LED headlights - too bright?

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Peep110

Member
Posts
51
Location
Oxford
The previous owner of my beasty (Hi Mick hope you & yours are well :)) had all the lights (barring dashboard ones which are horribly dim) replaced with LED types. It passes MOTs no problems but everywhere I go I get people flashing me because even dipped lights are blinding them!

I'm not sure what to do about this. I could I suppose aim them down a bit more (assuming they can be adjusted and it'll still pass an MOT afterwards) but are they all like this?
 
Most likely incorrect adjustment. And depending on where you get it MOT's they may not full check heights (correct distance from surface of measure etc).
Are the light road legal - E marked?
 
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The previous owner of my beasty (Hi Mick hope you & yours are well :)) had all the lights (barring dashboard ones which are horribly dim) replaced with LED types. It passes MOTs no problems but everywhere I go I get people flashing me because even dipped lights are blinding them!

I'm not sure what to do about this. I could I suppose aim them down a bit more (assuming they can be adjusted and it'll still pass an MOT afterwards) but are they all like this?

I run LED headlights on mine. They are a complete unit, not a bulb upgrade. No one flashes me, so I would assume yours are too high.
 
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Yes mine are full replacement units too, not just bulbs. Ok I'll have to find a few mins to check it out this weekend (weather permitting), I've had almost no spare time recently to do anything much!
 
If they are E-marked (I mean real E-mark, not a fake one) and correctly adjusted then they won't be too bright or dazzle oncoming traffic.
 
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Many sellers claim that their LED headlights are E marked and are road legal. To be road legal the headlights have to carry an approval mark. An approval mark consists of several different parts. Without the correct approval mark the lights are not road legal. If the only markings are DOT, SAE and E + number in a circle it is not an approved headlight and is illegal.


Some sellers on various auction sites claim that their lights are brighter then the reputable brands, JW Speaker, Noldens, Vision X, Truck-Lite. What they do not tell you that if the low beam intensity is greater then 2,000 lumens then a wash, wipe cleaning system has to be installed to reduce blinding on coming traffic.

Peep110 what brand of headlights have you got and what markings are on them?


Brendan
 
I bought a cheap set off ebay for about £100 as my old lights were knackered anyway. i had them adjusted properly at the garage and have had no issues with them scattering light or blainding other motorists.
 
Check also that they are RHD headlights. Some of the ones on ebay etc are LHD-spec- on these the cutoff goes the other way for driving on the right.
 
At last I've found a moment to actually check this out. The units seem genuine but whoever fitted them left them at their highest setting. I couldn't have made them point more skyward if I tried, both adjuster screws were wound in fully. Luckily they were easily adjusted - well the drivers' side one was, the adjuster screw on the passenger side one was not only fully in but had had its thread stripped in that position somehow so needed some persuasion from inside to cooperate. I'm most conerned though that the lights have passed more than one MOT, which is quite worrying when I think about it.
 
If your drive is perfectly level you can set them up fairly accurately using the garage door and a tape measure. Between 1.3% and 2% downward is acceptable for the MOT given the height of the headlamps.
 
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