Done for HID headlights.
Discussion
Well, After 3 years of having them fitted I was stopped by traffic police for having an Unauthorised lamp fitted.
The headlights are approved for Xenon/HID lamps and the HID kit and ballast are E marked only for use in the correct approved housing which mine are.
But when i was stopped they asked to see under the bonnet. I obliged and they looked at them and because they are 'aftermarket' kit they are immediately illegal. I told them the above that both were OEM equipment other than the HID's being made by a different company.
They said because my car doesnt have self leveling headlamps and washers that they are illegal. But, None of the cars the same as mine that have these as standard have either of these things aswell?
So mine was the same as a factory model fitted with them except because i replaced my dead ones with aftermarket, Im a criminal?
The done me anyway and told me to remove them. £30 lighter.
P.s They are not blinding and are correctly fitted and alligned.
The headlights are approved for Xenon/HID lamps and the HID kit and ballast are E marked only for use in the correct approved housing which mine are.
But when i was stopped they asked to see under the bonnet. I obliged and they looked at them and because they are 'aftermarket' kit they are immediately illegal. I told them the above that both were OEM equipment other than the HID's being made by a different company.
They said because my car doesnt have self leveling headlamps and washers that they are illegal. But, None of the cars the same as mine that have these as standard have either of these things aswell?
So mine was the same as a factory model fitted with them except because i replaced my dead ones with aftermarket, Im a criminal?
The done me anyway and told me to remove them. £30 lighter.
P.s They are not blinding and are correctly fitted and alligned.
172ff said:
Cool story bro!
Glad to see the filth doing something about illegal lights.
What dont you understand? They arent silly, they are no different to the one from the factory. They are projector headlights correctly alligned and fit for Xenon use. The only problem they have was that i chose to buy £60 E-MARKED lights on-line rather than £405 for E-MARKED one's from Renault.Glad to see the filth doing something about illegal lights.
Crusoe - It's a 2002 Renault Megane.
Its still a Renault Megane.
They are factory fitted ffs. Mine died and instead of paying the £400 Renault wanted. I bought other E-Marked and ECE something or other ones for £60 that are the same tempature, wattage etc.
They said they took a chance that mone wouldnt be factory even though there is no difference to mine now than from before other than the ballast saying Philips and not Renault.
They are factory fitted ffs. Mine died and instead of paying the £400 Renault wanted. I bought other E-Marked and ECE something or other ones for £60 that are the same tempature, wattage etc.
They said they took a chance that mone wouldnt be factory even though there is no difference to mine now than from before other than the ballast saying Philips and not Renault.
ensignia said:
I normally hate it when the Police try and do you for a seemingly minor offence, but this time I'm glad, because HIDs in none-HID equipped cars really pisses me off.
What colour temperature were the bulbs?
Did you not read it either? It is an HID equipped car.What colour temperature were the bulbs?
To pu it simple, Its like buying your halogen bulbs from Renault everytime.
Its still a helogen equipped car, You just bought replacements else where.
Jesus christ.
Nickyboy said:
Why are you getting so worked up? If they are E marked as you say and identical to the factory fitted ones then you can contest it in court. Its like you said about buying halogen bulbs from Renault instead of Halfords.
I used to sell them on Ebay and never saw a single E marked kit
I don't see why they singled you out as every other car has them nowadays
Sorry Nicky, just some people dont read my car is an HID car.I used to sell them on Ebay and never saw a single E marked kit
I don't see why they singled you out as every other car has them nowadays
I asked them too how they could even tell and they said they took a chance cos they are doing a crackdown. And because my new ballasts arent as perfectly mounted as my originals they said they'll assume they are aftermarket.
The normal universal kits arent e-marked, but mine are philips ballasts specifically sold to replce my old units.
Beyond Rational said:
Is this to do with the bulbs or the fact that you don't have the washers and leveller on a factory install, which you must?
Renault maybe messed up supplying a car without the full specification.
No, just because the ballasts 'looked' after market and i told them they were replacement.Renault maybe messed up supplying a car without the full specification.
