Hello!
I'm new to this forum and new to Freelander 2 I have this car from 2 weeks now. I took a sh and it have 56.000 km, looking great, the S TD4 version.
What I noticed is that the xenon headlights do not adapt, they are always lying on the horizontal. As far as I know the beams should get up and down , to adapt and then remain there on the horizontal. in my case they start illuminating directly on the horizontal, like a normal headlight.
The guy whom I bought the car, told me he changed a light bulb at a time and since then the xenon lights start on horizontal, so they don't adapt.
I wasn't bothered when I got the car, but now I think is not ok . I think it might damage the bulbs somehow, and on the oter hand the adaptive system can help me a lot.

What do you think? Can I check somehow that bulbs was changed properly?

Looking fw for your answer.
10x

bucuresti77
We had lots of trouble with the AFS Xenon Headlights on my lady's (FL2 MY2010)

Firstly are you sure your FL2 is fitted with the AFS system To check this you can put the car's VIN number into LR's "Topix" web site and that will list your car's full equipment specification when it left the factory

-o0o-

1: I see from your posting that you have not stated that the AFS warning indicator has illuminated - have you see this amber warning light come on in the instrument panel? If yes please ignore my next comment and proceed to item3.

2: You should be aware that the AFS is automatically deactivated when: a) the car is stationary, b) travelling at less than 20kms per hour c) reverse gear is selected and d) if running on side lights only (in some Owner's Manuals this is referred to as "daylight running" lights)

-o0o-
Okay on to what should be happening if your car is fitted with AFS Xenon Headlights

3: Unless you have someone to help to switch the car's headlights on whilst you look at the headlight units you'll need to park your FL2 facing a very large plate glass window. When the AFS headlights are switch on (do this without the engine running) you will see two things happen very rapidly. Firstly the xenon gas igniting i.e lights on and almost simultaneously - so fast you can miss it - the headlight will orientate i.e flick rapidly on the four points of the compass N-S-E-W to settle on its "dead centre". If they do not do this they will not adapt when cornering - and - a fault will be registered in the ECU and you'll get the amber AFS warning light illuminated on the car's instrument panel.

4: Now the cause of the failure can be either software or hardware (or both). In our case a number of official LR dealers looked into our failures - 5 in 20mths. None provided a lasting solution - we had a number of software updates and also repositioning of the whole headlight units as fitted into the bumper housing. All failed.

It was not until we decided to replace what my good lady called the "bullish" front bumper with the latest style (MY2011 onwards) "feline" bumper that the cause of our problem was discovered. During the removal of the MY2010 bumper the garage discovered that the black plastic base plate that the headlight unit secures onto was not properly secured to the bumper/wing structure. The plastic lugs which are used in combination with the bolts therein were totally broken i.e the base plate had free movement and was only held down by the weight of the headlamp unit, and that, by its own top two securing bolts.

However slight this movement was whilst the FL2 was being driven, meant that the AFS could not maintain its "dead centre" orientation. Once these broken plates were replaced (Sept'11) we have never had the problem (AFS amber alarm) reoccur.

-o0o-

Your fault may not be the same as ours, but to start off your problem solving take a look at these black plastic base plate locking lugs. I hope that some of this information will help you identify what is or is not causing your own problem and I wish you every success in finding a solution.

-o0o-
Finally, you should also be aware that the FL2's adaptive beam throw is not as distinct as you may expect. I've seen far better and sharper beam coverage from other manufacturers. Interestingly Jaguar's have a much better (improved safety) as I discovered on a test drive last autumn when selecting my next new car.

I believe that he doesn't talk about the AFS system and his horizontal movement.
He talks about the fact that the xenon lights doesn't move quicky up/down vertically immediately after start-up like on other car's systems and then adjust themselves to correct position.
On FL2 there is no movement up/down imediatelly after start.
They are slowly adjusting themselves after the first stop after the initial car's movement.

