Has anybody come across the new rules starting in May this year, aftermarket HID lamps will be a rejection in a lamp not designed too run them originally.Bit of a PITA if your testers cute and knows they should not be fitted and fails the car.

What if you hid (no pun intended) the ballasts under the centre panel.

 

Just make it look OEM.

What if you hid (no pun intended) the ballasts under the centre panel.

 

Just make it look OEM.

 

That Lee could possibly work.Quicker than removing for test i reckon.

mine are HID under the lights! lol

Given the 99 spec headlight came with hids , i feel the headlight must have been designed for them ?

I shall show mr mot man my 99spec brochure as proof :)

Takes two minutes to switch stock bulbs in. Get certificate and refit.

Has anybody come across the new rules starting in May this year, aftermarket HID lamps will be a rejection in a lamp not designed too

run them originally.Bit of a PITA if your testers cute and knows they should not be fitted and fails the car.

 

How, out of hundreds of different manufacturer's models made over many years will a MOT tester know that a

particular make and model did or didn't come with HIDs fitted from the factory? More so with projector lamps

which look the same whether they are fitted with Halogen or HID bulbs behind the lens?

Its a minefield Andrew i know but a 1990 car would never have had HID lamps fitted.Take a look at vosa,s new MOT draft for this year.The rules are pretty clear as much as it grates me also.

I'll do as I do for my fog light, just fit halogens for MOT only.

 

I'm sure what they're likely to do is just to fail obvious stuff like Billy Bolt On with his Halfords kitted Ford Fiesta with 10000k HIDs in his standard reflector headlights with its associated and ultra tacky blueness and excessive glare.

 

Not sure they'd notice a 4000k in a projector lens one quite as match.

I took my car for its MOT last Saturday, the MOT chap said , that HID's were due to become a fail point next year, ( although perhaps he meant May this year, im sure Jimmer knows his stuff ) anyway, he said the the reason for them becoming a fail point, is that only vehicles manufactured with auto leveling headlights, and fitted with headlight washers would be fitted with HID or xenon from the factory and that there are far too many cars on the road with dirty headlights, which dramatically changes the beam pattern, and without self leveling, which blinds on coming traffic if going up a gradient. Hence the change in legislation.

 

He did however say that a PIAA bulb is acceptable, and that if I select the right one, that the driving lights will appear just as bright at the 6K HID's currently fitted.

 

My question is, my normal dipped beam is currently HID, what is the fitment I need to look for in PIAA to slot straight in ??

 

Sayers

only vehicles manufactured with auto leveling headlights, and fitted with headlight washers

 

This. Although it might be and/or, will have to re-check the wording, which means that UK cars "might" get away with it.

 

i will leave my ballasts in place, and just put halogen bulbs in for the test. it cant fail due to hid bulb and ballast being present, just for being in use.

I have located the draft MOT 2018 document published on the .gov website:

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/671818/mot-inspection-manual-for-classes-3-4-5-and-7-from-20-may-2018-draft.pdf

 

Section 4 deals with lighting and after reading the relevent sections this looks to be the situation:

 

"Some vehicles may be fitted with High Intensity Discharge (HID) headlamps. It is not permitted to convert existing halogen headlamp

units for use with HID bulbs. If it is clear that such a conversion has been carried out, rather than replacing the entire unit with one

designed and approved for use with HID bulbs, the headlamp should be rejected."

 

So does that mean '99 spec headlights would be acceptable?

 

For headlight levelling:

 

"4.1.5 Levelling devices

 

Where a manual headlamp levelling device (driver control) is fitted it must work. Before operating the control, check the setting it is on

and return it to the same place.

 

Vehicles equipped with High Intensity Discharge (HID) or LED dipped beam headlamps may be fitted with a suspension or headlamp self-levelling

system. Where such systems are fitted, they must work; however, it is accepted that it may not be possible to readily determine the functioning

of self-levelling systems. In such cases, the benefit of the doubt must be given."

 

So if you don't have a levelling system it won't be a fail?

 

For headlight cleaning:

 

"4.1.6 Cleaning devices

 

"This inspection only applies to vehicles first used on or after 1 September 2009 equipped with headlamp washers."

 

So Jpecs without headlamp washers and UK specs with headlamp washers won't be tested? There is no other mention

of headlamp washers in the document.

Edited January 23, 20187 yr by AndrewG

i dunno if its just me but anyone else noticed when you're out at night in the zed and any new bmw with laser headlights or merc and there led factory headlights are awful and burn the retainer right out of your eye's???

 

Its just another law to make us jump through hoops and i doubt any of us will be permanently removing them anytime soon :lol:

Given the 99 spec headlight came with hids , i feel the headlight must have been designed for them ?

