HID Conversion

[WinDrop]

Been very annoyed by passat dipped beams.
They are very weak and during winter this problem is particularly annoying...

There are a lot of HID kits out there and not quite sure which one to choose because of the following


Which will guarantee me MOT pass?
Which is the easiest to install?
What is the recommended Colour Temperature?


With colour temperature I think I will go for 5000K as anything above will fail the MOT (Is that correct?)

Not quite sure with the other two. Do you have any recommendations?

I have a 2007 B6 Passat with what I believe are Projector type units.

[zollaf]

hid's are outta date, old news, led's is where the clever money is.. read all about minimental's leds lights somewhere in this forum. thing is, hids dont have a focus point so any no hid light wont work, but these new led's do, so can be used in a projector quite legally. apparently. might have to try them myself ..

[WinDrop]

hid's are outta date, old news, led's is where the clever money is.. read all about minimental's leds lights somewhere in this forum. thing is, hids dont have a focus point so any no hid light wont work, but these new led's do, so can be used in a projector quite legally. apparently. might have to try them myself ..

I thought that in order to fit LED bulbs you need to change the headlamp unit itself and HID kits are just a lot easier to fit and cheaper to find?

What are LEDs benefits over HIDs?

[MiniMental]

You get a beam pattern for a start, and you're not potentially dazzling other drivers so far as I know anyways [emoji23][emoji23], no warm up time, longer life (potentially)

Headlight Upgrades...

Please Help Headlight Upgrades... (https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Evwaudiforum%2Eco% 2Euk%2Fforum%2Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D178852&share_tid=178852&share_fid=7960&share_type=t)


2005 Passat Variant PD130..

No school like the old school...

[WinDrop]

You get a beam pattern for a start, and you're not potentially dazzling other drivers so far as I know anyways [emoji23][emoji23], no warm up time, longer life (potentially)

Headlight Upgrades...

Please Help Headlight Upgrades... (https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Evwaudiforum%2Eco% 2Euk%2Fforum%2Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D178852&share_tid=178852&share_fid=7960&share_type=t)


2005 Passat Variant PD130..

No school like the old school...
Thanks buddy for the link to your thread.
Have you managed to figure out the back cover problem?
I've noticed you couldn't get the OEM rubber cover on after you've fitter the bulbs but didn't see whether you've managed to resolve them.
Condoms kind of sound a bit silly so wondering whether there is a different solution to the problem? Like some sort of aftermarket covers perhaps?
Would like to fit the bulbs + have a proper back cover :)

Thanks

[zollaf]

when bodging hids in, you need to cut the covers to get the wires in place..

[RichardSEL]

You should only fit HIDs to your dipped beam headlights as those are projector light units

You should not get more than 5000k as then there's too much blue in the beam and that's a potential polis stop. 35W is sufficient to replace your impotent Van Helsing carriage-like existing filiament bulbs.
Or you can go to a light output that's between the filiament and HID -- Osram NightBreakers (one of mine only lasted 10 months) Or Philips ExtraVision (mine have lasted nearly three years now)

You should then get matching LED side lights (CANbus friendly only). Filament W5W bulbs' yellow output looks silly with dipped beams on

If you have Hella dipped beam light units you should be alright for fitting
If you have Valeo dipped beam light units you can only get HID kit that has a fitting ring to mount the HID unit to the light unit
If you have Valeo dipped beam light units you will have the same fitting problem for LEDs as for HIDs. Although a more up-to-date than HIDs' solution

You should only go for HID kit that's "CANbus friendly" The Retrofit Source in the US supply Morimoto that come with the adapter ring for Valeo and are CANbus friendly. But are more expensive what with paying in US$, shipping, etc. Morimoto don't have a UK or Europe sales agent.

