E70s, with halogen lighting

[sapphireblack]

Given an AC recharge will be significantly cheaper via a Groupon voucher at an ATS facility, i wouldn't personally be asking a franchised dealer to do it.

[lezmtaylor]

yes, just had my e53 4.4 done at ATS Gloucester via sapphireblack heads up re Groupon.

Lez

[X5Sport]

Drove at night in France for the first time last night. Lights were adjusted before we left. All it actually does is put a blasted great shutter across the near side high/low beam which makes the lighting very odd. The off-side works as it does in the UK. It’s a bit like driving with a headlight out.

[sapphireblack]

I thought Xenon were flat, neutral beams not needing adjustment for RHD traffic, as discussed here. Surprised you bothered, unless I'm missing something?

[X5Sport]

The beams are flat, however I was ‘advised’ by a colleague who lives out here that certain of the Gendarmerie take exception to them not being adjusted and there’s an on-the-spot fine. I wish I hadn’t bothered to be honest asI’m in deepest rural France where I need all the light I can get!

[sapphireblack]

Well, certain of the gendarmarie, can indeed be officious, to say the least. I've had a few run-ins over the years. Probably just because i'm English.

It begs the question how they would know about your headlights though?

[X5Sport]

Having now returned from the Dordogne and given my X6 an 1,800 mile ‘run out’, I reset the lights this morning(my arms now have the bruises to confirm that doing anything in the light units needs some for of contortionist with longer slim arms) to find the dealership had actually only done the passenger side. Probably explains why the light pattern looked so odd. The lever is just a shutter that blocks light in the upper left corner rather than shifting the pattern as I’ve had on other cars. Still not convinced it was needed, but maybe the shutter is required with adaptable headlights only?

Car did really well given she’s nearly 15. 34mpg average over the distance and fully loaded. Stuck to 70mph / 110kmh rather than the allowed limit of 80mph. Autoroutes a real pleasure to use even if somewhat boring as it’s just km after km of high speed road. Saw more traffic on the M20 than in the whole of France! £115 in toll charges using a pre-bought tag. Fuel was about £1.33/litre.

[Leslie]

34 mpg is the official combined figure so that's good going but long runs suit these cars , short runs with warning up really hurt the overall figure . I wonder if they did one headlight and it was a real pain so said sod it lol

[sapphireblack]

Impressive mpg even if that is the official figure, given the vehicles weight and overall size.

Thats poor regarding the headlights even if it was a no charge exercise by the dealer.

Which brings me to another curious situation regarding the E70s halogens, which are in fact now LED equiped on the low beam projectors. It was MOTd yesterday without a murmur, the only advisory was paint lifting from the anti roll bars. Not bad for 16+ years and 138k miles, though what's been replaced to this point i have no record of, other than a front wheel bearing in my ownership.

Anyway, the lights. The LEDs i bought on their recommendation, are Philips Ultinon Access and have built in CANbus, but thats not good enough for an E70. The car still flagged a bulb warning when cycling the ignition. I was prepared to accept that as an irritation, as the warning alone isnt an MOT fail, i checked prior to the test. The oddity is, by coincidence, having switched off the DRLs in the i-drive and with lights set to automatic, the auto sensor is way more active than ever before, on/off on tree shaded roads for example and the bulb out warning is no longer triggered. That to me is very curious, previously, once activated automatically, the lights would most likely just stay on even in daylight hours.

Even as aging vehicles, i find the tech impressive and beyond my 'pay grade'. But at the same time bewilderingly complicated.