Crap Puma headlights?!?!?!?!
21-12-2011, 08:30 PM
#1
Crap Puma headlights?!?!?!?!
Anyone else have a puma and think that the headlights on dip are utter shit?
well i do, and having just spent some £32 on a pair of osram nightbreaker plus bulbs, its made very little difference other than the light being a bit whiter...
but they are still shit.
so i have taken to driving in the dark with full beam on and set the auto headlight adjuster to 5 to not blind oncoming traffic.
is there anything that can be done?? doing my head in now. gave a guy at work a lift home today and he recons his Clio 182 lights on dip are as bright as mine on full beam
well i do, and having just spent some £32 on a pair of osram nightbreaker plus bulbs, its made very little difference other than the light being a bit whiter...
but they are still shit.
so i have taken to driving in the dark with full beam on and set the auto headlight adjuster to 5 to not blind oncoming traffic.
is there anything that can be done?? doing my head in now. gave a guy at work a lift home today and he recons his Clio 182 lights on dip are as bright as mine on full beam
21-12-2011, 08:36 PM
#2
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its the glass domes that have deteriorated mate, only option is replace with new, then again at about £300 a side, maby not lol
Audi, bmw etc etc etc all suffer with this also, thats why so many people fit gash HID kits, but as of next year cars will not pass MOT unless they have automatic adjusters fitted to suspension to keep headlight aim "level"
Audi, bmw etc etc etc all suffer with this also, thats why so many people fit gash HID kits, but as of next year cars will not pass MOT unless they have automatic adjusters fitted to suspension to keep headlight aim "level"
21-12-2011, 08:48 PM
#4
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well provided the lens isnt yellow, its the glass projector dome fella.
you could use some slightly illigal 100w bulbs or summat instead of HID`s,
My 1999 A4 lights are truely shocking, 100w bulbs made it better (but not 100%)
i tried untold ammounts of stuipid aftermarket, xennon, night breaker, day glow neon dildo glow in the dark stylee bulbs, made fuck all difference.
you could use some slightly illigal 100w bulbs or summat instead of HID`s,
My 1999 A4 lights are truely shocking, 100w bulbs made it better (but not 100%)
i tried untold ammounts of stuipid aftermarket, xennon, night breaker, day glow neon dildo glow in the dark stylee bulbs, made fuck all difference.
21-12-2011, 08:57 PM
#6
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F*ck spending mate, do what I did to pass the last MOT, use Autosol and a buffer or dremel. Brought the plastic lenses back to life within 10 mins and made them shine out like new 
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21-12-2011, 10:09 PM
#11
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no idea what thats ment to say lol
Warren, probebly right although ive never tried it, only replaced on punters motors.
i thaught the glass deteriorated internaly on the domes, will try this on the A4
21-12-2011, 10:42 PM
#12
it depends what crap its had on it. I know people whove had good results cleaning the units up. Ultimately even with new headlights they arent the best as they are a very early basic projector design and stuff has moved on a lot since they were designed.
Im surprised no ones tried fitting units from a later ford.
Im surprised no ones tried fitting units from a later ford.
22-12-2011, 08:41 PM
#14
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i took mine apart and cleaned them, didnt make much difference. i bought some bulbs from halfords, i think the extreme range. made driving at night possible. only cost £20. best mod for a puma.
22-12-2011, 08:49 PM
#15
I've found that life I needed.. It's HERE!!
what about junking the original projectors and fitting some new ones?
http://furoreproducts.co.uk/6-projector-headlights
not had a puma light assembly apart though so can't say how easy it will be but it must be possible
http://furoreproducts.co.uk/6-projector-headlights
not had a puma light assembly apart though so can't say how easy it will be
but it must be possible
22-12-2011, 09:16 PM
#16
If it's anything like Mondeo units the lens is glued to the plastic surround. There are some clips that you prise off, then with a big screwdriver carefully lever the two halves apart. With a very sharp blade cut the adhesive as you go and you can gradually pull them apart.
It's easier if the units are warm (leave them over a radiator for an hour or so) as it softens the glue.
Even if you do clean them, and fit groovy bulbs the light is never going to be amazing as they're a bit of a shit design, and even from new they were rubbish headlights.
Cochyn - How badly scuffed were your lights? One of mine (that I got from a breaker) has obviously been stored face down, and is noticeable scuffed. I assumed Autosol, or similar would just make them even more scuffed?
It's easier if the units are warm (leave them over a radiator for an hour or so) as it softens the glue.
Even if you do clean them, and fit groovy bulbs the light is never going to be amazing as they're a bit of a shit design, and even from new they were rubbish headlights.
Cochyn - How badly scuffed were your lights? One of mine (that I got from a breaker) has obviously been stored face down, and is noticeable scuffed. I assumed Autosol, or similar would just make them even more scuffed?
22-12-2011, 10:56 PM
#17
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dunno any help to ur cause but woman guard i work with she borrowed her mum neon and headlights were yellow like the old french ones so i got a 4 quid tube of cutting compound and buffed em up, the end result was defiently better at night.
