LED upgrade

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BarriKuda

Member
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31
Location
Peterborough
I’ve just upgraded my 2008 FL2 headlamps to osram LED, has anyone else done this and had an MOT failure because of this , I’ve looked at new legislation that came in in January 2021 about MOT and test centres are supposed to fail thanks
 
kermit_rr said:
Any LED bulb won't emit light at the same place/orientation as a standard filament so the pattern will be wrong
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Not true at all. It would depend on the lamp, reflector and bulb being used. But it is perfectly possible to get the same or better beam patterns with LED bulbs. And its not as if every halogen bulb are identical, they vary a great deal.
 
300bhp/ton said:
Not true at all. It would depend on the lamp, reflector and bulb being used. But it is perfectly possible to get the same or better beam patterns with LED bulbs. And its not as if every halogen bulb are identical, they vary a great deal.
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I've never seen an LED replacement for a standard filament bulb that emits light in all directions from a single point. Happy to be proven wrong though
 
kermit_rr said:
I've never seen an LED replacement for a standard filament bulb that emits light in all directions from a single point. Happy to be proven wrong though
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It doesn't need to emit in all directions, it just has to be focusable. Which is perfectly possible. And iff you look at a H4 bulb, they have a shield on the filament anyway, because to make them work, you don't actually want light in all directions ;) Not sure what fitment the FL2 uses, but H4's are common in lots of LR products.

s-l1600.jpg
 
300bhp/ton said:
So you've never been blinded by any other kind of light emitting device then?
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Yes HID conversions in filament reflector headlamps.
Both LED and HID have light emitters which are much larger than an H7 bulb filament, fitted to all Freelanders after 2004. Because most emitters are larger than a filament, the beam control is often poor, too nonexistent.
This not only blinds oncoming road users, but results in less than perfect beam placement on the road, which defeats the point completely.

There's a reason they're an MOT failure, because they've been deemed as unsafe, or at least for the moment they have.

There are a couple of Philips LED bulbs which offer good beam control, however as they're not approved for road use, those are also an MOT failure.
 
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Nodge68 said:
Yes HID conversions in filament reflector headlamps.
Both LED and HID have light emitters which are much larger than an H7 bulb filament, fitted to all Freelanders after 2004. Because most emitters are larger than a filament, the beam control is often poor, too nonexistent.
This not only blinds oncoming road users, but results in less than perfect beam placement on the road, which defeats the point completely.

There's a reason they're an MOT failure, because they've been deemed as unsafe, or at least for the moment they have.

There are a couple of Philips LED bulbs which offer good beam control, however as they're not approved for road use, those are also an MOT failure.
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Yet isn't the MoT regs allowing LED bulbs for pre 1986 vehicles?
https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...mot-special-notice-01-21-headlamp-conversions

I know this doesn't impact the Freelander 2 as it is well post 1986.... but it does suggest that beam pattern isn't such an issue it is made out to be. Else how is it fine to use LED or HID in older cars?
 
300bhp/ton said:
Yet isn't the MoT regs allowing LED bulbs for pre 1986 vehicles?
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A lot of lighting regulations don't apply to pre 86 vehicles, presumably because the regulations were introduced from that year onwards, so vehicles before that date have an automatic dispensation.
So if you have a pre 86 vehicle, you can technically fit whatever lighting you fancy, although if it's clearly dangerous, then you could still end up with a PG9, if Mr Police man is being an ass.
 
Nodge68 said:
A lot of lighting regulations don't apply to pre 86 vehicles, presumably because the regulations were introduced from that year onwards, so vehicles before that date have an automatic dispensation.
So if you have a pre 86 vehicle, you can technically fit whatever lighting you fancy, although if it's clearly dangerous, then you could still end up with a PG9, if Mr Police man is doing his job.
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When it comes to blinding other drivers, I've corrected your statement above.
 
