offline
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Thanks Adrian, I'll save that for the summer unless I have a problem meanwhile. My lenses are OK so no need to dismantle to clean them.

The hovering method isn't feasible due to metal shielding blocking access; I did try....
__________________
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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  #29  
Old 10th March 2017, 06:05 PM
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Adrian E Adrian E is offline
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You're welcome to pop down if you want a hand doing it - I've got recent-ish experience of getting them out
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===SOLD===2002 Audi S8 D2 Final Edition (yes, really) in Avus Silver with purple extended leather===SOLD===

2011 S5 Sportback in Phantom Black with black Super Sports leather, 9x20s, tech pack high, adaptive xenon plus, intelligent key, memory seats pack, sunroof, B&O, Audi Drive Select & quattro Sports Diff, DAB, parking system plus

2015 VW Golf GTI Performance Pack in Carbon Grey with black Vienna leather, tech pack (Discovery Pro nav & Dynaudio), DCC, factory towbar and retrofit RVC
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  #30  
Old 10th March 2017, 06:31 PM
HPsauce HPsauce is offline
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Thanks Adrian, good excuse for a spring mini-meet when the weather warms up?

Just been out in the twilight; it's all good and a lot better than before.

Thanks everyone for all the advice. Especially Mark.
__________________
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; 10th March 2017 at 06:46 PM.
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