After-mark HIDS?, dash warning lights? -you've failed MOT!

[mph1977]

XG332 said:

idlerich said:

I've just had to remove the HID
lights on my soarer as they will fail my MOT (cos they don't have an associated washer and self-levelling system)

Good

I have to agree with XG332 over the fact that VOSA is taking action against half cocked modifications ...

[mph1977]

mmm-five said:

AngryPartsBloke said:

Personally i dont see why i have to be blinded on the way home from work so some t**ts have the freedom to show off who has the brightest blue headlights outside Mcdonalds on a friday night.

But you're happy for everyone else who's not blinding you, and only upgraded to have better night vision, to be punished by the same 'law'.

Surely if they're aligned correctly then they're not going to dazzle anyone, or next you'll be demanding the death sentence for anyone who doesn't switch of their main beam quickly enough for you.

the point is that HIDs are alignment critical hence the reason that legal installations require automatic self levelling and the requirement for headlight washers is a good one in general.

the action is against half cocked modification , rather than technically competent ones.

[magpies]

must admit HIDs were the only way to get a decent dipped beam on my A4 (owned the car for 9 years and tried everything else I could think of. I do however make sure that they are set at the best angle for me to see without being too high and causing problems as I too hate being 'partially blinded' by incorrectly aimed dipped beams. I do check and adjust them when having different loads in the car. One problem is that although cars have self levelling they need to be SET by the driver just as I have to on mine.

[Jetl3on]

Exiting Greenwich Park at 6pm the other night, crawling along the lanes, unfamiliar with the route, no road markings, no cats eyes, families wandering about in the form of shapes and shadows and not a solitary streetlight to guide you out, a tad scary as I couldnt see a bluddy thing, it was pitch black. Its situations like this in my mind that justify having these. However I have been warned by Mr MOT, that I will have to remove them when I get tested.

[mmm-five]

Jetl3on said:

Exiting Greenwich Park at 6pm the other night, crawling along the lanes, unfamiliar with the route, no road markings, no cats eyes, families wandering about in the form of shapes and shadows and not a solitary streetlight to guide you out, a tad scary as I couldnt see a bluddy thing, it was pitch black. Its situations like this in my mind that justify having these. However I have been warned by Mr MOT, that I will have to remove them when I get tested.

If it was that dark, then why not use your high beam?

[Jetl3on]

mmm-five said:

If it was that dark, then why not use your high beam?

I did, I had to, but I tend to `flash` rather than drive with them if I cant see the bends ahead, a habit I got into over the years. And if truth be told, it did give a little extra illumination, but limited being 80s technology.

Edited by Jetl3on on Thursday 23 February 10:57

Edited by Jetl3on on Thursday 23 February 10:58

[magpies]

Jetl3on said:

I did, I had to, but I tend to `flash` rather than drive with them if I cant see the bends ahead, a habit I got into over the years. And if truth be told, it did give a little extra illumination, but limited being 80s technology.

Edited by Jetl3on on Thursday 23 February 10:57

Edited by Jetl3on on Thursday 23 February 10:58

I don't understand this'flashing' .............if it is dark enough and no on coming trafic then use all you mainbeam and spots/driving lamps. I get a little frustrated following people when dark and they are driving only on dips so not iluminating the road ahead, means I cannot see passed tjhem enough to see if it is safe enough to pass.

[Jetl3on]

magpies said:

I don't understand this'flashing' .............if it is dark enough and no on coming trafic then use all you mainbeam and spots/driving lamps. I get a little frustrated following people when dark and they are driving only on dips so not iluminating the road ahead, means I cannot see passed tjhem enough to see if it is safe enough to pass.

Indeed, but the main beam is so rarely needed or used in London, I forget to switch it off quick enough when I do use it, then feel guilty, so I flash. Thats the problem with habits, sometimes they make no sense.

[beninuk]

the only cars that seem to blind me are new ones, range rovers

http://thumbsnap.com/sc/LAzn5sYz.jpg

when i got mine fitted they are aligned lower so it just goes up to the reg plate on a normal size car. Does this now mean that my Kit will have to come out and also i will now need to buy new lights again as i dont believe the replicas can fit the wiper?? This is the first i have read about all this and its a bit poor of the goverment not letting us know by mail or something.

[DaveEssex]

So it's the Governments fault, is it, that you can't be bothered to check if your fitment is legal. It's not difficult to find the facts. If you bothered to check with 1000's of main dealers etc, they'd soon tell you what is required. Surely, having gone to the trouble of learning to drive in the first place, and then paying out serious money to tax and insure a vehicle, you might have an incling that there are rules in the car owning game.

[magpies]

magpies said:

I too hate being 'partially blinded' by incorrectly aimed dipped beams. The problem is that although cars have self levelling they need to be SET by the driver just as I have to on mine.

/\/\/\ This is the biggest problem - if they were adjusted properly in the first place it would take most of the problem away.

[wildcat45]

I understand the requirement for self levelling, but not headlight cleaners.

All cars benefit from having clean lights, but why the legal demand for them with HIDs?

[sisu]

wildcat45 said:

I understand the requirement for self levelling, but not headlight cleaners.

