Indeed, along with unapproved different size tyres often discussed on this forum, or non declared engine mods or diesel engine tuning boxes or chips......but it’s seems HID conversations are the real baddy of the plot despite being the one that can make the biggest difference regarding driver safety.

Hey Ho that’s the interweb  Regards

David

Lovely i6 has now gone, but not me......

Please let me know if anything in my post offends you, as I may wish to offend you again......

PRadd wrote:

Many may get away with them at a MOT tester, they are however illegally fitted as pointed out above. My concern would be in the event of a night time accident what view would an insurer take?

Sorry No longer for sale can not cope with all the legality police

If people want to buy these "for off road use" then thats fine and upto them, when you buy and see "off road only" you know that legally not suitable for on road. So I think you should sell them but make it obvious they are not "legal" and let the buyer make their own mind up.
I did and it wasnt police or whatever it was simply I wanted better lights legally.
So put them back on sale get a few quid back for them and the buyer can decide.  2014 Freelander 2 XS TD4
Firenze Red

The "legality" of HID conversions is a bit of a grey area as I see it.
My car, a 2011 GS, is fitted with projector headlights, on the lens of which is stated "H11/D1S", meaning the same unit is used with either halogen or Xenon lamps, the only difference is that the halogen equipped car is not fitted with the auto headlight levelling sensor and controller, only the manual one.

I've fitted an H11 to HID conversion kit in mine with the ballast tucked away inside the light unit so there's nothing to show, they work well and the beam pattern is no different to the original, only brighter.

It's been through MOTs without question, and why should it, they're clearly HIDs, you can tell by the way they come on more slowly and of course the colour, but if the headlamp unit itself is marked D1S, why should anyone query it?

There's is no "grey area" the MOT testers manual updated March 21 is very specific in the it states:-

"Existing halogen headlamp units on vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1986 must not be converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp for light source and lamp not compatible."

Yes, I'm aware of the MOT guidance, all I'm saying is that in a projector-type lamp unit that could be fitted with either type of bulb and the beam pattern is correct, it's less cut and dried to determine if it's right.

I fully understand the issues around reflector type lamps where the beam pattern can be all over the place and light scatter can cause a real hazard, I've seen far too many of those around, although far less recently, possibly due to the MOT regs.

Yes I understand what you are saying, however, the construction and use regulations are very clear:-

HID headlamp unit requirements
Therefore a HID headlamp unit sold in the aftermarket should:

be type approved to ECE Regulation 98 as a component
when fitted to the vehicle should enable ECE Regulation 48 to be complied with (although no government inspection will take place)
comply with RVLR as far as “use” is concerned
In practice this means:

the headlamp unit (outer lens, reflector, bulb) shall be type approved to ECE 98 and be “e-marked” to demonstrate this. That can only be done by the headlamp supplier - Hella, Valeo, etc - who must test the headlamp in an independent laboratory
once fitted to the vehicle it must have headlamp cleaning and self-levelling (which can be for the headlamp or can be in the vehicle suspension - some expensive estate cars have “self-levelling suspension” and that is adequate). Also the dipped beam must stay on with the main beam
the headlamp must be maintained in good working order, kept clean, and aligned/adjusted correctly in the same way as any other headlamp
Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is an offence to supply, fit or use vehicle parts which are not legal.

In summary: it is not permitted to convert an existing halogen headlamp unit for use with HID bulbs. The entire headlamp unit must be replaced with one designed and approved for use with HID bulbs and it must be installed in accordance with the rules stated above.

The only reason for the legislation and possibly a failure on yours would the fact that over a certain illumination point (2000Lumens as I recall) auto levelling has to be incorporated in the design, which is why some of the cheaper HID systems like the Fiesta (and other entry level vehicles) uses a lower powered HID but no self levelling.

Anyhoo, it’s a bit of a first world issue and feeds the internet police as a bonus  Regards

David

Lovely i6 has now gone, but not me......

Please let me know if anything in my post offends you, as I may wish to offend you again......

I don't know what you are on about with your "internet police". would that apply to anyone who posts something you don't 100% agree with?

I think it is the kind of info that a forum like this should share - at least one interested party was helped by the info that these would not be a legal modification for road use, armed with that info (and the info that many DO run these conversions without issue) then it is up to a prospective buyer to make an INFORMED decision, which may well be to go ahead and fit them.

I think the OP should go ahead and continue with a sale, but to suggest that the forum members should not point out the pitfalls to prospective purchasers seems to me to be the opposite of what a forum community like this should be doing.

On auto levelling, for a vehicle often used to tow (as many FL2s are) I would suggest this becomes even more important - my Honda has Bi-xenons with auto levelling, I was not aware that vehicles with a lower lumen count could bypass this requirement.

We have all been dazzled I'm sure by HIDs fitted to vehicles not designed for them, the evidence is there to suggest that is not a problem for FL2 headlight units (of all years I wonder?).

Please OP - go ahead and sell these, a prospective buyer can make an informed decision for themselves, if anyone thinks that it is wrong or worthy of criticism for forum members to educate and inform then perhaps I have the whole idea of a forum such as this wrong?  2014 Freelander 2 TD4 Manual Dynamic
1956/7 88" Series One Land Rover
1956/7 88" Series One Land Rover - undergoing restoration

Doesn’t bother me......one way or t’other......it’s a friendly forum.


Did you read my footer message?  Regards

David

Lovely i6 has now gone, but not me......

Please let me know if anything in my post offends you, as I may wish to offend you again......

I did - and agree completely with it

PS you didn't offend me in the least  2014 Freelander 2 TD4 Manual Dynamic
1956/7 88" Series One Land Rover
1956/7 88" Series One Land Rover - undergoing restoration