Law On Driving With A Headlight Out?

[WAZ91]

Hi all recently noticed I have a headlight out drivers side dipped beam. Few questions...

1. What is the law on driving with it out? I've been pulled a few time in the past and just got told to get it fixed but if I get pulled again it could be a fine¿

2. It keeps happening!! The drivers side dipped is constantly blowing every 1-2 months what could be causing this?

3. I was working for a well know pizza delivery company at the time so read the insurance / car check list sheet and it states a few things that have to be working on the vehicle for it to be insured. One of these was headlight in working order, when I saw this I went to my manager and said I had a headlight out to whcih she said "well you'll have to get it fixed tommorow"

I brought her up on the sheet and said I'm not insured to drive with a headlight out but she was not bothered and I had to argue with her to be cashed up so I could leave!

Last ones more of a rant but this needs to be taken up with someone and the franchisee is useless. Just think when you order pizza that car may be uninsured.

Apologies for the length haha.

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[theduke]

Wouldnt have driven it out of principal tbh, odd how it keeps blowing tho get a multimeter and check how much voltage is going to it

[FOCA]

The headlamp could be blowing premature due to it being switched off/on all the time or from vibration/ shock -

Most people don't switch their lights off/on 40 times a day or bump up kerbs, constantly drive on potholed urban streets all the time (unless they are doorstep delivery drivers - it takes it out of the car

its worse if its the dipped beam, if its the high beam you can keep it on dipped and its less noticeable

You could (always) keep a spare bulb in the car, if you get pulled you could say its just happened and you are just about to fit it, (or do it there and then when you are pulled) or if its time for the checklist stick the new bulb in -

you could get extra-bright sidelights that are bright enough to drive in urban streets without sidelights

or dimming DRLS that you could use when the sidelight blows

Not sure of the legality or otherwise of the above but just thinking out-loud

[WAZ91]

Makes sense with it being turned on/off all the time but why wouldn't the drivers side do it also?

Buying another tommorow so will proberly get a pair then have a spare.

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[Stoney871]

The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 states-

Maintenance of lamps, reflectors, rear markings and devices

23. (1) No person shall use, or cause or permit to be used, on a road a vehicle unless every lamp, reflector, rear marking and device to which this paragraph applies is in good working order and, in the case of a lamp, clean.

It can atract a FPN and an endorsement however if common sense applies (don't expect that from Traffic Officers) suitable words of advice usually suffice.

I've only ever ticketed someone for duff lights when the attitude test is failed.

Sent from my S5

[BOF]

1. What is the law on driving with it out? I've been pulled a few time in the past and just got told to get it fixed but if I get pulled again it could be a fine¿

Note that it is illegal to drive with a headlight out, even in daylight. You might ask 'how would they notice?', but it is still illegal.

2. It keeps happening!! The drivers side dipped is constantly blowing every 1-2 months what could be causing this?

I used to have this on a Cougar. The garage said 'nothing wrong...you are just being unlucky...bulbs do wear out after a time, and sometime you get several reaching their end of life together, etc, etc'.

This was, of course, nonsense as I was losing a bulb every six to eight weeks, always at the front of the car. That's not normal.

What you could also see was that the voltage was not very stable at idle - if it was dark, you could see that the dash illumination (eg, radio display, speedo, etc) and the lights would go up and down a little with the bass in the music. there was an alternator wiring problem with the cougar , generally, and Ford had an additional harness (probably a wire, but it sounds as if it costs more if you call it a harness) that could be retrofitted to cure the problem.

With that fitted, it went down to blowing a bulb every couple of years, rather than couple of months. Ford garage never admitted that there was a fault that they should have done something about.

Anyway, if there is any sign that the voltage is 'wobbling about', even at low engine rpm, then there probably is a problem with the wiring, and things like the alternator earth and battery earth are suspect. In that case, it is probably as easy as adding another, thicker gauge, piece of wire, but it might be a bit difficult working out where, exactly.

In the interim, you could get yourself a supply of cheap bulbs (not very nice, but...) and try to avoid switching on the lights before you have got the car started.

Also note that 'smart charge' does put the charging voltage up a bit, and you probably want to check that your battery can cope (a suitably specified silver calcium one, rather than an 'any old rubbish' battery) and that the terminals there are in good shape.

