I am in the (long drawn out) process of re-registering my UK-reg but USA-built 1992 Honda Accord coupe in France. Only sticking point on the 'controle technique' (MOT) test is the headlight pattern. It has plain lenses and I had taped them so the lights 'dipped' to the right, just as I used to do on every other car I took to France. I think I may have been wrong to do that though, because presumably it only works if the lenses are 'patterned' to aim the beams. My question is, do I need to buy new 'right-dipping' units or would it be possible to simply use the adjusting screws on the headlight housings to re-aim the beams from the existing lamps to suit driving on the right?
Hope this makes sense...
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I was originally surprised when I found that a couple of my friends took UK cars to be CT and found it was perfectly acceptable to have black tape on the lens. Whether this is only local discretion in France I do not know, (my experience is entre Bezier Montpellier).
(Even more surprising is that you will find in the English MoT regulations that in the UK it is acceptable to have masking Tape on RH dip headlights!)
Using tape on a plain lens can be used to cut out the high LH stray light, preventing dazzle, altho some loss of projected light output will occur. This means that the beam pattern and light output will be less than ideal, but would satisfy a UK style requirement. People sell black premarked patches for cars with plain lenses.
My advice is to take a bottle of malt and make friends with the tester. You can then get better lens's for easier night driving at your leisure.
How many scrap Hondas do you find in French breakers? Not many I would guess, it may be more fruitful trying to get from a USA breaker.
pmh (was peter)
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PS - When I poked about with a lead lamp and had a closer look I found (in total contradiction to the words and pictures in the Haynes manual) at least four geared adjusters on each headlamp housing - will any fitter at a garage with a beam aimer know which ones to turn?
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Just thought I'd update this one in case it helps anyone exiled in France.
I got the Honda through the controle technique test by asking my son in UK to mail me a pair of plain beam-benders. After a stand-up argument in the workshop at the Honda dealer in Poitiers (who is actually very good...) i persuaded them to try the headlights on the beamsetter with the beam-benders on. They admitted they worked and did the further small amount of adjustment necessary. When I went back to the local controle technique centre and showed them the bill for fitting the beam-benders and adjusting the lights(roughly 12 quid for half an hour's labour at a Honda main dealer - plus two cups of free coffee!) and after looking to make sure the beam-benders were stuck on securely they wrote me the ticket. To be fair, I doubt if this solution would get past the inspectors if a car had to have the equivalent of a single type approval test, but for someone like me, looking to import and register a not unusual motor they feel is better than most things they might buy in France, it might be a useful. Bon journee...
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ps again...
the replacement Honda headlights cost a quoted 856 euros a pair in France
(just over £600) plus fitting. The beam-benders and the main dealer's labour cost me just under £20. I think I would advise anybody in my position to try the beam-benders first...
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