LED Headlight bulbs and driving abroad

[aandncaravan]

This is a part continuation of this thread, but with a interesting development that I though may warrant it's own heading?

http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/21w-Flourescent-modified-to-2w-LED-1-50-How-to/45945/

 

 

I have bought some LED Head light bulbs to replace the Halogen bulbs in my car which are quite poor.

 

However, the prime driver was the need to find a suitable replacement for the Citroen H vans, (1947 - 1981) very poor 35w Tungsten bulbs which are not only poor light quality, but more often than not, are made for the Continents right hand lane drive system.

 

These are the third set of LED bulbs I have bought, the first two being totally unsuitable or legal on UK roads, and while out of the box these are also illegal, they look like they might be made to work.

 

These latest ones have an adjustment that allows the Headlight beam to 'kick-up' to either UK Left hand lane driving or Continental Right hand lane driving. This allows the manufacturer to produce one bulb for both Left or Right side of the road driving.

 

This may be a useful feature that might also allow a UK Motorhome lens to be better set-up for driving abroad, and may mean a Continental Left Hooker might be able to be converted for UK MOT's without changing the Lens, just the Bulb.

 

I am no expert on this subject, so some of what I believe below may be wrong. It is also quite complex to explain so if someone does either understand the subject better or can it explain it better, I would welcome the help.

 

 

How a bulb 'sits' in a lens :

 

Until we started playing with Citroen H vans in 2012 I had always believed that how a bulb was located in a lens was the same in both right hand lane driving and left hand lane driving.

But it isn't.

 

The lens has the '3 pronged' slots cut in different ways to either kick up the beam where it illuminates the kerb, which can be a little higher as it is facing away from oncoming traffic.

Obviously on a French road applicable Lens, the slots are cut to kick up slightly on the right and down on the left.

 

See the photo below of UK and Continental beam patterns.

 

 

I had previously believed this was done solely by the pattern of 'ribs' in the Lens Glass.

 

The Citroen H van has a simple round Headlight and the lens pattern varies, but is more often than not symmetrical. That is, it appears to be made for both Left and right hand lane driving.

 

However, the bulb light pattern is not flat when used on the Continent, but the bulb is held at an angle that causes the beam to 'Kick-up' to the right, directly creating Glare for on coming traffic when driven in the UK.

 

On the Citroen H van, the lens itself, as they come out of the factory but not always in the 'after market' items, has a small mechanism where you can rotate the bulb down on the right and up on the left to make them pass a UK MOT Beam test.

 

 

The new LED bulbs I have just bought have a screw adjustment allowing the bulb pattern to be altered in the same way, regardless of the lens in which they sit, allowing a UK lens to 'kick up' on the Right, like in France.

Obviously the complexity of the Lens Pattern of ribs will have a bearing on exactly how effective the end result is, but it should be better than just the usual Black tape 'Beam bender'?

 

 

They will most probably also allow a French Lens to pass a UK MOT lens test, when adjusted correctly?

 

 

Now back to my new bulbs. They are set-up for Continental driving in the right hand lane so would fail a UK MOT. I assume that this is because their biggest market is currently the US and mainland Europe so that is what the factory set them up for?

So a warning that if you buy any Chinese LEDs Head light H4 bulbs, you may need to adjust them to prevent dazzling drivers? Please check.

 

 

When I get around to fitting them I will evaluate this further and assess if they are as bright as claimed, easy to fit, etc.

 

 

[Derek Uzzell]

aandncaravan - 2016-12-29 10:32 PM

 

...Now back to my new bulbs. They are set-up for Continental driving in the right hand lane so would fail a UK MOT. I assume that this is because their biggest market is currently the US and mainland Europe so that is what the factory set them up for?...

 

 

UK-registered motorhomes with headlamps that dip to the right and have a dipped-beam pattern that ‘kicks up’ on its right-hand side will not necessarily fail the UK’s MOT test because of this. Section 1.8 (Headlamp Aim) of the MOT manual

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/518634/mot-inspection-manual-for-class-3-4-5-and-7-vehicles.pdf

 

states that

 

"Masks or converter kits may be fitted to right hand dip headlamps to temporarily alter the lamp for use in the UK by removing the beam ‘kick-up’ to the right.”

