UCrazyKid

I think I'm confused and I need someone to straighten me out.

I have a 2002 Carrera Coupe.

I thought it was available in 3 flavors, Halogen Headlings, Litronic (xenon low and halogen high beams) and Litronic Bi-Xenon (xenon hi and low).

I have Xenon low beams, and headlamp washers. When I put on my highbeams I get a Halogen lamp on with my Xenon low beams.

Does this make sense? Can someone clarify this for me? Thanks.
Andy

CosmosC4S

I have Litronics, but my high beams are halogens.
That's what I assume coz' my high beams are not as white.

signal

This has been fleshed out on some serious technical threads on here.

For the early year 99-01 the headlights were xenon for low beam, and halogen for hi beam, and so the halogen would tilt when you flashed high beams.

For 02+, the Bi-Xenon are xenon for low and hi beam. There is a projector that opens, you can actually see your xenon go "high". In addition, the halogen fires for fill.

CosmosC4S

Signal, that is what I've been told on renntech...
mine is a 02, why are my high beams not as bright as my low? They seem more yellowish than white.
If I flick on the high beams, there is an immediate clear difference in the brightness compared to low.

signal

Not sure, I do know that the bixenons ALL have washers (silver disk) on them. So if you dont have the washer then you may just have projector halogens (not bi-xenon)

Irksome

I've got the bixenons, and lighting up the high beam is like spinning the earth to noon.

viper501

Cosmos, you might not be getting the shutter all the way up. True HID's don't handle on/off cycles well and require a warm-up time. As such, the manufacturers have adapted a shutter system to change from high to low. It is possible that the halogen fill mentioned above is causing issues but it also possible that the shutter is not actuating properly, if at all. I'd take it to the dealer and have them diagnose it.

UCrazyKid

Irksome,
Can you elaborate on your experice and vehicle? I take it your highbeams are bright based on your comment, but do you still see a yellow tint (ala Halogen) introduced when go to highbeams? Or have you walked out side to look at the headlights to see if a Halogen bulb is on at the same time?

What year is your car? Do you have an option code for Bi-Xenon?

Thanks.

CosmosC4S

I don't have headlight washers, but I have the silver disc plugs on them.
I do know for sure that my low beams are Litronics.

Maybe viper501 is right about something here, I'll go ask my mechanic to check it out. Or, I'll try it out tonight and let the high beam stay a while, coz' I rarely use high beams except for a few seconds just to check things out in the distance. Too much traffic around here to leave them on.

10 GT3

There are only 2 flavors of headlights on 996's or any year:

99-01'
1. Standard halogens
2. Litronics


99-01'
1. Standard halogens
2. Bi-Xenons

The easiest way to tell (as if the actual lighting on the road was not enough) is if you have headlight washers, you have Xenons lights.

SIGNAL has it right. With Litronics, the base bulb output is lower. When you turn on the high-beams, the halogen is used as the high-beam. The Xenon lamps rotate upwards to provide additional fill. Bi-xenons have a higher output. In low-beam mode, they use a shutter to restrict and redirect the output to just in front of the car. In high-beam mode, the shutters open and the Xenon lights are fully focused ahead. The halogen turns on only to provide light to immediately in front of the car. If you do a search for the 2002 Model Release Guide; it explains the differents and shows the 2 different illumination patterns. There is also some reference information inside your owners manual.

su20

My bi-xenons throw so much light on high beam that I almost can't look at roadside signs. "Bleeding in" some halogen fill light on high beam will lower the color temp of the output and make it look more "yellow" than when only the low beams are firing, but the intensity is still there.

CosmosC4S

Ok, I checked tonight...Turned on my high beams and got in front of the car to look at the lights.
There is a small bulb, about the size of a pencil eraser head (an inch+) that is the high beam. It looks yellowish in contrast to the much bigger HID bulb directly above it.

So that confirms that the high beams are halogens, right? Which means I have Litronics.
But my car is a 2002 model.

The other thing is, I was told there is auto leveling with my Litronics. But I hardly see the lights move to self-adjust when I turn them on. Unlike my BMW, where the lights flicker and shift up/down for a sec when I first turn them on. So I had given up on having auto leveling, but there was this one time I was parked on a slope facing upwards, when I started my car and turned the lights on, it did the self-adjust for the first time! So now I know I do have auto-leveling Litronics. Weird.

Irksome

I get bright white light that makes everything clear seemingly for miles. I see no yellow tint.

I have never walked in front of my car with the lights on at all, let alone high beams. I would be scared to look into my lights on high.

I have an '03 C2. I really should record my option codes, I'm never near my car when I'm asked. I'll try to do that tomorrow and re-post. I do have the headlight washers. On normal mode, I get slightly blue bright light, with very precise borders (shielding it from going high into the eyes of oncoming traffic). I am very impressed with the headlights on my car.

I've hit the high beams climbing the hill to my neighborhood, and seen coyote eyes reflected from the bushes to the side of the road. Truly excellent lighting.

viper501

No. You have bixenons, unless, I suppose, that someone dropped a set of HID bulbs into your housings before you bought the car. And I'm not referring to the 'blue' tint halogen bulbs. There are a number of companies making drop in HID bulbs and ballasts for standard housings. But you do not have Litronics if you have an 02.

Also, you may be seeing the city light, which is a small halogen bulb, versus the true high beam. Can you post a picture of the housing?

CosmosC4S

I'll go take a shot now......give me 10 mins....


Ok, Here you go: