C5 X7 ambient lighting (and some other bits and pieces)

[Stickyfinger]

Is there a need of them ?, is there an advantage over good halogen ?

that said, all you need to do is remove the clear lens (an oven on low to soften glue) and fit the units.....there are some good you-tubes on it.

[vborovic]

I'm trying to push the envelope ... ... reaching the whitest halogen bulb, I wouldn't mind spreading some extra light on the road, so long as it won't bother the incoming traffic ... that's why I asked ... on some sites I found out the H7Rs are made slightly differently to avoid the glare effect to the others, but since the test/experiment would cost me approx 70 GBP, I'm asking whether someone did it before I attempt it, and if the result is lacking, so I don't throw extra money into oblivion ...

[Stickyfinger]

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product ... 27167.html

got a few dollars to spare ?

[vborovic]

What you've posted is a C4 type headlamp ... I was actually looking and considering the angel eyes version for the C5:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/FREE-SHI ... 5,201409_5

Discussed with the seller, but didn't get a confirmation on whether or not the vertical level movement works or not (via the selector switch below the steering wheel) ... I've received an answer that the beam is fixed, no motor ... and the DRL light wasn't really to my liking, that's why I decided to go genuine

[Sloppysod]

Can I just point you to this as the UK laws are very clear as to what is required when fitting HID lighting to a road vehicle, in general, lamps should be self leveling, and have an on-board cleaning system (washer jets), oh and they must not dazzle oncoming traffic - if any of this is not right then MOT failure is possible.

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/wiki/Af ... rsion_kits
And


This is the UK not sure about other countries outside of the EU.

[vborovic]

All of that is taken into consideration of course, the dazzelment is partially solved since the regular halogen headlamps already have a bulb "ring" already, which prevents some light disparity, and I was thinking of getting H7R bulbs anyways ... the only thing that bothers me is, that there is no ballast that at least allows for 2 inputs (currently one bulb - one separate ballast) ... it could be 2 ballasts of course, but in a single box at least ... since I need to take into consideration the bend lighting as well (it would bother me to have two shades of white when driving through corners at night) ... and I don't want to have 2-3 ballast boxes per each headlamp, this is overkill ...

[GiveMeABreak]

You're going to have to forgive me Vborovic, but I just had to ask - did you ever consider just consider getting an exclusive model with the option packs? When you add up how much extra you have spent on all these extras, the mind boggles I think you deserve a medal for your perseverance! The most fiddly job I have attempted (apart from those damned DRLs) was to remove, rub down, repaint and lacquer all the internal door trims whilst trying not to stress over breaking the little plastic tabs... The pain of hearing "snap, crackle & pop" and the thought of having to cough up £30-40 for each trim if I mucked it up was enough! I completed the job, but it just goes to show how much emphasis is put on plastic fixings these days to keep costs down. This must truly be a labour of love.

My next very small project is courtesy of Lufrancois over at Planete Citroen (all photo credits courtesy of Lufancois) - apparently you can get a Glasses / Sunglasses holder that will replace the drivers ceiling mounted grip - which let's face it is pretty useless. The Peugeot 308 Part 9128 AR, is the perfect sized replacement for the C5 X7 and sells for about 29 Euros. There is tutorial on the site (you need to sign up to access tutorials) and Google will translate on the fly if you don't speak French - but pretty straight forward. The case retains the 'soft close' feature like the current handrail. I think this will be really useful given the lack of storage space in the C5.

Edit: Full Tutorial Here:

viewtopic.php?t=53562&hilit=sunglasses

[vborovic]

You're going to have to forgive me Vborovic, but I just had to ask - did you ever consider just consider getting an exclusive model with the option packs? When you add up how much extra you have spent on all these extras, the mind boggles I think you deserve a medal for your perseverance!

