Rant: LT Focus Headlights - Lesson Learned

~Spyne~ · 13-02-2010, 02:15 AM

Driving in the city the other night and all of a sudden both headlights go out.
Was nearly at destination (mmm, pizza) so when pulled over, did the checks and parkers, driving and highbeams all still work. just not low beams - both sides.
went through and checked fuses, all ok.
had a quick look at globes (admittedly, from outside, didnt go to the hassle of trying to pull out the assemblies there and then) and they looked ok.

so i had the car in at Ford today to see if they could check it out, completely expecting it to be a switch or relay - easy fix, under warranty.

...not so.
got a call in the arvo saying that they had checked it out and both globes had blown. not common, but not unheard of. typically happens when u hit a deep pothole at speed (this was not the case for me - good city roads, low speed, <60km/h, dont recall any potholes)
anyway, over the phone the guy says they can replace them with standard Ford globes at a cost of $25ea. I figure, well $50 for new globes and someone to install them, why the hell not.
(Since i had previously, several months ago, installed Philips globes, the changeover would not be covered by warranty...not that i would have expected new globes to be a warranty item anyway?)

Get into Ford to pick up the car and go to pay, and "so, there's the $50 for new globes AND the $79 for labour, AND the $13 GST"
....feck me, you didn't mention anything about $25ea globe PLUS labour!!!!

Lesson learnt? Never let Ford change over light globes, i know the globes in the Focus are a PITA to change over (compared to most cars), but DIY brothers, DIY!!!

/rant

saber · 13-02-2010, 10:12 AM

That is just insane! That's an hours labour to change 2 headlight globes.
Surely it can't take that long to replace 2 globes??

ratter · 13-02-2010, 11:06 AM

at dealers pricing it,s probably about 3/4 labour, which would also include diagnoses also.

#Russ#Es# · 13-02-2010, 11:31 AM

Lesson learnt indeed! Considering you could easily change each globe in less than 5 mins!

marg99 · 13-02-2010, 02:28 PM

I found the after market QH globes to be less robust than the stock QH globes. They partcularly do not like cooling down too quickly on cold nights. I originally bought the ones with extra brightness (blue tinge) and lost the low beam within a month. Fortunately the current different brand last a lot longer and are still going strong.

leakey · 14-02-2010, 01:38 PM

Yeah, I think with lights, you gets wats yuz pays for.

Thanks for posting this, a real eye openner. [Was gonna post you really shed some light on this situation...]

alky89 · 14-02-2010, 03:37 PM

i got some cheapo bulbs from hong kong. 4500k so they look white and sometimes a bit bluish. had them on for a year now and still doing well. and they weren't hard to change at all. the original bulbs we kinda stuck in the socket because they hadn't been touched for 3 years but apart from that it was pretty straight forward. it certainly didn't take me more than 20 mins. i don't know what took ford "professionals" so long. i suggest you go ask them exactly why it took $79 worth of labour to change 2 light bulbs and see what sort of poor excuse they come up with.

~Spyne~ · 14-02-2010, 09:22 PM

it would be diagnosis time as well as the time it took to change globes.

and the globes i had put in there (that blew) were certainly not cheap ones. they were philips xtreme power bulbs

Henry's Ford · 11-04-2010, 09:09 PM

Hi All
Just signed up to this Forum as I had seen lots of interesting things to do with the Focus.
I own a 2007 TDCI Focus and reckon its great. Clocked up just over 63000K's
Thanks all for letting me know how to change headlight bulbs. Sounds like I've saved myself quite a few dollars DIY.

Any ideas on what to do about changing the windscreen wiper blades - other than buying a whole new assembly?

pertuan · 11-04-2010, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henry's Ford

Any ideas on what to do about changing the windscreen wiper blades - other than buying a whole new assembly?

