LHD New Beetle - RHD Headlights problem

**kenney** · 05-01-2010,11:14 PM

There is no regulation regarding reversing lights,although having it on the proper side is to the drivers advantage.There is however regulations for fog lights,there is the possibility the wire is on both sides,however if it isn't,it is not a lot of work to run the wire from one side to the other

**253simon** · 30-10-2011,08:57 AM

Originally Posted by kenney

You must remove the headlight and there is a lever for rhd and lhd vehicles

Hi can somebody explain where the lever is. I've removed the lights & there are 2 thin silver levers at opposite ends, but they don't seem to do anything. I'm trying to get them to lhd mode for France

alvowles · 30-06-2012,02:55 PM

Originally Posted by 253simon

Hi can somebody explain where the lever is. I've removed the lights & there are 2 thin silver levers at opposite ends, but they don't seem to do anything. I'm trying to get them to lhd mode for France

I'd be interested to know where the lever is too as hoping to buy a LHD beetle mot'd in the uk and export it to France. Presumably the lights have been changed to rhd use for the uk and would need changing back.

alvowles · 30-06-2012,03:10 PM

Sorry re-read and see this frees to new beetles, do the old beetles have a lever too?

**Frelon** · 30-06-2012,04:33 PM

Looked at my headlights (VW New Beetle) and it took a while to find the lever, but it is there. This is the offside (right) headlight and the lever (bright metal) is down beside the brown coloured dipped beam reflector. Just take a long thin screwdriver and move this lever in the opposite direction to where it is at present. I would have thought that this idea would have been a bit too advanced for the original VW Beetle

VWBeetle.jpg

alvowles · 04-07-2012,09:32 AM

Originally Posted by Frelon

Enty

You will also need to change the rear fog light and reversing light in order for the car to pass the Controle Technique (French equivalent of MOT).

Unfortunately you will need to buy/obtain them for a LHD car because your LHD car would have had to have had them changed to pass the original MOT in the UK.

I know because I have been there. Also bought LHD headlights before I found the little levers!!

Im thinking of buying a new beetle as the old bugs seem too difficult to import to France. Other than the side of the steering wheel and the headlights which seem possible to switch with a lever from this thread, what other differences are there in a LHD and RHD? I've read about switching the fogs etc on this thread, but in every pic Ive looked at of a rhd and lhd, they ALL have the white light (presumably the reversing light) on the left and the red light (presumably the fog light) on the right, so I'm confused about this.
thaks.

**Frelon** · 04-07-2012,04:43 PM

Hi, if you look closely the RH drive cars (unless they have been converted for driving on the continent) have the rear fog light on the right (in the middle of the road) with the (p*ss poor) reversing light on the left. Conversely when you spot a LHD New Beetle on the continent it will have the rear fog light on the left (in the middle of the road) and the reversing light on the right. Honest!!!

alvowles · 04-07-2012,05:06 PM

Originally Posted by Frelon

Hi, if you look closely the RH drive cars (unless they have been converted for driving on the continent) have the rear fog light on the right (in the middle of the road) with the (p*ss poor) reversing light on the left. Conversely when you spot a LHD New Beetle on the continent it will have the rear fog light on the left (in the middle of the road) and the reversing light on the right. Honest!!!

Well I thought it was odd that they were the same, but didn't think they'd been altered as I've looked once still on the continent as well as LHD ones in the UK. How strange. Thank you. Is it easy to swap them over, assuming this is what has been done to the ones I've been looking at? They look as if the lights are the same size on each side.

**Frelon** · 04-07-2012,06:55 PM

Yes, you will definitely need new lights. Whilst the lights look similar they are not interchangeable. I have a pair of UK lights sitting in my garage!!

I originally bought an imported LHD New Beetle in the UK (the first ones in the UK were all LHD). I bought it just as the RHD models were being introduced to the UK and it was just 2½ years old. It had headlights dipping to the right and had the rear fog light on the left with reversing light on the right! To get it through the MOT I had to change the headlights (the VW garage did not tell me that there was a lever to change over the dipped beam!) and buy a new rear fog light and reversing light. I got the VW garage to organise the wiring.

A couple of years later I made the decision to move to France with my wife. So when I moved over I just changed the lights over (I had kept the original spec lights) put the wiring back as it was and, voila problem solved, and easily through the Contrôle Technique.

You will easily get a Certificate of Conformity, cannot remember how much it cost. If you have a problem finding your chassis number the early ones had them under the back seat! (the banquette, as the French would say!)

Good luck.