Which Lights

[EdRedBird]

I am thinking of upgrading my headlights to LED in my MK7 Transit
I do not have fog lights in the front and am considdering the auchbeam adjustable 15k Lm Lights (So I can set them to yellow in case of Fog

I already asked on the transit forum (Where I got told that I should go for Osram instead of LED without any info to back it up)

I have upgraded lights in other cars before, I always have my lights on and do find with potholes that ..well LEDS do not break

I am getting a but sidetracked with WHAT shape bulbs go in this Transit (MK7 2010)
Looking to upgrade
Low Beam
High Beam
Indicators
Rear Lights Break Lights

Oh and if anyone has any valid reason NOT to go for LED please be clear on why

 

[L' Hobo]

I may be wrong but I thought LED headlights were illegal, other lights, not.

Don't ask me why but I'm sure more informed Funsters will be along shortly?

 

[Clivefog]

There are two types of LED bulbs: Original Equipment (OE) and retrofit.

OE LED bulbs are completely road legal and fitted as standard by car manufacturers. However, OE LED bulbs are a non-replaceable part and so if the bulb fails then the entire headlight needs to be replaced.

Retrofitting is when you replace a standard bulb with an LED version. At the moment, it’s completely road legal for you to replace an internal bulb with an LED bulb. However, there’s no legislation to cover retrofitting external facing light sources and therefore LED exterior bulbs are not road legal.

 

[EdRedBird]

I may be wrong but I thought LED headlights were illegal, other lights, not.

Don't ask me why but I'm sure more informed Funsters will be along shortly?

I know they have an issue with blue ...even if you get the wrong Plod with street legal they give you grief
To my knowledge most new cars have LEDS

Ah thanks found this:

Aftermarket LED Bulbs: MOT Rules And Legalities

Can upgrade LED bulbs pass an MOT? We go through exactly what MOT testing stations look for and whether your aftermarket bulbs will pass an MOT.

www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk

Nevertheless worst case I'll pop the old bulbs in before the MOT
I just miss my old Citroen with the yellow headlights that cut through for like a hot knofe through butter

 

[Lenny HB]

From January 2021 replacement LED bulbs are an MOT failure however mine passed but my MOT guy is a bit laid back.

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[EdRedBird]

From January 2021 replacement LED bulbs are an MOT failure however mine passed but my MOT guy is a bit laid back.

My MOT place is not that difficult either (so far)

Yep I did find that here : https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/blog/are-led-headlights-legal-in-the-uk/

Is Brexit to blame fo that change ???

If I have any issues I can always pop the standard bulbs back

 

[L' Hobo]

My MOT place is not that difficult either (so far)

Yep I did find that here : https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/blog/are-led-headlights-legal-in-the-uk/

Is Brexit to blame fo that change ???

If I have any issues I can always pop the standard bulbs back

Will the problem come if you have an accident at night and the other car claims you dazzled him/her?

 

[tonyidle]

The reason LED (and HID) non-OEM bulbs aren't legal is that the reflector / lens combination isn't designed for any slight shift in light source caused by them. If your low beam cut-off is still well defined and meets the MOT standard then it's likely you'll get away with the change if not they'll dazzle other drivers and fail the MoT.

 

[Landy Andy]

Quality LED bulbs have adjustable LEDs in them so can be tuned to work correctly. So it’s a shame they aren’t allowed, although half the cars that I see appear to have wonky setup lights pointing all over the place.

 

[Skyway]

I may be wrong but I thought LED headlights were illegal, other lights, not.

Don't ask me why but I'm sure more informed Funsters will be along shortly?

They should be bloody to bright and blinds every one

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[Jimbohorlicks]

I don't think I have ever driven my van in the dark so don't see ( pun there) the need to install different lights other than the OEM lights already on the van.

 

[Ingwe]

They should be bloody to bright and blinds every one

I don’t know if it was a matter of poor alignment or incorrectly fitted LED bulbs but I was coming back from Harrogate the other evening in our car and, several times, was blinded by cars with LED bulbs coming towards us. They really were over-bright and appeared to be unfocussed.

 

[Badknee]

I hate them with a vengeance, if I can’t see where the hell I'm going with my 55w candles then neither should they!

 

[Stealaway]

I don't think I have ever driven my van in the dark so don't see ( pun there) the need to install different lights other than the OEM lights already on the van.

I'm sure you will change your mind if you ever do get caught out. In my opinion Ducato head lights are dangerous above 30 mph on unlit roads

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

I'm sure you will change your mind if you ever do get caught out. In my opinion Ducato head lights are dangerous above 30 mph on unlit roads

Mines a Peugeot

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[Lenny HB]

I'm sure you will change your mind if you ever do get caught out. In my opinion Ducato head lights are dangerous above 30 mph on unlit roads

Nar, you've led a sheltered life, drive an A Class with Hella projector lamps now those are bad headlights. By comparison standard Ducato headlamps are brilliant like driving in daylight.

 

[L' Hobo]

I'm sure you will change your mind if you ever do get caught out. In my opinion Ducato head lights are dangerous above 30 mph on unlit roads

Not a thing wrong with my 2008 Ducato, were you wearing the same glasses as in your avatar picture??

 

[Guigsy]

In my previous 2007 Ducato, I upgraded the side lights with LEDs, but that was it. I figure it makes little difference in the lenses, so nobody will be upset. It made the van look a bit less dated as they were cold white (not blue) instead of candle yellow. I bought bulbs that claimed to be CAN compatible, but the dash still complained they were blown when I installed them. I had to buy an extra inline resistor pack so the dash thought they were OK.

I also replaced the lights in the cab ceiling with LED bulbs. Easy upgrade and much brighter.

I put good quality halogen Osram night breakers in main and full beams. They were noticeably better than the OEM ones in there, and again, they were cool white (not blue!) instead of the warm white/yellow of the standard bulbs, so it looked better.

I also restored my headlight lenses. My 2007 lenses were yellowed and fogged with sun damage. A headlight restoration kit cleaned them up.

Changing brake lights for LEDs is potentially a safety benefit as they react quicker than incandescents. You've got to be confident they will be reliable though. LEDs tend to flicker or be intermittent before they fail, which wouldn't be good.

You used to get issues with replacement LED indicators having the wrong resistance, so the blink rate wouldn't be correct. Not sure if that's still an issue?

 

[Stealaway]

Not a thing wrong with my 2008 Ducato, were you wearing the same glasses as in your avatar picture??

They must have deteriorated mightily in ten years. Mine 2019 ones are disgustingly bad even without the specs