Hi, thanks for the quick reply.i've looked at topix and it says about my FL2 this:
Vehicle features
Drive:  4 WHL L/H FULL TIME DRIVE Transmission:  6 SPD MAN TRANS VOLVO M66 AWD CAB style:  5 DOOR Series:  DW12 2.2L DSL 5DR BASE Engine:  2.2L DOHC EFI TC I4 DSL
I don't know if my car is indeed equipped with AFS system.
Nothing appears on display pannel either (somme fault).
The prewious owner said to me that before he replaced a bulb on the lights (i gues that it wasn't the xenon bulb) the lights would do a movement (when lights on) from down to up, and then positioning themselves on the middle. Now the light makes no move whatsoever.
I previously have dad a BMW 120i which do the same thing with the beams. It hadn't got any xenon mounted. Only halogen lamps.


Thanks

alex_pescaru wrote:

On FL2 there is no movement up/down imediatelly after start.

Alex: Since they were fixed last September ours do - they dance a very fast perceptible N-S-E-W tango.

Nonetheless, despite your quote that they do not, I'm very happy that whatever ours are doing in there first moments of light they are now adaptive in the corner whereas before they consistently failed to do so. The mysteries of the FL2

Mine doesn't do the dance...
Just start in the last position they were turned off and then later slowly readjust, if needed.

What i'm talking about is auto-leveling as per this video ( from 00:02 to 00:05)
&sns=em
And also here:

Thanks

alex_pescaru wrote:

Mine doesn't do the dance...
Just start in the last position they were turned off and then later slowly readjust, if needed.

Unless of course Alex, you being very knowledgeable re the technicalities of the FL2 you have identified that her Ladyship's FL2 has developed yet another new fault: xenon light units that move vertically when they shouldn't - oh no

bucuresti77 wrote:

I don't know if my car is indeed equipped with AFS system.

When you are on the Topix page for your FL2 it will list initially only the major overview for your car under the headline "Vehicle Features". If you look very carefully in that panel on the left hand side at the bottom you will see in very small print the word: "more".

Click on that and it will display your FL2's entire build components - and it is in there that it will list the headlights that were built into your FL2 on the production line.

Finally, "self levelling" is an entirely separate subject to AFS (adaptive xenons) - have fun

athelstan wrote:

bucuresti77 wrote:

I don't know if my car is indeed equipped with AFS system.

When you are on the Topix page for your FL2 it will list initially only the major overview for your car under the headline "Vehicle Features". If you look very carefully in that panel on the left hand side at the bottom you will see in very small print the word: "more".

Click on that and it will display your FL2's entire build components - and it is in there that it will list the headlights that were built into your FL2 on the production line.

Finally, "self levelling" is an entirely separate subject to AFS (adaptive xenons) - have fun

athelstan forgot to mention that you have to pay a small fee in order to access all the needed informations...

alex_pescaru wrote:

athelstan forgot to mention that you have to pay a small fee in order to access all the needed informations...

Strange that Alex
I don't pay any fees to Topix, but, I have registered as a user, so perhaps bucuresti77 needs to register

bucuresti77 wrote:

Thanks but I don't find the "more" word. I can find it in a specific tab like ovner/vehicle? I use safari and firefox web browsers on my macbook machine. thanks [/img]

bucuresti77
I use an iBook and her Ladyship has a MacBook Air - both when running Safari have no problems accessing the extended i.e. "more" data re the Vehicles Features.

As per my reply above to Alex - maybe you need to register first with Topix. Registering is FREE

You're right, my mistake....
You need to register first and later, if you need any documentation, you'll need to pay.
And yes, the registration is free.

bucuresti77 wrote:

I don't know if my car is indeed equipped with AFS system.

If you're "not sure" PM me your vin number (or post it here it's hardly private it's on your car windscreen!)and I'll check it out for you. (free of any charge!) If it was factory fitted it will be clearly listed. Mine came with them fitted I beleive it's about £1000 exra but well worth it if you are lucky enough to have them...
My cars lights don't seem jo jump about and its a similar age to yours (2007)  57 HSE AUTO with H.I.D's - Grey with Black leather. (H.S.E. Heightadjustable Seats Extra )
My Aviation website - UKHelicopterPilot.com