 

(Obviously, if masks or converters are NOT fitted when the vehicle is MOT tested, failure should result. I’m just highlighting that the MOT-test regulations allow a pass if masks/converters ARE fitted.)

 

Historically, most headlamps had their dipped-beam's shape produced by a pattern embossed into the headlamp’s glass/plastic front and it was easy to recognise left-dipping or right-dipping headlamp-units by their frontal embossing. Nowadays the clear front of a headlamp is merely there for weather protection and the dipped-beam pattern is produced by other means. This Wikipedia entry refers

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlamp

 

My Skoda car and Ducato X290 motorhome both use single-filament H7 halogen bulbs in their UK-standard left-dipping headamps.

 

The Skoda's headlamp has a single H7 bulb for main and dipped beams, with dipping via an internal mechanical shield that modifies the main-beam pattern. The dipped-beam pattern can be altered for ‘right hand traffic’ driving by manually moving a lever within the headlamp-unit, changing how the bulb is shielded and suppressing the left-hand-side kick-up.

 

The Ducato X290 headlamp-unit has dedicated main-beam and dipped-beam sections, with an H7 bulb in each. The left-dipping/left-side kick-up dipped-beam pattern is produced by the reflector behind the bulb and right-dipping/right-side kick-up X290 headlamps have a differently-shaped reflector. I don’t know if it’s possible to obtain an LED H7 bulb that has the type of screw adjustment your H4 bulbs have, but as an X290 headlamp’s dipped-beam reflector is doing all the ‘work’ to produce the appropriate beam pattern (and the H7 bulb is single-filament) I’m doubtful that bulb ‘tweaking' would be effective.

 

These YouTube clips relate to LED H7 bulb installations

 

 

[Charles]

If I'm still driving after dark abroad I just lower the headlamp height to 2 or 3 setting. Saves faffing about with anything else and doesn't dazzle oncoming traffic. I'm sure the French and Spanish police have got bigger fish to fry these days than a Motorhome headlamp unit that is technically illegal but not bothering anybody...

Now I've said that I'll probably get fined lol.

[aandncaravan]

Derek, I have not changed a Headlight bulb on a vehicle other than a Ford Transit or Citroen H van for years and thought they were all still primarily H4 bulbs. I did say I wasn't an expert on bulbs!!.

 

Not much point in continuing the thread then.

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

 

 

 

[Derek Uzzell]

Vehicle ‘headlamp’ bulb types are listed below

 

H1

H3

H4

H7

H11

HB3/9005

HB4/9006

H3C

H8

H9

H12

H13

H15

HB1/9004

HB5/9007

 

However, I’ve no idea how ‘popular' each type is.

 

The headlamps of my 1996 and 2005 Ford Transits had a single H4 bulb, but the current Transit Mk 8 headlamp normally has a single-filament 55W H7 bulb for low (ie. dipped) beam and a twin-filament 55/15W H15 bulb for high beam and DRL (daytime running light).

 

Received wisdom seems to be that replacing halogen headlamp bulbs with LED bulbs would be illegal in the UK. The arguments are stated here

 

http://greyhead.co.uk/are-aftermarket-hid-lights-legal-in-the-uk

 

This 2014 discussion about headlanp ‘upgrading’ may be of interest.

 

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1465036

[Agaric]

 

It's one of the plus points of owning an A class, the headlights are legal in the UK and on the continent, you just have to swivel the bulb housing around, only takes a few minutes.

 

I can see the need for better lighting on these old vehicles as sometimes over in France I could swear I've seen the flicker of a candle behind the headlight prism.

[Derek Uzzell]

Agaric

 

Altering the dipped-beam pattern’s shape will only be practicable if the headlamp-units that the manufacturer of the A-Class motorhome has chosen to fit have that capability.