Did a search for you...

http://fordforums.com.au/showthread....t=wiper+blades

zetec · 12-04-2010, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Spyne~

it would be diagnosis time as well as the time it took to change globes.

and the globes i had put in there (that blew) were certainly not cheap ones. they were philips xtreme power bulbs

Years of experience has taught me in a Focus not to use anything but the original factory/Motorcraft globes. I've lost that many aftermarket and "blue" globes that I don't care to remember. Motorcraft ones ALWAYS outlasted the rice globes. Focusonthis (Adam) also attests to the same facts.

DIY for sure, but using original globes saved me more money in the end from less replacements.

XR5-Boy · 12-04-2010, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zetec

Years of experience has taught me in a Focus not to use anything but the original factory/Motorcraft globes. I've lost that many aftermarket and "blue" globes that I don't care to remember. Motorcraft ones ALWAYS outlasted the rice globes. Focusonthis (Adam) also attests to the same facts.

DIY for sure, but using original globes saved me more money in the end from less replacements.

Same went with the Cougar. I actually never changed my front globes in the 4 years i had the car!

~Spyne~ · 13-04-2010, 02:42 PM

so do motorcraft do a brighter globe than the factory ford one? because the factory globes are really horrible (not looking for HID-type brightness, i personally can't stand them, but just want something that makes night-driving safer for all)

~Spyne~ · 08-05-2011, 11:28 PM

well, time to bump this up.

Got sick of the factory globes again, low light output, especially since i do alot of night driving between Ballarat and Melbourne.
So bought some Osram Nightbreaker+ globes from powerbulbs. Installed 3 weeks ago and I was driving to Dandenong the other night, and again, both globes blew at the same time. Just the normal beam globes - fog, parkers and high beams all still worked.
Checked them out the next morning and yep, globes blown. Luckily I still had the old 'Ford' globes from the switchover, so they went in today and work fine.

Has anyone found a set of globes that
1. put out significantly more light than the 'Ford' ones, and
2. last at least 9 months in pretty cold temperature environment?

~Spyne~ · 08-05-2011, 11:30 PM

oh, and p.s.
does anyone know why aftermarket globes blow SO easily in the Focus?

DeKa · 09-05-2011, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Spyne~

oh, and p.s.
does anyone know why aftermarket globes blow SO easily in the Focus?

It's nothing to do with the Focus. The high output globes just don't have the lifespan of the 'standard' ones. I've had the same experience in Peugeots and a BA Falcon. I guess more light output means a shorter lifespan.

~Spyne~ · 09-05-2011, 03:32 PM

the first aftermarket set lasted about 3 months (from memory).
this set lasted less than 3 weeks. that's not a short lifespan, that's indicative of something being wrong - either globe input voltage sensitivity or something else.

Franco Cozzo · 09-05-2011, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Spyne~

well, time to bump this up.

Got sick of the factory globes again, low light output, especially since i do alot of night driving between Ballarat and Melbourne.
So bought some Osram Nightbreaker+ globes from powerbulbs. Installed 3 weeks ago and I was driving to Dandenong the other night, and again, both globes blew at the same time. Just the normal beam globes - fog, parkers and high beams all still worked.
Checked them out the next morning and yep, globes blown. Luckily I still had the old 'Ford' globes from the switchover, so they went in today and work fine.

Has anyone found a set of globes that
1. put out significantly more light than the 'Ford' ones, and
2. last at least 9 months in pretty cold temperature environment?

So far I've had my Phillips XtremeVision +80s (slightly better than the Osram night breakers) power bulbs also sells these. Had em in for a few weeks without issue.

Harrye30 · 14-05-2011, 07:13 PM

Wow... thats a whole heap of unseen charges, I'd take that up with the company as technically what they have stated over the phone and you agreed to was not what you ended up paying, that is quite extreme, I would, as much as possible, avoid dealerships as they do quite commonly have these charges attached, still, very sucky.

H sal

Yellow_Festiva · 18-05-2011, 07:13 PM

A little voice inside keeps telling me that the globes may not be the problem. Will a short cause this? What else causes globes to prematurely blow other than a sudden jolt or an electrical fault?

For both globes to go at exactly the same time twice in the way you describe is very odd.

With the first set of aftermarket globes that blew, how long did the Ford units go for prior to the swap?

