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Hi all,

Was musing over LED headlights. Do you need to take spares when you travel abroad. The French were pretty hot on having spare lamps, not sure if they still are..

If this is true, must up the cost of install somewhat of you travel any.  

Tim

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Hi Tim,

there are many LED bulbs out there.  I bought these a couple of years ago LED's and they are still working well.

 

If you have better quality bulbs already fitted then it would be worth getting a pair of these to keep the French Rozzers happy.

 

Roger

 

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9 minutes ago, trchris said:

Hi Tim

 I believe the use of LED headlamp bulbs are not road legal in this country unless original manufacture equipment 

Chris

This has been discuss over and over again.. Our old cars appear to be outside many of these regulations

If you speak to your insurer they will be happy if installed correctly.  We are talking of LED bulbs not HID bulbs

7 minutes ago, SpitFireSIX said:

It's illegal to "blind" oncoming drivers. End of.
Cheers,

Iain.

Hi Iain,

 you are quite right, but why would you. LED's if installed correctly and are compatible with the MOT testers light testing rig then where is the problem.

Many new vehicles that are on sale today have terrible head lights with the blessing of the DVLA.  In West London it would appear that you can only start Range Rovers with the main Beams glaring out.

Roger

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1 minute ago, RogerH said:

This has been discuss over and over again.. Our old cars appear to be outside many of these regulations

If you speak to your insurer they will be happy if installed correctly.  We are talking of LED bulbs not HID bulbs

Hi Iain,

 you are quite right, but why would you. LED's if installed correctly and are compatible with the MOT testers light testing rig then where is the problem.

Many new vehicles that are on sale today have terrible head lights with the blessing of the DVLA.  In West London it would appear that you can only start Range Rovers with the main Beams glaring out.

Roger

I have never had a problem with LED headlamps that were fit for purpose. unfortunately many "cheap in quality" lamps will.
Fifty pound of obvious kak when energised H7's caused the friendly MOT guy to advise changing them before he tested the car. Pulled 2.5A, but shot light everywhere- flashed by oncoming drivers a few times I am sorry to say. Now on the main beam. If I want a functional and useful main beam I need to ditch them.
I run sealed units but I think the H4's mentioned above are value for money & will not glare when installed correctly. 

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I agree, modern LED H4 bulbs are now available with correct light pattern, and will pass MOT standard beam pattern test, no problem

If you're worried about cost of spares, keep your old Halogen bulbs in the car, change BOTH if you have a failure. French only care that you have a spare and it matches (which it will do if you change both). Sorted

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8 hours ago, North London Mike said:

I agree, modern LED H4 bulbs are now available with correct light pattern, and will pass MOT standard beam pattern test, no problem

If you're worried about cost of spares, keep your old Halogen bulbs in the car, change BOTH if you have a failure. French only care that you have a spare and it matches (which it will do if you change both). Sorted

Thanks Mike, that makes sense

Tim

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11 hours ago, North London Mike said:

modern LED H4 bulbs are now available with correct light pattern, and will pass MOT standard beam pattern test, no problem

Please would you point me to such a product? I had a quick look at the Osram Nightbreaker line, and noted this caveat "These products are not ECE-approved and must not be used on public roads in any exterior application. Use on public roads will invalidate both the operating license and insurance coverage. Some countries prohibit the sale and use of these products. Please contact your local distributor for information on your country."  That was for the LEDriving HL H4 Gen2 product. I'd love to fit LEDs to my TR6 but staying legal is non-negotiable.

Thanks,
John

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1 hour ago, JohnC said:

Please would you point me to such a product? I had a quick look at the Osram Nightbreaker line, and noted this caveat "These products are not ECE-approved and must not be used on public roads in any exterior application. Use on public roads will invalidate both the operating license and insurance coverage. Some countries prohibit the sale and use of these products. Please contact your local distributor for information on your country."  That was for the LEDriving HL H4 Gen2 product. I'd love to fit LEDs to my TR6 but staying legal is non-negotiable.

Thanks,
John

Hi John,

contact your insurers explain the situation. Our cars do not have modern EU CE markings etc so they are pliable.

 

Roger

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Does EEC approval carry any weight in Oz?  Perhaps local vehicle safety regulations would be more appropriate? 

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18 hours ago, RogerH said:

Hi Tim,

there are many LED bulbs out there.  I bought these a couple of years ago LED's and they are still working well.

 

If you have better quality bulbs already fitted then it would be worth getting a pair of these to keep the French Rozzers happy.

 

Roger

 

Looking for advice? What LED bulb makes are considered to be the ones to go for?

Bruce.

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The need to carry bulbs is a bit of marketing disinformation to boost sales at the ferry port.

Personally I run with 35W HIDs on the 6 which are not too bright and have a good dip beam cut off. Are they legal, probably not, are they illegal, again probably not as our cars pre-date the legislation.  These were fitted well before LEDs H4s came into general circulation. never failed an MOT and been in for well over a dozen years.