 

Historically, most (though certainly not all) A-Class designs had Hella-branded headlamps that permitted the type of ’tweaking’ you’ve mentioned. However, some A-Class builders now use standard Fiat Ducato lights and these cannot be adjusted to alter the shape of the dipped-beam pattern. The 2017 Pilote Galaxy is an example of this practice.

 

[lennyhb]

I thought if you fit after market LED headlamp bulbs the same conditions applied as to HID bulbs.

I.e. You must have self leveling suspension and headlamp washers to make them legal.

[Derek Uzzell]

The link I provided above

 

http://greyhead.co.uk/are-aftermarket-hid-lights-legal-in-the-uk#h.wh6hdt6rrs6i

 

advises that

 

"EU law says that HID headlights which emit more than 2,000 lumens of light, and all LED headlights, must be fitted with washers and self-levelling.”

 

I don’t know if this is correct, but the requirement stated is not that the vehicle must have self-levelling suspension, but that the headlights themselves must have a self-levelling capability.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=auto+levelling+headlamps

[aandncaravan]

The 'law' does not require Self levelling suspension or even the self levelling Headlights that are often incorrectly quoted as being essential.

HID/LED headlights over 2,000 lumens DO need to have some form of adjustment, but it can be manual adjustment.

 

The law states :

"Devices which are adjusted manually, either continuously or non-continuously, shall be permitted, provided they have a stop position at which the lamps can be returned to the initial inclination defined in paragraph 6.2.6.1.1. by means of the usual adjusting screws or similar means. These manually adjustable devices shall be operable from the driver's seat".

 

 

The problem I was trying to address is that the Citroen H van has 35watt Tungsten bulbs. Not Halogen, but 1950's Tungsten. These give less than 20% of the light of a 50w Halogen.

Driving at night is really hazardous.

 

You can't fit Halogens to the Citroen H because the wiring/switches/connectors, even when new let alone at 60 years of age, won't take the current. Even if it did, a Dynamo with 25amps peak output isn't going to put back the charge taken out. The Dynamo barely charges the battery when you don't use the lights. You need to be drawing less power, not more.

 

LED's with a 20watt rating but decent light output would add a huge level of safety, as well as reducing the electrical load on the wiring/dynamo/battery.

 

 

My own car is road legal to fit with LED bulbs and Simon has confirmed on his MOT Light Box that the beam pattern is identical to a Halogen equipped vehicle. We initially changed just one bulb for LED to compare new with old. Simon noticed that the LED equipped headlamp Glass stayed cool, but the Halogen Glass lens felt quite warm when you touched the Glass.

 

 

Current consumption per bulb dropped from 4.1amps to 1.5amp, or for a pair of bulbs just 3 amps down from 8.2 amps.

The light output is more than double the previous Halogen bulbs, probably closer to three times.

Whether it is more than 2,000 lumens I can't say and as there is no way of measuring it in Simon's MOT station (or any MOT station apparently?). The local Police have confirmed they have no way of measuring light output nor have any plans to acquire anything. So in effect the law quoting a specific light output is a bit of a ridiculous one.

 

 

I am really pleased with the bulbs I have fitted, the difference on the road is staggering. The light is so bright, but the beam cut off is sharper than with the Halogen bulbs.

No dazzle at all when my Wife drove the Car towards me while I drove her Suzuki or when driving behind me, confirming exactly what the MOT light box 'saw'.

The Colour of the light is more like daylight, and everything seems so much easier to see.

I think they are absolutely fantastic.

 

So they really work, are very safe, with low power consumption.

They would make a massive contribution to road safety for a classic VW Camper or an H van.

 

 

Just as LED bulbs have revolutionised our World from Street lights, to Kitchen lights, so they will do the same for the Auto World.

 

Well, maybe not if some get their way?

 

 

 

 

[joe66]

This thread is of interest to me. I have a 1996 reg LHD van with the original headlights ie continental beam. I have a load of old MOT tickets and none have adviceries or fails due to the 'wrong headlights'. When I took it for it's first MOT under my ownership it failed on the headlights then the inspector taped over the relevant part of the headlight and gave me a pass. If these bulbs can convert the beam angle to UK beam I would be very interested as it will save me buying UK spec headlights.

