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(MOT) Side light/lamp question


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Hey guys,

I want to change my headlamps, sidelamps, interior and plate lights but I know you can't convert Halogen to LED/HID but is that only for the headlamps? Or is the regulations completely strict on halogen to LED everywhere.

Does anyone know if I can replace my side lamps with LEDs? And obviously replace the headlamps with halogen alternatives.

Cheers

 

Edited by MK96
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  • MK96 changed the title to (MOT) Side light/lamp question

Quite right, & may I recommend this supplier:

www.classiccarleds.co.uk

Duncan you will find very helpful, the bulbs are very good, & a better price than some others. (Avoid really cheap ones)

Bob

Edited by Lebro
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1 hour ago, Lebro said:

Quite right, & may I recommend this supplier:

www.classiccarleds.co.uk

Duncan you will find very helpful, the bulbs are very good, & a better price than some others. (Avoid really cheap ones)

Bob

+1 Very helpful.

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5 hours ago, Lebro said:

Quite right, & may I recommend this supplier:

www.classiccarleds.co.uk

Duncan you will find very helpful, the bulbs are very good, & a better price than some others. (Avoid really cheap ones)

Bob

+ another one and they also do full car sets which include the all important LED compatible flasher unit.

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15 hours ago, MK96 said:

...but I know you can't convert Halogen to LED...

 

As the cars original fitment was pre Halogen, regardless of what you've got fitted now, your OK to fit LED's in this age vehicle. 

Gareth

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A new rule for MOT testers to fail any car where Halogen bulbs have been replaced with LED came out earlier this year.

Approx a month later that rule was modified to only cover cars newer than 1st April 1986.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-notice-01-21-headlamp-conversions/mot-special-notice-01-21-headlamp-conversions

Bob.

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Class 3,4,5 and 7 vehicles

For class 3,4,5 and 7 vehicles, the defect ‘Light source and lamp not compatible’ only applies to vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1986.

Should a vehicle be presented for an MOT test with conversions before 1 April 1986 they must not be failed with immediate effect.

Vehicles presented with converted halogen headlamp units first used on or after 1 April 1986 will continue to be failed.

Headlamps must comply with all other requirements of the test and headlamp aim.

The cars and passenger vehicles inspection manual will be updated shortly.

(My bold) 

 

Contrary to the above posts interpretation of this extract, I read it as that if the vehicle was converted to HID/LED before 1 April 1986, it must not be failed.

It then requires vehicles with converted halogen headlamps first used on or after 1 April 1986 to still be failed.

So, if you fitted HID/LED to the vehicle before 1 April 1986, it is not a MOT failure, but if they were fitted after 1 April 1986 it remains a failure.

It only refers to the date of conversion, not the date of vehicle manufacture.

Regards

Bill 

 

 

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Riddle me this then Batman.

Talk of 1986 makes me think that's VERY early for LED headlights so I did a little search

...In 1993, the first LED tail lamps were installed on mass-production automobiles. LED headlamps were introduced in the first decade of the 21st century.

...The 2007 Audi R8 sports car uses two strips of optically focused high-intensity LEDs for its daytime running lamps. Optional on the R8 outside North America was the world's first LED headlamp,

 ...And on the Lexus LS 600h of 2008, the front headlamp clusters for the first time in the world became fully LED.

So from the statements above garnered from different sources say that the first decade of the 21st century is when cars with LED headlamps were first offered to the market.

"...I read it as that if the vehicle was converted to HID/LED before 1 April 1986, it must not be failed."

So how could cars built before 1986 have been converted to LED headlights ? they weren't offered by manufacturers before "the first decade" and first headlights on 2007 Audi R8. If headlamps had been converted to LED prior to 1st April 1986 but not by manufactures surely they would not have met Whole Vehicle Type approval regulations which apply to all manufacturers. ?

Mick Richards

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6 minutes ago, Bill944T said:

Contrary to the above posts interpretation of this extract, I read it as that if the vehicle was converted to HID/LED before 1 April 1986, it must not be failed.

It then requires vehicles with converted halogen headlamps first used on or after 1 April 1986 to still be failed.

So, if you fitted HID/LED to the vehicle before 1 April 1986, it is not a MOT failure, but if they were fitted after 1 April 1986 it remains a failure.

It only refers to the date of conversion, not the date of vehicle manufacture.

 

The notice you quote is open to such mis-interpretation as the original wording is rather sloppy.  However the amended MOT manual makes the meaning clear,  and it would in any case make no sense to have it as you suggest - how could anyone have done a conversion to LEDs before 1986 when such bulbs were not even available?

The position is definitely as Bob stated. The date is the date of first registration.

Quote:

Existing halogen headlamp units on vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1986 must not be converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp for light source and lamp not compatible.

from here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/4-lamps-reflectors-and-electrical-equipment

 

 

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So how could cars built before 1986 have been converted to LED headlights ? 

I agree as a previous poster confirmed. that they were not available. I don't know when HID were available, but probably not available then either.

But, the text is explicit, irrespective of the history of availability.

Next, somebody will suggest that all legislation is correct!!!!!!!

Regards

Bill 

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Bill - the actual text is the one I linked to. You are quoting a badly drafted letter which was sent to MoT stations as a heads-up. That is not the test manual. 

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Existing halogen headlamp units on vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1986 must not be converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp for light source and lamp not compatible.

What is the first noun  used in that paragraph? That first noun is what applies to the first use, not the second noun that refers to the vehicle.

Yes, it could appear to be sloppy (sic), but not if read as written.

Regards

Bill 

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