Headlights

barwood · Post by **barwood** » 03 May 2005, 14:05

Hi all
I've just moved from the UK to France and need to convert my headlights and I was going to buy new headlights until I was in a supermarket carpark and there was another XM parked nose to nose to me and I looked at the numbers on his lights and they were the same as mine,does anyone know if my lights can just be adjusted or do I have to buy new lights??
Thanks in anticipation Barry

Post by **Peter.N.** » 03 May 2005, 15:38

When yo see another one, look at the lenses and see if they have the same pattern, its only the dipped part thats different. When I took mine to France I stuck some adhesive tape over the left dip section, you can find this by standing in front of the lamp and moving your hand over the lens until you obscure the "left dip" part of the beam. You may already have done this of course.

madmanbob · Post by **madmanbob** » 03 May 2005, 23:02

I also live in France. I think that part of the dip is in the reflecter. XM lights are freely available from the scrap yards for peanuts. If you get the later ones they are better than those fitted to RHD cars. I sold my XM a week ago and bought the Xantia HDI, I would never change back.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 04 May 2005, 03:45

When driving on the continant, it is head lamp kick up you need to eliminate. If you hold a piece of board in front of your car with engine running, h/lamps on dip, the kick up is the part of pattern that comes up from horizontal line of light. Dip beam is filament in bulb with a little shield under it which aims light upwards and reflector bounces it downwards, hence dip beam if driving on opposite side of road your kick up shines in oncoming drivers face, on older Citroens you could move bulb mount to be acceptable on continant
<i>Edited by Moderators</i>

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 04 May 2005, 06:07

Malcolm : Please use punctuation when posting here - it is very hard to read your otherwise good advices [8)]

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 05 May 2005, 01:14

sorry for any probs when trying to read my posstings but all those years ago back in class room i suffered whth mental block when haveing tuision ramed down my throut regards malcolm

madmanbob · Post by **madmanbob** » 05 May 2005, 02:00

When driving on the continent it may be the "kick up" that you need to eliminate, but when moving here as the original question stated, taping the lens would not be acceptable to either the local police or the Control Technik (MOT). It would not take long for the police to notice that a foreign (UK) registered car was here for a long period.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 05 May 2005, 03:21

i would suggest madmanbob reads origanle post it dose state barry moved from UK to france ,allthough i am not sure what the police in either country would think i did several years ago get one of my customers imported ds's wich was a left hooker through M.O.T with tape on head light glass to alimanat kick up ,this was accepted by M.O.T inspector who is farly strict regards malcolm

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 05 May 2005, 03:29

p.s add to last post thinking about it its legal requirment to put patches on h/lamps when driving on wrong side of the road like in france because kick up on right R/H/D car shinse in faces of people driving towards you in L/H/D CARS

madmanbob · Post by **madmanbob** » 05 May 2005, 03:56

I would suggest that citronut reads my post! I was refering to bringing a car fron the UK to France (where I live) and I can tell you that bits of sticky tape on the headlights is not classed as a permanent solution here. Your MOT tester may have let it pass in the UK but here the standards are much higher.
If you would like to read my earlier post you will see that I mentioned scrapyards in France.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 05 May 2005, 05:04

i thought you were refering to post at the opening of this discusion from barwood where barry said he moved from uk to france regards malcolm

fastandfurryous · Post by **fastandfurryous** » 05 May 2005, 05:20

I think the whole point here is that OBVIOUSLY you have to do something to prevent your RHD car from dazzling drivers when driving on the continent, but the tape-on-the-lens solution is TEMPORARY only. If you are going to the continent for more than just two weeks holiday, then a more permanent solution is needed. I know some headlamps can accept bulbs in differing orientations, thus allowing an easy change from LHD to RHD. This was many years ago now, and these days the only permanent solution is to fit headlamps from a LHD car. This has no-doubt come about as a way of making headlamps cheaper.
As for the reverse situation, bringing a LHD car into the UK, some MOT testers will allow bits of sticky tape on the lenses, but then they probably also don't check the body properly for corrosion, and will miss a grumbly wheelbearing. The MOT tester that a friend took his wife's LHD mazda to when they first imported it checked the MOT handbook, and it aparently stated that stick-on modifications to headlamps are not acceptable.
Either way, driving around with bits of tape on your headlamps does reduce the light output, both on dip and on main beam, and I think this is dangerous. Headlamps are a primary saftey component, and shouldn't be modified with bits of adhesive tape!

MW · Post by MW » 05 May 2005, 15:48

"Your MOT tester may have let it pass in the UK but here [in France] the standards are much higher."
Tee hee. I've lost count of the number of French drivers I've seen driving around in seriously dangerous cars. Broken or completely missing lamp units, headlamps that point at the sky because of heavy front-end collision damage, missing bumpers, starburst-cracked windscreens and bald tyres. And all of them are so much more exciting when you're tailgating some poor rosbif into a blind bend.
BTW, I'll never forget my only journey in a French police car. The dashboard was held in place with duck tape, the shocks were gone and there was a tangle of wires sticking out from where the radio unit ought to have been. Give me the British test standard any day. At least it's consistently enforced.

handyman · Post by **handyman** » 05 May 2005, 20:59

To all and sundry, as of an EC directive, dated 1998, any corrective device fitted to headlamps for both RHD and LHD cars must not mask or obscure the light output. Coloured tape is not acceptable as it does not carry a type approval number!
Adhesive light beam deflectors can be purchased for around £10, but Citroen used to make beam bending clip on lenses for about £40.00.
Any car stopped with the tape mod risks an "on the spot" fine of about E300 in Europe. Do not ask me how I know!
I do not know if the UK rozzers charge the same amount to foreign drivers.

barwood · Post by **barwood** » 06 May 2005, 02:50

Thanks for the replys,I have just been told by a French chap at the breakers that you only have to change the plastic deflector behind the glass,he said the glass lenses we're the same and that I would only have to change the deflectors. Well i'm going to try it and I'll let you know
Thanks again
Barry