[ssadwelkar]

Last month while driving to Goa in the rains when I stopped at a hotel for lunch I saw that both the headlights had fogged up, see attached pictures below,


so when I returned from the Goa trip I called up the Works Manager in NBS in Mumbai and told him about it, he said not to worry and that he would arrange to get them replaced, he was kind enough to send his guys over to my place who replaced both the head lights under warranty as my vehicle is only 6 months old and done about 7300 kms, I am very thankful to him as it saved me a trip to the Workshop in Sewri.

Today evening being a weekend we decide to drive over to Dara's Dhaba for a good dinner with my relatives but fortunately or unfortunately it rained heavily and when I parked the car at Dara's Dhaba I was shocked to see the new head lights fogged, see below,



Has anyone had this issue with their XUV's during the rain? I will be calling the Workshop manager tomorrow morning and see what he has to say.

[Sisu]

Originally Posted by fundagenie

Also my doubt on this. With HID lights installed in the low beam, wont this ON-OFF-ON be a problem when driving in manual mode and would it affect the bulbs, as HID bulbs usually take some time to be fully ON.
FundaG

I have HID lights installed on my low beam bulbs only. Once the low beam is switched on, it takes 5-7 secs to warm up. Once warmed up, the throw is brilliant.

When flashing (in manual mode), the low beam bulbs switch off momentarily but the interval when they are switched off is so small that they don't cool down. Hence, the brightness of the low beam HID lights is unaffected while flashing.

In case one is using the HID arrangement for hi-beams too, then the scenario would be different.

[Sisu]

Originally Posted by ssadwelkar

Has anyone had this issue with their XUV's during the rain? I will be calling the Workshop manager tomorrow morning and see what he has to say.

Both headlamps fogging up at the same time seems highly unlikely as both are independently manufactured units. Since these are sealed units and ingress of moisture is normally not easy, there might be a possibility that these were improperly installed/fixed during replacement of your original set.

I would suggest that you ask the service centre personnel to do a detailed root cause analysis and not just blindly replace the whole units like they did the first time or else the same problem would recur. Have you installed any HID bulbs or any other modification has been carried out to your lights?

On a separate note, I see that you had installed the chrome strips on the headlamps in your original set. Did you get a replacement for the strips too when the headlamps were replaced in warranty?

[shibu]

Download from here(valid only for 7 days): http://wikisend.com/download/657996/...___Maintenance Manual_Rev1.pdf

[ssadwelkar]

Originally Posted by Sisu

Both headlamps fogging up at the same time seems highly unlikely as both are independently manufactured units. Did you get a replacement for the strips too when the headlamps were replaced in warranty?

Both headlamps fogging up though unlikely has happened as you can see from the pictures, the new head lamps came with the bulbs already installed so even the bulbs were not removed or switched from the old assembly to the new, all they did was remove the front grille and loosen the front bumper from both sides to get access to the mounting bolts to remove and replace the head lights.

I have sent an email to the Workshop Manager with the pictures who said that he will discuss the issue with their technical team to see what can be done.

Regarding the chrome bezel on the headlights I haven't got those yet but the Workshop manager has assured me that they will be replaced once he gets the approval to do so.

[debuda]

Originally Posted by shibu

Download from here(valid only for 7 days): http://wikisend.com/download/657996/...___Maintenance Manual_Rev1.pdf

Thanks a ton, Shibu. Strangely, I was unable to download the file in Google Chrome but the download happened easily in IE.

This manual explains some common routine maintenance jobs but does not cover many important parts like the engine, ECU, electronics / sensors, transmission, clutch, steering, infotainment system, etc. These aspects are usually covered in detail in the 'Workshop Manual'. If you have a soft copy of the Workshop Manual or are able to lay your hands on it, I'll be very grateful if you could share it with me.

Thanking you once again.

[fundagenie]

Originally Posted by iceman7

Over the past 3 weeks I made a conspicuous observation on several XUV's - Most of the XUV's I saw had one projector lamp gone bust.

Is this a common occurrence and niggle for the XUV?

Originally Posted by SDP

Yes. The low beam bulbs are prone to premature-fusing.

Originally Posted by nitinralli

Yes it is. Infact most of the XUV's i see on road have one or the other bulb gone kaput, so its common and you have to live with it. Im running my XUV with one of the fog light gone kaput

One reason could be the auto light feature. With this feature available, I believe lot of XUVians would keep the lights in autolight mode at all times. And if the car is parked in a dark area, the low beam lights would be ON when cranking the engine. Though it is supposed to have some mechanism to prevent voltage spikes when starting, I dont think it is fool proof system in XUV. And could be the reason for one or both bulbs to go kaput. The quality of the bulbs provided could also add to this.

And as long as both the bulbs are not gone, people try to manage with atleast one till they get time to replace the other. Could be why there is a lot of one eyed cheetahs on the road.

Originally Posted by ssadwelkar

Last month while driving to Goa in the rains when I stopped at a hotel for lunch I saw that both the headlights had fogged up, see attached pictures below,
Attachment 1139038
Attachment 1139039

Today evening being a weekend we decide to drive over to Dara's Dhaba for a good dinner with my relatives but fortunately or unfortunately it rained heavily and when I parked the car at Dara's Dhaba I was shocked to see the new head lights fogged, see below,
Attachment 1139041
Attachment 1139042

Has anyone had this issue with their XUV's during the rain? I will be calling the Workshop manager tomorrow morning and see what he has to say.

