Guest starspirit Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Peugeot will sell me plastic headlight covers / lens converters for £37, or I can buy sticky backed stick on beam bender patches for about £7. However with two totally clear and unmarked plastic headlights how does one know precisely where to stick the sticky bits, and also when unsticking time comes can one be sure that the glue won't remain on the plastic headlights causing permanant marks? What do all you seasoned European travellers do please? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docted Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 At least with the expensive parts they can be reused and will not affect normal use of the headlights. Thwe cheapeer ones remind of Blue peter and sticky backed plastic. Still you pays your money etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobscott Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 As we are also about to take our first European trip this matter has been of some concern to us. I am sure that many of you experienced travellers can help with good advice which will be very much appreciated. Just crossed my mind -what do the HGV drivers do to avoid this problem as they travel over the channel on a frequent basis? *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chas Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 hi dobscott, for headlght protectors for peugeot boxer go to www. formula 4x4.com they come complete with etched markings for placing the supplied masks or your own beambenders. It is not recommended to apply masks directly to the clear plastic headlamps as this can cause crazing. regards chas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Miller Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Take great care with the sticky products.The heat generated by the newer Boxer headlight units cause a considerable mess when the plastic and adhesive fuse on to the unit. In my opinion & experience the £35.00 spent on headlight protectors is money well spent. Perhaps Formula 4x4 make something a bit cheaper. N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 The headlamp protectors are marked for the beam correctors and are supplied with them - actually pieces of black sticky almost 1 inch square but not quite square if you follow. We fit the protectors - they might seem expensive but are cheap in relation to the overall holiday, can be used again and again and are a lot cheaper than an on the spot fine (yes I have read some of the doubts expressed about the legality of these fines but my French is not up to arguing the finer points of law with a French policeman). I have seen a Frenchman whisked off to a cash machine for some misdemeanour (presumably speeding) so don't risk doing nothing and correct the lamps. MMM has contained some reports of sticky correctors leading to cracks in the lenses so I would go for the protectors every time. Incidentally I assume you know you need to carry a spare set of bulbs, warning triangle and are advised to carry a first aid kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Hi starspirit We have just returned from France a few weeks ago. We changed van just a couple of weeks before we went from Boxer to the new Renault and I didn't have time to find out if headlight protectors were available for the Renault Master. If they had been I would probably have gone that route. Because of the time scale I used beam benders. Once on the tunnel train I put the headlights on a) to warm the lens and b) to see where to put the beam bender. You hold them over the headlight beam until it blocks out the light thrown over to the left - then simply stick the bender over that area. On the way back on the train I put the headlights on again for a couple of minutes then gently peeled off the beam bender which came off in one piece. There was just a small patch of adhesive left on the lens which I removed with a small alcohol wipe. You could also achieve the same result using white insulation tape - this may not heat up as quickly as black tape and doesn't 'black out' all the light in the same way. As I said, given the choice, I woud go for the headlight protectors. However, the beam benders have worked OK for me this time. I did no night time driving (just the tunnels around Paris on the way home with lights on) so did not have to worry about heat build up on the lens while the beam benders were fixed. Good luck and have a great holiday. Best regards, david Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALAN G Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Eurolites are selling specifically designed slitted light reflective patches at about £11 including p&p. Seems to include comprehensive fitting/location instructions. Has anyone tried these? If so do they prevent lens crazing? Are they reusable? website is www.travel-spot.co.uk Alan G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 dobscott: The answer to your question is "Most probably nothing", with RHD UK HGVs driving on the Continent with left-dipping headlights and LHD Continental HGVs driving in the UK with right-dipping lights. I once asked the inspectors at a local roadside 'spot-check' facility about this and was told that they looked out for non-working lights on vehicles but didn't check the dipping pattern. The local constabulary told me that wrong-way dipping was "not a hot policing matter". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest starspirit Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 Thanks one and all for your ideas. I think I'll go and see my local friendly efficient Peugeot dealer and invest in £35 worth of plastic. I'll give them 6 clear weeks to order the bits that way when the wrong ones arrive he'll have time to send them back and get the right ones. This should guarantee that my next van won't be a Boxer/ Ducato. Now there's a thought - are Ducato lights the same and are Fiat prices more or less than Peugeot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Madge Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 [QUOTE]starspirit - 2006-07-10 10:08 AM Thanks one and all for your ideas. I think I'll go and see my local friendly efficient Peugeot dealer and invest in £35 worth of plastic. Now there's a thought - are Ducato lights the same and are Fiat prices more or less than Peugeot? [/QUOTE] The Fiat/Peugeot/Citroen are all the same. When I bought my set three years ago Peugeot were slightly cheaper than Fiat. One word of advice don't slam the bonnet down too hard you are liable to damage them. I met somebody with a stone damaged headlight, the protectors should prevent that. I hate to think how much a complete headlight would cost £200/£300 at least. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest machra Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 Just returned from 2x weeks in France. I bought a set of covers that were on ebay. (£14) Cit/Fiat ones fit perfect (Mine are marked Citroen) They came with 2 sets of black patches to mask main beam. I can take pics and measurements if you like so you could just stick tape over your existing lights. I bought the covers primarily to protect the original lights. As an afterthought I only saw one other UK vehicle, (Fiat motorhome) with masked lights during the whole trip. I don't think many people bother now, and I have never seen a foreign vehicle in the UK with masked lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 I must admit, machra, during our recent trip there were many, many british registered vehicle without masking or beam benders. david Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest starspirit Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 Does anyone have any experience or definitions of French / German / Spanish or any other country or EC law on the subject please? Does any one know what sort of fines are levied, indeed has anyone ever been fined or even stopped? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Madge Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 [QUOTE]starspirit - 2006-07-10 8:36 PM Does anyone have any experience or definitions of French / German / Spanish or any other country or EC law on the subject please? Does any one know what sort of fines are levied, indeed has anyone ever been fined or even stopped?[/QUOTE] I have never heard of any laid down rules or regulations. I've been driving on the continent as a tourist for 35 years and I've only had my lights checked once. It was in the dim distant past coming off the ferry at Zeebrugge, I was asked to switch my lights on, a policeman looked at them and waved me through. In those days in France all the car headlights were yellow, not only did you fit deflectors you also had to either, fit a yellow lens cover or paint the headlights yellow. The French would go crazy if you dared drive with your white lights. I must admit I found the yellow ones less dazzling than the white lights. >:-) Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 22, 2006 Share Posted July 22, 2006 [QUOTE]starspirit - 2006-07-07 2:59 PM Peugeot will sell me plastic headlight covers / lens converters for £37, or I can buy sticky backed stick on beam bender patches for about £7. However with two totally clear and unmarked plastic headlights how does one know precisely where to stick the sticky bits, and also when unsticking time comes can one be sure that the glue won't remain on the plastic headlights causing permanant marks? What do all you seasoned European travellers do please? Thanks[/QUOTE] Hope this is noot too late to be useful, but the best remedy of all is to change the entire headlamp unit. It's quite simple on Boxer/Ducato/Jumper base vehicles, however it is expensive...... but so, it seems, are the deflectors.Following a lead from Don Madge in a different string I stumbled across this site: http://www.allpartssouthwest.com/index.html where it seems you can buy OEM headlamps for about £60 each. (Also exterior mirrors and other bits.) That is approximately 50% off Fiat's price. They are not new, but salvaged. However, if needed for an extended trip, they may prove more satisfactory than such remedies as tape etc that can cause damage and either "welds" itself on over time, or falls off.Worth a try? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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