[aandncaravan]

joe66 - 2017-01-03 9:44 PM

 

This thread is of interest to me. I have a 1996 reg LHD van with the original headlights ie continental beam. I have a load of old MOT tickets and none have adviceries or fails due to the 'wrong headlights'. When I took it for it's first MOT under my ownership it failed on the headlights then the inspector taped over the relevant part of the headlight and gave me a pass. If these bulbs can convert the beam angle to UK beam I would be very interested as it will save me buying UK spec headlights.

 

 

Joe, If your van is of that age, then it is possible these might work for you. It is likely the reflector is a simpler H4 unit than new Fiats.

 

The bulbs I bought have an adjusting screw that allows you to rotate the Beam 'kick-up' from Right side to Left to match UK headlights, see image above.

 

As it states in Derek's Wiki link above it is not the Glass Lens pattern/marking that bends the beam, the bulb is 'rotated' to kick up to either left or right.

 

See the Wiki section on 'Optics', then the 'European System', which states :

 

"The bulb (H4) is rotated (or "clocked") within the headlamp to position the Graves Shield so as to allow light to strike a 15° wedge of the lower half of the reflector. This is used to create the upsweep or upstep characteristic of ECE low beam light distributions. The bulb's rotative position within the reflector depends on the type of beam pattern to be produced and the traffic directionality of the market for which the headlamp is intended".

 

This Bulb position is 'Cast' into the Headlight unit, so that a French version will have the bulb rotated more round to the left.

By loosening the Bulb adjuster and rotating the bulb the other way compensates.

 

 

If the MOT man just put tape on the Glass then he was most likely blocking the beam 'Kick-Up' to light up the Right hand Kerb, when you want to be lighting up the Left Hand kerb in the UK.

That suggests these new LED bulbs will work for you, but obviously I can't say they will or won't.

 

You just need to find some that are less than 2,000 lumens to stay within the law, although currently even lights brighter than 2.000 lumens will not fail an MOT as 'brightness' is not part of the test as no one has any means of measuring a bulbs brightness.

 

 

If you have a look at the bulbs I bought to help you choose your ones, then change just one for LED. Then put the Head lights 'on' against a Garage Door or wall so you can see the new/old beam pattern side by side and what you need to do to 'rotate' the bulbs in the opposite direction. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/192046215487?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

The bulbs are very easy to fit and set up. Not only will you no longer dazzle other drivers, but get better illumination of a UK kerb as well as really notice a huge difference in light output.

 

 

Before you start, have a look at a Motoring magazines 'expose' on just how rubbish many 'Approved' H4 Halogens bulbs are. Some surprising big names had issues with quality.

See this Autoexpress 'Bulb test' : http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/76760/best-car-headlight-bulbs-2016-group-test where they put various manufacturers H4 bulbs through a series of tests.

 

Some manufacturers bulbs were so bad in geometry and build quality they caused light scatter and dazzle. Almost all the manufacturers, even Bosch, had marked differences in quality between one bulb and another.

That is because the positioning of the filament and the reflector are absolutely crucial on an H4 bulb. When these are positioned on bits of bent wire inside a Glass cover, you can see why consistent quality might be hard to achieve. Something that LED construction can solve.

 

If you look at the construction of the LED bulbs I bought, see photo below, everything is more solid, so quality should be more consistent.

 

 

If you need any assistance, email me, happy to provide it for free.

 

 

 

 

[Bulletguy]

Charles - 2016-12-30 9:22 AM

 

I'm sure the French and Spanish police have got bigger fish to fry these days than a Motorhome headlamp unit that is technically illegal but not bothering anybody...

 

And UK.

 

For years every car i had i ran 100w halogens without any fuss or mither. A Mk1 Mini and Cooper S i used to have ran 100's in the headlight units plus a pair of Hella drive lights with 100's in.

 

 

Now I've said that I'll probably get fined lol.