And no, Looked on AT today and 20 odd cars have the same spec.
ZesPak said:
Just to clarify, do they stop every car that has xenons? Or maybe yours looked very aftermarket? I have xenons and the police never queried about them once 
Me neither, had them 2 years with no issues. Replacements been in a year. Dont know if its to do with the 'crackdown' and stopping cars they beleive aftermarket or what. No idea.cuprastu said:
Please don't think I am talking out of turn here, when you fitted your replacement bulbs did you have to fit the ballast unit as well? If so then your car like a lot of meganes are projector headlights with halogen bulbs, and you have fitted a hid kit, which unfortunately is illegal, all hid equipped cars in the uk must have self levelling and headlight washers as per this link http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadla...
If your car did have hid as oem then you could have just bought replacement bulbs and not had to fit a ballast unit etc and would have self levelling and washers. Unfortunately you got caught and the police in this instance were doing their job, although hid kits in projectors are far less annoying than hid's in reflector housings.
Thanks for your reply and the link.If your car did have hid as oem then you could have just bought replacement bulbs and not had to fit a ballast unit etc and would have self levelling and washers. Unfortunately you got caught and the police in this instance were doing their job, although hid kits in projectors are far less annoying than hid's in reflector housings.
They are definetley HID specced , I only replaced the ballast on both sides and one bulb.
Like I said, I've not seen one car the same as mine that has the Xenons fitted with washers and levelling. They are all just Xenon.
Caulkhead said:
If you are absolutely sure your car was supplied new by Renault with HID headlights but no washers or auto-leveling, it's Renault you need to contact before you argue with the courts because Renault have sold you a car that isn't UK type approved. I bought a Honda Accord Type-R new in 1999 which had HID headlights and the washers and levelers were definitely a requirement then, so would have been in 2002.
Did you buy your car new and are you absolutely sure the HID lights were no fitted by a previous owner?
I dont mean to be rude, but I have said numerous times that these cars come with Xenon headlights without the washers. I bought it second hand but loads on auto trader have the same spec without the washers too.Did you buy your car new and are you absolutely sure the HID lights were no fitted by a previous owner?
Even the Ballasts it came with say 'Renault Siemens' on them.
Renault know they dont have them.
Been to Renault and advised them of the situation.
They came back to me 5 mins later and said it's specced correctly and is covered by some ECWVTA regulation that over rides UK law on a 'foreign' car. I phoned the PF today and told them the situation. Just had a call back to disregard the ticket and they'll advise the officers involved.
So... They were factory fit.
They didn't come with washers and levellers atall on some models but still had Xenon.
It's legal due to a regulation that overrides UK law for foreign cars if the actual part is factory fitted and to the country it came from's standard.
The guy at the fiscal was helpful and said any more problems call him directly.
Win, win.
They came back to me 5 mins later and said it's specced correctly and is covered by some ECWVTA regulation that over rides UK law on a 'foreign' car. I phoned the PF today and told them the situation. Just had a call back to disregard the ticket and they'll advise the officers involved.
So... They were factory fit.
They didn't come with washers and levellers atall on some models but still had Xenon.
It's legal due to a regulation that overrides UK law for foreign cars if the actual part is factory fitted and to the country it came from's standard.
The guy at the fiscal was helpful and said any more problems call him directly.
Win, win.
GC8 said:
Im mean that their statement, that the lamps are 'illegal without adjusters' is incorrect. Its internet myth, usually supported by the massively flawed DoT guidelines; often quoted here by those 'in the know'...
Cars do not have to have headlamp adjusters and not having them does not make the fitment illegal. Of course, this does not make the lamps legal, but the mistake made makes the FPN spurious, in my opinion.
Ahh right. Well, Your not the first person to say that to me today (offline of course).Cars do not have to have headlamp adjusters and not having them does not make the fitment illegal. Of course, this does not make the lamps legal, but the mistake made makes the FPN spurious, in my opinion.
Thanks for your reply and going against the grain so to speak. I'll keep it in mind for future reference.
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