This afternoon I changed a blown sidelight bulb on my old but still surprisingly tidy 98 Elite 3.0 manual and noticed that the internal lamp lens (on the nearside) was rather loose which I would assume means that the adjuster arm has broken. Am I correct in thinking that to remove the lamp assembly due to the large charging unit on the back for the HID the front bumper has to come off. I am aware that a repair is possible with an aluminium part but wondering if it was easier simply to source a replacement unit. Failing that given that I'm not overly impressed with the HID's anyway would it be possible to fit cheaper but more reliable halogen units and junk the complete gubbins that the Xenons require.  >:(

markrl wrote on 13. Jan 2011 at 21:43:

This afternoon I changed a blown sidelight bulb on my old but still surprisingly tidy 98 Elite 3.0 manual and noticed that the internal lamp lens (on the nearside) was rather loose which I would assume means that the adjuster arm has broken. Am I correct in thinking that to remove the lamp assembly due to the large charging unit on the back for the HID the front bumper has to come off. I am aware that a repair is possible with an aluminium part but wondering if it was easier simply to source a replacement unit. Failing that given that I'm not overly impressed with the HID's anyway would it be possible to fit cheaper but more reliable halogen units and junk the complete gubbins that the Xenons require.  >:(

Yes! Your adjusters are goosed. And yes, your bumper needs removing to remove the headlights.
If you think your HIDs are crap, you'll be very disappointed with ordinary 'reliable headlights', it's probably cos your lights are pointing to the floor. Sort your adjuster, aim them correctly & I'm sure  you'll see the difference. :y :y :y

Thanks for the reply Andy you have just confirmed what I already know if the Xenons are to stay I will need to source a replacement unit. Its only the nearside thats knackered (at the moment) I assuume it fell victim to the recent cold weather. I have to say I've never been that impressed with these lights even when they were working and I've had the car 9 years. I always thought the conventional lights on my previous Senator where much better the built in driving lights were excellent. I also hate the plastic lenses they have now. Thanks again for the advice.    

Daft question .. but do you keep the headlights nice and clean ??

And I'm assuming you have HID's and not just projectors with "normal" xenon bulbs

The way HID's produce the light makes them very susceptible to "scatter" if the lenses are dirty .. one of the reasons that headlight washers are mandatory for factory fit HID's.

I know several folks who don't fully use headlight washers as it means topping the tank up more often ... then complain about poor lights !!! One thing I do annually is to give the lights a good polish with brasso (T-cut works as well) to remove all crud ....  does make a difference .. IMHO .. :)

markrl wrote on 13. Jan 2011 at 22:29:

Thanks for the reply Andy you have just confirmed what I already know if the Xenons are to stay I will need to source a replacement unit. Its only the nearside thats knackered (at the moment) I assuume it fell victim to the recent cold weather. I have to say I've never been that impressed with these lights even when they were working and I've had the car 9 years. I always thought the conventional lights on my previous Senator where much better the built in driving lights were excellent. I also hate the plastic lenses they have now. Thanks again for the advice.

Any replacement light unit will at best be as old as yours. These adjusters get very brittle and even if OK when posted don't always survive being posted. Ally adjusters are the way to go.
I had a couple of Senators over nearly 10 yrs so know what the light output is like from them, & I had 85/100Watt bulbs in them .... they were that good as standard  ;). Of all the comparisons with the two cars, the HIDs of the Omega IMO beat Senator's hands down. Unless your lights are very yellow'ed (which I doubt a 98 would be) I'm at a loss at to what problem you might have.  :-/ :-/