All cars benefit from having clean lights, but why the legal demand for them with HIDs?

Because that is the law and the way they were sold on all cars all over the world when the HID lights were launched. There were issues over the light being deflected unless the covers were clear. So everyone had to fit the headlamp washers.
As for the other changes it is all good in my eyes.

[vsonix]

spats said:

idlerich said:

There's lots of new tests coming into force with the latest MOT checks. Eg, I've just had to remove the HID
lights on my soarer as they will fail my MOT (cos they don't have an associated washer and self-levelling
system)

Check out these links, and you should also note the dates if you have an MOT pending..

http://uk.autoblog.com/2012/01/04/changes-to-mot-r...

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/technicalpen...

http://www2.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadl...

You have been warned!

Edited by idlerich on Tuesday 10th January 22:09

Seriously I wouldnt bother, there seems to be a massive HID hate on here and anyone even hinting at using them is clearly the devils sporn and should be banned from breathing.

Its so boring to hear about these people who "think" every HID kit fitted to every car in the land is done by a chav and means instant blinding and death for all those who come across them at night!

Heres an idea for some of you haters, do what your supposed to do when driving towards a car at night, do NOT stare at the lights! problem solved.

Yes there are some idiots who have badly adjusted headlights out there, but a high percentage are normal halogens and a badly adjusted headlight is worse than a great majority of HID setups.

All this will do is get HIDs removed for the MOT and then refitted after. Cops have better things to be doing than trying to work out if a car thats just gone past them is HID equiped or not.

Quite. If they really had to bring in HID legislation, then making sure the kit is type-approved, has the appropriate type of bulb fitted for the headlamp unit (reflector or projector) and is displaying the same proper beam pattern as regular headlamps with a colour temperature not exceeding 10000K - maybe even 8000K if blue-ish tinge really gets people goat that much - would have been more than ample, IMO.
The dirt thing is mostly a red herring as far as I can see. I've had cars with headlamp wash/wiper blades and the newer jet type and they won't shift seagull st let alone a bit of Devon mud and road-salt clag. It IS possible to have aftermarket HIDs fitted in a reflector head unit and still not blind people assuming they have been correctly fitted. I ran 6000Ks on my last car, with reflector lights rather than projector, fitted by a garage. The bulbs were specifically designed to be used in reflectors not projectors, so imagine my surprise when the first two nights I took the car out, I got flashed at by every third car. Obviously something was up, so I took them back, not wanting to be an inconsiderate road user. Turned out the self-levelling had moved upwards and got stuck. They were then refitted properly; I subsequently used them for over two years with no complaints or headlight flashing from other drivers.
The increased visibility made night driving safer and more comfortable. My current car is running Osram Nightbreaker Plus through projectors, by comparison I would describe them as 'adequate'. I will probably get some 4300K ones fitted.

Edited by vsonix on Monday 9th April 19:18

[vsonix]

Jetl3on said:

Im surprised this is such a big issue, as the 8000k Ice blue HID is no longer the popular choice and are a rarity these days. The number of cars with ill fitting kits that dazzle are minute compared to the overall number fitted.
I drive a relatively `low` car and I find that most 4x4`s headlights are directly inline with my mirrors which are extremely bright, that is a far more common problem than aftermarket kits.

And another +1. If people fitted 4300k lights fitted instead of 8000k it's likely most of the vehemently anti-HID crowd would even notice a difference. And I am constantly getting dazzled by SUVs, HID or Halogen, they're shining right at my rear-view.

Clumsy, clumsy legislation. If they spent half as much energy on making sure people didn't drive around with one light brighter than the other or missing altogether things would be far better.

Edited by vsonix on Friday 13th April 18:09

[TinyCappo]

The Op has a Soarer assumIng he has the 4l v8 with either the hydraulic or airbag suspension as standard (self levelling) he can have HIDs as long as he fits washer jets. He doesn't sound like some nobber chav with reflector bowls and a saxo

[robinessex]

Just for the record, my E34 540 BMW had the worst headlights I've ever come across. The complete light units were eventually replaced with HID units, I could see where I was going at last, and I NEVER got flashed by oncoming traffic.

[vsonix]

robinessex said:

Just for the record, my E34 540 BMW had the worst headlights I've ever come across. The complete light units were eventually replaced with HID units, I could see where I was going at last, and I NEVER got flashed by oncoming traffic.

Same on my '00 e36 Compact - they illuminated basically nothing. Switching to HIDs was quite possibly the best value mod I made to that car - I noticed straight away that my level of driver's fatigue after even a fairly short night drive was far lower.
The OEM projectors on my '97 coupé are a big improvement over the 318ti but still only adequate as headlights go. You sometimes wonder how on a cars as generally good all-round as a 90s BMW manage to have fundamentally important things like headlights letting things down considering the attention to detail and functionality that does into everything else...

[magpies]

I still say that 90% of the 'blinding' would go away if the beam levels are correctly (set) aimed.

[vsonix]

it would, that's why this whole legislation is, frankly, retarded. Ban 'ice blue' lights if you must since there seems to be a cross-section of drivers who can't help staring at them instead of the road ahead, but HID itself isn't the culprit as far as blinding woes are concerned.