**Mechan1k** · 18-05-2011, 07:26 PM

Aftermarket globes use a thinner filament ... and shock is the number one killer for them. I used to live in a Rural area and drive all the time with lights on ... I used to replace them every 6 months (or about 30-35,000km).

My Territory just blew the original factory globes at 6 years of age at 170,000km ... they use a long-life thicker filament globe that is not as bright.

Out of all the aftermarket ones I have used ... Narva +50s last the longest ... but still need to replace them often .... but they are the cheaper end of the "better aftermarket stuff" ... and give a good beam upgrade over standard.

Just get used to replacing them I guess. Carry spares in the car if need be.

Yellow_Festiva · 18-05-2011, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mechan1k

Aftermarket globes use a thinner filament ... and shock is the number one killer for them. I used to live in a Rural area and drive all the time with lights on ... I used to replace them every 6 months (or about 30-35,000km).

My Territory just blew the original factory globes at 6 years of age at 170,000km ... they use a long-life thicker filament globe that is not as bright.

Out of all the aftermarket ones I have used ... Narva +50s last the longest ... but still need to replace them often .... but they are the cheaper end of the "better aftermarket stuff" ... and give a good beam upgrade over standard.

Just get used to replacing them I guess. Carry spares in the car if need be.

But did they blow at the same time?

**Mechan1k** · 18-05-2011, 07:36 PM

Not long after each other.

It is weird with the OP's issues with both blowing at the same time.
Maybe an issue with one blowing globe causing a spike through the low-beam circuit and causing the other globe to blow as well.

Not sure how the Focus headlight circuit is setup though.

casabonka · 27-05-2011, 04:18 PM

Just ordered some new bulbs from powerbulbs.co.uk
Osram H7's and Osram superbright H1's - 57 bux delivered.

Hopefully get them late next week.
Im sick of my POS standard bulbs!

Franco Cozzo · 27-05-2011, 06:11 PM

Get some new globes in there, get a multimeter out and check the voltage at the socket, it SHOULD be no more than 12V.

pugdriver · 28-05-2011, 01:04 AM

actually with the engine running the voltage should read about 13.5 to 13.8 volts.
engine not running, should read about 12.5 volts.

casabonka · 11-06-2011, 07:37 PM

just to semi hi-jack the thread again rather than start a new one!
Got my bulbs (all 4 globes were sent in seperate parcels, and came on different days a week apart all up).

Installed the new globes today and managed to bend the low beam reflector - after assuming I destroyed my headlight, was a simple fix with a screwdriver! Now just to drive at night to compare the difference of the Osrams compared with standard

~Spyne~ · 12-06-2011, 09:29 PM

it's a night and day difference.

as for my issues, because it is such a random occurrence, checking the voltage doesn't show up anything unusual. i had the car at a mate's audio shop on the weekend and hooked up a fluke dmm and ran the car under load for 30mins. nothing out of the ordinary.

I also have a (possibly) related issue where certain instrument lights will flick on and off for the briefest of moments. this generally coincides with a flicking/increasing in brightness of the headlight output. if i have the cruise control on, when this happens the cruise switches off.
again, it is a very random occurrence - played up for about 10min non-stop one evening a few weeks ago (didn't blow any globes; had the factory ones back in at that time), then the car was perfect for about 2-3 weeks, then it did it again once and then has been perfect again for the last 1.5 weeks.

it's got me worried that there is either an electrical problem, or a problem with the computer.

the dash lights that flick on/off when it plays up are the ABS, brake management (exclamation mark in a circle) and the glow indicator (horizontal coil). and of course the cruise control turns off.

anyone with ideas?

marg99 · 12-06-2011, 10:26 PM

Mine played up when under warranty and it was the earthing for the computer was not adequate. Some things worked and other did not when it decided it was going to play up. Was intermittent, eventually gave a error code of lost communication. so they redid the earthing for the computer and no problems since.

~Spyne~ · 13-06-2011, 12:27 AM

hmmm, thanks marg99.
do you know where the computer earth is?