Conference terri::cars_uk

>>     it even passed it's MOT first time. BUT, I'm wondering if......
    
    If the headlamp adjustment is wrong, it *should* have been spotted
    as part of the MOT test.
    
>>     	a) I have to fit new headlamps ??
>>     	b) I could swap the headlamps over (nearside becomes offside,
>>     	   offside becomes nearside) ??
    
    I would expect you should need to fit new headlamps.  I had to when
    I brought my Lancia into the country from Germany.  The problem is
    that the lens design should favour the 'drivers' side, to avoid
    dazzling oncoming traffic.
    
    I guess that if adjusted noticeably, it would be possible to avoid the
    light going over to the right, but that would result in [theoretically]
    worse illumination in the forward position.  In practice, this may not be
    a problem.  Seeing as how the lamps are mounted higher up on this
    vehicle, in comparison to your average car, the headlamp aim will
    appear different anyhow (I know the lamps on the Heep seem really
    good, even though they are not high power bulbs).
    
    As it is, if you are confident that you aren't dazzling other drivers
    (you will soon be 'informed' if you are), then don't change lamps yet...
    
    J.R.

    If the headlamps are anything like UK headlamps, then they will throw a 
    beam at eye-level on the pedestrian-side of the road. For your truck, I
    would assume that your headlamps will point at the eyes of oncoming
    drivers now that you've changed to driving on the left (I hope ;^) ).
    
    I'm surprised that it's passed the MOT though. A fast & dirty test
    would be to examine the beam as it falls on the garage door at night.
    This should give you an idea of the beam pattern, if there are raised
    areas to the right of the pattern then action is necessary. Swapping
    the headlights around will not fix it. The cheap solution is to fit
    beam deflectors, widely available & cost about 3 pounds. These are
    designed for RHD cars being used in LHD countries, I don't know how
    effective they will be for a LHD in a RHD country.
     
    If they dont work it's only cost 3 quid ! 
    I have frequently used black tape to mask the offending area of the
    headlamp, once again use the garage door as a target. 
    Also I'm sure that some nice noter could bring a set back from France
    for you...
    
    
    	Tony.
    

    
    Driving on mainland Europe you see that most of the British cars have
    beam deflectors or some form of masking to prevent dazzling oncoming
    traffic.
    
    However when driving in England the opposite is true. I can never (not
    too great a generalisation) recall seeing a foreign (non-british) car
    equipped with such things. Consideration to other drivers is not high
    on the list of attributes of foreign drivers.
    
    I would like to be corrected. Open invitation.
    
    As to availability of beam deflectors, probably nil.
    
    Chris
    

    
    
    On/in the car I have there is an electric switch which can be used to
    change the level of the headlamps, this is mainly for changing the set
    up under different loads, but can also be used when crossing frontiers
    ie UK/Europe, so as not to blind oncoming traffic.
    Despite this little switch however, I still have to put up with a tacky 
    cheap interior ;-(
    

    re: beam deflectors
    
    What about turning the beam deflectors over and sticking them on the
    other way round - should bend the beam the other way I guess.
                                                         
    Rob

    re .4
    
    Your headlamp adjuster probably tilts the beams up and down. This is
    not really adequate.
    
    The problem is that the beam when seen in cross section looks like this
    
                                    /
                                   /
                                  /  
                                 /
                  --------------/
    
    I.e. light shines below the horizontal only on the left, but to the
    right it can shine above the horizontal as well - the further to the
    right the higher the beam. If you just lower the beam you will get
    lights that reach far enough, yet can still dazzle. You have to
    eliminate just the part of the beam that is above the horizontal on the
    right (and preferably put some light into the upper left side)
    
    This can be done in a number of ways.
    
    	- replacing the headlamp lens or headlamp lens and bulb holder.
    
    	- rotating the bulb (or the entire headlamp) about its axis
    	  (Only works if the headlamp lens is designed to this)
    
    	- adding an external beam deflector designed for your headlamp lens
          (using one designed to convert UK vehicles for europe wont work).
    
    	- blocking off part of the headlamp lens (the part through which
         the light goes to reach the upper right - this could be the upper
         right or lower left parts depending on lens design).
    