I shall show mr mot man my 99spec brochure as proof :)

 

Incorrect. The globes in the HID 99 spec headlights are different. They're much bigger for starters and have a beam-cutoff.....sure, Mr MOT man probably wouldn't know this! :lol:

this might muddy or clarify things:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/aftermarket-hid-headlamps/aftermarket-hid-headlamps

 

3. HID headlamp unit requirements

Therefore a HID headlamp unit sold in the aftermarket should:

 

be type approved to ECE Regulation 98 as a component

when fitted to the vehicle should enable ECE Regulation 48 to be complied with (although no government inspection will take place)

comply with RVLR as far as “use” is concerned

In practice this means:

 

the headlamp unit (outer lens, reflector, bulb) shall be type approved to ECE 98 and be “e-marked” to demonstrate this. That can only be done by the headlamp supplier - Hella, Valeo etc. - who must test the headlamp in an independent laboratory

once fitted to the vehicle it must have headlamp cleaning and self-levelling (which can be for the headlamp or can be in the vehicle suspension - some expensive estate cars have “self-levelling suspension” and that is adequate). Also the dipped beam must stay on with the main beam

the headlamp must be maintained in good working order, kept clean, and aligned/adjusted correctly in the same way as any other headlamp

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is an offence to supply, fit or use vehicle parts which are not legal.

 

In summary: it is not permitted to convert an existing halogen headlamp unit for use with HID bulbs. The entire headlamp unit must be replaced with one designed and approved for use with HID bulbs and it must be installed in accordance with the rules stated above.

Just as spurious as the 'rules'.

This is nothing new, and is much like aftermarket exhaust rules. By rights (and this isn't bs, you go into any police station and ask to see the ticket book over exhaust defects and noise), legally no car post '76 should have an exhaust purposefully modified to increase sound or performance over the factory exhaust, unless approved and sold by the dealer (evo's which came from the dealer with HKS exhausts as optional extra's etc). So 99% of cars on any forum are strictly speaking illegal. HOWEVER, until recently there was no MOT stipulations regarding loud exhausts, recently however they seem to have become a lot more strict in general. Also, the areas in the UK where police enforce this law are very few and far between, I've been one of the unlucky folk to be hit with it during a spate back in the early 2000's - challenged it, and they produced it in black and white in the traffic violations book. I was snookered.

 

Now HID's similarly have been under close scrutiny from MOT stations in the area where I live for years; and know many cars that have failed when they are producing a scattered beam (not in projectors) since the past 10 years so whether the rules have tightened up is a mystery to me, but it's not some '2018' change. Like people have said, it's a 20 minute job to take them out and re-fit the standard bulbs.

legally no car post '76 should have an exhaust purposefully modified to increase sound or performance over the factory exhaust, unless

approved and sold by the dealer

 

Can you provide a link to where this is officially documented?

Let’s put this to our resident tester - Chris, you’re up!

Out of curiosity, are 99spec headlamps E marked? If not, how do you prove to the tester that they’re an OEM fit part? Otherwise if they’re assumed to be aftermarket, by those rules it’s a fail item as it has no self level or cleaning function!

Out of curiosity, are 99spec headlamps E marked? If not, how do you prove to the tester that they’re an OEM fit part? Otherwise if they’re assumed to be aftermarket, by those rules it’s a fail item as it has no self level or cleaning function!

 

Not from the pics I have and I wouldn't expect them to as they were only used on JDM cars. My earlier post (#12) covers the

2018 rules on levelling and cleaning and my interpretation.

Out of curiosity, are 99spec headlamps E marked? If not, how do you prove to the tester that they’re an OEM fit part? Otherwise if they’re assumed to be aftermarket, by those rules it’s a fail item as it has no self level or cleaning function!

 

Nothing on JDM cars is e-marked. If you look on UK head light glass, there's an e-mark on them which doesn't appear on Japanese versions. If we tested the car purely based on whether equipment fitted to it was e-marked, all JDM cars would fail automatically.

Not from the pics I have and I wouldn't expect them to as they were only used on JDM cars. My earlier post (#12) covers the

2018 rules on levelling and cleaning and my interpretation.

 

I agree the draft you linked was open to interpretation, but the guidance for fitting aftermarket HID headlamps that Craig linked is a bit more cut and dry.

I agree the draft you linked was open to interpretation, but the guidance for fitting aftermarket HID headlamps that Craig linked is a bit more cut and dry.

 

It is also dated 2010.

Let’s put this to our resident tester - Chris, you’re up!

 

I will post as soon as i know exactly how this is all going to be implemented as things can and do change last minute with these new proposals.

 

What i will say is don't confuse "construction and use" regs with the MOT regs. They are completely different.

I will post as soon as i know exactly how this is all going to be implemented as things can and do change last minute with these new proposals.

 

What i will say is don't confuse "construction and use" regs with the MOT regs. They are completely different.

 

The voice of reason - thank you!