 

You're more likely to get grief off the forum "police"! :D

[Derek Uzzell]

The attached photo is of a pair of right-dipping headlamp-units of the type I think would be fitted to a joe66’s LHD Fiat Ducato-based Benimar motorhome.

 

It will be apparent that there is a lot of ‘patterning’ on each light’s front and it’s this that controls the unit’s beam pattern: the equivalent left-dipping headlamp-unit for a RHD Ducato would have ‘mirror image’ patterning on the front. With this type of unit it’s normally straightforward to apply masks to suppress the kick-up as it’s visually apparent which area of the patterning is handling that.

 

I don’t know if the reflector and/or the orientation of the bulb-holder differ between right-dipping and left-dipping versions of this headlamp, so there will be an element of pot-luck as to whether a ‘twiddled’ LED bulb will be able to modify the beam-pattern of a right-dipping version of this headlamp-unit to produce a genuine UK-standard left-dipping/left kick-up pattern. I would have thought not, but the only way to find out would be to obtain the LED bulbs Allan has used and see what they do. Worth experimenting for a £25 outlay.

[euroserv]

Hello Campers,

 

These bulbs do look very interesting but i am a bit concerned about the length of the unit. I am pretty sure that the back of heat diffuser bit will come into contact with the rubber or plastic cover at the back of the lamp body and possibly melt it. Any damage to the rear cover will increase the likelihood of the lamp suffering with condensation, and as we all know, excess moisture causes the reflector to corrode and break up; particularly with older headlamp designs such as these.

 

I hope i am wrong about that, but it's my job to look for potential problems!

 

N

[aandncaravan]

Nick, I appreciate the input, you are correct in that the 'Cooling' bulbous end of the body does touch the rubber Boot, but the body of the bulb did not even get warm in 2 hours of driving yesterday. The bulbs running hot is something I have been concerned about so checked it when I got home yesterday from a long drive to a Motorhome breakdown on Anglesey, neither LED body was barely warm.

 

But remember that a Halogen bulb does get really, really hot. So hot you can feel the warmth through front head light lens itself and the metal rear 'connector' end is also too hot to touch, which I now know from experience!!.

 

When I first did a test I only changed one bulb, then went for a long drive, when I got back I then went to replace the other Halogen unit and burnt my fingers trying to remove the 3 pin connector at the back. I had to wait 20 mins before I could touch it to fit the second new LED.

 

The other LED bulb was barely warm at the 'connector' end but I didn't remove it to see how warm the 'light' end was, at the LED's themselves.

However, the fact that the Headlight Glass Lens got warm on the Halogens but stayed cool on the LED's, suggests that the Halogens run an awful lot hotter than the LED bulbs.

 

 

These LED bulbs, despite being so much brighter are only 20w versus 60w for the Halogens, so logic suggests they should be at least 3 times cooler running.

Because an LED converts more energy into Light, with less heat as a byproduct, I would expect the Heat output to be at least 6 times lower than a Halogen.

 

 

The one thing that might be an issue longer term is the lack of heat inside the Lens?.

I don't know, but is the high heat output from a Halogen bulb currently keeping the inside of the lens warm and maybe free of condensation?

Will a cool running LED have long term condensation issues because it is so much cooler?

 

Maybe I might need to switch back to a Halogen for a few days next Winter? We will see.

 

 

 

[Brian Kirby]

aandncaravan - 2017-01-03 11:17 PM..............................You just need to find some that are less than 2,000 lumens to stay within the law, although currently even lights brighter than 2.000 lumens will not fail an MOT as 'brightness' is not part of the test as no one has any means of measuring a bulbs brightness.........................

The Ebay advertiser's details of these Nighteye bulbs states that they produce 8,000 lumens (4,000 per lamp). So, there seems little doubt that they exceed the legal 2,000 lumens.

 

I have a concern with these. I find that night driving is becoming increasing difficult. This is for two main reasons.

 

First, the relative large number of cars with mis-aligned headlamps that cause dazzle. (I suspect that this is mainly due to drivers of cars with manually adjustable headlamps carrying rear seat passengers, but not bothering to re-trim their headlamps accordingly. I'm also fairly sure a number of the local lads just tweak their beams up for their own benefit.)

