It's not often we drive our van in the dark hours and every time it reminds us of how poor the headlights are. Has anyone replaced the bulbs with LED's ? I'm looking at using Phillips Ultinion pro bulbs.
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I'm afraid that under current legislation it is not legal to replace halogen headlight bulbs with LED bulbs and section 4.1.4 of the MOT manual states; "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."
If you want to upgrade to LED headlights, you must change the entire headlight unit to a type-approved LED unit for that vehicle. If you want brighter headlights I would recommend the Osram Nightbreaker halogen bulbs.
AFAIK the non-compliance (and related MOT failure!) of LED replacement bulbs is that they are not 'E' marked as required by law, simply because the current legislation covering bulbs pre-dates LED bulbs and has never been updated to include them, nor has any new legislation been introduced to cover them. New legislation was created to cover entire LED lamp units (without interchangeable bulbs), and they can be used legally if suitably 'E' marked.
It's not just headlights, none of the legally required lights on a vehicle can have a LED bulb fitted in place of a incandescent bulb! LED bulbs can be used OK on interior lights etc. which are exempt from the 'E' marked requirement. One of life's ridiculous quirks, LED bulbs bring a host of benefits, so it seems short sighted not to have made them legal with suitable legislation! And of course you can freely buy them just about anywhere, but the more responsible retailers do state 'Not for on road use'!
Of course countless people do fit and use them, but they leave themselves open to a host of legal infringements, apart from MOT failures, such as insurance cancellation on what could be deemed an unroadworthy vehicle in case of a claim!
As to using brighter bulbs (anything from 50-200% brighter!)(they should NOT be higher POWER bulbs, as that infringes the rules again!), they are well worth the money in my opinion and perfectly legal. I've used them for years, even swapping out the standard bulbs on a brand new car, and the light output is very noticeably better. Only downside is they burnout quicker than standard bulbs and are far more expensive. Another potential risk is that cheap obscure brands and counterfeit bulbs can have a very high UV light output and this can ruin your plastic lamp lenses/bodies quite quickly! - best to stick to reputable brands such as Osram, Philips etc. from reputable retailers - ebay can be a minefield!
Quote: Originally posted by Monty15 on 15/2/2023
AFAIK the non-compliance (and related MOT failure!) of LED replacement bulbs is that they are not 'E' marked as required by law, simply because the current legislation covering bulbs pre-dates LED bulbs and has never been updated to include them, nor has any new legislation been introduced to cover them. New legislation was created to cover entire LED lamp units (without interchangeable bulbs), and they can be used legally if suitably 'E' marked.
It's not just headlights, none of the legally required lights on a vehicle can have a LED bulb fitted in place of a incandescent bulb! LED bulbs can be used OK on interior lights etc. which are exempt from the 'E' marked requirement. One of life's ridiculous quirks, LED bulbs bring a host of benefits, so it seems short sighted not to have made them legal with suitable legislation! And of course you can freely buy them just about anywhere, but the more responsible retailers do state 'Not for on road use'!
Of course countless people do fit and use them, but they leave themselves open to a host of legal infringements, apart from MOT failures, such as insurance cancellation on what could be deemed an unroadworthy vehicle in case of a claim!
As to using brighter bulbs (anything from 50-200% brighter!)(they should NOT be higher POWER bulbs, as that infringes the rules again!), they are well worth the money in my opinion and perfectly legal. I've used them for years, even swapping out the standard bulbs on a brand new car, and the light output is very noticeably better. Only downside is they burnout quicker than standard bulbs and are far more expensive. Another potential risk is that cheap obscure brands and counterfeit bulbs can have a very high UV light output and this can ruin your plastic lamp lenses/bodies quite quickly! - best to stick to reputable brands such as Osram, Philips etc. from reputable retailers - ebay can be a minefield!
The reason LED bulbs cannot be E marked for use in halogen units is that they produce a totally different type of light and light pattern. Halogen lenses and reflectors cannot refract and reflect LED and HID bulbs correctly to give the required headlight pattern. That is why entire LED headlights including the lenses and reflectors are road legal and the bulbs on their own are not. I have 7" LED headlights on my Land Rover 130 but these are legal because they replace the original sealed beam units and have integrated reflectors and lenses.
Thanks for info, it's Amazing what you can learn on here!
A friend in Germany has fitted LED headlights to his Ducato (where they're Legal) with good results,and he suggested I should change them. I will try the alternative legal options.
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Topic: DUCATO HEADLIGHTS
via mobile 15/2/2023 at 8:29am
