Headlight failure whilst driving

Hintza

Is it not compulsory in most of Europe to keep spare bulbs in the car? Then the manufacturers manufacture cars where you can't change the bulbs!!!

jb66

I would put my sidelights on and my lower fog lights (not full beams)

Keith

I would call the AA, they carry bulbs

mchale

Keith wrote: »

I would call the AA, they carry bulbs

Why, its not a breakdown?

anewman

If a Halogen bulb fails whilst driving, don't attempt to replace it in a short time as it is likely to be hot enough to burn your hands.

Mankysteve

jackieb wrote: »

You're told that you should keep spare bulbs in the car - but what if you're driving out of town and it's dark and one goes. Is it safe to stop and replace a bulb at the side of the road? What should you do if you don't want to be stopped and fined by the police? Is there any instance where it's unreasonable to get a fine when there's not much you can do about it?

I can't remember what is called/how they go about it. But if a cop stop you he'll give you a fine which you can avoid if you conduct the repair within X number of days.

spike7451

Hintza wrote: »

Is it not compulsory in most of Europe to keep spare bulbs in the car? Then the manufacturers manufacture cars where you can't change the bulbs!!!

Yes it is,When I was based in Germany,you had to carry a spare set of bulbs & fuzes,a first aid kit,fire extinguisher & a warning triangle.
Items that I still carry in my car today.

sillygoose

The bulbs in my front fog lights are the same as the dipped beam bulbs so I have stopped and swapped one over in the past.

Most cars the side light bulbs come on with the headlamps as well so even if a bulb blows it should be showing the sidelight on that side. The wrecks you see going around with nothing on the one side have an electrical fault (such as bad earth) meaning nothing works.

Then when the last working low beam goes too they drive around all the time with a single high beam on all the time. Shows how few Police on the roads now as these MOT adverse heaps should be easy pickings..

I often wonder if the Police even care any more, unless its for on TV.

davetrousers

gaz_jones wrote: »

Someone said they heard you should drive with your fog lights on but didn't have a source so I don't know how true that is.

Two wrongs don't make a right

vaio

gaz_jones wrote: »

I was having a discussion earlier about what you should do if one of your headlight bulbs blow whilst driving, and wondering if you guys could give a definitive answer. I've had a google but didn't come across much.

Obviously best practice is to keep spare bulbs in your car, but if you don't have a spare bulb, what should you do?

One of the joys of xenon bulbs, I haven't had to replace one in ages

Yep, xenons do last well but they will make your eyes water when they do go.

My A4 developed a bad electrical contact between the bulb & holder which got hot and then burnt out. From Audi the bulb is £107 and the igniter (to which the bulb holder is cabled) was something like £250. Add on some VAT and you are looking at over £400.

I ended up with generic parts (£100 for both) but with the increasing trend of manufacturers using canbus on things like lights in a few years generic won’t work and it’ll be dealer only