D Special headlight assembly

ajaxvte

ajaxvte

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Fellow Frogger
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Aug 3, 2011
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Melbourne
I have been adjusting the headlight set up on the D Special (and yes, have consulted the 814 manual op 540 pp393-400).

So far so good. All appears to be in place, with one exception. I can't figure out how the small rod (that connects the cross section bar/lever to the main headlight) attaches to the headlight housing. The end of the rod is like a rivet, and is not threaded. I had figured that it was a simple "pop on/press in" mechanism, but it keeps coming loose. As a result the headlight assembly swings up and down, against the movement of the car...

There doesn't appear to be any diagram or cross section which explains it. I am sure it is very straightforward (which makes it all the more frustrating), but I can't for the life. Maybe a plastic clip has worn or perished (or gone missing)?? Can anyone advise....?

AM
 
If I understand correctly, the adjusting rod that is threaded screws through the rubber sleeve on the ends of the 'balance bar headlight to headlight. The rod has a nipple end that presses into a smaller rubber 'cup' that is on the outer edge of the headlight. Assuming you have the Amplilux headlights and not changed for after market units without the adjusting 'cups'. if the rubber cups on the headlight have failed (quite likely after 40years) you may have to fabricate replacements or find headlights with usable rubber cups.
 
Ok. Yes you do understand correctly. The rod does have a nipple end. The car is very original so I assume it is the ampilux headlights. And the rubber cup seems to be missing. Hmmm. Many thanks, i will rack my brains for a bit...
 
ajaxvte said:
Ok. Yes you do understand correctly. The rod does have a nipple end. The car is very original so I assume it is the ampilux headlights. And the rubber cup seems to be missing. Hmmm. Many thanks, i will rack my brains for a bit...
Click to expand...

The clip at the headlight is nylon not rubber. The clip fit is quite tight, are you sure the adjuster is actually clicking home?
If the nylon is missing or badly worn, I may have a few I can mail to you.

Cheers
Chris
 
Nothing worse than when your nipples won't click into their clips and you end up with your headlights pointing up and/or down when you least expect them to.
 
Is it worse in winter UFO?

Yes, should snap in with a firm push. It operates like a ball joint as the crossbar moves it fore and aft. Does the long cable from the rear axle still move when the rear suspension is moved? If the damping device is untouched original, it may need repair, which involves cleaning and replacing two rubber diaphragms, same as used in a height corrector.
 
UFO said:
Nothing worse than when your nipples won't click into their clips and you end up with your headlights pointing up and/or down when you least expect them to.
Click to expand...

That sounds more like a quandary for Dr. Ruth than for this board, Craig. I personally know nothing of clicking nipples.
 
UFO said:
Nothing worse than when your nipples won't click into their clips and you end up with your headlights pointing up and/or down when you least expect them to.
Click to expand...

I have it on good authority that 'cracked' nipples getting caught in clips is agony.:cry: Best proceed carefully.
 
ScotFrog said:
I have it on good authority that 'cracked' nipples getting caught in clips is agony.:cry: Best proceed carefully.
Click to expand...

Hey now. Don't be judgmental. Some pay extra for that. :blush:

Oh, errrr, ummmmm, that wasn't what you meant? Awwww jeeze, ok. Move along you lot. Nothing to see here. :rolleyes::doh:
 
Had the same problem with my D lights recently. The nylon cups are available from roger parker at oleopneumatics


Via the aussiefrogs App
 
Don B. Cilly said:
Ok, would anyone know where to get those nylon thingies in, say, Europe?
If it's these, Franzosen et al want €10 a pop for them.
Which is obviously not acceptable.
Thinking I might need 6 or 8...

https://www.franzose.de/en/Citroen-DS-11CV-HY/DS/Scheinwerfer-Zubehoer-Halterungen/ANR35469/
Click to expand...

That looks like the nylon bearing for the headlight tilt, if so, you would only need 2 one each left and right for the light bar where it fits through the guard. Part#15 in the illustration

51601d1389064062-ds-front-guard-headlight-bucket-reassembly-self-levellig-device.jpg


Do you mean the small nylon clips that fit on the headlight for fixing and adjustment screws?

Cheers
Chris
 
GreenBlood said:
Do you mean the small nylon clips that fit on the headlight for fixing and adjustment screws?
Click to expand...

Yes! Where are they? To buy I mean.
Those threaded rods have a nipple thing on the end.
Supposed to go into something.
They go into an assortment of duct tape, rubber tape, silicone, foam and glue stuffed into the fittings on the headlight frames - none of which work too well at all.

I wouldn't mind getting some proper fittings.
 
This is a piece I recovered.
It seems to click onto the nipple, but must be missing a bit on the other side as it does not click onto the frame.

clip_zpsu0kl3jwv.jpg
 
He really doesn't seem to have any of those.
Which is interesting, because neither do Citrotech, Citroworld, Citroservices, Franzose, Beeblebrox Spares or Hollywood Props.

Which is even more interesting, because if you 3-D scanned one of those, you could 3-D print them out at 10 per second, at 10 cents a pop.

Which is even more and more interesting, because, judging from the state in which I found all of those that were on Sophie, one starts to think that there may not be a single one in the galactic sector in good enough shape to be 3-D scanned.

Which is puzzling, because if there aren't any left in ZZ9-Plural-Z-Alpha, how do people in this sector keep their D headlights pointing at the road?

Can you guess how long it takes to ship from Betelgeuse?

:cry:
 
Don B. Cilly said:
He really doesn't seem to have any of those.
Which is interesting, because neither do Citrotech, Citroworld, Citroservices, Franzose, Beeblebrox Spares or Hollywood Props.

Which is even more interesting, because if you 3-D scanned one of those, you could 3-D print them out at 10 per second, at 10 cents a pop.

Which is even more and more interesting, because, judging from the state in which I found all of those that were on Sophie, one starts to think that there may not be a single one in the galactic sector in good enough shape to be 3-D scanned.

Which is puzzling, because if there aren't any left in ZZ9-Plural-Z-Alpha, how do people in this sector keep their D headlights pointing at the road?

Can you guess how long it takes to ship from Betelgeuse?

:cry:
Click to expand...

I think those pieces are nylon. So far I haven't found anyone that can do nylon in 3D- yet.

One other place that I just thought of would be Citroen Classics in England (Darren Brownhill). You'll need to enquire 'cause he doesn't put up any more than a representative sample of wares on his site. He's pretty fast on response.

Betelgeuse is probably fairly quick with shipping if only you will invoke his name 3 times in succession. Bet that the charges aren't just outrageous, they're a nightmare.
 
Actually nylon is one of the most commonly used 3D-printing materials.
Cheap too. :2cents:
https://www.3dhubs.com/san-diego ;·)
If you click Nylon under "Which material should I use?" you should find quite a few.
I can also find a lot of 3D scanning services there.
Have you got one to scan? :tongue:

That Citroen Classics site looks good. Again those bits don't seem to be in the catalog, but I'll ask. Thanks.
Pity about the eur-gbp exchange rate at the moment...
 
I guess I'm only joking up to a point.
Because... I haven't got one of those in decent condition, but if anyone got around to actually having one scanned, and uploaded the .stl file, we could all have them printed cheap.

I mean, well, they do seem to fail a lot, and you can't friqqin' find them...
 
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