Beam Benders

[brayn]

I have a Hymer van, based on 2005 Fiat Ducato. Do I need to fit beam benders for travel in France, and if, so, do I just place them in the approximate position I would put them on my car i.e. 3rd quadrant looking at the lens?

The lenses have no 'wedge' printed on them, like my car does.

[Thai Bry]

Does your Hymer have the round lights, i.e four headlights at the front.??

Thai

[brayn]

Yes, 2 dipped, 2 main.

[Thai Bry]

brayn - 2007-08-13 4:46 PM Yes, 2 dipped, 2 main.

OKey Kokey

I've got some diagrams from Hymer, showing you how to make these adjustments. But will not be able to scan the images until wednesday A.M.

It is fairly easy to do. There are three screws at the back of the main beam lights - philips type -. You need to undo these slightly -NOT FULLY-, then you can turn the assembly a qurater turn to the right, then tighten the screws again.You may need a short handle Philps screwdriver as it is awkward to get to.

Ours is on a MB chasis, but I would think that the method would be the same.

I promise that you'll have the images by Wed a.m, when back in the office where I can scan them to you.

You can PM me if you so wish.

Hope this helps.

Thai

[Brian Kirby]

Brian

I think it is the dips you need to alter, not the mains?

[brayn]

Thanks to both of you and I'm sure you're right, Brian. I didn't mention that my van is an 'old' Exsis model. I have e-mailed Hymer as I'm leaving Wed. a.m.

I have put adjusters on numerous cars and M/homes but was perplexed to see no 'guide' engraved on the lens.

Do you think I could comply by putting the 'benders' on anyway, in the approximate position?

[david lloyd]

Hi brayn

 

If you can shine the lights against a wall you should be able to see where the highlight (on dipped beam) is and then cover the area with the beam bender.

 

Best regards, David

[Hughmer]

Thai Bry - 2007-08-13 4:54 PM

 

I've got some diagrams from Hymer, showing you how to make these adjustments.

It is fairly easy to do.

 

 

Er.. in theory.. yes.

 

On our MB Hymer the 3 screws are not so easily accessible. The bottom screws are behind the beam levelling motors and I found that the only way to get to it was to drop the spoiler and use the space in front of the wheel arch. I also had to detach the "port side" motor from the ball and claw socket.

 

Although the job may look a bit daunting, it's only a total of about 7 screws to drop the spoiler, but it's an awkward size and weight so you'll probably need another pair of hands to hold one side up while you work on the other. I'd never done this before and it took me 2 hours to work out what to do and complete the job.

 

I'm glad I did because I preferred night driving without benders.

[Vernon B]

Looks like another break through for Hymer design and engineering Hughmer.

 

Anyway, a chap told me that the reason we don't see French, German and Dutch tourists deflecting their headlights when they're over here is because their beems dip up and down rather than to the side. Is there any truth in this, or is it just another myth like Hymer's outstanding quality?

 

Vernon

[BGD]

Vernon - it's a myth!!

 

The dip headlights here on the continent throw a mirror-image of the light pattern of a UK car/van.

 

So in theory (unless some have some fancy mechanism for twisting the bulb to alter the light pattern) all continental vehicles should I assume don beam benders when in the UK.

 

I guess you are as likely to see them in practice as we are to see UK registered cars here in Spain with beam benders. I am unaware of anyone over here getting pulled for this in the 5 whole years that we've been here.

[Derek Uzzell]

As brayn is probably well on his way to France by now, what follows is rather academic...

 

I think there may have been confusion here as a 2005 Hymer Exsis like brayn's wasn't equipped as standard with the small circular 'swappable dip-pattern' Hella light-units referred to by Thai Bry and Hughmer. Instead Exsis had common-or-garden Ducato headlamps, with separate reflectors for main or dipped-beam behind a one-piece clear protective 'lens'. That's what's shown in the photos in MMM's February 2005 test report and there's no indication in the report's Optional Extras section that different lights were on the menu.

 

Now, I'm aware that there's a Hella conversion-package that replaces the standard lights of Ducatos prior to the latest version and that this package includes the small round swappable-dip light-units. (MMM's "Improve Your Motorhome" Part I guide gave details for those interested - stated total RRP was £721) But I'm doubtful that brayn's Exsis has this conversion-package fitted, in which case, if he wanted to modify his headlamps' beam-pattern for driving on the Continent, he'd need to use something to 'mask' or 'bend' the beam, experimenting where this should be positioned on the headlamp as David Lloyd suggests. (Are there 'covers' for these lights on to which masks/benders can be stuck, rather than to the headlamps themselves? If there are, it's bound to have come up before but I ain't trolling through the old stuff to check!)

 

Regarding Vernon's comments, it needs to be appreciated that, although the little, round headlight-units Hymer fit to their A-Class motorhomes can be twiddled to swap their dipped-beam pattern, this is a 'factory feature' that would normally be carried out by Hella when the headlight was originally assembled, or by Hymer according to where the particular motorhome was destined for sale (UK or Continental Europe).

 

That UK Hymer A-Class owners can carry out the swap with the headlamps in situ is a fine tribute to their DIY skills, but, if the swapping procedure demands a box-full of spanners, double-jointed fingers and several hours work, that's hardly Hymer's fault in my view. (Besides which, plenty of other motorhome builders use the same Hella lights and swapping the dipped-beam on their A-Class models is usually no easier.) The headlamp-units on some vehicles produce a dipped-beam pattern that can be swapped by a simple movement of a lever, but these Hella lights-units are outside that category.

 

It's commonly believed in the UK that 'foreign' headlights just dip up and down rather than asymmetrically (I've even seen a motoring journalist suggest this!) but, as BGD says, it's not true.