User in this thread bought from HIDs Direct (£52.50 inc p&p inc VAT -- not bad for a 35W system, they do 4300k, 5000k, and 6000k bulb options) and fitted this kit:
H7 35w Canbus Pro HID Xenon Conversion kit + projector clips - HIDS DIRECT LTD Store | HIDS Direct Ltd. for HID Xenon kits, Xenon bulbs, MTEC bulbs, LED's, Car Parts and Air Suspension (http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/h7-35w-canbus-pro-hid-xenon-conversion-kit-projector-clips/)
to his Valeos without problems but the occasional bulb not striking. See thread in:
UKpassats.co.uk • View topic - UPgrade Halogen to HiD (http://www.ukpassats.co.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=86879)

Do not buy any of the cheeepo Amazon or eBait kits on offer. Been there, done that. While it's possible to code out the errors these kits cause, it's your CANbus that controls your headlight supply. It gets switched off because CANbus thinks there's a fault coz it can't see a filament bulb. My experience is (after working on this for several hours) that the error returns after a few miles even with tweaking the coding in VCDS to switch off error reporting, etc.

Hope that helps

[wmoham001]

You should only fit HIDs to your dipped beam headlights as those are projector light units

You should not get more than 5000k as then there's too much blue in the beam and that's a potential polis stop. 35W is sufficient to replace your impotent Van Helsing carriage-like existing filiament bulbs.
Or you can go to a light output that's between the filiament and HID -- Osram NightBreakers (one of mine only lasted 10 months) Or Philips ExtraVision (mine have lasted nearly three years now)

You should then get matching LED side lights as filiament W5W bulbs' yellow output looks silly with the dipped beams on

If you have Hella dipped beam light units you should be alright for fitting
If you have Valeo dipped beam light units you can only get HID kit that has a fitting ring to mount the unit to the light unit
If you have Valeo dipped beam light units you will have the same fitting problem for LEDs as for HIDs. Although a more up-to-date than HIDs' solution

You should only go for HID kit that's "CANbus friendly" The Retrofit Source in the US supply Morimoto that come with the adapter ring for Valeo and are CANbus friendly. But are more expensive what with paying in US$, shipping, etc. Morimoto don't have a UK or Europe sales agent.

User in this thread bought from HIDs Direct (£52.50 inc p&p inc VAT -- not bad for a 35W system, they do 4300k, 5000k, and 6000k bulb options) and fitted this kit:
H7 35w Canbus Pro HID Xenon Conversion kit + projector clips - HIDS DIRECT LTD Store | HIDS Direct Ltd. for HID Xenon kits, Xenon bulbs, MTEC bulbs, LED's, Car Parts and Air Suspension (http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/h7-35w-canbus-pro-hid-xenon-conversion-kit-projector-clips/)
to his Valeos without problems but the occasional bulb not striking. See thread in:
UKpassats.co.uk • View topic - UPgrade Halogen to HiD (http://www.ukpassats.co.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=86879)

Do not buy any of the cheeepo Amazon or eBait kits on offer. Been there, done that. While it's possible to code out the errors these kits cause your CANbus controlling the headlight supply being switched off because CANbus thinks there's a fault (coz it can't see a filament bulb) My experience is (after working on this for several hours) that the error returns after a few miles.

Hope that helps
Great advice. Particularly regarding 35w not 55w . The latter is way too bright, intense and most likely will burn your reflectors.
Did my Audi a4 2012 last year.
No more driving in dark with rubbish halogen lights!
Changed my fog lights to same colour intensity and side lights to white led too.

[MiniMental]

Thanks buddy for the link to your thread.
Have you managed to figure out the back cover problem?
I've noticed you couldn't get the OEM rubber cover on after you've fitter the bulbs but didn't see whether you've managed to resolve them.
Condoms kind of sound a bit silly so wondering whether there is a different solution to the problem? Like some sort of aftermarket covers perhaps?
Would like to fit the bulbs + have a proper back cover :)

Thanks

You won't be able to fit any other lights without removing or modifying the back cover fella. Condoms work fine. They stretch around it all, are thin enough to permit heat transfer and are waterproof. Enough said. The back of any LED bulb is huge. But worth it IMO, not found any aftermarket covers. Being fanless leds they have big heatsinks out the back. Not causing me any issues though. Can't say anybody's ever asked to look at the back of my headlights to see what covers are on them [emoji108][emoji6] hehe.

