Checked you car lights recently.?

[alastairq]

On another note,

How many of you on here actually drive at 30MPH in a '30' zone? Just curious, as wherever in this country I do this - it almost always results in some people being right up my backside (same at most other speed limits, too!) - evidently my '30' is not fast enough!

 

 A case of 'near-enough-is-good-enough?' [ a common driver attitude?]

 

Shouldn't we all drive within the speed limit.....as distinct from 'at' the speed limit?

 

But yes, you are right...consider this though....you are helping all those close behind you to comply as well....and, more importantly, show consideration for those who live in that neighbourhood, by controlling the overall traffic speeds.

 

However, you are not in their way at all.....after all, they are free to overtake you at any time....[whether it would be advisable is another matter altogether.]

 

Sit back, enjoy your drive, and ignore them.....[what's your middle finger for?}

[mcowgill]

My wife reported that her nearside dipped beam was out on Christmas Day evening, something that would be a minor inconvenience on my MG but work-wise is on a par with a gearbox failure as far as her Renault Scenic is concerned.

 

There are no notes on changing the bulb in the owner's manual other than an instruction to take the car to a dealer.  Having changed the offside one in the past I'm happy that the dealer's workshop book time of 1.2 hours for a headlamp bulb change is justified.

 

I'm pleased to say I beat the 'book' time and it only took about an hour, including removal of the battery (essential to be able to gain access to the rear of the light unit), and changing the bulb by feel as there is only just enough slack in the cable to allow the bulb to be withdrawn from the light unit, not enough to allow you to work the bulb holder out into daylight where you can see what you are doing.  Who's idea was it to have to disconnect the electrics to change bulb, only being able to see if it works after you have then fully reassembled everything?

 

If requested to change the bulb at the roadside in the dark by a policemen I would suggest he do it himself and advise him that blue lights acting as a warning to approaching cars would be necessary as removing the battery would extinguish all the other lights while he's working on it!

 

I'm in agreement with the earlier post that suggested that designers be made to work on their own vehicles to avoid designing in such problems.  Next time the bulb blows I think I'll tell her to swap the car!

 

Martin 

[AngusDe]

I like German rules!

I particularly like the one that says 'there is no such thing as a road traffic "accident" ' - in other words, all RTA's (or, RTC's!) are someone's fault! Exactly so, ....

Yep, I agree, it is the way it should be really, every accident is someone's fault.

 

My own experience of this, in Germany, 1990ish, was when a guy ran out through queuing cars at a traffic light and appeared immediately in front of me as I was doing 50kmh/30mph in the other direction and I had no option other than to hit him, I can still remember the whole thing in slow motion as he sailed over me and landed head first on the pavement. I was in shock but numerous witnesses came up to me, saying they'd seen everything and it was the guys fault for jaywalking etc. Pedestrian lights were red and it is illegal to cross the road within (whatever) 100m(?) of a crossing etc.

 

Ambulance came and took guy to hospital, Police came and took statements etc and I had a slip of paper from police saying the guy was at fault, and no blame attached to me and my car insurance folk wrote to the guy for the damage to my car etc.

 

Thankfully the guy made a full recovery and despite not having personal 3rd party insurance (the norm in Germany) he came round the house and paid for the damage.

 

Angus

[MarkC]

Most likely down to the local fire officer driving around and saying I wont be able to get my engine through here.

 

Quite possibly, but it was the local bobby who had gone round every house on the estate & told folk personally - so no excuse for getting a ticket later

 

That's a very good point though about emergency vehicle access - having said that, I've seen an appliance force his way through a road, with one or two parked cars 'suffering' - but that was a few years ago, before the 'compo culture' took off...but that's for another thread, I fancy

 

Mark

[6959]

Some Daylight Running Lights are wired through the oil pressure switch and come on automatically when the engine starts and stay on whenever the engine is running. The DRL cannot be switched off except by stopping the engine or cutting the wires. In Canada and some other countries DRL are mandatory.

 

Where I now live there are a lot of very narrow single track rural roads with sharp bends, hidden dips, high hedges and overhanging trees so I drive with headlights on main beam in daytime as long as I cannot see another car and if there could be a car, tractor, coach, truck or horsebox too close for comfort. A very wise precaution when there are lots of 4 x 4 drivers about who think they have royal lineage and own the road and would prefer to drive at the national speed limit all the time, regardless.

 

If you drive an automatic it is usual when crawling in traffic to release the brake pedal just enough for the transmission to creep forward. Admittedly not good for a driver in the following car who gets a blaze of red stop lights but that's the way it is.