    The best way is to replace the headlamp lens (and bulb holder). If you
    have sealed beam units this should be no problem. If not you could try
    to get UK spec headlamp parts (are Troopers inported into the UK ?).
    
    Andrew

    
    
    	Well, thanks for all the advice.
    
    	I've checked the beam(s) on the back of the side yard gate and the
    beams sure don't look like they're pointing over to the right (believe
    me). They look as if they're more or less pointing straight out, ie; no
    signs of bias to either the right or the left.
    
    	I've also checked out the use of deflectors. My neighbour in the
    next cube has used them for his excursions to the continent. Of course,
    the triangular pattern on the headlamps with which he was familiar
    just couldn't be found.
    
    	Phoned the nearest main dealer today and ordered a pair of units,
    two week delivery. Once fitted, if I see any difference, I'll let you
    know.
    
    RR

    US spec headlamps normally have a symmetric dip beam as opposed to the
    asymmetric dip of UK and European units. Since the dip beam is flat, so
    that there is no peak to the offside they will pass the UK MOT test so
    long as they are correctly aligned.
    
    Brian

    
    This seems like the closest topic..........
    
    Anyone done the black sticky tape job on a new BMW 3 series yet?
    
    I'll be driving to the UK next month (in my LHD BMW) and so I asked my
    mother to pick up the correct Lucas black stickies from Halfords
    (planning to put them on the opposite sides) and they gave her a
    "Universal" kit which on closer inspection specifically excluded the
    new BMW. The problem is that I can't see the usual marking on the
    lens that most cars have. These ones have a rectangular lens and then a
    pair of round lights behind (BMW have those high intensity lights that
    look like there's a hole in the middle of the reflector).
    
    I'd hate to be the subject of comments from the noters (this guy in a
    BMW with his headlights pointing the wrong way.... and lo and behold he
    turned into DEC Park!)
    
    Comments/suggestions? I suppose I could resort to experimenting with
    lights pointed at the wall and a roll of insulation tape.
    
    Rgds John

    Gee, the things you learn.  If anyone has an answer for .9 then I'd
    like to hear it too.  I plan on taking my current series LHD BMW 318 to
    the UK soon.

I remember someone telling me that with the later old model 3-series BMWs
(325i etc etc) you could do something with the bulb to make it point the
other way ... you turn the bulb over, or put it in on the side, or somesuch.

Anyway, this was all explained in the owners hand book.

This was for the UK model, so perhaps BMW assume that there is more of
a need for this for UK vehicles driving on mainland Europe, than the
other way around, but it might be worth checking. 

    I have also been told that BMW will lend you a set of lights for
    driving abroad. I assume this includes fitting.
    
    It may be worth inquiring at your local BMW garage to see if the
    provide the same service for those coming to the UK.
    
    Ian.

    re .11
    
    Ah, yes, RTFM. :-)  Fortunately my Owner's Manual is in English.  Let's
    see...
    
    "'Resetting Headlight Beams for left/right rule of the road'
    
    When entering a country in which the traffic drives on the other side
    of the road:
    
    Have the necessary adjustment work carried out beforehand by a BMW
    service station."
    
    p. 110
    
    OK.  But I live in the Netherlands and don't fancy driving to Calais
    with dodgy lights.  I wonder if I would be better off having it done in
    Dover, and how much it would cost?

    
    OK who's going to ask an English speaking BMW mechanic how to do this.
    My Portuguese does not extend to such technical discussion (and I'm not
    sure the average Portuguese mechanic, BMW trained or not, would tell me
    much anyway). I'll have to drive from Lisbon to Santander, so I don't
    plan to change them before leaving.
    A bottle of Vinho Verde for the right answer!
    
    John

Why not phone BMW and ask them what this adjustment is exactly.

If I understand it correctly, the side of the road the beam 
normally points at is controlled by the pattern in the head 
light glass itself. For LHD cars, this points the beam down and 
to the right. Fine adjustment of up/down and centre/right is 
possible, but right/left is unlikely.

So, what do they mean by adjustment, replacement ?

Unless of course, the direction is controlled by the bulb itself
and not the headlight glass ...

    I just rang my BMW dealer.  It's a ten minute job which I can probably
    do myself, although I'm going to get them to show me because his
    description on the phone wasn't the clearest.  Basically, at the back
    of the headlamp unit there are three screws which need loosening, some
    part of the back of the unit where the bulb is is rotated
    appropriately, and the screws tightened again.
    
