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I don't think I am mistaken, but there seem to be lots of cars with only one working dipped headlamp these days. In two evening drives recently of about 30 mins. each, I totted up 9 one-eyed cars, and this was only on averagely busy roads. I guess about 1 car in every 30-40. Does this mean lax MoT testing, poorer-quality halogen bulbs, careless owners, or what?
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Hi Andrew,
What about the other cars that come up behind you and light up your interior mirror ? Or the others that shine straight into your side mirrors ?
There are a lot of mis-aligned headlights out there along with the one-headlighted brigade. The fault lies with the owners in my book, you should check your lights before any journey, but how many of us do ?
regards,
Ash.
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Every vehicle that I work on, as a service to my customer, I check tyres and lights. Over 90% have at least one defective lamp and many have tyres that are either illegal, underinflated or damaged. I am of the opinion that the average motorist rarely checks their vehicle if at all. Still mustn't complain too much, "it all makes work for the working man to do....."
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I hope they thank you for pointing out safety related defects, and don't claim you're 'looking for work'.
Regards
john
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I would imagine poor bulbs. I have a 12 year old 220k+ audi and I have only changed one bulb in its life!
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Modern headlamp bulbs need to be operated at a very high temperature. The heat generated during normal operation is part of the recycling process of the element. This leads me think that low temperatures might lead to premature bulb failure. This is why I never use the 'dim/dip' feature on my own car.
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I use 80/100 watt bulbs and have never had a problem. You can buy 100/130 watt bulbs, but they leave a black "burn" mark on the upper part of the reflector. They are too bright anyway and newish roadsigns blind you back!
What I have found, on a 94 Previa, is that the side/stop bulbs blow very frequently. I have to replace one a month about. It has never happened on any other car I have owned. I really can't think it can have anything to do with the car. A bulb holder is a bulb holder whatever it's in surely?
On 2 occasions the side lights (and panel lights) came on whenever the brakes were applied, and the stop lights came on whenever the side lights were applied. The fault was that the metal arms supporting the filament in one bulb had bent (warped) and were shorting out. To happen once I thought was amazing, but TWICE?
Has this only happened to me?
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Try the new '30% brighter' Xenon bulbs (the white ones, not the ones with the wierd colours). Certainly work, giving a much whiter light, and no problems with overheating as they are the same wattage as standard. At £10 each in Halfords for an H4, they are not too expensive. Also, the filament is the same size as standard so they should retain the beam control of a standard bulb.
Yes, I don't know if it's new road signs being more reflective, but one stretch of road near me has three close together, and it's definitely a dip beam area or you can't see a thing!
Regards
John
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To Darcy.
I think 80/100 watt bulbs are illegal on post 93 cars. Not 100% sure about the date. I could look it up for you if it really matters, but the chance of anyone a)finding out or b) doing anything about it, must be practically non existent. They are definitely legal on older cars. That is why Halfords can sell them. Incidentally, does everyone using this web site go to Halfords? What about other motor factors?
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As part of the ageing process, I suppose, I have thought for some time that headlamps have been leapfrogging in an attempt to see through the glare of oncoming cars fitted with too-bright lights. Where does it end? There has to be a compromise between seeing, being seen, and not being dazzled. Any suggestions?
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To reduce dazzle, why don't people use dim-dip anymore?
Also, why not turn off dip beam in traffic queues where they serve no purpose.
RK
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Dim Dip was outlawed by our Lord and Masters in Europe in 1995..........
obvioulsly to good an idea.
Apparanlty Dim Dip affected the lesser French field wurzzel's mating pattern on a Saturday afternoon when there was an "f" in the month and the wind was blowing nor nor west and the ambient temp of a cup of coffee (as served on the square at Nancy) exceeded the bilateral average of the cosine of 42. Otherwise it was a damn good idea....shame !
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Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought 80/100 bulbs were illegal, hence the marketing opportunity for Halfords. I use these bulbs and they are good.
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For Andrew Tarr.
How about polaroid. Vertical on headlights and horizontal on windscreens. (normal sidelights of course) Not practical because of the problem of retrofitting to existing cars. (buy shares in "autoglass"?)
Parliament has legislated the compromise. 50/65 watt.
Re Europe. Would it not be a good idea for twin headlight units to have one set left dipping and main beam and the other set to be right dipping and main beam. All at the touch of a button. No more sticky tape when going abroad.
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I used to have a SAAB 9000. Its display indicated the location of blown bulbs, so part of the reason for so many 'one-eyed' cars could be the number of manufacturers who do not have this basic safety feature.
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If people can't notice that their headlights are only casting out half as much light as normal then I'm afraid that they probably wouldn't notice a little warning light (or at least take any notice of it) on their dash.
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