 

Second, an increasing number of cars with higher intensity headlamps: whether high wattage halogen, xenon, or LED, I know not, but there is a notable bluish tint to the light of a number of the offenders. In some cases it seems both may be the case.

 

I happen to have to use a heavily used, two lane, section of the A27 on a fairly frequent basis, which carries more or less continuous two way traffic day and night. Oncoming high output lamps rob me of "normal" forward vision. The glare from these high output lamps tends to "hide" following vehicles if they are not similarly powerful. Not desirable when positioning to turn right!

 

It is notable (due to the superb maintenance of this road - not!) that either few of these vehicles have self-levelling headlamps, or that delay in the self-levelling mechanism allows the headlamp beam to rise above its correct setting as the vehicle pitches over (the numerous!) road irregularities.

 

All that is bad enough, but the problem is greatly magnified on wet nights, by additional glare reflected up from the wet road surface.

 

So, I just pose this question: are these more powerful bulbs really of advantage to all road users, or only of advantage to those using them, which advantage is being gained to the disadvantage of others?

 

Or, are we now in an arms race, where we all have to equip our vehicles with higher output bulbs at - which point we shall end up exactly where we started, with our individual night vision no better than it was when all vehicles had halogen lamps - unless, of course we happen to have retained halogen lamps, when we shall be in the equivalent position of those driving with tungsten bulbs in a halogen lit world?

[aandncaravan]

Brian, you will see that I write in the full post,

 

"Be careful about the quoted 'lumens', as some quote the brightness on the basis that ALL LED chips will be lit at once, when on an H4 bulb, only half of them will be illuminated.

They also quote the lumens for a pair of bulbs, not one. so a 9,000 lumen 'bulb' might be just 2,250 lumens per Dip bulb in the real World and little brighter than a top Halogen".

 

As there is also a tendancy to overstate the power, mine could very well be less than 2,000 lumens on Dip beam.

 

But either way, we clearly advise this person to stay within the law and find some under 2,000 lumens. We suggest they look at the ones we bought as an example, not a suggested purchase.

 

In addition to the above it is legal to fit bulbs greater than 2,000 lumens if the vehicle matches the criteria.

 

Just because some owners do not go to the trouble to ensure their lights are not a danger to other drivers, doesn't mean everyone who buys an LED will.

My new bulbs do not dazzle oncoming drivers any more than the Halogens did, verified by an MOT light box. There is no reason to assume that other owners won't be as diligent?

 

If you read the Autoexpress test on HALOGEN headlight bulbs you will see that almost all the bulbs on test, even those from Hella and Bosch, had issues with quality.

These were brand new bulbs dazzling drivers, some of which you may have seen on your travels in brand new cars?

The very nature of Halogen H4 bulb construction renders them difficult to ensure perfect quality control. LED bulbs have the ability to transform H4 bulb quality as they are much easier to build to tight tolerances. Migrating away from Halogen H4 bulbs to LED might improve everyones nighttime driving experience.

 

If you add in all sorts of accidents or minor bumps that can upset Headlight alignment, plus people fitting the bulb incorrectly in the holder, etc. some or all of these might account for the things you have noticed.

Not one of your 'dazzling lights' might be an LED bulb?

 

I have had issues with people dazzling/blinding me when driving for 40 years, nothing to do with any particular technology.

 

 

 

[euroserv]

Guys,

 

Don't get me started about current lighting trends!

 

Those idiotic 'cornering lamps' which are no more than occasionally lit fog lamps wind me up with their confusing pointlessness and most LED daytime running lights are excessively bright and distracting; particularly the ones fitted to small Citroen cars.......

 

Anyway... If these bulbs are not causing any heat problems, are legal and produce more light where it is needed; can be properly aimed and have a better geometry than ordinary bulbs, while using less current; what's not to like about them?

 

Good find, i say!

