Xenon lights misbehaving...

Gonna have a look tomorrow morning and will report back.

Very very tempted to buy my own CLIP for silly stuff like this that really spoils what would otherwise be one of the best cars out there...
 
There only about £60 on eBay, bit of a faf to get working as you need a 32 bit OS. Mine took eight weeks to get here from China, kept complaining and they kept giving me money back... Almost got it for free in the end, haha!
 
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link said:
There only about £60 on eBay, bit of a faf to get working as you need a 32 bit OS. Mine took eight weeks to get here from China, kept complaining and they kept giving me money back... Almost got it for free in the end, haha!
Click to expand...

Which version should I been looking for?
 
Right, had a look at the rear sensor this morning:

POGCPzq.jpg OcIk0Tx.jpg CRXhy4L.jpg 6IaOVsi.jpg 25ayXqq.jpg pn7SwfO.jpg


So you can see that the connector doesn't look corroded at all. The arm is free to move (If a little loose in the mountings but doubt that is the issue). So unless something inside the sensor is conked then don't think it's that.

Tried having a look at the front sensor but it's pretty hard to get to thanks to a cross bar and I just don't trust the cheepo jacks/stands I got from halfords to get the car very high.

I've messaged some renault dealers nearby asking if they'd fix this issue under a standard service as the car needs one anyway (Two birds one stone). We'll see what their reply is I suppose...
 
Be careful - the sensors are REALLY expensive (£100+) so you'll want to shop around and talk to Paul at Renault Parts Direct - a normal main dealer could really rip your arm off here.

I had this EXACT problem - it was the front one - I had a friend with CLIP and it took at least 3/4 attempts to get it to show fault codes (on different days).

FYI you can replace the front one without dropping the subframe... Your idea of picking up a cheap CLIP isn't the worst - as you can plug it in when the problem happens.
 
tcw said:
Be careful - the sensors are REALLY expensive (£100+) so you'll want to shop around and talk to Paul at Renault Parts Direct - a normal main dealer could really rip your arm off here.

I had this EXACT problem - it was the front one - I had a friend with CLIP and it took at least 3/4 attempts to get it to show fault codes (on different days).

FYI you can replace the front one without dropping the subframe... Your idea of picking up a cheap CLIP isn't the worst - as you can plug it in when the problem happens.
Click to expand...

Yeh I think that's why the bloke at four ashes didn't get a fault code when he looked because it wasn't in the 'broken mode'. Would have thought it'd have historical logs though...

The only reason I'd take it to the renault dealer is cos I want the stamp for the service and if they would guarantee fixing this without charging more then happy days.

At the very least if they can diagnose the fault I can get the actual work done cheaper, probably even do it myself.

Was it just that the front sensor was broken inside for you? Do your lights ever misbehave now you replaced it?

Also cant seem to find the sensor on RPD?
 
If its not on their website contact them and they can get a price. They are normally well priced anyway but I think forum members get some discount. Its good you are perserveering with it, dodgy headlights levels is a frustrating problem to say the least. Id be interested in seeing the footage of yours going crazy, I find when in traffic mine will micro adjust. I can see the cut off point inching up and down just while stationary so fully expecting a sensor to fail at some point. They also dip down massively on the motorway for some reason.
 
Got the video edited and uploaded.

So you can see the lights flick up to their max setting and down again a few times. Seemingly random tbh.

Thought maybe it had something to do with speeding up/slowing down but you can see them changing while I'm at a constant speed.

Tried just fiddling around in the tesco car park and couldn't get them to go down again at the end...

 
Got a response from RPD quoting £150 for a new front sensor.

So won't be able to justify spending that without being 100% sure that's the issue really...
 
I didnt watch it all but I would go with a faulty front sensor. I did see it go up and down and mine has never done that. I dont know what module controls the lights. But I will say your lights are very bright, mines no way near that! I think its time to get new bulbs.
 
Barney626 said:
Any ideas on that video?

@Doogle @tcw @link
Click to expand...

Just a thought but when it stays up after self test it more than likely means the sensor is giving a reading of sorts but it's wrong, so it thinks the nose is pointing down and trying to compensate by keeping the lights pointing up...

That may explain why CLiP never showed any fault codes, whether it's front or back sensor is speculation unfortunately as it could be either (probably using difference between the two to determine angle of dangle).

On my car I've had random occasions where the lights have pointed up to the sky like that, then after a while it's fixed itself. Now the sensor has fully died and it's definitely the rear sensor in my case, it doesn't self test at all at the mo.

You can test the sensors with a multimeter (in ohms), there only a potentiometer. Alternatively it might be easier to disconnect them one at a time and see what happens... Might help narrow down which ones working or not?
 
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P.S. At some point in the warm/dry future I'm gonna see if I can strip that rear sensor down and repair it, not sure if it's a sealed unit but I'd bet the pot. inside it is about £5 from RS, I'll be damned if I'm paying £150 for a Renault one!
 
P.P.S. There's a dedicated lighting ECU for the xenon's, it's behind the passenger side front wheel arch liner, number 989.

s1-jpg.111364
 
Good idea about disconnecting each sensor to see which one reproduces the behavior. Will try that in a few days and see how it goes.

Would be good if we can repair these units ourselves. Must just be a standard potentiometer part surely...
 
Couldn't you disconnect both alignment motors and then adjust the lights manually to get you going while you repair/replace the sensor?
 
Honestly I don't have much more to contribute here - this problem almost lead to me getting rid of the car - so when it came to finally having a fault code for the front - I bought one and it sorted it. I can honestly say I think it's worth solving properly - the lights are amazing now :smile:

I'd either be finding a friend with a CLIP and borrowing it - maybe an RSTuner would work, or buying one - and being persistent.

edit - maybe I have the old one somewhere.
 
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