Antipollution fault ?

[Agile]

My petrol 1974cc Peugeot 307cc 2004 year goes through long cycles of showing an antipollution fault.

Typically fault on for about seven weeks and then off for five weeks.

Can anyone suggest what might be causing the fault to be displayed and then to disappear?

There is no obvious change to the engine performance between either condition!

 

[Burnerman]

This often happens when the catalytic converter is getting unhappy......the fault clears after a good hot run but often comes back in time.
Make sure the lamp is off at MOT time!
John

 

[Agile]

The "off" condition occurred a few days before I needed to take it for an MOT.

So how to make my cat happy?

The off condition shows no obvious connection with long motorway journeys.

 

[Burnerman]

Keep the cat sweet by giving the car a good run as often as you can and it will look after itself.
John

 

[Avocet]

You really need to get a fault code reader plugged in and read the fault codes, so that you know which bit of the "anti pollution system" is being troublesome. Could be a lambda sensor too - or an airflow meter. There are various potions you can put in your fuel tank to clean cats, or various sprays to clean airflow meters (sometimes called "MAF"s). Maybe even try a few tankfuls of premium fuel that's supposed to "clean your engine"? When did it last have a set of plugs?

 

[Agile]

Like most of the Peugeots of similar years the headlights are not at all bright.

The low and high bulbs are all 55W halogen bulbs.

There are some 100W LED bulbs being sold from China but they do not get very good reviews.

But if I did try some would I be risking any damage to the wiring? Or could I assume that it could handle 9 Amps?

Any comments?

 

[flameport]

There are some 100W LED bulbs being sold from China

They will not be 100W or anything like it.
100W equivalent perhaps, meaning they are probably around 20W or so.
Or more likely it's just a nonsense claim, and the actual wattage and light output could be literally anything.

In any case they will probably be unsuitable for use in enclosures designed for halogen lamps, and result in the typical blare-o-light effect where their only purpose is to blind other drivers.

 

[norseman]

They will not be 100W or anything like it.
100W equivalent perhaps, meaning they are probably around 20W or so.
Or more likely it's just a nonsense claim, and the actual wattage and light output could be literally anything.

In any case they will probably be unsuitable for use in enclosures designed for halogen lamps, and result in the typical blare-o-light effect where their only purpose is to blind other drivers.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but does your advice extend to any uprated bulbs, inc. those from outlets such as Halfords?
My old 5 series has pretty poor dip beams, typical of 'nineties cars.
I was planning to go for the lower of 3 alternative products, listed as + 100% (there are +150 & 200) as I suspect too much extra brightness could result in unwanted heat generation & reduced bulb life.

 

[carmanmemoranda]

Like most of the Peugeots of similar years the headlights are not at all bright.

The low and high bulbs are all 55W halogen bulbs.

There are some 100W LED bulbs being sold from China but they do not get very good reviews.

But if I did try some would I be risking any damage to the wiring? Or could I assume that it could handle 9 Amps?

Any comments?

Be careful with led replacements.

Highly likely to give an incorrect beam pattern if the headlamp and reflector is not designed for them

 

[carmanmemoranda]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but does your advice extend to any uprated bulbs, inc. those from outlets such as Halfords?
My old 5 series has pretty poor dip beams, typical of 'nineties cars.
I was planning to go for the lower of 3 alternative products, listed as + 100% (there are +150 & 200) as I suspect too much extra brightness could result in unwanted heat generation & reduced bulb life.

Stick to well known brands like osram, Philips, even Halfords own brand.

For the same wattage but different gases, eg xenon instead of halogen, brighter outputs are available.

The downside is that they often don't last as long.

Changing 55w to 100w for example may affect the wiring, connectors and is likely to affect perspex type headlamp "glass"

 

[norseman]

Stick to well known brands like osram, Philips, even Halfords own brand.

For the same wattage but different gases, eg xenon instead of halogen, brighter outputs are available.

The downside is that they often don't last as long.

Changing 55w to 100w for example may affect the wiring, connectors and is likely to affect perspex type headlamp "glass"

Many thanks for the advice, in the case of Halfords their product statement reads 'HB4 9006 100% increase in light output' listed as suitable for my car (early '98 523i) but I can't see the wattage on the box .. originals are 55W.