The Exclusives that have everything that I'd like are rare in these parts (at least not being sold as 2nd hand at this time) ... you can get an exclusive without the sat nav and still no hi-fi audio pack, etc ... you get hydractive but in some cases not even xenons ... leather seats with AFIL, but no massage function ... etc ... the combinations are virtually unlimited ... so much for the "exclusive" tag ... that's why I said somewhere once before, my VTR+ NAV as it was, was more equipped than some exclusives ... without taking into consideration my upgrades after obtaining it...

More specifically, I was actually pretty close to buying a 3.0 Tourer Exclusive (all bells and whistles), but the price tag was 5000 € more for a car that had 50.000 km more and was 2 years older than mine (at the time of buying) ...

The DIY part is really easy for me since I have access to the full catalog and procedures as well as the DiagBox kit, so I feel quite at ease when thinking of what I can do and what are my options ... I enjoy doing it and I'm always looking to enhance it, because it is something I did (I pity the "tuners" who lay the cash and someone else does the dirty work - where's the fun in that) and the car is slightly different that it was before, and since I use it daily, this is something that brings a smile on my face ... ... and I have the most unique equipped C5 , at least on our roads ...

[GiveMeABreak]

You certainly do! I know what you mean, I waited a year until I found the model I wanted - Exclusive, with Full Leather, Massage Seats, Navidrive 3D, full Telematics, Front / Rear Parking, Parking Assist and Bi-Xenons etc. They are rare but worth the wait. Even so, not without their share of mechanical problems,- already having had new Steering Rack (famous leak issue), Clutch (x2), DMF, Driver Wiper Motor, Crankshaft Oil Seal done already and that's at 60k Miles! So it's pot luck to some degree!

[vborovic]

This morning a had a bit of shock, after leaving the car at the usual parking where I work, half an hour later I found myself looking at this:

Went to the Citroen Dealer, and the result (after 5 minutes & free-of-charge) is this:

Any takers to figure out the magic behind it?

[GiveMeABreak]

That's really annoying - happened to me but a lot worse - the damned supermarket bays are so tight these days, coupled with individuals who can't seem to park to save their lives (don't get me started on that), came back and found somebody left half their paint on my front wing and door!

I didn't go to the dealer, but I first washed off the excess paint and then applied some scratch remover paste (called 'Mantis' in the UK). They sell it in 'The Range' stores. It is brilliant stuff, you only need a small amount and it wiped away those scrapes like magic. Works wonders on the Dyson too - which was looking like a bumper car with deep white scratches on the plastic. Put a little mantis on and the scratches rub out in seconds!


I also coat the car once a year with that 'Showroom Shine' (the stuff you are supposed to wash your car with, without using water) - it's full of carnuba and leaves a really good protective coat on the car.

[Xantippa]

I'm trying to push the envelope ... ... reaching the whitest halogen bulb, I wouldn't mind spreading some extra light on the road, so long as it won't bother the incoming traffic ... that's why I asked ... on some sites I found out the H7Rs are made slightly differently to avoid the glare effect to the others, but since the test/experiment would cost me approx 70 GBP, I'm asking whether someone did it before I attempt it, and if the result is lacking, so I don't throw extra money into oblivion ...

I've tried xenon-bulbs with high beam and they were awful, so I don't recommend.

How about this: https://www.retrofitlab.com/en/xenon-projectors-1

[vborovic]

The early bird gets the worm ... no exhaust tips, but the Tourer bumper and spoiler for the total price are cheaper than what I've paid for mine:

http://www.ebay.it/itm/Citroen-C5-Kombi ... Swqu9VLiiu

[GiveMeABreak]

Plus all the restoration costs - it looks like the lacquer has peeled in one of those photos and a couple of deep cuts in the plastic - so that would mean a lot prep - filling, sanding, painting and complete re-lacquering as a minimum. We all know that once the lacquer coat lifts / bubbles it won't be long before it looks horrible and the rest soon peels away.

[vborovic]

Do I need to throw in the prices of both parts new (non-painted at that) ... ? ...