I also have noticed this issue at times during the initial days while driving in heavy rains or even after a very thorough washing. Never replaced the unit though I had plans initially. But thought I will wait for some time as it was not a major show stopper. However never noticed this issue in the past few months even after driving in heavy rains. Again the frosting in my light (both sides) was at the bottom area, more in lines with your new unit. The frosting of your initial unit seems to be really high.

Never faced this issue with my previous cars even after years of usage, so dint buy RM's point that it is a common occurrence due to change in temp outside resulting in some frosting and hence nothing to worry about.

If you do get a permanent solution to this problem, pls share.


FundaG

[shibu]

Firstly the xuv headlight is not airtight. Therefore the slight frosting is bound to happen. To minimize the chances of frosting, ensure the rubber cap for both the beams are tightly secured via tape.

Or something more drastic would be to use a oil seal of the diameter of the bulb or rubber based adhesive.

[mdsaif92]

About the failure of lights if kept on while cranking, I think a safety mechanism is already built in ( atleast in the post Feb models). Have noticed this once that the headlights turn off completely during cranking. Also, the ORVMs pause while unfolding during the cranking interval.

[nitinralli]

Originally Posted by fundagenie

One reason could be the auto light feature. With this feature available, I believe lot of XUVians would keep the lights in autolight mode at all times. And if the car is parked in a dark area, the low beam lights would be ON when cranking the engine. Though it is supposed to have some mechanism to prevent voltage spikes when starting, I dont think it is fool proof system in XUV. And could be the reason for one or both bulbs to go kaput. The quality of the bulbs provided could also add to this.

I have never used Auto lights, even then they went off 3-4 times. Also this auto start/stop feature can cause the same effect on headlight at night.

Though i never use both these features, still i see these failures

[fundagenie]

Originally Posted by nitinralli

I have never used Auto lights, even then they went off 3-4 times. Also this auto start/stop feature can cause the same effect on headlight at night.

Though i never use both these features, still i see these failures

THat is strange. I lost one pair and the reason given was autolight. So I ensure the none of the headlights are ON while cranking. I also do not use the start stop feature.

Again I was making a general observation wrt to lower beam bulb fusing which usually is the case most of the times.

FundaG

[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by mdsaif92

About the failure of lights if kept on while cranking, I think a safety mechanism is already built in ( atleast in the post Feb models). Have noticed this once that the headlights turn off completely during cranking. Also, the ORVMs pause while unfolding during the cranking interval.

This feature of completely turning off the lights while cranking has always been available in the Scorpio (I have a 2008 VLX) and I have never switched off the auto light feature and also never lost a bulb in the last 5 years (OEM's & Philips white vision since last 2 years). Seem to be something generic to wiring design of the XUV.

[fundagenie]

Originally Posted by mdsaif92

About the failure of lights if kept on while cranking, I think a safety mechanism is already built in ( atleast in the post Feb models). Have noticed this once that the headlights turn off completely during cranking. Also, the ORVMs pause while unfolding during the cranking interval.

Originally Posted by m_upreti

This feature of completely turning off the lights while cranking has always been available in the Scorpio (I have a 2008 VLX) and I have never switched off the auto light feature and also never lost a bulb in the last 5 years (OEM's & Philips white vision since last 2 years). Seem to be something generic to wiring design of the XUV.

I have a Aug 2012 model and this also has this mechanism of lights turning off and ORVMs pausing. And the reason I used to keep the lights in auto light at all time and crank the engine. Till I lost a pair and was told it could be due to voltage spike at the time of cranking. So after that I make sure none of the headlight/parking bulbs are ON before cranking the engine. In broad daylight, I crank the engine with the autolight enabled as I know the bulbs are not ON.

Like I mentioned earlier, there could be a mechanism in XUV to overcome the voltage spikes issues, but I dont think it is 100% fool proof. At the end of the day it just a flick of the knob to switch on/off the lights. Why lose money and time to replace the kaput bulbs just because one cant do this small flick.

FundaG

[spkingsley]

Originally Posted by fundagenie

I have a Aug 2012 model and this also has this mechanism of lights turning off and ORVMs pausing. And the reason I used to keep the lights in auto light at all time and crank the engine. Till I lost a pair and was told it could be due to voltage spike at the time of cranking. So after that I make sure none of the headlight/parking bulbs are ON before cranking the engine. In broad daylight, I crank the engine with the autolight enabled as I know the bulbs are not ON. Like I mentioned earlier, there could be a mechanism in XUV to overcome the voltage spikes issues, but I dont think it is 100% fool proof. At the end of the day it just a flick of the knob to switch on/off the lights. Why lose money and time to replace the kaput bulbs just because one cant do this small flick. FundaG

When the ignition key is turned to START position, most of the electrical load circuits like air-conditioner , headlamps are automatically disconnected and are automatically reconnected when the key is returned to ON position. This is to ensure stater motor gets the maximum juice from the battery similar to aircraft switching off the lights for maximising power during take off.

[fundagenie]

Originally Posted by spkingsley

When the ignition key is turned to START position, most of the electrical load circuits like air-conditioner , headlamps are automatically disconnected and are automatically reconnected when the key is returned to ON position. This is to ensure stater motor gets the maximum juice from the battery similar to aircraft switching off the lights for maximising power during take off.

I get your point and agree this would or should be the mechanism followed. But the low beam bulbs / parking light leds are going kaput for a lot of people and these are the bulbs that are usually ON during cranking the engine, when the autolight feature is enabled. So either the mechanism is not perfect or the bulbs are low quality or both.

This is based on my experience and the reason provided by the RM. And after losing a pair and 1000 bucks, I dint want to experiment on it again to see if the RM's reasoning was right or not.

FundaG