 

[carmanmemoranda]

Many thanks for the advice, in the case of Halfords their product statement reads 'HB4 9006 100% increase in light output' listed as suitable for my car (early '98 523i) but I can't see the wattage on the box .. originals are 55W.

I don't know the answer but would expect it to be 55w still.

I wouldn't recommend changing the wattage so ask, check with them 1st.

Look at Philips or osram equivalents too

 

[Avocet]

Many thanks for the advice, in the case of Halfords their product statement reads 'HB4 9006 100% increase in light output' listed as suitable for my car (early '98 523i) but I can't see the wattage on the box .. originals are 55W.

Don't get too excited about percentage increase in brightness claims. To the eye, they don't look "twice" as bright!

I use Osram "Nightbreakers" in my old Alfa:

Discover the new NIGHT BREAKER headlight bulbs | OSRAM Automotive

With the new NIGHT BREAKER headlight bulbs for xenon and halogen you get the most powerful car lights from OSRAM. Discover the new family now!

www.osram.com

Philips "X-treme" are also good:

X-tremeVision Pro150 | Philips

Combining striking brightness with the kind of lifespan previously unavailble in such a high-performance bulb, Philips X-tremeVision Pro150 provides the visibility to keep you and your loved ones even safer on the road.

www.philips.co.uk

Both will be road legal.

I imagine anything sold by somewhere like Halfords would be legal too. Look for an approval marking on the bulb - a capital "E" in a circle followed by some numbers. Beware though, if it's something like E8 10R XXXX then that's an approval number for electromagnetic compatibility, but nothing to do with an approval number for being a light bulb.

Note the smallprint though. They'll be 150 or 200% brighter than the legal minimum that the regulation prescribes, NOT 150 or 200% brighter than whatever bulb is already in there! The reality, is that pretty much all headlight bulbs these days, massively exceed the legal minimum.

As has been said, they tend to achieve this by running a thinner filament much hotter, so they don't always last as long - depending on how good the cooling in that particular design of headlight is.

Steer clear of the LED replacements. The reflector will be designed to collect light from a point in space (the centre of the filament) and focus it in a particular direction. As soon as you move that point, (even a few millimetres), it will scatter all over the place and dazzle people. LED "bulb" replacements, usually have an array of LEDs all over them, so that pretty much guarantees that most of the LEDs will NOT be in the right position relative to the reflector!

Having said all that, my Osrams do give a 'noticeable' (if not 'staggering') improvement over an ordinary "cheap" headlight bulb.

 

[norseman]

Don't get too excited about percentage increase in brightness claims. To the eye, they don't look "twice" as bright!

I use Osram "Nightbreakers" in my old Alfa:

Discover the new NIGHT BREAKER headlight bulbs | OSRAM Automotive

With the new NIGHT BREAKER headlight bulbs for xenon and halogen you get the most powerful car lights from OSRAM. Discover the new family now!

www.osram.com

Philips "X-treme" are also good:

X-tremeVision Pro150 | Philips

Combining striking brightness with the kind of lifespan previously unavailble in such a high-performance bulb, Philips X-tremeVision Pro150 provides the visibility to keep you and your loved ones even safer on the road.

www.philips.co.uk

Both will be road legal.
Steer clear of the LED replacements. The reflector will be designed to collect light from a point in space (the centre of the filament) and focus it in a particular direction. As soon as you move that point, (even a few millimetres), it will scatter all over the place and dazzle people. LED "bulb" replacements, usually have an array of LEDs all over them, so that pretty much guarantees that most of the LEDs will NOT be in the right position relative to the reflector!

Having said all that, my Osrams do give a 'noticeable' (if not 'staggering') improvement over an ordinary "cheap" headlight bulb.

Very informative & greatly appreciated.
My current dip beams, bearing in mind the bulbs are probably old, lack efficiency to the point where the use of the fog-lights in conjunction with the dips is desirable on unlit roads.

Full beams on the other hand are pretty good, great on country lanes, but how often can you use them these days

 

[Avocet]

Very informative & greatly appreciated.
My current dip beams, bearing in mind the bulbs are probably old, lack efficiency to the point where the use of the fog-lights in conjunction with the dips is desirable on unlit roads.

Full beams on the other hand are pretty good, great on country lanes, but how often can you use them these days

Ah... well... living in rural Cumbria, I do tend to use main beam for a far bit of time, to be honest. The last thing you want, is a big stag on your bonnet!