lighting for France (1 Viewer)

june123

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Our newly acquired Burstner 2009 3 berth motorhome has rubbish Fiat info manuals. Headlamps are very small compared to our previous motorhomes. How do you adapt them for Continental use? They look too small to stick black strips on. Do yu change the bulb? Any help would be appreciated.
 

DP+JAY

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Usualy done by rotating the headlamp, either from front or rear.
Usualy involves removing a couple of screws, rotate& put screws back in.
Here are a couple of examples.

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june123

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June123

Thank you for going to so much trouble. It looks like the answer and we'll certainly try that.

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callumwa

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Why bother.:RollEyes:

Every day thousands of Continental vehicles come off the ferries and the Chunnel into UK. Have you ever seen them with beam deflectors.

In more than 10 years living in France I kept a UK car and motorbike over there. In many routine Police stops they never ever asked or questioned my headlights with no beam deflectors.

Are you intending to spend a lot of time driving in the dark on little country roads in France.
 

vwalan

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do you really expect to be driving alot at night .i,ve been going aweay for 6 months at atime for years dont bother to do anything . just drive by day . you can stick black tape or carry the deflector things just in case . but have never been stopped even if had to drive a bit in the dark .you miss all the scenery if in the dark .

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june123

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JUne123

Thanks - you're right of course. I'm the rule breaker in our partnership but my partner likes to go by the book! Think he's wavering a bit.
 
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june123

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JUne123

Before you get your screwdriver out it may be worth checking if they dip straight up and down. Some do and thus don't need adjustment for the continent.

Another brilliant tip - thanks a lot
 
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june123

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June123

Thanks to everyone for their help. I'm really enjoying this forum. It seems there's an answer for everything. £10 well spent. Would still like to hear from someone with the same Burstner model van as ours. Don't seem to be many about. Hope we've done the right thing!

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june123

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JUne123

Before you get your screwdriver out it may be worth checking if they dip straight up and down. Some do and thus don't need adjustment for the continent.

Another brilliant tip - thanks a lot
 
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After living in Germany (Army) in the 70s I came back to the UK with a Fiat car that I had bought over there. It was right hand drive as I knew I would be bringing it back to Blighty. Took it to a garage for MOT and it failed on headlights, told to change them for UK ones.
Went to a Fiat dealer and told him my tale.
He showed me the offical Fiat parts list and the Continental versions were identical to the UK ones. No adjustment needed.
Went back to the garage and informed them of my findings and left with an MOT certificate. :thumb:.
And that was back in the 1970s.
 

magicsurfbus

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I would simply add that if you opt for stick-on beam deflectors and you travel abroad regularly, buy them in multi-packs on eBay rather than at £7+ a pair from ferry ports or Halfords.

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june123

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what replacement bulbs?

Before you get your screwdriver out it may be worth checking if they dip straight up and down. Some do and thus don't need adjustment for the continent.

Haven't fancied taking headlamps off our A class Burstner (buried in engine compartment). Bulbs are Halogen combined dip and main in one bulb). Manuals do not specify which replacement bulbs we should carry with us to France. Any help out there?
 
May 12, 2011
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A bit obvious, but what about a Burstner dealer or email the question to Burstner via their website - they must have answered this question lots of times.

Even Brownhills told me how to adjust my headlights, and the answer was correct :Smile:
 
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june123

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Burstner lighting

Thanks for this. We've emailed Burstner twice and had no reply. Could call Fullers our original dealer I suppose. Their mechanic was very helpful.

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Spacerunner

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Why bother.:RollEyes:

Every day thousands of Continental vehicles come off the ferries and the Chunnel into UK. Have you ever seen them with beam deflectors.

In more than 10 years living in France I kept a UK car and motorbike over there. In many routine Police stops they never ever asked or questioned my headlights with no beam deflectors.

Are you intending to spend a lot of time driving in the dark on little country roads in France.

When M. le Gendarme stopped me for not stopping at a stop sign (hey! pulling out all the stops here!), the first thing Mme la Gendarme did was to check the headlights for beam deflectors.
Like the UK police they only need an excuse to stop you to try and get more brownie points on their daily tally.

As it was the €90 fine stung quite a lot!:Angry:
 
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When M. le Gendarme stopped me for not stopping at a stop sign (hey! pulling out all the stops here!), the first thing Mme la Gendarme did was to check the headlights for beam deflectors.
Like the UK police they only need an excuse to stop you to try and get more brownie points on their daily tally.

As it was the €90 fine stung quite a lot!:Angry:

Theres a lot of Stop signs in France, many for no discernable reason. I beleive the rule is you must stop completely for at least 5 seconds at the stop line. Becuase the stop line is often in the wrong place you then have to creep forward to a position where you can actually see the traffic and possibly stop again. Never understood why they say 'Stop', why aren't they in French, or do they only apply to visitors:ROFLMAO:
 

Spacerunner

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Theres a lot of Stop signs in France, many for no discernable reason. I beleive the rule is you must stop completely for at least 5 seconds at the stop line. Becuase the stop line is often in the wrong place you then have to creep forward to a position where you can actually see the traffic and possibly stop again. Never understood why they say 'Stop', why aren't they in French, or do they only apply to visitors:ROFLMAO:

It would appear (I've never been) that in Canada where signs are printed in the two languages the stop sign says 'ARRET' :Smile:

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callumwa

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When M. le Gendarme stopped me for not stopping at a stop sign (hey! pulling out all the stops here!), the first thing Mme la Gendarme did was to check the headlights for beam deflectors.
Like the UK police they only need an excuse to stop you to try and get more brownie points on their daily tally.

As it was the €90 fine stung quite a lot!:Angry:



Not stopping at a stop sign in France is an offence, which is frequently policed, and on the spot fines issued.

Even if you are in the middle of nowhere and can see the road is clear for a mile in every direction you MUST Stop.....

How do you know she was checking your lights for Beam deflectors?
She probably wondered what on earth you had stuck your lights...:RollEyes:
 

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