[SeanW]

Also worth having a good look at the holder(s) too. Make sure that the bulb really is in securely.

My old Punto used to have headlamps sporadically stop working, and then just start working again. Never did get to the root of that one (everything checked out fine)

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[FOCA]

It may be illegal to drive with a burst bulb, but if its a headlight no-one is going to notice in daylight as long as you don't put them on and if its the main beam no-one is going to notice when you are on dipped beam

You could drive a motorcycle without a head light in the day legally, so it must be if one (or a pair on a car) is fitted it has to work - i wonder if you took the lights completely off they would be legal in daylight- or would that come under construction and use?

It was probably a trail bike that was never fitted with a headlight but road legal (in daylight)

Some of these laws are ridiculus - your headlights must work in daytime but motorcycles can drive around in the daytime legally without any headlight at all

[kevzs960]

It may be illegal to drive with a burst bulb, but if its a headlight no-one is going to notice in daylight as long as you don't put them on and if its the main beam no-one is going to notice when you are on dipped beam

You could drive a motorcycle without a head light in the day legally, so it must be if one (or a pair on a car) is fitted it has to work - i wonder if you took the lights completely off they would be legal in daylight- or would that come under construction and use?

It was probably a trail bike that was never fitted with a headlight but road legal (in daylight)

Some of these laws are ridiculus - your headlights must work in daytime but motorcycles can drive around in the daytime legally without any headlight at all

For the motorbikes with no lights there are legal but require a daytime m.o.t.

As that suggests you can only drive the vehicle in the day time (daft i know cus of circumstances occur e.g bad weather causing you to require lights).

If you removed the lamps and there are no sharp edges and the vehicle trim is still structually sound (dont require lamps to hold a bumper on) then it should be ok but will cause too much attention from the 5-0.

It is illegal. Years ago we always used to have police tell us about lights saying "if its fitted it should work" taking into consideration that front fog lights and reverse light is not required for a m.o.t.

They normally tell you to get it sorted cus you can go round a corner and it can pop (happened to me twice) but they can take your details and ask you to take it to the statioj with x ammount of days (producet i think its called) but that normally happens if you get lippy :D

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[jeebowhite]

Your business should not at all be suggesting that you can continue to drive without insurance, I would report that to the franchise and get them kicked for that.

As to the bulb, is it always the same side? are they cheap bulbs or good quality ones?

I would agree with all of whats been said though, turn the lights on about 10 seconds after the engine is started, where possible leave the bulbs on. I dont know what you do when you get out to drop off a delivery, but I would be tempted to trial a period of taking the spare key with me, drive on the spare key and when I get out to drop off an order, lock the car with the engine running, hand over the food, unlock and drive off. This will stop the extra wear and tear of the light going on, getting hold, cooling down then burning up again as this is what kills bulbs.in an Ideal world, the bulb will be stone cold before its relit, otherwise every turn of the switch just weakens it further.

If I was you I would be tempted to see if I could fit extra bright LED Bulbs and also see if there was an adapter to reduce the voltage getting at the bulb, this would probably do you more favours!

As for legality, you could find that a traffic cop who finds you have been spoken to a few times would not believe that you have had your bulbs replaced inbetween, you could then of course be disciplned.

I know its not what you want to do, but IMHO, I would start by getting a used headlight assembly and swap it over, if the problem is with the holder then you can work with that later, but swap the assembly, run it for a while and see how it goes. If the new assembly is the same, then its a spike in wiring, and I would say your best bet then is to monitor the voltage of the battery, see if there is a slight peak. Alternatively borrow a battery from a friend (silver calcium) and see if the issue occurs then!

I would say if nothing else, see if you can find an LED bulb that will do the job. Start off with a relatively cheap one (dont spend £2 but likewise, dont throw £200 at it) and see if that will help. You can get things like the Q5 I believe, or those that contain similar chips. If you find that it doesnt quite illuminate the highway as much as your standard bulbs, but you feel it is still safe to drive and do your job then give that a try,

[WAZ91]

I was really quite angry when she said to keep driving but its not the first time something like this has happend with them, there are not the best employer, i'm only doing it to bring my income up a litlle so i can get things we need for the baby (due in 5 weeks! :o )

I did have a pair of Halfords ultra brilliance in £30 quid for the pair but you could see passenger side was always dimmer.