 

On fine sunny English summer days (remember them?) I sometimes use a 'Yank tank' which is left hand drive and nearly seven feet wide so I drive on dipped headlights. Now and then I get headlight flashing, verbal abuse or gestures suggesting doubtful parentage and working in the banking industry but at least the other driver has seen me before taking off the wing mirror or creasing difficult to replace body panels.

 

 

[Tim Horn]

I’ve been unfortunate to have a main bulb blow mid journey (back in the late 90’s), but driving along street lit roads for several miles late at night meant the first time I noticed was when the police pulled me over and did the checks. Asked if I knew why they stopped me, I said no, but thanked them for stopping me as my car could have been nicked. No hassle, quick check and breathalysed, and then let on my way with no further action once they saw the new bulb set in the boot.

 

I did have a smile on my face for a few days last year when the local beat car was driving around with a main headlight blown for a few days, but like people have said, it’s not easy to get to some bulbs without major surgery to the grills and housings, so I guess they didn’t have a spare car or time for it to be off the road.

 

The main problems I have noticed now are people driving around with the front fogs on, pretending that they are daylight running lights. Even some of the new LED DRL’s I think are far too bright, but that’s another thing we will have to get used to I suppose!

 

Tim

[45156]

but like people have said, it’s not easy to get to some bulbs without major surgery to the grills and housings,

Indeed - that is so true - I had a blown stop/tail on my Fiesta and went down to the local garage to get one as soon as I found out, to be told that I'd be lucky to change it myself.

 

The cluster was firstly held in by three torx headed screws, then once removed, the whole lamp bar was released by removing a concealed nut from a threaded shaft - the cluster then dropped out from the back, but its movement was limited by the wiring loom, and had to be allowed to drop away at a specific angle.  The bulb could then be changed, and the whole process repeated - certainly not a simple DIY process, and one which needed specialist tools not normally carried on the average car boot tool kit.

[BrushType4]

 

I am a BMW driver myself and I am amazed at the amount of other BMW divers that drive on sidelights because they think it looks cool to have 4 half-moon lights on the front of their cars – idiots!

Or it could they have a newer BMW than you that automatically switch on the lights with the ignition which has been a feature on Volvos and high end cars for a number of years and is now the law on new cars in the UK. Idiot!

[250BOB]

Or it could they have a newer BMW than you that automatically switch on the lights with the ignition which has been a feature on Volvos and high end cars for a number of years and is now the law on new cars in the UK. Idiot!

 

As the OP on this thread......the Mods will lock it if we call each other "idiots" and "ponces"...........A Mod has already warned us once on here.

 

I think the topic has generated some heat...certainly lots of responses....but lets keep it friendly eh.?

 

Thanks.......Bob.

[TheQ]

Earlier on in this thread, it was said that the police  would give you a ticket to show up at a police station, to  prove you had fixed your car. I appologise if some one has already said this, but this is no longer the case. It is now normal procedure for you to be ordered to report to a MOT station, where after being relieved  of 25 pounds. You get a letter to show to the poilice that you have had the car fixed. 

The Q

[250BOB]

Earlier on in this thread, it was said that the police  would give you a ticket to show up at a police station, to  prove you had fixed your car. I appologise if some one has already said this, but this is no longer the case. It is now normal procedure for you to be ordered to report to a MOT station, where after being relieved  of 25 pounds. You get a letter to show to the poilice that you have had the car fixed. 

The Q

 

WOW..!!!!   Didnt realise that was the case now.

 

How certain are you of that ??

[newbryford]

Indeed - that is so true - I had a blown stop/tail on my Fiesta and went down to the local garage to get one as soon as I found out, to be told that I'd be lucky to change it myself.

 

The cluster was firstly held in by three torx headed screws, then once removed, the whole lamp bar was released by removing a concealed nut from a threaded shaft - the cluster then dropped out from the back, but its movement was limited by the wiring loom, and had to be allowed to drop away at a specific angle.  The bulb could then be changed, and the whole process repeated - certainly not a simple DIY process, and one which needed specialist tools not normally carried on the average car boot tool kit.

 

Not made any easier by the fact that the car manual described the three fixing screws as cross-headed........ Replacing the front headlamp requires the front grille to be unclipped.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[BrushType4]

As the OP on this thread......the Mods will lock it if we call each other "idiots" and "ponces"...........A Mod has already warned us once on here.

 

I think the topic has generated some heat...certainly lots of responses....but lets keep it friendly eh.?

 

Thanks.......Bob.

I was paraphrasing the poster Bob.

 

Though with modern cars as they are it is nearly impossible to do an at the side of the road repair. The Police are fully aware of this and are very unlikely to make your evening harder than it need to be unless of course you've given the Police a reason to give you a hard time.

