LED bulbs (1 Viewer)

[robrace]

Sat in the waiting room this morning whilst my car was being MOT.d reading a Motor trade mag,did'nt realise that retro fitting Led bulbs to exterior on vehicles.is illegal !!That's what it said!!.Changed all "Marker lights"on mine to led some time ago!Not worried.

 

[DavidG58]

might be a reference to the after market led strips on front, no idea why folk do this, but they could be illegal maybe ?

 

[Lenny HB]

OK if they are "E" marked most of the ones on eBay aren't.

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[pyro]

As far as I am aware, as long as the lights are of an approved type (carry the E mark) and conform to the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations they are legal.(http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/contents/made)

Changing the bulbs for the appropriate light output equivalent (and colour) would appear to be perfectly lawful. Adding after market non approved lenses or altering the colour or position isn't. Many of the vehicles on the road that conform to EU standards (notably German, Mercedes and BMW are typical offenders) are legal under the EU harmonisation regulations, and thus escape attention, but probably would not pass UK standards

When the legislation was passed, LED lighting was not suitable, and changes are expected in light of their introduction

 

[WSandME]

I seem to remember that there was an ancient regulation stipulating that vehicle lights had to work by use of a filament - in order to effectively prohibit the prevalent use of acetylene lamps.
This may be a "Dead Granny", but it wouldn't surprise me if lazy journalism had struck again? Very many cars these days use LEDs or even HIDs

 

[oozzie]

I always thought that blue lights were only to be used on emergency vehicles. Anybody notice how many vehicles (hgv's) have these as there blingy lights?

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[ambulancekidd]

I always thought that blue lights were only to be used on emergency vehicles. Anybody notice how many vehicles (hgv's) have these as there blingy lights?

Yes your quite right, blue lights are for the sole use of the emergency services, even doctors are restricted to green lights unless the vehicle is linked to ambulance or police work. AFAIK even the blue tinge in some (not all) headlights are illegal.

I often think that if the police clamped down on using blue lights on or in trucks etc Britain's byways & motorways would be in the dark lol.

LEDs are fine for road use as long as they are both type approved & in a lens designed for LED use, an example of this are the orange marker lights along the side of Mercedes Sprinter vans, yes they're LEDs. Also some BMWs are now being supplied with LED headlights as opposed to the more common Bi-Xenon's. The idea being that using less electricity to power these LEDs result's in a fuel saving. Motorhing journalists have very mixed views on how good these new headlamps are. Electric steering seems to be related to fuel saving too, but has no-where nearly as much steering feel for drivers as older hydraulic systems (todays useless fact).

Right I'm now going for a lie down, my heads a lot lighter.

 

[peterc10]

Our new Honda car uses LEDs for dipped lights. They are the best I have ever had on a car. Also side lights, daylight running lights, rear lights and brake lights are all LED

 

[Bognor Saint]

On a similar theme.
Before we bought our Motorhome we hired one. It was about a year old. We drove it out of the depot and dashboard lit up with warnings about a light failure. Turned around, much scratching of heads by staff before it was discovered that one of the rear LED light clusters had failed. Not repairable by them so we were given option of another vehicle. When we returned I enquired of the outcome with the other vehicle and was told it was still out of action and with Fiat dealer.

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[robrace]

Thought led lights were reliable.!no problems changing bulbs in out camper but wonder if some of the newer ones are the same as my car.spent ages trying to see how to change sidelight bulb but gave up and took it to dealer!£47.handbook states due to risk of explosion or some other rubbish consult your dealer.Not much point in carrying spare bulbs if you are in France!you would,nt be able to change them anyway!

 

[ambulancekidd]

Thought led lights were reliable.!no problems changing bulbs in out camper but wonder if some of the newer ones are the same as my car.spent ages trying to see how to change sidelight bulb but gave up and took it to dealer!£47.handbook states due to risk of explosion or some other rubbish consult your dealer.Not much point in carrying spare bulbs if you are in France!you would,nt be able to change them anyway!

Bi-Xenon's are a dealer only change too (apparently) but being old school I still carry a spare pair of bulbs for them & all others except the daytime LED running lights on the front of our Mercedes R-Class cos they cost a fortune. I'm intending changing the interior bulbs on our Autosleeper Executive to LED's as I feel that the energy saving is worthwhile when wild camping. The biggest problem is finding decent quality LEDs as there are millions of cheap Chinese copies out there, I did have LED awning lights on my last two caravans & they were very impressive.

 

[Stealaway]

,did'nt realise that retro fitting Led bulbs to exterior on vehicles.is illegal !!That's what it said!!

I think its because the maximum legal headlight wattage is 55w and what ever lumens that is.
I've just been looking at some H4/H1 bulbs and have had trouble finding LED versions that are less than double the lumens of the standard bulb.

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[pyro]

The trouble is the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations were enacted in 1989, before LEDs became available. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/contents/made

No external blue lights allowed, whether operational or not, unless you are an emergency vehicle. Only white or yellow allowed at front. Etc

And, of course, lights have to be type approved and as fitted by the original manufacturer. Many of the bi-xenons you see on the road are pushing the legal limits. But changing bulbs for Chinese LED variants is all a bit hit or miss.

Inside the M/H everything is LED based, seriously energy saving for "wilding", looking at dimmers at the moment