Dipped Beams for Spain

[peter21]

Hi all

 

We are going to Spain in 3 weeks and I am looking for advice on how to adjust the headlights on our 2008 Rapido motorhome (fiat Ducato) for RH driving. Or indeed whether they need to be adjusted?....apparently some headlights on modern vehicles don't deflect to the left or right on dipped beam setting.

 

thanks a lot for any advice

 

Peter

[Brambles]

If you have the standard Ducato headlights your best option is to fit headlight protectors which normally come with masks.

If you search Ebay you may find as there is a seller who sometimes lists them at a reasonable price.

 

There has also been a good previous thread on this which shows a photo of masks fitted with headlight protectors.

 

Jon.

[Porky]

I agree that protectors are the way to go. We are off to Spain in November and I have the protectors already masked up and ready to fit. I bought the Fiat ones which simply clip on. Takes no time at all.

 

Roy Fuller

[malc d]

peter21 - 2009-10-20 6:57 AM

 

Hi all

 

We are going to Spain in 3 weeks and I am looking for advice on how to adjust the headlights on our 2008 Rapido motorhome (fiat Ducato) for RH driving. Or indeed whether they need to be adjusted?....apparently some headlights on modern vehicles don't deflect to the left or right on dipped beam setting.

 

thanks a lot for any advice

 

Peter

 

 

Peter

 

Have a look on the ' Motorhome Matters' thread.

 

Scroll down to 11 October and you will see some useful info with pics on a posting called ' Headlight Protectors'

 

Have a good trip

 

 

 

 

[Derek Uzzell]

peter21 - 2009-10-20 6:57 AM

 

....apparently some headlights on modern vehicles don't deflect to the left or right on dipped beam setting.....

 

Peter

 

To the best of my knowledge this is incorrect.

 

I researched UK headlight regulations in some depth when I imported my LHD Hobby in 2005, including seeking advice from a VOSA technical consultant. Generally speaking, all modern UK-registered motor vehicles, except motorcycles, must be fitted with 'E-marked' headlights that are designed to dip asymmetrically (ie. the dipped-beam pattern is biased leftwards). This is similarly true for 'Continental' vehicles, except the headlamps must then dip rightwards.

 

It is possible that, when a headlamp has the design capability to be adjusted (eg. by a lever or rotating the bulb-holder) to meet non-dazzle requirements for driving temporarily in a country where the vehicle is not registered (eg. while touring on the Continent in a UK-registered motorhome) that the resultant beam pattern produced by that adjustment may not be truly asymmetrical - but that doesn't alter the UK-registration requirement for asymmetric left-dipping headlamps.

 

It's also well recognised that UK-registered LHD vehicles that slip through the DVLA net at first registration and manage to retain their original right-dipping headlights can pass the UK MOT-test if the headlights are suitably masked/deflected - but, once again, that doesn't negate the UK-registration requirement for asymmetric left-dipping headlamps.

 

The small circular Hella-made headlight units used on many A-class motorhomes (including Rapidos) can be twiddled to dip in either direction, though doing this may prove difficult if working space is restricted. As far as I'm aware, no motorhome using the base-vehicle manufacturer's original headlamp-units has headlights designed to be easily adjusted to produce either a left- or a right-dipping beam pattern. In such cases, it's probable that masks or 'beam benders' will be needed to provide an acceptable non-dazzle dipped-beam pattern when driving a vehicle with left-dipping lights on the Continent.

[Bodgit]

I also have a Rapido A Class - RH drive which I have owned for about 18 months. To my horror it failed its MOT this spring. The cause was the headlamp beam which was set for the continent. I was staggered mainly because it had passed its MOT just before I bought it!!!!! Now I wonder how that could have happened?

 

My garage told me that I would have to have new headlamp units because nothing else would solve the problem. Having taken advice on MOT regulations, I protested that if the van was fitted with deflectors it should be allowed to pass. I was told that the halogen lamps would get so hot that they would cause a fire hazard.

 

Eventually the original supplier discovered from Rapido for me that the unit rotates!!!! I explained this to the guys at the garage who kindly made the adjustment for me.

 

A couple of things still worry me. Firstly a guy owning an A class Hymer was having the same problem as me at the garage and they did not seem inclined to let him know of the solution which I had found for them. Secondly the process of making the adjustment involves difficult angles inside the bonnet and behind the unit. The garage also needed the use of a pneumatic screwdriver type device to get the screws to slacken and tighten. I am not capable of doing this as I am disabled and I wonder what I will do at the ferryport when next I want to cross the Channel. Last year I simply fitted stick deflectors and toured France for seven weeks. However, that was before I discovered that my lights were set for the continent in the first place!!!!!!! :-o

[Derek Uzzell]

Bodgit

 

It's probable that the headlamp-units used on your Rapido can be temporarily 'masked' so that, even in right-dipping state, they can produce a beam pattern that will meet the UK's MOT-test lighting requirements. However, as your garage advised, there's a risk that, if the masks were left on, overheating could result. Translucent 'beam benders' should lessen the overheating risk, but I'm doubtful of their genuine effectiveness as they aren't really designed to be fitted to your Rapido's small Hella headlamps. Obviously I've no idea what (if anything) was done to your motorhome's lights to allow it to pass the MOT-test before you bought it - I'm just saying that there's nothing to prevent 'Continental pattern' lights being masked/deflected purely to allow a vehicle to pass the MOT-test and then having the masks/deflectors removed immediately afterwards.

 

I've been led to believe that these Hella light units are marketed in left-dipping or right-dipping format. There's actually no difference between the units, except that the lights are appropriately factory-adjusted before they are sold retail. I remember talking to a UK Rapido salesman about this years ago, when the A-Class 9-Series models were only available in LHD. He told me that, according to Rapido, to obtain left-dipping lights the original right-dipping units needed to be removed and be replaced with 'left-dippers' (at the customer's expense incidentally). He went on to say that it was, in fact, straightforward to convert a Hella right-dipper into a Hella left-dipper but, although he would be happy to tell me how to do the job myself if I bought a LHD Rapido, he wouldn't make the adjustment for me. (Not sure how much truth there was in this, but it sounds daft enough to be plausible!)

 

As I said previously (and you've confirmed) it can be hard to change the dipping direction with the light-units in situ, and I understand that some Hymers can be devilish challenging. Perhaps your garage has decided that the effort that would be involved in adjusting the Hymer's lights is financially unattractive, or perhaps the Hymer's owner has offended them somehow - who knows?

 

In your case, now that you've got the correct dipped-beam pattern for driving in the UK and passing our MOT-test, when you go abroad next time I'd be tempted to do what you did before - stick on beam-deflectors. If they didn't cause overheating problems during your last 7-week trip abroad, there's no reason to think they might in future.

[Bodgit]

Thanks for all that. My instinct told me what you have suggested. It really is for the look of the thing as we seldom travel at night when abroad - or in the UK for that matter. We prefer to arrive at a site in day light and fill up with water , get level etc. etc.

 

Your solution ( and my instinct) seems good enough for some enforcement geezer taking a cursory look in day light. It will look as though I showed willing at the very least!! (lol)