Headlights for Alfa Romeo 147 GTA / servicing issue

[Choogz]

Hi guys,

I've got a 2003 alfa romeo 147 GTA which has the usual xenon globes whilst driving as well as the high beams/side parking lights. The thing is I would rather have all the globes blend into similar colour spectrum rather then the yellow tinge..

So my problem is finding out what globes I can replace my high beam/side lights with that will be as close match to my xenons without affecting my driving and being pulled over for a 'hazard'

Can anyone shed some light on the legalities of the light globes that you fit for your car because I can't seem to find the legislation which stipulates what the maximum and minimum standards are.

I'm on my green P's and already drive a relatively high powered vehicle so I don't fancy the idea of being fined for driving with illegal headlights.

I also need to go to a alfa specialist who knows how to reset the computer because I have both Left/Right Faults with my Headlights apparently even though they work fine.. so anyone suggest a local near the western suburbs or five dock that won't charge me an arm and a leg to reset the computer from these 'errors'

[Alan Hopla]

Hi,
I had a quick look on the web and found the following which may help.

First an info guide from the RACQ
http://www.racq.com.au/motoring/cars/car_advice/car_fact_sheets/headlights

Next a link to ADRs
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/motor/design/adr_online.aspx

Next a link to ADR51 pertaining to filament lamps.
http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2006L03254
Section 3.6 seems to be relevant, but I haven't read the whole thing.

Note 5 referred to in section 3.6 for colourless lights says.
5/ A bulb is considered to be colourless if it does not appreciably alter the trichromatic coordinates of a luminous source having a colour temperature of 2,856K.

Alan.

[ACE]

Hi,
Just a stab in the dark ...
Are all of your lights/globes original spec, or are some after market replacements?
And if they are not to spec, it may explain why your computer is uncomfortable with the arrangement too.
Good luck.

[colcol]

I have a 156 JTS and i changed a few globes to L.E.D.'s and i got error messages, so i changed back to standard globes and the error messages went away, the system senses a certain current drain, and if its not enough, the computer thinks, not enough and you get blown globe message, too much drain and the computer thinks there is a short, do not put too high wattage globe in, as the extra heat can discolor reflectors and lens, then you are up for a new headlight, the 'K' rating on globes is a 'KELVIN' which is a unit off brightness, Colin.

[Choogz]

Hi,
Just a stab in the dark ...
Are all of your lights/globes original spec, or are some after market replacements?
And if they are not to spec, it may explain why your computer is uncomfortable with the arrangement too.
Good luck.

I wouldn't know personally, I just bought it off a private seller in December all I know is the message is starting to get really annoying and I don't fancy paying a auto electrician $300+ to change bulbs.. 

[colcol]

Have a look in your owners manual and it should tell how to change the bulbs, and what bulbs to use, when you find out, go to Repco and buy some standard bulbs and put them back in and see if you loose the error messages, the only hard thing about changing the bulbs is you need extremely small girly hands to get into all the tight spots, Colin.

[Neil Choi]

Can't exactly remember, but go and try changing the parking light globes in your 147 GTA, it involves the removal of the bumper. 

Correct me if I am wrong, others might have perfected the technique with special tools. 

[shiny_car]

Yes, (147GTA/156GTA/GT) V6 + HID/xenon headlight assemblies = bumper-off job to unbolt the assemblies from the car. First time you do it, allow a couple hours to remove/refit and complete the job. Once you've done it a couple times, it only takes 10 min to take the bumper off.

I wrote a guide: www.ausalfa.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=938 (if you spend a little more time to jack the car, put on axle stands, remove the front wheels, then remove the front wheel arch liners, it will be easier to access the bumper bolts)

You'll see that early on, I change my parking lights to blue-tinted versions. But I later changed to LEDs.

The front parking lights are a BAX9S fitment, H6W (details in the link above). You can replace these with LEDs, but you need 'CANBUS' compatible versions. You can purchase off ebay for example, so do a search for 'h6w canbus' and you should get results. These will mean no errors.

The factory xenons are 4300K colour. My GT foglights have Philips Diamond Vision globes, highbeams are Crystal Vision (very rarely use highbeams).

Parking/sidelights:


Foglights:


With lowbeam HIDs:


I am unaware of ADR issues, so long as the light is 'not too blue' or 'not too yellow'; 99.99% of the time, I think this will be up to the discretion of the 'Officer'. I expect no issues with Roadworthy Certificates and QLD equivalent.