All that is of course, if B6 lights are similar to B5.5... mines 5.5.


2005 Passat Variant PD130..

No school like the old school...

[WinDrop]

Thanks for the advise :)
Seems that opinions still vary between HIDs and LEDs

What are the Cons in fitting both LEDs and HIDs?

Seems that HIDs are a bit safer when it comes to heat as they do not produce as much heat as LEDs do, meaning that if LED fan or heatsink fail then they could potentially burn the reflector or affect other electronics while this will never be a problem with HIDs. Is this correct?
Also seems that there are a lot more options when it comes to choosing HIDs as LED market isn't that big yet.

Question is which will affect my MOT the least.
Based on what I've read here and also read on other forums/websites it seems that as long as I choose HIDs that are 35W and 4.3K or lower there shouldn't be any issues with passing MOT (I'm doing mine at VW dealer, will they be OK with these bad boys fitted or they're paying more attention to these kind of mods?)

I already have 2x W5W Philips White Vision bulbs (came with a H7 bulb set) so can potentially use them when fitting either HIDs or LEDs. Will they suffice or do I need a different set of W5W to make them more HID/LED like?

[MiniMental]

I'm not convinced you will pass MoT with HiDs fitted. Beam pattern is practically non existent and they do check it. Mine failed on it in October (clouded up lenses).... so far as I know, HiDs produce far far more heat than LEDs. Just in a different way. The heatsink is to protect the electronics within the bulb as the resistors get hot, not the reflector. I had white vision sides... my leds made them look street lamp yellow lol. Projectors aren't designed for HiDs unless they're HiD projectors. Period. HiD bulbs emit light from a different, more spread focal point, both halogens and leds emit light from a single point, hence their seeming compatibility. Leds are also set to last up to 50000 hours or more, I doubt HiDs would?

Not entirely convinced about the 6000k+ argument for blues. Every single factory new Mini I see on the road the lights are police blue from the right angle. Then about 8000k head on.


2005 Passat Variant PD130..

No school like the old school...

[zollaf]

dont forget that hids came out at the end of last century, on top end cars like the audi s4, when leds still came in either red or green and could be seen from 10 feet away. hasn't technology come a long way this century.

[WinDrop]

Have any of you had any experience with Philips LEDs?
Seems that they are quite expensive but have some very nice reviews: http://www.horizonleds.co.uk/headlamp-cree-led/5th-gen-4000-lumens/h7-5th-gen-4000-lumens
Any ideas?
Don't want to buy some very cheap Chinese ones. Just don't trust them :) lol

Seems I will have to save some money but I think I have finally figured out what is wrong with my current halogen headlights.
Driver side light is very dim so thinking it might be earth related problem.
Will do a bit more fiddling around tomorrow to see whether I can find out what is causing it to be so dim.

[zollaf]

i think you will find that every led you buy comes from china. in fact most of the electronic components on you car inside the ecus will have been made in china.

[MiniMental]

Just make sure they have a warranty when you buy them. Mine do. Happy days.


2005 Passat Variant PD130..

No school like the old school...

[WinDrop]

Just make sure they have a warranty when you buy them. Mine do. Happy days.


2005 Passat Variant PD130..

No school like the old school...

I didn't mean that :) As I'm a very close with computers and been working in IT for last 15 years I'm aware that most of the electronics come from China :)
I meant that I don't trust them cheap Chinese knock offs without any branding on them or some sort of a brand which I have never heard of.
I understand that bulbs from Philips or Bosch might be overpriced but then they at least come with some sort of warranty and peace of mind that they will work.