 

My brother bought some upgraded H4 lamps from a local performance specialist many years ago, and a few months later took it to the same site for an MOT. It failed the test because the headlights had 'no discernable beam pattern' He pointed out that he had purchased these bulbs from their own accessory shop and was given a refund, new 'ordinary' bulbs fitted and the test was passed. I agree with the above in that H4 bulbs are difficult enough to manufacture consistently without adding special layers and coatings and filaments that shorten their already brief life.

LED's are probably the answer to all problems as long as they are properly made.

I will probably test some of the H7 versions in Ducato's soon because i am sick of changing these irritatingly fragile devices so frequently; as long as their CAN bus confusing device also works!

[Guest pelmetman]

Is there a straight forward brighter/legal replacement for my 26 year old Transit bulbs?.......as I noticed travelling back to Zaragoza a few days ago in the dark they seem a bit dim........but there again I suspect I should change the 20 year old light deflectors as they've gone a bit crazed to :$ .......

 

As you can see I don't do much night time driving now days :D ..........

 

 

[aandncaravan]

Dave, If you don't want to go LED, then Osram Night breaker or Philips Vision Plus Halogen H4 bulbs seem to get consistently high ratings. Halfords and Ring bulbs don't.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[monique.hubrechtsgm]

Motor homes whit auto leveling head lights is new to me. Air suspension has no influence at driving height.But you can have a button high or low manually adjusted but auto ? My Saab car hat extra beams to catch eland animals crossing and crash test to face it.

[Brian Kirby]

aandncaravan - 2017-01-04 2:01 PM.....................My new bulbs do not dazzle oncoming drivers any more than the Halogens did, verified by an MOT light box. There is no reason to assume that other owners won't be as diligent?....................

I wasn't having a "pop" at you, Andy. I agree, all you've done is draw attention to a product, with a caution to verify its legality - albeit you then somewhat skewed your halo by pointing out the virtual impossibility of detection of "illegally" bright lamps once fitted. :-D

 

Dazzle, as tested for MoT purposes, is merely a measure of the amount of light cast outside a defined area. As you acknowledged, the light box used takes no account of the intensity of the light, just whether its beam shape matches the legal requirement. But that was not my point.

 

The main reason for restricting the power of dipped beams was, and is, that drivers should be able to see ahead properly against the glare of oncoming headlamps. The problem with higher intensity lamps is not that they dazzle, per se (which I take to mean shine directly into one's eyes), but that they create glare that leaves oncoming drivers unable to see properly what lies beyond them.

 

For example, one is unable to properly see (to adequately judge speed of approach, distance, or position), the less bright lights of vehicles behind the high intensity headlamps, leave alone pick out the (sometimes frighteningly dim) rear lights of cyclists, a pedestrian (why do they wear black at night!), or the (only once!) stirrup light of an equestrian, on the same side of the road. Oncoming high intensity headlamps also make it more difficult to see the nearside edge of the road, which in winter, is frequently obscured by puddles and mud and, in this area at least, crumbling and potholed. Then, add into the mix the odd motorcyclist playing meat in the sandwich, with that supreme confidence that only motorcyclists seem to possess, that everyone will a) see them, and b) know they are not a one eyed car!

 

It is the veiling glare of these high intensity lights that presents the danger on unlit rural roads, not direct dazzle. This becomes obvious when the oncoming traffic is momentarily free of HID headlamps, when normal forward vision is restored, and again when the next HID equipped vehicle comes along.

 

You are of course right that all road users should act responsibly, and that we should all ensure our vehicle lights are legal and functioning. Right! But in the real world? Look at the ads for 100W HIDs for example - which I assume must be selling. Sadly, it just ain't like that, is it? Not everyone plays by the rules.

[Guest pelmetman]

aandncaravan - 2017-01-04 4:34 PM

 

Dave, If you don't want to go LED, then Osram Night breaker or Philips Vision Plus Halogen H4 bulbs seem to get consistently high ratings. Halfords and Ring bulbs don't.

 

 

 

Ta B-) .........

 

 

[joe66]

Hi and thanks for that comprehensive answer, I will look at getting 2 bulbs and give it a try when I put my van back on the road.

Joe