The 4a & the Stag have LEDs (Hid's did not give a good dip cut off in the Stag) and these days HID conversions have largely been superceded by LEDs.

I do carry spare bulbs - just an ordinary halogen bulb just in case in the boot(s).

There have been reports of LEDs failing - mainly those with fans to aid the heatsink. The fans conk out and then the bulb fails. I thought one of the LEDs on teh 4a had failed but it turned out to be a loose connection.

You can get LED units as fitted to some Land Rovers but carrying spares is an issue.

 

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I have LED bulbs supplied by classiccarleds and have had two MOT's without issue.

I have advised TR insurance whether it's relevant or not as they seem to have a checklist, electric fan, Bosh fuel pump etc...

I carry a couple of Halogen bulbs in the boot should they be required.

Guess the look is a very personal thing, although you can get a warm light LED. I started with tails and stop lights to stop being shunted up the rear and it seemed a natural progression.

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HI Tim

Happy New Year

I have LED headlights in my TR6 and it has been through 6 or 7 MOTs with these fitted. I've also fitted LED bulbs everywhere else and thoroughly recommend them to you, you can see where you are going and others can see you. The car has been through 6 or 7 MOTs with the testers informed, they were only bothered about the operation and beam pattern. Like others I've declared them to my insurers. I've also had in on the continent, including France, a number of times with no problems, including the last 10CR.

I've used https://www.bettercarlighting.co.uk/ and https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/ and both have been helpful. Classic car LEDs have a number of complete car kits, including the TRs. As others have said you can choose the colour of white you want and don't forget you need a LED compatible flasher unit if you do replace indicator bulbs.

Dave

 

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12 hours ago, JohnC said:

Please would you point me to such a product? I had a quick look at the Osram Nightbreaker line, and noted this caveat "These products are not ECE-approved and must not be used on public roads in any exterior application. Use on public roads will invalidate both the operating license and insurance coverage. Some countries prohibit the sale and use of these products. Please contact your local distributor for information on your country."  That was for the LEDriving HL H4 Gen2 product. I'd love to fit LEDs to my TR6 but staying legal is non-negotiable.

Thanks,
John

Me too , but I technically I'm told LED's don't comply with the Australian ADR's for retrofitting to vehicles which didn't have the lighting system  originally designed and tested for this equipment . I'm thinking of fitting LED's from one of our local quality lighting suppliers like Narva, and seeing what happens- but to be honest I'm in no rush as I don't use the TR much at night- the hills around where it's garaged are infested with fairly large kangaroos .

Edited by Mike C
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Technically the flashing LED rear lights used by bicycle users are not legal because they are technically off for a period of time and at night a rear light must be on, not off. So who will be the first enforcement officer to attempt to charge such a user on the grounds of safety? Same issue and reason to have them in my book. 

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58 minutes ago, Richard Pope said:

Technically the flashing LED rear lights used by bicycle users are not legal because they are technically off for a period of time and at night a rear light must be on, not off. So who will be the first enforcement officer to attempt to charge such a user on the grounds of safety? Same issue and reason to have them in my book. 

Things have moved on Richard.

Flashing lights

It took until 2005 for the Regulations to be amended to allow the use of flashing bicycle lights (the older type of battery lights in existence when the Regulations were originally drawn up weren't able to flash). The 2005 RVLR amendment meant that it was now legal to have a flashing light on a pedal cycle, provided it flashed between 60 and 240 times per minute (1 – 4Hz).

The amendment also meant that a flashing light was approved, meaning no other light was needed in that position. And since BS6102/3 does not cater for flashing, approval is granted simply on the basis of its brightness (as specified above).

Because the Department for Transport prefers things to be evaluated against a proper technical standard wherever possible , any flashing lamp that is also capable of emitting a steady light is approved only if it conforms with BS6102/3 when switched to steady mode. Since most flashing lights do also have a steady mode, they're legal but not approved, so you'll probably need another lamp that is.

The problem for the cyclist today is that there are now very few (if any) lights available on the UK market that were designed and manufactured to conform with BS6102/3, so any lights you purchase are unlikely to be approved. There is a rear light that uses the term 'BS approved' but the approval is only for the reflector contained in the light rather than the light itself.

Fortunately, despite the confusion, our police seem hardly more concerned by legal niceties than light manufacturers. Since it became theoretically legal to ride a bike with just flashing lights on it, they're nowadays no more likely to quibble its legal status than one equipped with steady lights. 

If this all sounds a little confusing, then it is because it is. Current UK legislation isn't up to speed with the technological advancements or the effects of global markets.

Mick Richards

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19 minutes ago, Motorsport Mickey said:

Fortunately, despite the confusion, our police seem hardly more concerned by legal niceties than light manufacturers. 

Judging by the evidence of my own eyes, they don't seem particularly interested in whether a bike actually has any lights at all, let alone legal ones...............:ph34r:

Edited by RobH
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2 hours ago, RobH said:

Judging by the evidence of my own eyes, they don't seem particularly interested in whether a bike actually has any lights at all, let alone legal ones...............:ph34r:

Run for the hills Rob........

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