22-12-2011, 11:48 PM
#18
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its not the plastic outer lens that fails its the inner glass domes.
the like provided above could be good replacment if its a puma specific fittment
if not then dimensions MUST be bang on spec otherwise its as much use as a 13yr old with his first porn mag claiming to give long distance endurance
the like provided above could be good replacment if its a puma specific fittment
if not then dimensions MUST be bang on spec otherwise its as much use as a 13yr old with his first porn mag claiming to give long distance endurance
24-12-2011, 02:35 PM
#20
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Regardless of the bulbs you use, you're not going to get the full advantage of any unless the plastic lenses are as clear as they can be. So the Puma's front end sits at an agle that picks up all kinds of debris from the road and other cars, so decided to take mine off the runaround Puma and Autosol'd them. Amazing result, and mine were quite bad after 200k miles on an R reg
07-11-2012, 08:53 PM
#28
i got round to buying some autosol the other week and had a spare 10 mins at lunchtime today...
gave it a bit of a going over by hand and it done fuck all lol.... then i rememberd this thread, and cochyn said to use a drill and buffer.... i dont got me one of those
will see at the weekend lol
gave it a bit of a going over by hand and it done fuck all lol.... then i rememberd this thread, and cochyn said to use a drill and buffer.... i dont got me one of those
will see at the weekend lol
19-07-2014, 06:35 AM
#31
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I'm surprised nobody mentioned the adjusters. I just bought a (2000) Millennium edition, and thought I'd search on the topic. I used to have a black 2000 edition 1.7 a few years back. I had similar issues, and was using the high beam on low angle for a while, until I realised a way round it. The headlight projector/bulb assemblies (clusters) all have individual trimmer adjustments in the cluster, for each beam.
Look from the top, and you can see holes with a symbol. On the standard beam; I found I needed to raise them by a few turns (I think about 5-6 half turns). Makes a world of difference. In those days I had some slightly whiter 5W higher rated bulbs. Used the yellowish rain cutters for the fogs.
This time round, I think I'll do the HID upgrade as well, on the standard beams. I've heard from a few MOT testers, that with original projector assemblies; as long as the light pattern is still basically ok (usually the case with projectors because less affected by light source changes in comparison to a standard bulb in a parabolic dish configuration), they would not really be aware that the light is now HID. It would be tested as a standard headlight, and therefore will pass - but make sure if fitting them, that the light pattern thrown is basically correct and not insanely powerful HIDs, or you will obviously be dazzling others!
Look from the top, and you can see holes with a symbol. On the standard beam; I found I needed to raise them by a few turns (I think about 5-6 half turns). Makes a world of difference. In those days I had some slightly whiter 5W higher rated bulbs. Used the yellowish rain cutters for the fogs.
This time round, I think I'll do the HID upgrade as well, on the standard beams. I've heard from a few MOT testers, that with original projector assemblies; as long as the light pattern is still basically ok (usually the case with projectors because less affected by light source changes in comparison to a standard bulb in a parabolic dish configuration), they would not really be aware that the light is now HID. It would be tested as a standard headlight, and therefore will pass - but make sure if fitting them, that the light pattern thrown is basically correct and not insanely powerful HIDs, or you will obviously be dazzling others!
01-08-2014, 02:59 AM
#33
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I did notice it was a bit old; but the Puma lives on, and is still a loved car. I only bought it because it was cheap, and I knew how amazing they were from when I had one before. I've been using my new acquisition as my primary car - and gotta say, loving it every bit as much as my original one. Still got the TT for projects and weekends, but so many cheap, and easy upgrades on the Puma.
I was going to HID the lights, but have actually held off on that as direct replacement LEDs have finally reached the consumer accessible market i.e. Amazon and eBay (very excited!!). I've already changed over most of the rear clusters, and waiting for the front replacements and click adjusting resisters for the indicators to arrive in the post. I'll update the thread when I see the outcome; but I remember dreaming about this possibility all those years ago, but thinking I'll need to buy an R8 or some modern Japanese born coupé to get my hands on them - loves my LEDs! lol
01-08-2014, 08:28 AM
#34
Best way is to rub down the outer plastic with increasing grades of wet and dry. I did it recently...
You can see from the before and after light pattern on the outer plastic that more light is going through rather than being scattered by the pits.
Then fit some decent bulbs such as Halfords Extreme brilliance etc (when on BOGOF) and that'll be about as good as you can get it.
Tickled with the front lights today:
Was full of little scratches and pits from 13 years on the road:
After some 400, 800, 2000 grit rubbing, compounding and polishing its not perfect, but much better:
Rough:
Mid - lubed up:
Finished:
Was full of little scratches and pits from 13 years on the road:
After some 400, 800, 2000 grit rubbing, compounding and polishing its not perfect, but much better:
Rough:
Mid - lubed up:
Finished:
Then fit some decent bulbs such as Halfords Extreme brilliance etc (when on BOGOF) and that'll be about as good as you can get it.
Last edited by Dal_; 01-08-2014 at 08:30 AM.
14-12-2016, 08:07 PM
#36
The first thing I noticed and liked about my Puma was the lights - I love them, never had projectors before and mine are white and clear, if I have them on in low daylight they look holographic on the vehicle in front too
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