The problem with people being blinded is the regulation itself. The EU stipulates a hard cutoff and lights brighter. LED and HID light sources are like mini suns. When the car goes over a bump or crests a hill, that cutoff rises and the mini sun is in your full view. They auto level, but that doesn't stop this, but does make it look like you're being flashed at
 
kermit_rr said:
The problem with people being blinded is the regulation itself. The EU stipulates a hard cutoff and lights brighter. LED and HID light sources are like mini suns. When the car goes over a bump or crests a hill, that cutoff rises and the mini sun is in your full view. They auto level, but that doesn't stop this, but does make it look like you're being flashed at
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But then there are the ones that simply blind you.

And of course indicators that you can't see in day time - another modern phenomena.
 
kermit_rr said:
The problem with people being blinded is the regulation itself. The EU stipulates a hard cutoff and lights brighter. LED and HID light sources are like mini suns. When the car goes over a bump or crests a hill, that cutoff rises and the mini sun is in your full view. They auto level, but that doesn't stop this, but does make it look like you're being flashed at
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I'd say a lot of factory modern cars are worse for "blinding" people than older ones. Occasionally you get a twunk with badly adjusted lights or dodgy bulbs, but they are more the rarity tbh. And you can always badly adjust some 90/130w halogen bulbs too....
 
Am I the only one to notice the OP said headlights not dipped headlights? So if it is indeed main beam he's talking about, and from what I can tell the FL2 main beam is like the FL1 facelift bare reflector pointing light in a vaguely forward direction rather than the tightly focussed beams and the associated patterns used in dipped beams, the fitment of LED bulbs should be a non issue? However, given the rude roasting, ahem, friendly welcome the OP got, I suspect that we have seen his first and last post so will never know was it dipped or main beam he fitted the LEDs to.

@300bhp/ton those Luxeons look lush! They look like they would indeed emulate the beam pattern even in a dipped beam context, so shouldn't be a fail.
 
Jayridium said:
Am I the only one to notice the OP said headlights not dipped headlights? So if it is indeed main beam he's talking about, and from what I can tell the FL2 main beam is like the FL1 facelift bare reflector pointing light in a vaguely forward direction rather than the tightly focussed beams and the associated patterns used in dipped beams, the fitment of LED bulbs should be a non issue? However, given the rude roasting, ahem, friendly welcome the OP got, I suspect that we have seen his first and last post so will never know was it dipped or main beam he fitted the LEDs to.

@300bhp/ton those Luxeons look lush! They look like they would indeed emulate the beam pattern even in a dipped beam context, so shouldn't be a fail.
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Thankyou my friend, yes your correct I hadn’t put them in my dipped headlights, I will be posting again as I’m sure the member who felt it necessary to insult me is in a minority, Thanks again mucker
 
BarriKuda said:
Thankyou my friend, yes your correct I hadn’t put them in my dipped headlights, I will be posting again as I’m sure the member who felt it necessary to insult me is in a minority
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I don't believe there were any insults, but maybe my response could have been more friendly. :oops:

Jayridium said:
I suspect that we have seen his first and last post so will never know was it dipped or main beam he fitted the LEDs to.
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You're quite right reference dip or main beams though. ;)
If LEDs are used for main only, then yes of course there's no issue to oncoming drivers, unless mains are left on of course.
I've actually tried a couple of makes of LEDs in the mains of my FL1 facelift, but found them really poor at lighting down the road. Close up the light output was good, but lighing distance was much less than the standard H7 bulbs. This is why I went for an LED light bar, which offered huge amounts of extra light, along with enormous range, although those in themselves aren't strictly legal, but as mine was separately switched, it passed the MOT without an issue.
 
Nodge68 said:
I don't believe there were any insults, but maybe my response could have been more friendly. :oops:


You're quite right reference dip or main beams though. ;)
If LEDs are used for main only, then yes of course there's no issue to oncoming drivers, unless mains are left on of course.
I've actually tried a couple of makes of LEDs in the mains of my FL1 facelift, but found them really poor at lighting down the road. Close up the light output was good, but lighing distance was much less than the standard H7 bulbs. This is why I went for an LED light bar, which offered huge amounts of extra light, along with enormous range, although those in themselves aren't strictly legal, but as mine was separately switched, it passed the MOT without an issue.
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swatts70 posted “ it’s because idiots like you” every other post was polite and informative
 
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