Car lights

It appears to me that about 10% of cars have something wrong with one or more front lights. Either there's one headlamp out or badly aligned, or dim, and/or it's got a side light missing. I believe these are serious failings. I don't know what the reasons are but I suspect that it's so difficult to replace bulbs on modern cars that people either don't know what to do or can't/don't want to afford to pay people who do.

Car manufacturers should (a) make it easier to replace bulbs and (b) have some form of warning lamp to say there's a bulb gone. And, ideally, that the beams are badly adjusted.

Rob Graham

Rob Graham

Reply to
Rob Graham
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Yep, 10% is probably conservative.

More cars than ever have lamp failure warning systems, and apart from some vehicle's headlight, the bulbs are often easier to change.

The reason folk are not changing them is that no-one is making them.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

I would always change ASAP but in my case changing a bulb has gone from a 2 min job on my first car -Escort Mk3 - to the need to remove the whole headlamp assembly on my current car - Mk3 Mondeo.

MattF

Reply to
MattF

a friend of mine has just had to replace the entire headlamp assemblies on a late Avensis, a past owner had replaced the original bulbs with aftermarket ones and fitted them very badly, this lead to the back of the headlamp melting (plastic reflector) First MoT: where is the beam pattern? That was an expensive little job which could have been entirely avoided by not letting some berk try and replace the bulbs.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

Yes, I was horrified to read in the Haynes manual that it's a 5-spanner job and involves removing the radiator grille. But it turned out not to be a real problem after all. The grille comes off after twisting two clips, and the headlight has two locking pins. You don't need any tools, except I used pliers on one of the pins that was stiff with rust. Maybe gone up from 2 mins to 5 mins. The reason Haynes mark it as 5 spanners is that technically you're supposed to have the lights realigned on a professional rig afterwards, but I thought a possibly slightly misaligned light is better than no light at all.

PS mine's a 52 plate. I'm not sure whether that's Mk 2 or 3, depending on whether the older sort with the oval grille counts as facelifted Mk 1 or Mk 2.

Reply to
Tony Houghton

True, but there are lots of examples of where bulbs could be so much easier to replace. I remember having numerous cars where rear lamp/brake/indicator bulbs could be replaced by opening a panel inside the boot. Yet our Previa, not exactly a new car, requires the whole unit to be removed to swap a bulb (a painfully frequent process I have found as it blows brake filaments with monotonous regularity).

And some of those modern cars where you have to remove the bumper... what were they thinking of? In France it's an offence to drive without carrying a spare bulb kit. I don't know if the gendarmes make you unbolt the bumper by the roadside if you have need of a replacement.... ;-)

Reply to
asahartz

Hatchback cars laden with extra rear weight (or lardy passengers) occasionally hit the road with their owners not aware that there is a dashboard control to adjust the beams downwards. Sometimes the adjustment mechanism corrodes and sticks - is this checked on a MOT?

Reply to
Adrian C

"Driver?s beam aim controls

Where these are fitted the beam aim should be tested without altering the control setting except where this would result in failure for beam aim being too low. In such cases the beam aim should be re-checked with the control set at its ?highest? position."

So the answer is no.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

The problem is that many people are driving round with their lamps on the highest setting all the time, without realising or not caring that to other drivers it's almost as if they're on main beam. Then if any weight is added to the boot.........

IMHO there should be a requirement for them to be set at the correct height on the highest setting, then they couldn't be used as weapons.

But back to the OP, I agree that at least 10% of cars have got a lighting defect of some sort. I believe[1] that the plod can issue a fixed penalty (£60?) and/or a producer or whatever to show that they've had it fixed. Maybe a bit of enforcement now and again would work wonders.

When I was in Germany in the seventies, at the onset of winter, the police[2] used to do a free winter check, which would include lights, tyres, wipers/washers etc. They would then give you a sticker for the windscreen, which would act as mitigation if for instance a bulb failed afterwards. No sticker and a defect meant a penalty IIRC.

Steve

[1] Correct me if I'm wrong. [2] I think it was sponsored by the police. You actually went to a garage for the check. If anything needed doing, you just didn't get the sticker. It was then up to you to get the thing fixed as and where you liked. I asssume some record was kept of the failures which the police could access later if necessary.
Reply to
shazzbat
[...]

That would mean presenting the vehicle with nothing in the boot, which would create some problems.

The vast majority of drivers don't know where all the switches are, or what they do. I'm willing to bet at least 50% of folk are unaware that their headlights are height adjustable.

That's the point I was making when I said "The reason folk are not changing them is that no-one is making them."

I would be more in favour of this type of policing than mobile speed cameras; if someone is speeding,*and* you can't see them... :-)

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

I think that some people almost take a pride in being absolutely hopeless with anything practical.

Others rely on the MOT to get things put right.

Have you ever pulled alongside someone to tell them they have a faulty light? Likely to be met with (A) Abuse or (B) " I know its been like that for ages but it is going in for an MOT soon".

Telling a driver they have a soft tyre is also likely to elicit a similar response.

Hopelessness seems to be an endearing characteristic to some women!

Reply to
John

Police only seem to bother if there is some "Campaign" with a strange name. Otherwise they just drive around turning a blind eye.

Reply to
John

Who ever thought it would be a good idea to put headlamp alignment in the hands of the average Joe or Jo? If a control has to be fitted then it should be under a cover (preferably with a screw to gain access) so only those that understand are tempted to adjust it. Or perhaps a low beam for city and high for motorway/country switch with a warning indicator that resets to low beam after engine stopped.

I'd rather see them removed completely. I'd rather put up with the occasional glare from a car with a few heavies in the back than the countless badly adjusted cars at the moment.

Reply to
Rockingrabbit

Got to say John that hasn't been my experience when informing people of lights which are out. I pulled up next to a car in cupar and knocked on the drivers window (I was on my motorbike) and told him that only his centre led light was working. He was a bit surprised and thanked me. Same again in Glenrothes when I informed a woman that none of her brake lights were working and it almost led to me running into the back of her (again on my motorbike). she was ver much much appreciative. I know that it's only laziness that leads to lights not working but there is a large part of the public that do appreciate being informed.

McK.

Reply to
McKevvy
[...]

The EU.

Part of regular servicing includes a check for headlight alignment. This should be carried out with an empty car, and the setting on high.

When this is done, the only inappropriate adjustment will be to make the beam too low.

The countless badly adjusted cars you are seeing are more likely due to minor accident damage, or incorrectly fitted bulbs.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

I was in Glenrothes a few weeks ago, looked very nice compared with down South.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

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