Everything else that is cheap will most definitely not go through proper quality control therefore is more likely to cause issues and won't be eligible for any refunds or returns :(

[Crasher]

HID and LED bulbs in ANY external light units (not just headlights) designed for incandescent bulbs are illegal under the construction and use act

[WinDrop]

HID and LED bulbs in ANY external light units (not just headlights) designed for incandescent bulbs are illegal under the construction and use act
how are people passing their MOTs then?
Swapping them back before going to the garage?

[MiniMental]

HID and LED bulbs in ANY external light units (not just headlights) designed for incandescent bulbs are illegal under the construction and use act

Definatley a glass half empty kinda guy, [emoji14][emoji56] but Ahh well, where B5.5 Passats are concerned, incandescent/halogen Headlight bulbs should be illegal. Hahaha


2005 Passat Variant PD130..

No school like the old school...

[RichardSEL]

I feel like that too. Comes from a time when first the Japanese, then the Chinese, now the other poorer Pacific rim countries first made components and small domestic equipment which worked, was innovative in design, but then fell apart. And we bought simply because dumb numb nuts British management couldn't actually make what the British public wanted. So the diverse UK electronics manufacturing industry went to the wall. Car related: in the '60s I was working at Pye Telecom who'd stolen a march on the rest of europe with their Private Mobile Radios for statutory services and taxis. And what were the transmitters made of? Valves:biglaugh:

With some nervousness bought my Indicator/DRLs thru an Ali Barber supplier. And they've now done three years without so much as a single LED out. Mind you, they are Osram LEDs (made under licence in China)

And how's your gearbox? Made in China? Yep! by Aisin Warner for the DSGs :1zhelp:

[RichardSEL]

HID and LED bulbs in ANY external light units (not just headlights) designed for incandescent bulbs are illegal under the construction and use act

I've seen draft regulations for the after fitting of HIDs, but no such restrictions for LEDs.
Are you saying that you know of Construction & Use regulations that ban either in projector headlights?
Any source?

[Gazwould]

Why on earth are quality Philips and Osram led ( non cree ) sidelights with light diffusers deemed for off road use only ?

It should be the pathetic pointless yellow halogen glow that should be illegal .

[Crasher]

how are people passing their MOTs then?

The MOT test is not the same as the Construction and Use Act, the MOT is only supposed to check for HID or LED headlights but they don’t do their job properly. I have LED front side lights and number plate lights which I know are illegal but I know also do not cause other road users to be blinded, I suppose you would call it pragmatism in some quarters, hypocrisy in others.


Definatley a glass half empty kinda guy

Nope, my glass is bone dry with dust blowing around in the bottom…


Why on earth are quality Philips and Osram led ( non cree ) sidelights with light diffusers deemed for off road use only ?

When the rules were made, technology was different, the legislation is years behind, same as with many things to do with the EU, it moves like a snail.

Flipping heck, too many questions!


I've seen draft regulations for the after fitting of HIDs, but no such restrictions for LEDs. Are you saying that you know of Construction & Use regulations that ban either in projector headlights? Any source?

The MOT regulations stipulate HID or LED should not be used in units not designed for their use and on cars not fitted with automatic self-levelling headlights and headlights pressure wash.

[Crasher]

I have tried to get proper legal written clarification on this and failed. Personally I find a pair of round glass lensed H4 headlights with relay feeds to each filament and a direct battery power with Phillip’s 130% bulbs give the best illumination. I remember a few years ago Auto Express did a test with a Beetle (proper one, engine in the boot…) with what I think were the replacement H4 units as used in the Golf 1 and these performed better than many of the modern cars. This is why for years in the US you had to have round headlights, remember Volvo’s and Jags with US spec headlights?

[WinDrop]

I have tried to get proper legal written clarification on this and failed. Personally I find a pair of round glass lensed H4 headlights with relay feeds to each filament and a direct battery power with Phillip’s 130% bulbs give the best illumination. I remember a few years ago Auto Express did a test with a Beetle (proper one, engine in the boot…) with what I think were the replacement H4 units as used in the Golf 1 and these performed better than many of the modern cars. This is why for years in the US you had to have round headlights, remember Volvo’s and Jags with US spec headlights?

Failed in what way?
Is whoever you wrote to simply cannot provide a written proof that LEDs aren't allowed in projector headlights?
Or are they simply not responding to your requests?

Would be interested who do I need to write to as that would work as a proof once I fit LEDs and if being stopped by police.
No written rules - no fine :)

[zollaf]

previous led bulbs have seemed to be a load of leds on a stick that produce light from many places. thesse new ones seem to be a single cree led with one direct light source, so should pass an mot light beam alignmnet test. that would be the first hurdle anyway.

[WinDrop]

previous led bulbs have seemed to be a load of leds on a stick that produce light from many places. thesse new ones seem to be a single cree led with one direct light source, so should pass an mot light beam alignmnet test. that would be the first hurdle anyway.
Very keen to call VW dealer tomorrow and say "I'm thinking of fitting LED headlights to my Passat. Which bulbs do you suggest?"
Without any "is it legal" etc... :)

[zollaf]

they would sell you some led headlights. you need to ask which led bulbs would best fit your current headlamps. in fact, they would try to sell you a new passat with led headlights . you can already buy complet 7'' round headlights for around 400 quids to fit to any landrover or other old car with 7'' round headlights, which were fitted to most old cars before other shapes were invented. there is no mention of them being legal though. as for the washers and levelling, the actual wording is that they must work if fitted, when using led or hid. so they cant fail mot if they are not fitted, but can fail if they are fitted but dont work. some early hid equipped cars had neither anyway. its a sheepfield, it really is.

[Gazwould]

I'd love to fit some LED H7's even the best halogens don't cut it .

Too many kits to choose from Gen 1 to Gen 7 , fan , fanless , then there are undisclosed fitting issues possibly unique to your model of car .

Then there's the Kelvin colour , what is claimed might be different to your interpretation , even the colour charts don't agree .

Too many considerations and variables to get it right first time .

[Crasher]

Failed in what way

Read about it in publications and the MOT manual but not been able to find the legal stuff itself ont tinterweb, low boredom threshold...

There was an issue of Car Mechanics mag earlier this year which went into the subject but I have binned it and their online system is non existent. If you want o start looking, Google brings up so much crap...

GEM’s latest research on illegal car bulbs - Motoring Advice and News (http://www.motoringassist.com/motoring-advice/news/gems-latest-research-on-illegal-car-bulbs)

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120606172804/http:/assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/dft-information-sheets/aftermarket-hid-headlamps.pdf

Dangers of illegal HID headlight conversion kits explained | Auto Express (http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/consumer-news/94753/dangers-of-illegal-hid-headlight-conversion-kits-explained)

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/205920/13_013.pdf

bored now.....

[WinDrop]

Read about it in publications and the MOT manual but not been able to find the legitimisation itself on tinterweb, low boredom threshold...

There was an issue of Car Mechanics mag earlier this year which went into the subject but I have binned it and their online system is non existent. If you want o start looking, Google brings up so much crap...

GEM’s latest research on illegal car bulbs - Motoring Advice and News (http://www.motoringassist.com/motoring-advice/news/gems-latest-research-on-illegal-car-bulbs)

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120606172804/http:/assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/dft-information-sheets/aftermarket-hid-headlamps.pdf

Dangers of illegal HID headlight conversion kits explained | Auto Express (http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/consumer-news/94753/dangers-of-illegal-hid-headlight-conversion-kits-explained)

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/205920/13_013.pdf

bored now.....

Thanks for the links.
I think that the PDF which is uploaded on gov.uk website kind of explains it all even for HIDs.
They cannot fail you on HIDs unless the colour schema is way too far from white (Clear blue or anything else)
Same would apply for LEDs but there are no mentions to it on.

I will send them an email asking regarding LEDs and hopefully will get a response in few days or at leas by end of the week.
I will also call and Email VW to see whether they can answer any MOT related questions.

Once answers received from both parties I will summarise it all up and post here.
Perhaps later all the information from this thread can be used for anybody who is going to ask HID or LED related questions :)

[zollaf]

as i said earlier, if you look at the led on the gem site, its a multi led , led. loads of leds so lots of light soursce. the ones like mentalmini fitted are a single cree led so have a fine light source just like a normal filament bulb.

[Crasher]

I like my LED porch light...

[RichardSEL]

I like my LED porch light...


Glad I asked. Wouldn't want to be led astray...

[WinDrop]

I've done the LED conversion and man that has made a difference :) Thanks for all the help.

Had a reply from VOSA regarding headlights and conversions and they have only forwarded me documentation regarding HID conversions and the fact that they aren't legal because of the beam pattern.
I have asked to confirm whether the same applies to LEDs as they have different beam pattern and whether they can provide an official document which would specify that those are also road legal. Still waiting for a reply.
Once I have it I will post it here.

[MiniMental]

Glad it helped :), Another good result :) awesome.


2005 Passat Variant PD130..

No school like the old school...

[zollaf]

I've done the LED conversion and man that has made a difference :) Thanks for all the help.

Had a reply from VOSA regarding headlights and conversions and they have only forwarded me documentation regarding HID conversions and the fact that they aren't legal because of the beam pattern.
I have asked to confirm whether the same applies to LEDs as they have different beam pattern and whether they can provide an official document which would specify that those are also road legal. Still waiting for a reply.
Once I have it I will post it here.

which bulbs did you go for.. ???

[WinDrop]

which bulbs did you go for.. ???
Decided to go with Philips...
Not sure why but for some reason although a lot more expensive, when it comes to lights (specially in cars) I tend to stick with Philips.
Bought these ones http://www.horizonleds.co.uk/h7-5th-gen-4000-lumens
If used with BLACK25 code then they end up being £104 including delivery.

I know...still a lot more than your normal £30 Chinese knock offs on ebay but as I said, for some reason Philips just makes my mind calmer :)

[zollaf]

so how much better than halogens ??

[WinDrop]

so how much better than halogens ??

A lot.
I don't have before image but I will make an after image at some point tomorrow.
Taking into account that I couldn't see the road AT ALL. I am very happy now :)

[RichardSEL]

Horizon are still flagging up Black Friday 25% discount ATM

Did you find you had to cut or leave off your cap?

[WinDrop]

Horizon are still flagging up Black Friday 25% discount ATM

Did you find you had to cut or leave off your cap?
Noup, it's quite compact and if you reverse the base then the bulb becomes 8.8cm long meaning that it's only 2cm longer than normal bulb.
With this in mind there is still plenty of space for the connection to fit behind the cap.

[WinDrop]

Decided that it's worth to put a quick update on here.
I know I haven't updated it for a while but I was waiting for VOSA to reply to my email.

I haven't heard from them at all meaning that they cannot provide any proof that LED kits are illegal.
On top of that I have found this following information on powerbulbs.com (Sorry, not spam and I am not making any profit from this website) which says

Fitting guidelines

As long as your car meets the following criteria you’ll be able to fit these stylish lights to your car.
In order to ensure road legality there needs to be a minimum of 600mm between the two LED units and each unit needs to be no more than 400mm from the left or right of the front of the vehicle. We highly recommend measuring your vehicle before you choose this product to avoid disappointment.

Url to it is: Philips LED DaylightGuide DRL (Daylight Running Lights) Set | PowerBulbs (https://www.powerbulbs.com/product/led-daylightguide)

Hope this helps to those who want to fit LED kits :)

[RichardSEL]

<snip> The MOT regulations stipulate HID or LED should not be used in units not designed for their use and on cars not fitted with automatic self-levelling headlights and headlights pressure wash.

