Vorsprung durch Technik
A2OC Donor
As above how hard is it to convert left hand drive headlamps to right hand drive? Is it possible?
Cheers Mark.
Cheers Mark.
Is it possible to convert headlamps to rhd?
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Birchall
Dick Chown Award 2016
It has been said that this is not doable other than the beam diverter type of thing.
The problem is with the "shroud" around the dipped beam bulb, I believe that is what deflects the beam to the left in the UK and a different one is used to divert the dipped beam to the right.
If you can find a way to swap the bulb shroud it might be doable?
Would I be right to assume that you have located some European headlamps cheap?
Steve B
The problem is with the "shroud" around the dipped beam bulb, I believe that is what deflects the beam to the left in the UK and a different one is used to divert the dipped beam to the right.
If you can find a way to swap the bulb shroud it might be doable?
Would I be right to assume that you have located some European headlamps cheap?
Steve B
Vorsprung durch Technik
A2OC Donor
Yes i've located brand new Valeo headlamps for a good price.
Right, I've got a superb pair of "Valeo" headlights fitted to my Mercedes SLK. They are for RHD cars. (Valeo don't make a LHD version) So a Year ago, they simply went through an M.O.T. test with no mention! I was surprised! Now this Year there WAS a mention of the fact that the beam direction was aimed incorrectly. This was the advice :- Get a pair of the little stickers that you can buy on the Ferry when you're returning to the U.K. from Europe to use on your LHD headlights and apply them before any future M.O.T. (or leave them on, permanently.) Now just one thing to mention! You wouldn't want to be purchasing the headlight adapters travelling TO Europe (that would be used to convert LHD to RHD headlights) NO! you want the conversion that someone travelling FROM Europe to the U.K. would use (RHD to LHD)
The cost? Well, it's just a few £'s and makes the car legal and usable
David
The cost? Well, it's just a few £'s and makes the car legal and usable
David
dieselfan
A2OC Donor
...these stickers do not change the geometry, they only take away some of the light beam.
Since it takes away the part that you will need to spot pedestrians as early as possible I would thought twice....
I base this on my own use of my cars...
I don't want to be negative but I doubt this will be legal as permanent solution ?
Since it takes away the part that you will need to spot pedestrians as early as possible I would thought twice....
I base this on my own use of my cars...
I don't want to be negative but I doubt this will be legal as permanent solution ?
Well, that came from the M.O.T. tester! The car has its M.O.T., so it must be road-legal? However, I had thought to dismantle the "Valeo" units and to do a bit of cutting and realignment to the shells to send the beam in the correct direction. I rarely use the SLK in darkness, anyway, but I do like a challenge!
David
David
Vorsprung durch Technik
A2OC Donor
Thanks for that Darren much appreciated mate. The problem i have is i bought a pair of new headlamps from Germany only then realising after i'd paid that they were probably left hand drive only. Immediately i contacted seller which was late at night to ask the question. Early the next morning i asked them to cancel the order but the b****rs ignored me and sent them out anyway, i got a message at 5pm yesterday saying they had posted them out. I'm quite annoyed at myself for making this silly mistake and also at the company for ignoring my email request to cancel the order. I'm probably going to have swallow paying to send them back just to get a refund.
drewroberts
A2OC Donor
If you do go travelling regularly across continental Europe I know people on the forum that do. I even wanted to try to get to Marseille on one tank of fuel during the last Euro football tournament then simply swapping the headlights over LHD to RHD would be ideal. No messy stickers ?
A lot of this will come down to the MOT tester and how they interpret the regs. I have had this on my cars before I was in the Army living in Germany and Belgium and brought a LHD car over here as well as my motorbike which had a left-hand headlamp. Some testers let me get away with a piece of tape turning the beam into a flat beam and others did not and failed the mot.
G
Guest 4123
Guest
If you import a LHD car from Europe you have to sign a VCA form to undertake the necessary changes to convert the vehicle for use in the UK. This includes REPLACING the headlights.
RAB
RAB
dieselfan
A2OC Donor
If it is an ok alternative for you; I need a set of head lamps if I can get the power steering sorted, so if it is interesting for you please check shipping cost to NO and send me an PM with the total £. Maybe a win-win for you as well to not be registered with a return order...i got a message at 5pm yesterday saying they had posted them out. I'm quite annoyed at myself for making this silly mistake and also at the company for ignoring my email request to cancel the order. I'm probably going to have swallow paying to send them back just to get a refund.
ajsellors
A2OC Donor
Hi,
The reflector behind the bulb is a different shape between LHD and RHD headlights. Its marked on the back if you look inside. There is no way to adjust the beam.
This post shows the markings which indicate what kind of beam will be produced.
https://www.a2oc.net/community/index.php?threads/valeo-headlamps-new-lhd.29681/#post-246199
You can also tell by the part number as LHD parts are 8Z1 where as RHD parts are 8Z2.
If you are replacing your headlights because the front plastic window has degraded and you are able to "split" the headlights easily, you could swap over the reflector, put the RHD reflector from the old lights into the new LHD headlights and "convert" them for RHD use. My experience however is that they don't come apart easily!
regards
Andrew
The reflector behind the bulb is a different shape between LHD and RHD headlights. Its marked on the back if you look inside. There is no way to adjust the beam.
This post shows the markings which indicate what kind of beam will be produced.
https://www.a2oc.net/community/index.php?threads/valeo-headlamps-new-lhd.29681/#post-246199
You can also tell by the part number as LHD parts are 8Z1 where as RHD parts are 8Z2.
