Radical rear light change

[CovKid]

Yep, I know they won't be everyones cup of tea but ordered these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-Truck-Tra ... 33900e9593" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All LED, far better light. Almost identical size. Sick to death of light clusters that were never that great even new. Will let you know when I've fitted them and post a pic. Experiment more than anything

Tried truck lights in the past (Iveco etc) but the backs were always a problem when fitting. These are flush ones.

[California Dreamin]

Are they road legal Ralph? no built in reflector....O/S fog lamp...EU approved?

Martin

[CovKid]

From what I gather, you don't have to have inbuilt reflectors, just reflectors which I've got anyway. Not usure about EU approved but it is only an experiment. Will be chatting to my MOT guy if they were to become permanent. Its due in March.

If not, they can go on my trailer board.

Incidentally (and I know lots on here have fitted them) LED replacement bulbs are not road legal either and most of those supplied/sold aren't EU approved. I gather its a different matter if your vehicle was fitted with LED lights from new - or vehicle manufacturer approved. If they are sold, they should be offered as "off road use only" or similar. Its a difficult one as LED technology moves faster than legislation.

[Drucifer]

I rather like the look of them, lets see how good they are when on. Guess can just bolt on a fog light or two and a few reflectors.

[CovKid]

Depends how bright they are I suppose. They're pretty cheap so not expecting much of them but could be a bit of fun to wire up and see what they actually look like - even if consigned to trailer board afterwards.

What dampens things further is technically (at least under current regs) apparently none of us T25 owners can fit anything other than filament bulbs and even then, when they talk of maximums of 21 watts, even if you could legally use LEDs, 21 watts of LED is clearly going to be unacceptable - quite how you'd guage what would meet the same criteria as a filament bulb is anyones guess without lab testing. A few UK vendors (some of them) correctly describe them as "off road" or "interior use" - the vast majority just keep quiet.

All of these LEDs are made in the Far East where most things are copied and EU or UK regs matter not a jot. Quality is often poor too with burnouts sometimes quicker than ordinary bulbs.

The other idea I had was to fit small LED panels inside the original lamp pod partitions but then you're dealing with directional light sources in 1980s lenses. Its all a bit frustrating as T25 lights are not great by modern standards but there appears to be no legal scope for owners to make any changes - well, other than polishing the life out of the reflectors on the back section. Even domestic filament bulbs have been virtually phased out now.

In the end I suppose it will be down to an MOT tester or roadside stop and since so many cars seem to be post-fitted with lights that are clearly not legal, its a rock and a hard place I think.

As I mentioned, I did tinker with EU-rated truck lights from a variety of lorries but none were potentials as they either protuded too far or would have meant body cuts which I'm not prepared to do. In the end I just want lights that can be seen well, without glare. Merc truck ones were fab but they were right up to the number plate.

I won't dwell on the cosmetics. You do kind of get familiar with the look of T25 rear lenses and they are part of the character. It would just be good to improve visibility without flouting the law. There seems no legal way to do so.

[lloydy]

MK1 golf lights fit with an adapter that some german company sell. Does open your options up a bit
http://www.rhoen-bull.de/Lights:::2.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Have to say though, I've recently new genuine vw rear lights and they're plenty bright enough. A big difference from the old ones

[itchyfeet]

How do you cope with the reduced load on the indicator relay to stop it going into fault mode a flashing quickly?

[CovKid]

I've got a digital one. It doesn't seem to care. Can't remember where I even got it from now.

[bobby-gg]

Just be careful with those cheap led rears

I bought a set for my trailer, ripped all the original ones off and spent an afternoon fitting something similar to the ones you've show, and quite frankly they were crap, you could hardly see the brake lights in normal daylight, never mind bright sunshine!

Bought a set of the Australian made LED Autolamps, far superior, really bright even in full sunshine, and ideal for my use as they were multivoltage

[CovKid]

Very nice!

http://www.ledautolamps-uk.com/en/produ ... ation-lamp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Looks like these would fit - albeit 3 cm wider.

http://towbarandtrailercentre.com/ekmps ... 7797-p.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - vary between £80 and £150 though!

[Timwhy]

These SA lenses looked really nice.

[CJH]

Incidentally (and I know lots on here have fitted them) LED replacement bulbs are not road legal either and most of those supplied/sold aren't EU approved. I gather its a different matter if your vehicle was fitted with LED lights from new - or vehicle manufacturer approved. If they are sold, they should be offered as "off road use only" or similar. Its a difficult one as LED technology moves faster than legislation.

Thread resurrection: I came across this thread when searching for information about fitting LED bulbs. I'm tidying up my towbar wiring and in the process I discovered that my rear light clusters need some attention too. I've got a motley selection of bulbs in there (peeling orange paint, darkened glass, corroded bases etc), so I'm going to renew the lot. I thought I'd read the LED replacement bulbs aren't approved, and indeed this must be the post where I read that.

But, the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 mentions a date of 1st April 1986. This seems to be the regulation that says you have to fit approved filament lamps. But does this mean that vehicles that pre-date this can use non-approved bulbs? Is there another regulation that says LEDs are banned specifically?

14.—(1) Where a motor vehicle first used on or after 1st April 1986 or any trailer manufactured on or after 1st October 1985 is equipped with any lamp of a type that is required by any Schedule to these Regulations to be marked with an approval mark, no filament lamp other than a filament lamp referred to in the Designation of Approval Marks Regulations in–

(a)regulation 4 and Schedule 2, items 2 or 2A, 8, 20, 37 or 37A; or
(b)regulation 5 and Schedule 4, item 18,
shall be fitted to any such lamp.

Next question - the bulb plates in my ULO clusters are stamped with the bulb ratings - 21W for everything, but 10W for the reversing lights. Is 10W a legal limit? Can I put 21W bulbs in there too?

[California Dreamin]

Hi Chris...reverse lights are definitely 21 watts same as the indicators.
The 10 watt bulbs are the side lights.

Martin

[CJH]

Ah, so they are, thanks Martin. The bulb plates can go on either side, and are stamped with the bulb ratings for either way up - I misread the stamping. So the 10W side light bulbs are so that they're not as bright as the brake and fog bulbs.

[tforturton]

These SA lenses looked really nice.

These do indeed look smart. Any ideas on a supplier?