I always try and leave the engine running but i will definatly try and find the spare key and do as you suggested Jeebs as that would be best all round.

For now i have the cheapest Halfords offered which was £9.99 so will see how long this lasts.

[jeebowhite]

for the price your paying mate I would say go on eBay and buy there cheap "xenon white" ones, you can get them for about £3 each, to be fair, they did my CMAX very well, never blew and the output was fairly reasonable. I wouldnt even think about going back to Halfords for one.

[WAZ91]

is that £3 for the H7 bulb?

[jeebowhite]

Singles like this one for just under £2

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SUPERB-1-x-H7-Low-Beam-Super-White-Light-Bulb-5-6K-Halogen-Xenon-12V-55W-/291189510143?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item43cc3f4fff

or pairs:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/H7-100W-XENON-SUPER-BRIGHT-WHITE-BULBS-8500K-X-2-PAIR-/130867385586?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item1e784dd4f2

They are not all that bad and if your just throwing bulbs in there at the moment to blow them up you might as wel blow up cheap ones that equally do a sufficient job, rather than a decent bulb or a Halfords special!

[WAZ91]

Singles like this one for just under £2

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SUPERB-1-x-H7-Low-Beam-Super-White-Light-Bulb-5-6K-Halogen-Xenon-12V-55W-/291189510143?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item43cc3f4fff

or pairs:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/H7-100W-XENON-SUPER-BRIGHT-WHITE-BULBS-8500K-X-2-PAIR-/130867385586?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item1e784dd4f2

They are not all that bad and if your just throwing bulbs in there at the moment to blow them up you might as wel blow up cheap ones that equally do a sufficient job, rather than a decent bulb or a halfords special!

Ahh those, i did use some similar to those before but found them quite dull. Defo guna get some though rather £4 a pair then £10 wasted for one. until i find what the issue is.

[jeebowhite]

Definately how I would look at it.

[WAZ91]

popped the new bulb in last night and found the the bulb holder does not securly clip into the slidy bit, basically looks like after a some miles it will begin sliding back out.

To save on money would it be safe to pop some blu tak on to keep it in place unti i can afford to get a replacement?

[jeebowhite]

blue tack might make it worse as it would gum up the connection and prevent a solid connection, your better off wrapping tin foil around the loose contact tightly then sliding it in. this should allow conductivity and padding.

[WAZ91]

Theres nothing wrong with any connection, the bulb fits in the holder ok its the holder fitting into the headlight if that makes sense

so when you try and secure everything in place it is really lose.

[jeebowhite]

my bad I misunderstood. That will probably explain why your bulbs keep blowing then as the loose connection vibrates and even shakes the bulb whilst its in there and hot bulbs dont like being bounced around like that.

In which case, I dont think using blutak would be an issue, but I would suggest as it seems like you need to replace the headlight assembly anyway (not sure if you can just replace this part with ease) you could look to a more long term fix and perhaps use some form of superglue / araldite to secure the thing in place?

[Stoney871]

Try a wrap of tape around the holder.

As long as you don't wrap around the bulb itself you'll be fine.

Sent from my S5

[WAZ91]

Ive got plenty of isulation tape so i may try putting this on it to keep it in place as when the bulbs need replaceing wont be too difficult to get it back out again.

What a pain in the bum, still rather the headlight than the engine be messing me around :P

[jeebowhite]

lol that is true!

Its the nearside that your having problems with isnt it? if so I can call my local ford spares centre and see what price they quote for you a headlamp. I was getting quotes of over £80 from the likes of alsorts of breakers, but when I replaced my CMAX headlight it was either £35 or £55 for a replacement unit. If its cheaper and of help to you, I could pick you one up and post it onto you?

[WAZ91]

It would be great to have a price if you wouldnt mind, but just at the moment im going to hold of replaceing it as the babies bits and pieces take priority lol

[nickjaxe]

When you fit the new bulb...dont touch it with fingers...only toilet/kitch roll paper...the grease from your fingers causes a hotspot and shortes the life of the bulb.

Nick.