If you are replacing your headlights because the front plastic window has degraded and you are able to "split" the headlights easily, you could swap over the reflector, put the RHD reflector from the old lights into the new LHD headlights and "convert" them for RHD use. My experience however is that they don't come apart easily!
regards
Andrew
My "Valeo" headlights on the Mercedes SLK aren't manufactured in a LHD version. They ARE easily split, so I could experiment with simply altering the seating angle of the bulb? Altering the reflected angle of the rear section, too, might be necessary.I think that it could be that simple?
David
David
Vorsprung durch Technik
A2OC Donor
There would be another way and that is get your original rhd reflectors recoated. Only problem with that they know why you want it done and charge too much in my opinion.
ajsellors
A2OC Donor
Hi,
if we are talking about headlights for the Mercedes rather than the A2, is it an R170 or a later model?
I believe all iterations of the R170 had front prism based headlights, the "older" style of headlights where there is a glass cover which looks "segmented" rather than the clear (plastic) cover that the A2 has.
The segmented style of headlamp relies on a collection of light bending prisms in front of the bulb. The reflector behind the bulb isn't very complex and in most designs doesn't really affect the beam pattern, its mostly there to just throw the light forward. As individual segments on the lens are responsible for different parts of the beam its normally easy to identify the parts of the front that need to be masked off when driving on the other side of the road. You can see the "kick" part of the beam and apply tape directly over the top.
On this style its the glass front that affects the beam, if you want to "convert" one of these from left to right, you will need to replace the front.
Where the front is completely clear, like in the A2 headlights, the front doesn't have anything to do with the beam pattern or position. Its all in the mirror behind the bulb. The mirror would need to be changed to "swap" sides. Moving the bulb would not have any effect as this would just move the whole beam up and down or side to side. The change over is altering the position of the "kick" up at the top of the beam. The part that goes up needs to swap sides so its not possible to adapt the reflector. The best you can do is find the part that reflects the "kick" and mask it, but it would provide illumination on the other side which you would want driving on the other side of the road.
Latter SLKs I think always use projector headlights. In these, the front and lens is universal, but there is a "mask" inside, in front of the bulb and behind the lens. This is is normally made of metal and casts a projected shadow and form the beam pattern. The shape of the mask is either left or right handed to project a beam shape with the "kick" on the left or right. They normally also include a movable section to remove the "kick" completely when temporarily driving on the other side of the road, but this typically doesn't add the illumination on the other side, just remove that which would dazzle oncoming traffic. It isn't necessary to stick anything in front of projector lamps to alter the beam, merely flick the lever over. To properly swap LHD to RHD you would need to replace the mask (or the whole projector unit) with one for the correct side.
regards
Andrew
if we are talking about headlights for the Mercedes rather than the A2, is it an R170 or a later model?
I believe all iterations of the R170 had front prism based headlights, the "older" style of headlights where there is a glass cover which looks "segmented" rather than the clear (plastic) cover that the A2 has.
The segmented style of headlamp relies on a collection of light bending prisms in front of the bulb. The reflector behind the bulb isn't very complex and in most designs doesn't really affect the beam pattern, its mostly there to just throw the light forward. As individual segments on the lens are responsible for different parts of the beam its normally easy to identify the parts of the front that need to be masked off when driving on the other side of the road. You can see the "kick" part of the beam and apply tape directly over the top.
On this style its the glass front that affects the beam, if you want to "convert" one of these from left to right, you will need to replace the front.
Where the front is completely clear, like in the A2 headlights, the front doesn't have anything to do with the beam pattern or position. Its all in the mirror behind the bulb. The mirror would need to be changed to "swap" sides. Moving the bulb would not have any effect as this would just move the whole beam up and down or side to side. The change over is altering the position of the "kick" up at the top of the beam. The part that goes up needs to swap sides so its not possible to adapt the reflector. The best you can do is find the part that reflects the "kick" and mask it, but it would provide illumination on the other side which you would want driving on the other side of the road.
Latter SLKs I think always use projector headlights. In these, the front and lens is universal, but there is a "mask" inside, in front of the bulb and behind the lens. This is is normally made of metal and casts a projected shadow and form the beam pattern. The shape of the mask is either left or right handed to project a beam shape with the "kick" on the left or right. They normally also include a movable section to remove the "kick" completely when temporarily driving on the other side of the road, but this typically doesn't add the illumination on the other side, just remove that which would dazzle oncoming traffic. It isn't necessary to stick anything in front of projector lamps to alter the beam, merely flick the lever over. To properly swap LHD to RHD you would need to replace the mask (or the whole projector unit) with one for the correct side.
regards
Andrew
My SLK is an R170. The latest "Valeo" headlights that I've fitted have a completely clear front section. They make my SLK look very modern and I'm a great fan of them. You refer to the "mirror" behind the bulb. I'd referred to this as the reflector. It was this part of the headlight that I'd considered cutting across with a "Dremel" tool and either removing or adding a section to alter the reflected beam of light into a suitable direction for use on U.K. roads. I've got lots of headlight parts to use for the alteration to the shape of the mirror and I've found a superb bonding material, called "Q-bond". Another possibility might be to stick a complete reflector section on top of the "Valeo" mirror, having first determined a perfect position for use on U.K. roads. No shortage of ideas, then ....... the only thing that I'm a bit short off at the moment is TIME!
David
David
steve_c
Grumpy OAP & A2OC Donor
The one in your picture is for left-hand traffic - the 8Z0 number ends with an L.
For right-hand traffic, the 8Z0 number will end with a K
Check the full codes here: https://audi.7zap.com/en/rdw/audi+a2/a2/2005-248/9/941-941000/
Edit: this isn't a full answer and applies only to the later headlight units. I have several UK spec (i.e. left-hand traffic) headlight units with the 8Z0 codes ending in J.
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