Fiat Headlamp converters/Europe advice needed

[Guest Mike P]

Hi all you Fiat experts out there, I need your help. Checking out our Autotrail Tracker on Fiat Ducato for next month's trip to France (our first) I've been trying to read up about the headlamp converters required. I gather that the "handing" of the dip is indicated by two little arrows in the headlamp plastic (two pointing left, left dip; two right, right dip; one each way, neutral dip). Now here's the problem. My offside headlamp has one arrow each way ie neutral dip, my nearside headlamp indicates left hand dip. Questions; is this another cock up by our friends at Sevel? and what should I do about beam converters? All comments would be appreciated.

[Guest Derek Uzzell]

My experience of headlamp dip-markings is that there is normally just a single arrow moulded into the glass/plastic front lens. If the arrow points to the left, this indicates the headlamp-unit is suitable and has been approved for 'left-hand traffic' (eg. as we have in the UK). If the arrow points to the right, this shows the unit is suitable and has been approved for 'right-hand traffic' (eg. as in Continental Europe). I'm not saying that there aren't headlamps around with two left-pointing arrows (or two right-pointing arrows) on them (as you suggest) that similarly indicate left- or right-hand traffic suitability, just that I've never encountered them. I've never actually seen a left AND right arrow headlamp either, but I'm aware of their existence. If you search the forum on "Headlamps on imported motorhomes" (omitting the quotes) you'll retrieve a posting of mine dated 12/03/2005. This doesn't deal directly with your inquiry, but there's reference to headlights with left AND right arrows. It would seem from the advice of Mr Mike Lowe (of DfT) that the lens of such a headlight may not produce a 'neutral' dipped-beam pattern as such, but can form part of a headlamp-unit that is factory-adapted (or perhaps can be user-adjusted?) to produce the appropriate approved left-hand traffic or right-hand traffic dipped-beam pattern. I don't know whether the lights on your Tracker are correct. If I were you, I'd either get a garage to check on their test equipment what sort of dip-pattern your lights are producing or point the vehicle against a wall or door and see which way the lights dip. Logically your light with the left-pointing arrow will dip left, but what the other one does is anybody's guess. I've never used beam-converters. Being a cheapskate, I've always made up temporary masks from WHITE insulation tape and stuck them on the lens for the time I've been abroad. Perceived wisdom is that beam-converters, due to their translucency, are potentially less likely to cause damage to the lens than masks. Certainly masks made from BLACK tape can easily cause localised heat-damage to plastic lenses and may cause glass lenses to crack in rainy weather. Frankly, with modern motorhomes that employ the chassis-manufacturer's original headlamps and have a dipped-beam height-adjustment dashboard-control, I think deflectors or masks are superfluous, as it's perfectly simple to adjust the dipped-beam's downwards deflection so there's no possibility of dazzling oncoming traffic. I've only used masks because I know the Continental police authorities wouldn't agree with this view! I suspect your Tracker isn't built on the current Fiat chassis, as I think headlamps with clear ' plastic lenses formed part of the facelift introduced for 2002 model-year Ducatos. My understanding is that the clear lenses (or more strictly "weather-protection covers") on such headlamps carry no arrow markings (as they play no part in beam-pattern control) and left- or right-hand traffic suitability is indicated by a label on the rear reflector part of the headlamp. If this is wrong, I'd be grateful if someone could confirm what's correct.

[Guest Mike P]

Thanks Derek; my Tracker is registered Jan 2003, the arrows (and lots of other marks) are not on the lens of the light but on the side of the lens unit where it butts up to the grill and can only be viewed by lifting the bonnet. The markings are also replicated on a label stuck to the top of the unit

[Guest Mike C]

Hello Mike, The other way to do it is to buy headlamp protectors which have the mask area defined by rectangular corner marks and come with the black stick on masks. This overcomes the problem Derek mentioned with damaging the glass light lens by sticking tape directly to the lens. I have found that silver masks (lens side) are better as they reflect back the light in the lens and help reduce the light loss. This method has the advantage of also protecting the light units against impact damage. Most light units these days have polycarbonate lenses but while more resistant to breakage than glass when they do break they can shatter and render the light unuseable. Headlamp protectors £25 - £30 a pair. Replacement Headlight £80+ I rest my case. Regards, Mike C

[Guest Derek Uzzell]

Funny thing coincidence! Today, I happened to glance at the headlamp markings on the T-reg Skoda Felicia owned by my sister-in-law. The headlamp lenses are glass with a pair of adjacent arrows moulded into each lens. The arrows on the left (nearside) lens both point to the left, whereas the right (offside) lens has one arrow pointing leftwards and the other pointing to the right. I checked the rear of the offside headlamp and there was definitely no special adjustment facility and the bulb-mounting was fixed. I also looked at the vehicle's handbook that, in the "Driving Abroad" section, showed the shape of the 'mask' that should be stuck on the headlamp lenses. This was the usual wedge shape to go on the right-hand part of the lens (for RHD vehicles) of both headlamps and no mention was made of differing dipped-beam patterns. Very mysterious... Mike C's suggestion makes excellent sense, particularly if you intend to go abroad regularly. If you search the forum using "protector" (omit the quotes) as the keyword you'll retrieve earlier postings giving details of several possible suppliers.