05 almera headlamp defect

hatecrime

Hi, does anyone have any idea how to fix dodgy dipped beams in a 05 Nissan almera. Just bought the car and I cant see 10 feet in front of me. Seller dosnt want to know. Any ideas would be great.

Foxhole Norman

hatecrime wrote: »

Hi, does anyone have any idea how to fix dodgy dipped beams in a 05 Nissan almera. Just bought the car and I cant see 10 feet in front of me. Seller dosnt want to know. Any ideas would be great.

Are you sure the lights aren't just clouded over and blocking the beams?

hatecrime

No they aren't clouded over or dirty under the lens.It's like having 2 candles in there. Not sure if there was an issue with them from new.

colm_mcm

The bulb holders melt and eventually detach, it's a very common issue on them. You need new headlights. Spurious ones from the motor factors don't have the same issue.

bazz26

That model Almera is well known for having poor headlights that also had a knack of melting. Do a search of this forum, there is at least one thread on the subject previously.

hatecrime

Stop the lights. New lamps. I should have gone for the fiesta.

colm_mcm

How do you know if an Almera has a fresh NCT? The headlights are working.

punisher5112

Also another thing the h7 bulbs themselves can lose brightness. See plenty in the projector style set up fade like that.

hatecrime

It has a new nct for 12 months. I think they check alignment but not the beam as such.

colm_mcm

They need to be a certain brightness to pass. The aim would be all over the place if the unit was melted. It might not be that issue, but it really sounds like it. Drive up near a wall and see what the beam pattern is like.

You know how to check if a test disc is genuine?

hatecrime

No, how does that go.

colm_mcm

You can put the reg into the nct wbsite and it'll tell you the next test due date.


Make sure the headlight height adjuster switch on the dash is set to "0" as well. Might be adjusted downwards.

hatecrime

nct is ok. I'll check that out thanks.

Jasper79

Mine passed the NCT but the range was shockingly bad. The tester commented was like candles in the lamps but that it was good enough to pass.

I ended up buying replacement lamps on Micksgarage for around 200 and 50 to have fitted and was perfect after that.

ianobrien

OP, the headlights in them are almost a consumable item. The reflectors tarnish, the projector lens tarnishes and the bulb holders can melt. The cure is to change the headlights. When i had an Almera, I changed them every 3years or so. Changing the headlight always cured the problem of the drunken glowworms that passed for headlights. Dip rather than main beam was always the worst.

BronsonTB

Has come up before & is a known issue on that model...replacement seems to be the only solution.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=73745505