I've seen those draft regs for HiDs but not for LEDs. Which is why I'm trying to get a copy of the regs that include LEDs.

All understood for reflector head units, but for projector? Mind you, the D(a)FT / VOSA paper shufflers probably don't know what a projector is what with it being new technology ...since the 70s :o

Only a few months back VOSA ended up in the High Court coz their "officers" (they're not) were performing stops. They've got no Statutory Powers of Stop except under supervision -- they claimed that they were being monitored on CCTV when in reality there needs to be a Police officer physically at the location of any stop taking place. But who cares? They're the State... :biglaugh:

[Crasher]

Personally I think the regulations for fitting HID bulbs into non compliant cars should be enforced at the roadside using a rope and lamppost, every evening I get dazzled by some ***** with blue retina burning lights scattering all over the place, including those with projector units. I don't want to retaliate with my lights because that is also stupid and dangerous. I think the subject is dying anyway, these Chinese units are horribly unreliable (many blue dazzlers I see are one eyed monsters) and they will be superseded by LED units, I don't know how they are going to perform in projector lights. I remember reading somewhere in the MOT regulations they bundled HID and LED all under one heading with the requirement for self cleaning and auto levelling but I can no longer find it. Is it me getting old though and my eyes being more sensitive but so many cars headlights blind me, even new high end cars with factory HID's. At a + junction near work I have to sit and wait to turn right and on the other side, the traffic is doing the same. The road on the other side is coming up a slight incline and slightly tilting the car up, the dazzle for modern HID lights is intense. The other one that winds me up is people parking on the wrong side of the road facing towards you jawing away on their mobile with their headlights on dipped. What they don't realise is that the dip is now aimed straight at the oncoming traffic who can't see a pedestrian walking out behind said parked car. There are good reasons why you are not supposed to park facing the wrong way but it never gets enforced, get me some rough hanging rope....:rant:

[Gazwould]

Even some of these DRL are dazzling , too many , too bright and some are too high up .

[Crasher]

Yes I think it is the C3 or C5 Citroen ones I have noticed that if they catch you at the right ankle it is like having a photo-flash go off in your face, white intense light. I was trying to edge out of the vets the other night in the dark and I nearly pulled out in front of a cyclist who had one bright LED light but he was all in black and blended perfectly with the car a good distance behind him so it looked like a DRL in the distance, it is a good job I hesitated.

[RichardSEL]

Easy enough to retrofit headlight washers -- even the cheeepest kit with a push bulb would work.
But for headlight auto-levelling, that's something else. Tried a Mercury tilt switch and in conjunction with the installed headlight height adjuster that worked. But you can only get the tilt switches ON-OFF. No stages inbetween that I've found in a decent small package.

Not sure how B6 OEM Xenons are fitted. But haven't seen them with autolevelling or on CCs. Had a look around the used car lot at Beadles Dartford. On latest Passats they must've met Construction & Use. So presumably have self levelling and wash.

On the Jag X308 ('01MY) the heads' washers only operate every third time the screen wash is used -- they can't be operated independently -- very strange -- still it was owned by Ford then :confused: Levelling is manually adjusted only into four presets
On the Citroen DS (from '71MY) both self leveling and turn seek for high beam was standard :approve:

[Crasher]

I am toying with the idea of some JW Speaker LED 5 3/4" units in a Golf 1 we have in. It has the Zender kit of the 80's (ummm) and the Cibe's are terrible, it's the legality that worries me.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd20/Crasher1964/P1010824_zpsis9s9zbo.jpg (http://s222.photobucket.com/user/Crasher1964/media/P1010824_zpsis9s9zbo.jpg.html)

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd20/Crasher1964/led-headlight-model-8630-evo-optics-combined-2Model%208630%20Evolution_zpsfi1tfjuh.jpg (http://s222.photobucket.com/user/Crasher1964/media/led-headlight-model-8630-evo-optics-combined-2Model%208630%20Evolution_zpsfi1tfjuh.jpg.html)

