Fitting LHD headlights to RHD mota.

[gordonbennet]

 Following a post from FordPerv (which rattled me head) in another thread i'm after some bright ideas from the assembled shiters.

 

Our modern jalopy is an 04 plate Outlander 1 (another LPG runner for those who give toss -- , any way the big weakness of these is that the headlight lenses crystalise and eventually it'll be an MOT failure.

Very difficult to find these scrap, uncommon motor at the best of times, and new lamps are stupido money, no aftermarket RHD that i know of.

 

LHD new aftermarket available on the bay from Lituania of all bloody places for half the cost of new RHD Mitsi units.

 

In me dafter moments i can imagine meself cutting the (all) clear lenses off  and fitting the old reflectors to the new lamps or just fit the new clear pastic lenses with some plastiweld...the reality cuts in and i remember i'm actually a useless twat and would completely fuck this up.

 

Another daft thought is to fit the LHD lights and stick RHD diverter patches on the outside to suit.

2 things come to mind.

1  i haven't got a fuckin clue where to find RHD diverters for LHD Outlander headlights,

2  would it pass the MOT like this anyway.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Course if one of you know where there's a mk 1 (03 to 05) Outlander breaking with some decent headlights still in place that would cure all my ills....note late 05 and 06 models had a minor facelift, best way to tell is that the motor gains unpainted plastic wheelarch protectors similar to Rover Streetwise, they also shoved sligtly differet xenon lights in as part of facelift, probaly could be fitted but would need all the electronics too and no doubt that would be a bigger bloody headache.

 

Gordons version of Sods Law decrees i always buy a  motor thats as awkward as buggery to buy bits for.

 

[dollywobbler]

Beam benders will pass a UK MOT as far as I know. The LHD beam pattern is otherwise wrong, which is why I was confused about the comment regarding fitting LHD headlamps to vans.

[Mr Lobster]

You'll pass an MOT with the beam bender type deflectors on it. My Twingo ran around like this for ages and passed three or four MOTs like that.

[Pillock]

You could cut the lenses off as on a modern motor, all the bean bending is done by the reflector and the glass is usually clear without any ridges, unlike old cars where the reflector was just curved and the glass did the work.

[gordonbennet]

Righto lads, thanks for that.

 

Now whats the low down on benders!, where to get and how to fit, do you get a template to offer up so sited correctly or just stick 'em and hope for the best, i s'pose most UK buyers want to stick benders (ooer missus) on their RHD lights, are LHD benders (even more ooer missus) as easy to come by, are they universal or car model specific?

 

See, i haven't a bloody clue about this, never took a car abroad and probably never will, done too many miles in my lorrying years which i still do, so driving holds little pleasure any more unless i'm on a clear road in me old shite.

 

 

Pillock, i had toyed with swapping the lenses, they are as you say clear, but as i mentioned above i'm a useless twat, anything like this is sure to end up a right balls up if i get anywhere near it.

 

Why the hell do we have these plastic lenses now anyway, break a proper glass lens on the old Merc (its never happened) i go and buy a new one from dick turpin's and fit it.

[Pillock]

How are the headlamps assembled? On my Audi, the lenses were just clipped on and had a little barely-tacky strip to seal them. Four clips, new glass, fasten clips. Some newer ones are removable quite easily if you stick it in a warm oven to soften glue.

[fordperv]

Beam benders will pass a UK MOT as far as I know. The LHD beam pattern is otherwise wrong, which is why I was confused about the comment regarding fitting LHD headlamps to vans.

 

i told the buyers they would fail a uk m.o.t due to the pattern of the beam etc they bought them anyway due to them being made of unobtanium and there was alot of happy camper owners, i did advise people about beam benders or swapping lenses over from the rhd lamps when they bought them, one guy told me his tester just adjusted the headlamps on the test to make them pass but no more details than that.

 

yes beam benders do come with a guide on where to stick them

 

ebay comes up with these for bending lhd to rhd cheap as chips

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HEADLAMP-BEAM-DEFLECTOR-LHD-LEFT-HAND-DRIVE-MOT-APPROV-/200375686658

[gordonbennet]

Noted Fordperv,  thanks, looks like those could be my answer.

 

Pillock, the OE's appear to be a complete one piece moulding, maybe the glued lenses would come apart but from looking closely at 'em i doubt it, the problem being that i won't be able to see if the LHD's from Lithuania are identical mouldings until i buy them, whilst they might well fit and be usable they could be different enough to make swappage impossible.

 

Unless a breaker appears in the next 4 months i think i shall buy them and stick a set of those benders on.

 

Many thanks for the help lads, and keep this peculiar and quaintly ugly motor in mind if you should happen to clock one being broken and give us a nudge would ya, a used set, unless they're worse then my buggers, would be the best and cheapest answer...we intend to keep the thing and run it into the ground anyway.

[dollywobbler]

I suspect if you adjust the dipped beam for the test, your main beam is then in entirely the wrong place. IIRC, LHD headlamps don't actually dip to the right, but straight ahead.

[gordonbennet]

Never noticed, and when i've owned American LHD cars i never noticed a beam problem and no benders on the lights, maybe i never noticed and TBH never gave that a thought, i know i get blinded by enough bloody european registered cars vans lorries and buses (and Brit cyclists) to come to the conclusion that nobody gives a toss except us.

 

Assuming i get these LHD lights it'll be learning curve, if i do then i shall update.

 

Thing is the cheapest i've found the OE's is £250 a side, those Lithuanian jobbies come in at £150 the pair delivered if i recall correctly.

 

Annoying really, but these lights have been troublesome for many owners since the car was launched, Mitsi soon changed them on the facelift late 05 so obviously aware but no recall for the earlier ones, and according to Mitsi forum no help from the maker has ever been forthcoming, even in the USA, Toyota they aint.

[e287yba]

RHD headlamps have the beam "flick up" to the left of centre:

 

\- (viewed from the driver's seat with the headlights shining on an adjacent vertical surface)

 

in exaggerated form .

 

Ditto LHD headlamps with their continental _/ beam (again, viewed from the inside of the car looking forward against an adjacent vertical surface and exaggerated ).

 

A LHD car with tape covering the \ part of the headlamp's \_ dipped beam (check it out on a vertical surface nearby) will pass the MoT if the beam looks like __ (viewed against a local vertical surface ) as "American headlamps" have the same appearance, according to the MoT Tester's Manual .

 

There is talk of 'hotspots' in the MoT 'book', but the "flick" is avoided...

 

This can all be sorted against a nearby vertical surface - garage door, wall etc - then one will find hidden marks on the headlight lens...

 

SWMBO's Jazz has a 2mm-squared mark on the lens of each headlight which is the start of where insulating tape/carpet tape/whatever can be used that doesn't pass light to any degree needs to be placed to kill the \_ "flick up" of a RHD headlight. We did 2,500 miles in France in said Jazz using this arrangement... and didn't dazzle anybody sur le continent .