    Does this qualify me for the Portugese plonk?

It would still be interesting to know exactly how it works ... so
when you've done it, why not report back ...

    This brings up an interesting pet hate of mine!. 
    
    We in the UK religously fit these deflectors and some even paint their
    lights yellow for france (allthough it's not a legal requirement as
    white loghts are legal in france thanks to the EEC).
    
    However, when I was living in Holland I couldn't for the life of me
    find anything similar for driving in the UK. Seems the continentals are
    less zealous about not blinding us Brits when they come over.
    
    
    I think it's time we got our own back on the french for banning out
    lamb and started turning away all cars that have not converted their
    headlights. :-)
    
    Richard 

    On the old shape 3 series, you just undo 3 butterfly nuts holding each
    lamp reflector in position, then swivel the refelctor through about 30
    degrees, the do up the butterfly nuts again. I'd be surprised if the
    new cars are more difficult than that.
    
    pete

    From a continental perspective, I suspect, driving in the UK is very
    much a minority pursuit.  If you were a native of Paris or Bonn, would
    you go to Reading for your hols without a seriously good reason? 
    Imagine the hassle of passports, insurance, ferry crossings, driving on
    the wrong side of the road, leaving the poodle with neighbours, horrid
    weather, horrid food, horrid people....  Wouldn't it be much less
    stress-inducing and complicated to load everybody into the car, fill
    the tank, and zip down to the Alps/South of France/Tuscany, to arrive
    the same day you left, with nobody feeling seasick....?  I know what
    I'd go for.
    
    So there aren't many going to want to swap headlight settings.  These
    few will be proportionately less well catered for.  How many drivers on
    the continent are AWARE that they need a headlight conversion for the
    UK?
    
    Maybe it's time for the UK to swap sides.  It's been done before....
    
    (Stir, stir, stir.....8*))
    
    Richard
    
    

RE:           <<< Note 1662.18 by TIMMII::RDAVIES "An expert Amateur" >>>
    
�    I think it's time we got our own back on the french for banning out
�    lamb and started turning away all cars that have not converted their
�    headlights. :-)
    
    I've been doing my bit. I've had British registered cars over here for
    almost 7 years with no deflectors fitted. It's too much effort to keep
    changing them.
    
    Laurie.

I was once accosted by a German at Dover who insisted on telling me that the
Lucas sticky things were not good enough etc.... I resisted mentioning the war.

Dave.

    Re: 16 - Portuguese plonk delivery is Lisbon or DEC Park Reading - when
    you give us the detailed procedure!
    
    Re: 19 - This is probably the procedure if you are referring to the
    last year? of the old 3 series since my '89 325 had normal lights and I
    used black stickies. This rotating procedure must be for the ones with
    unusual reflectors.
    
    Rgds John

    
    19 has the answer. Hiding on a back page of the handbook, I found a
    simple procedure (apparently simple since I could understand the
    Portuguese!).
    Remove the cover from the rear of the headlight
    Loosen 3 Philips screws in slots on the rear of the headlight
    Twist the headlight to the extent allowed by the slots
    Re-tighten the screws
    
    Rgds John

That's the procedure, but how does it work exactly ?

    This seems to be very like the procedure in my old Renault 6.
    
    The beam cut-off is determined by a mask inside the bulb. This blocks
    light from some portion of the dipped beam filament. By rotating the
    bulb you move the mask so that it blocks light which would end up just
    above horizontal on the left, and unblocks light which would end up
    just above horizontal on the right.
    
    Andrew

    Tried to do this on my new 5 series in Dover (after being told by BMW
    garage how easy it was) ..... 1 screw in each
    headlight was not accessible, so failed to adjust ... 
    nearly missed the boat! Used the headlight adjustment as emergency
    (turned the headlights right down). In using
    mostly motorways nobody flashed me!
    
    

    Thanks Peter, I tried last night. All 3 screws are impossible to see and
    the bottom one has no room for a normal screwdriver.
    
    I guess I'll pull in at the first BMW dealer I see in the UK. I suspect
    with a full car load, those height adjusters won't be enough.
    
    Rgds John