[newbryford]

As mentioned elsewhere, daytime lights are compulsory in some countries. In one eastern european country - sorry can't remember which one - the law was introduced a few years ago and the number of "accidents" showed a very abrupt decrease.

 

But........

 

There is one group of road users who aren't keen on DRL becoming compulsory - motorcyclists - as some of them claim that they will no longer be as visible amongst the array of lights.

I can see their point, being an ex-motorcyclist who rode with lights on in daytime.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[BrushType4]

I have always said that car designers should be give the "average" motorists tool-kit ( a hammer, an adjustable spanner, a pair of pliers, assorted "odd" spanners and a couple of fairly "graunched" screwdrivers) and put to work on their creations, taking them apart and re-assembling them for six months before writing the manual for Haynes! I'm certain there would be a load of changes for the better in car design as a result!

I doubt that. Car designers don't want the average wo/man in the street to maintain his/her car, they want you to need the dealers.

 

Cars are designed to appeal to customers and then be built as cheaply and efficiently as possible. The last item on the list is how easy it will be to maintain the vehicle without a full tool set, laptop diagnostics etc.

[Tony_S]

Perhaps we should petition the EU to make roadside replacement of bulbs  ( without special tools) a mandatory requirement for all cars

 

[Ohmisterporter]

slightly off topic but something I have noticed a lot of around here over the last few weeks is a load of badly behaved lights - e.g. Brake lights flashing with indicators etc. I assume this is to do with water ingress from the repeated driving through standing water, due to the recent weather, as I havent noticed it before?

This used to be a fairly common problem in which the wrong bulbs had been fitted e.g. indicator bulb used to replace a blown brake light. I did this myself on an Audi 80 I once owned. My own carelessness for not checking the bulb properly. It doesn't really excuse me by saying lots of other cars were similarly affected does it? A neighbour put me wise to it and it was corrected quickly. Never made that mistake again though. Check your bulbs comply with the handbook. 

[NGT6 1315]

Most likely down to the local fire officer driving around and saying I wont be able to get my engine through here.

 

Do UK fire stations send their engines around their area periodically to check whether all roads are accessible? It's common here in Germany, so I was curious how it is in the UK.

 

As for fog lights: I have been using them while driving through side streets during the last phase of wintry weather, as many of these streets over here are not cleared of snow and because I wanted to be better able to judge road conditions.

 

How many of you on here actually drive at 30MPH in a '30' zone? Just curious, as wherever in this country I do this - it almost always results in some people being right up my backside (same at most other speed limits, too!) - evidently my '30' is not fast enough!

 

I certainly observe speed limits closely and am, in fact, fairly proud of not having received any speeding tickets for as long as I have my licence. While it might be an unusual kind of reminder, I do usually tell myself that trains must not exceed the maximum speed determined by their braking ratio either, and for good reason.

[Happy Hippo]

You'll notice if you've got a feckin' FIAT!

 

I had one of the headlight bulbs go on my Punto the other week and sadly it wasn't a DIY fix either; had to take it to the garage as the design was such that to replace the bulb 'in the field' would have required the skills of a gynaecologist!

 

Dave.  

Dave,

 

I've changed the bulbs on both the old Punto and the newer Grande.

 

I can also do various Citroen models and the faithful old Astra.

 

Thank you for pointing out my new career opportunity!

 

Regards

 

Richard

[Xerces Fobe2]

Or it could they have a newer BMW than you that automatically switch on the lights with the ignition which has been a feature on Volvos and high end cars for a number of years and is now the law on new cars in the UK. Idiot!

What a shame fellow Rmweb members stoop to personal insults!

 

Nigel Spate

[BrushType4]

What a shame fellow Rmweb members stoop to personal insults!

 

Nigel Spate

Not personal Nigel, used the same language you did my chap which why I used it back at you.

[Norm81]

I think we just need to raise awareness that the provision of two headlights is not intended as dual redundancy and that both should be operable at all times. How anyone can drive along with a dipped beam out and not notice is beyond me.

 

I regularly check my lights when it's dark using the neighbour's back fence near where I park the car.

[Xerces Fobe2]

Not personal Nigel, used the same language you did my chap which why I used it back at you.

 

My comment was generic, however maybe unintentionally yours was specific and this was picked up by another member on the thread!

 

But let' s move on....

 

Nigel,

[Mod5]

Having made a request to keep the posts sensible to prevent us from having to edit or lock it, then Bob the OP makes a similar request it would appear some are unwilling or incapable of following these reasonable requests.

 

Last chance.

[petethemole]

Do UK fire stations send their engines around their area periodically to check whether all roads are accessible? It's common here in Germany, so I was curious how it is in the UK.

 

I believe it's standard practice; they certainly do it here, usually testing hydrants at the same time.

Pete