[Lockstock]

I have been lead to believe that LED headlights and main-beam lights are not legal as they don't have a directional projector, the light just 'sprays' out in all directions.
I have just fitted two sets of ballasts and two sets of HID bulbs for my A4b7. Now this is the mystery as I love the projection of the light from my dipped beam but on main beam I seem to have just two circular beams, I think this is to do with the fact that the dipped beam is the angel/devil eye (domed lense) as the main beam bulb is exposed with just the reflecting housing so thus letting off two circular patterns.
Can anyone give me any advice on how to project the light in a desired exact line of light?
i also went for 6000 lumens as I read this is a Legal colour/brightness???
kind regards
Lockstock.

[MiniMental]

Don't know who led you to believe that. I have LED headlight bulbs in my B5.5 projectors and the definition is flawless... main beam technically in my eyes doesn't matter, you shouldn't have it on when people are coming towards you or are in front of you. Period. So who's gonna see it? As long as it lights the road up for you too see of course. Domed lenses are projectors. Dished silver mirrors are reflectors.

To change the projection of highbeam light you need different headlights. But I doubt it would do any good. Highbeam is supposed to be "full on" if you know what I mean.


2005 Passat Variant PD175 ;)..

No school like the old school...

[2008tdihighline]

Even some of these DRL are dazzling , too many , too bright and some are too high up .
And so many people drive around with just them on in the dark! God damn modern cars where the dash lights up without lights on, stupid invention for lots of people! Pretty sure you had to have your lights on to get the dash lit up on older cars.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[Crasher]

An article in Car mechanics magazine last year had a statement in it from the Department Of Transport which stated that LED bulbs fitted into a unit designed for an incandescent bulb is illegal. It may well pass an MOT and work perfectly well but even the LED bulbs I have in my side and number plate lights are illegal.

One thing, has anyone else noticed an apparent increase in the number of cars you see driving along in the dark with no lights on?

[MiniMental]

I see countless people driving around with lights off. Usually new Ford transit customs/connects. They have brighter than usual sidelights (non led drls) and the dash is always lit. It actually dims when you put lights on. But rear lights are off. I flash them but they never seem to get the message. I can't see when my lights are off. Don't know how people don't realise tbh....


2005 Passat Variant PD175 ;)..

No school like the old school...

[Gazwould]

DOT is behind the times .

On my recent travels I've seen 3 vehicles , even a 16 plate with lights up front and absolutely nothing on at the rear .

[Crasher]

the dash is always lit

I think that this permanently illuminated dash concept has a lot to do with it, if the clocks were dark people would soon realise.

[RichardSEL]

An article in Car mechanics magazine last year had a statement in it from the Department Of Transport which stated that LED bulbs fitted into a unit designed for an incandescent bulb is illegal. It may well pass an MOT and work perfectly well but even the LED bulbs I have in my side and number plate lights are illegal.
One thing, has anyone else noticed an apparent increase in the number of cars you see driving along in the dark with no lights on?

DafT has a vested interest in saying "everything is illegal" when it's not. Everything is legal except what's specifically in Statute made illegal. I belong to two classic car clubs and they continually have a running battle with DafT as they try to close down classic cars either being on the road as originally manufactured -- or insisting that uptodate (such as flashers instead of semaphore indicators) are fitted.
Remember the Heathrow Bus Lane that needed the intervention of the Mayor of London (against fatty Prescott) to have it removed?

Screw the paper shufflers. And their minions at VOSA that don't do their job anyway (see the VW emissions debacle) And their attempts
to use Stopping Powers, un-Police supervised. (they tried to claim they were on CCTV and so supervised -- action thrown out by the High Court)

Yes, and have done stops in my time for no lights after lighting up time. Excuses range from: "I didn't know", to "I can see perfectly well in the street lamps", to "the fuse is blown and it's been booked in", to "but how am I supposed to get home?" to "everythingsh finesh ossifersh"