Guest phil Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Hi all. I know head lights have many threads on this site, but does anyone know how to alter new little dipped head lights from dipping right to left.puegot dealer can't. Also tried two van garages. thought I should try the experts any help. regards phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Derek Uzzell Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 What makes you believe they can be altered? Are you referring to original Peugeot lights or some sort of custom '4 separate light-units' kit that the motorhome converter has chosen to fit instead of the originals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest docted Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Phil If the vehicle was bought in th UK, from a dealer, by law they should dip to the left.In which case the onus is on the supplying dealer to convert for a left dip to make the vehicle road legal in the UK. If bought, or imported personally, and vehicle is LHD the manufacturers of the headlamps should be able to supply replacement units for use in the UK. Good luck Docted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brian Kirby Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Phil I might help if you could be a bit more specific. Base vehicle presumably Peugeot, but Boxer or what? How old? Whose conversion? LHD or RHD? Bought UK/Ireland or elsewhere? If its a LHD Sevel based Dethleffs with "four eyes", the units are specials made by Hella and, last time I asked, they weren't making a left dip version. You'd just have to buy a pair of standard left dip headlamps instead. You can get protectors that incorporate masks to convert left dip to right dip, dont know about vice versa, but masks are not acceptable for UK registration, the headlamps themselves must be UK left dipping pattern. If you need replacement headlamp units for Sevel vans, you should get a pair for under £200. If you bought new in UK with right dippers, and the dealer registered the vehicle, he's broken the law so tell him so! He must get ad fit the left dippers for you. Make sure you get the right dippers back, though, they're quite easy to swap and much better in Europe! Let us have the facts. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PeteC Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Hi Brian on one of our return Journeys we met up with a soldier who spent a few months in this country and a few back on the continent He had a set of both RH & LH dipping lights He recconed that it only took a few minutes to change them over Just unfastening the electrical connectors and four screws on each unit Then a straight swap - the units were prefocus type with no adjustments - but cannot remember the makr of the car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Derek Uzzell Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Phil: Hobby offer an optional 4-headlight system for their Fiat-based motorhomes. This is referred to as "Xenon lights" and the photo in the Hobby brochure shows (on each side of the vehicle) 2 small inset round light units with separate direction indicator and 'parking' lights. At the recent Shepton Mallet show I noticed a Peugeot-based motorhome with a similar lighting set-up. I can't recall the maker of that vehicle, but I'm 99% sure it would have been UK-built by one of our 'Big Names' (possibly Auto-Sleepers?). This suggests to me that the system may now be available with left-dip or right-dip light units (either that or the light units have a switchable dip mode). As Brian says, Hella is normally the manufacturer of this type of bespoke lighting kit. The small round Hella lights traditionally fitted to certain Hymer, Rapido, etc. A-class motorhomes had dip pattern selection via rotation of the bulb holder, but I believe that changing the pattern could not be done with the light unit in situ. It may well be (as Brian is suggesting) that the light units you are interested in do not have this facility but, if you remove one of the units and inspect it, you should easily be able to confirm this. On the subject of having a spare set of right-dipping lights for driving abroad, in 2005 I had a discussion with a chap from the vehicle standards agency about the legality of fitting such light units to UK-registered vehicles. He told me that to do so would make the vehicle technically illegal while it was being driven in the UK but, once you'd moved outside the UK it would be OK. He added (tongue in cheek) that this potential problem could be resolved by swapping light units on the ferry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest phil Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Hi all, It is 10 days old, auto-cruise with four little lights that dip to the right.Was not noticed when it had a PDI. We found out when we drove home.Has been taken to the puegot garage that did PDI. they cannot fix no bay big enough. Auto cruise are fine they said take it to be fixed and they would pay the bill. I,m trying to find out if I can fix or find a garage that can fix regards phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brian Kirby Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Phil The dealer who sold you the Autocruise is responsible, not Autocruise. Is it based on a Peugeot Boxer? Tell them to sort it, and source you the lights. You're doing their running around for them! Your vehicle is, technically, illegally registered in UK at present and you shouldn't really be driving it. If the Peugeot dealer who did your PDI hasn't a bay big enough for the vehicle, look very closely at the PDI record because, I doubt if they did any more than just look at it! In any case, they don't need a bay to change the headlamp units, its a 10 minute DIY job. I know because I keep changing ours between LHD and RHD headlamps. They're all talking total tosh, and stringing you along. I still don't quite understand the "four little lights that dip to the right". The standard headlamps have two elements each, one dipped beam lamp and one main beam lamp. When on main beams, the dips are kept on as well, when dipped only the dips are on. If that is how yours work, you have bog standard Peugeot/Citroen/Fiat headlamp units. Just tell the Autocruise dealer to get the Peugeot garage to order you a pair of standard right dip headlamps. (They cost under £200 the pair, but that's not your problem) Hope this casts a little light! Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest phil Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 hi all, four little lights = one side one indicator one dip and a seperate head light.problem has been solved. a fellow motorhomer saw my email,drove round took the front panels off. the headlight assembly off and moved them round to UK spec.when we go abroad it should take 30 mins to change them waiting for the ferry. thanks all very much phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest phil Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 hi all, four little lights = one side one indicator one dip and a seperate head light.problem has been solved. a fellow motorhomer saw my email,drove round took the front panels off. the headlight assembly off and moved them round to UK spec.when we go abroad it should take 30 mins to change them waiting for the ferry. thanks all very much phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brian Kirby Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Phil I think others may be interested in what, actually, was done to alter the dipped beams. There has been much past debate on this forum about what can, and cannot, be done with Sevel headlights to modify them for continental driving. I think I have seen references to the lamps being convertible, but others generally seem to have found that they are not. The common remedy seems to be to buy "protectors" that incorporate a mask. However, these cost around £40 per pair, so any solution that is a straightforward adjustment, with no cost other than time, would probably be widely welcomed. There has also been a fair bit of discussion about the variation in prices charged by Fiat, Citroen and Peugeot for what, on the surface, appears the same headlight unit. Might it be that the more expensive (Peugeot?) version has the facility for adjustment, whereas the cheaper one - Fiat at the last count - does not? I do think we should be told! Since your Good Samaritan friend, presumably, has access to the forum, could he perhape be persuaded to share this priceless gen with others? Please? Regards Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest phil Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Brian, They are not standard lights.there are four separate lights.1 side, 1 indicator,1 headlight, 1 dipped headlight. It is a puegeot boxer, alko chassis, pioneer renoir.It is 10 days old.To change dip direction, take off the plastic panel on both sides covering the lights, take off the centre panel. a total of seven screws. take out the complete headlight assembly slacken screws holding rhe dip light and twist round there is a slot so you know where to stop.tighen up and replace.Even I can do this so it must be easy. when changing the headlight assembly take the whole lot out. then the height will not be altered. I have no idea who makes these lights it came with them regards phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brian Kirby Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 OK Phil, thanks. The standard headlamps have the same components, but they are all containeg within a single moulding. I thought from your description of your lamps you might have these, and had stumbled upon the Holy Grail (or how to convert them for continental driving). It seems not: shame! Thanks anyway, and enjoy the new van. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Derek Uzzell Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 Brian: To the best of my knowledge no light commercial vehicle has (or has had) standard light units with an adjustment facility that can be used to provide selectable 'left dipping' or 'right dipping' beam patterns. Some motorhomes have specialised non-standard lights (like Phil's) that can be suitably tweaked and it's possible that certain A-Class designs that employ light units 'borrowed' from cars may have a dip-swapping capability. But, generally, to get a legal dip pattern for the country in which the vehicle is registered you need to change the complete light unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brian Kirby Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 Derek In the end, consumed with curiosity, I looked at the Autocruise web site. Lo and behold all the pictures showed standard Peugeot/Sevel headlamps. Now really, really, consumed with curiosity I then 'phoned Autocruise and asked what lamps the were actually fitting to the Pioneer Renoir, since the pics were the standard headlamp. Ah, said Autocruise, those are last year's pictures. The 2006 model Pioneers are all coming with Hella units that convert for UK or continental use. Problem solved. Now, I wonder what Autocruise are doing with that growing pile of right dipping Sevel headlamps? Anyone want to make them an affer? Could be chaeper than converters! Regards Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Derek Uzzell Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Won't RHD Peugeot Boxer chassis have left-dipping headlights fitted on the factory line? Perhaps the redundant standard units will end up on e-bay - I'm told you can get new Transit lights cheap from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brian Kirby Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Derek In theory yes, of course they should. However, I understand the wrong ones do get fitted. My local Fiat service centre said they had repalced quite a few that had been wrongly supplied, so it's worth asking! Regards Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest phil Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Our's is right hand drive and arrived with right dipping lights. Having seen how to change direction I am happy with Hella lights. phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KeithR Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 When i bought my new LHD fiat based motorhome, it took me a while to realise i still had right dip headlights. I got on to Glossop Caravans(the supplier), and told them to sort it. They were very good (as always) and got and fitted a new set of left dips. Question is, when i go over the water and swap for my right dips, will the lights need to be checked?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brian Kirby Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 It would be wise to make the swap well before you leave. Ours, which was bought in France, seems to have well adjusted right dip lamps. The left dip lamps, which I fitted for UK registration, were visually checked on fitting and also seem about right. Neither has been checked on a test rig since I got the 'van. However, the beam pattern in the dark with either set of lamps looks, correct with the dips striking the road far enough ahead for good vision but not so high as to dazzle. The fixing is two bolts and a spring retained pivot per lamp. Each bolt passes through a threaded adjusting sleeve and, given a bit of care, the adjustment does not alter when loosening/tightening the bolts. Disconnect the wiring harness from the backs of the lamps (there is a saddle shaped sliding lock on the connector, move this gently sideways relative to the connector until it stops: as you do this the connector retracts from the back of the lamp unit, then pull the connector away) loosen/remove the bolts and, supporting the lamp unit, pull gently it out and sideways towards the outside of the van. The edge of the lamp unit will begin to lever against the front edge of the wing. You first meet a resistance, then the spring releases the pivot and it pops off. Reverse process to put the new lamp in. Connect up, switch on and try the lamps. If they dont look right get the beams set before you set off. Regards Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KeithR Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 thanks Brian. when i changed my h/lights i had just had my first service, so they should be ok. but i'll do a night check!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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