Headlamp adjusters for France?

georgiac

We are going to France tomorrow and I have totally forgotten to get a pair of those self adhesive things you put on your headlamps.

Does everyone else use them or is there a way with a bit of duct tape ( MSe cheapskater here!)

If I need them does anyone kn ow of a store that sells them cheap as I presume you get fleeced at the terminal.

Thanks

hartcjhart

yep duct tape or insulating tape will do the job

vikingaero

You've left it a bit late for a cheap set. Your choices are:

(1) If you have a modern car, a few have a lever to move shuttering in the lamp unit, though this is unlikely.
(2) Look for markings on your headlamp - the older the better - as these normally have defined lines and use electrical tape.
(3) Buy a set from Halfrauds and keep the instructions so that you can re-use them by carefully peeling them off and using double sided tape.
(4) Go without and risk a on-the-spot fine from the Gendarmes.

georgiac

OH thinks we may still have a set from last time we drove abroad. If I can get them to stick again I will try those.

Unfortunately instructions have probably been binned so will have to take a guess!

casper_g

vikingaero wrote: »

(1) If you have a modern car, a few have a lever to move shuttering in the lamp unit, though this is unlikely.

Some go even further -- I went on a trip to France with friends and was amazed to be told that his Audi adjusted the lights automatically when the onboard GPS detected it was being driven on the other side of the Channel!

georgiac

Somehow I don't think that will be the case with my rotten old Ford Focus Estate, unfortunately.

Now we have found the deflectors - which have lost most of their stickiness unsurprisingly, but don't have a clue where to put them.

Anybody know of any diagrams out there please?

Wig

Hi,

When I go to France, -I was there last week as it happens-, I don't use tape or those purpose designed things, because I don't drive at night. We saw LOADS of Gendarmes this time, they were all over the place on certain roundabouts they had a van on each exit and were stopping everyone except us (maybe because we were British I dunno but we never got stopped). Every other time we've been we hardly ever see a Gendarme.

I don't know if they are an on the spot fine item or not (in the day or just at night - I don't know) and what will the gendarmes say if you show them your electrical insulating tape which is ready to be applied when and if you need to drive in the dark???
Not having a yellow vest (you only need to have 1) and
Not having a triangle
are both on the spot fine offences.

It used to be the case that you only got a fine for not having a spare bulb **if** you had a blown bulb at night and no spare bulb to replace it with if you got stopped for it. I imagine this is still the case, but I always carry a full set of spare bulbs.

Regarding the headlamp deflectors when I did used to do it, I used black electrical insulating tape. On old cars, there were lines on the headlamp to show where you needed to put your tape. Modern cars have no lines, so you don't know where to put your tape and you don't know where to put those specially designed things (which cost £6 on the ferry BTW).

What ferry/road route are you taking?

georgiac

Thanks Wig.

Having asked a couple of people who drive there pretty regularly they all said the same thing - "we don't use them any more"

I have the old ones which I will carry with me and try to stick them on if I can.

We don't usually drive in the dark either so hopefully we will blag it.

We are taking the Eurotunnel this time.

Wig

What you can do, is park your car in the dark about 3 - 4 feet away from a white wall, you should (when you put your lights on) get a typical headlight pattern on the wall.



You can play around with a bit of cardboard and cover your headlamps until you find the position the cardboard needs to be in to block out the bit of the beam which rises up at an angle. The end result when you have your electrical tape applied should be a flat beam pattern which does not rise up above the "horizon"

Wig

As an aside, they are now thinking about introducing yellow vests for every motorcyclist in France - to be worn at all times when riding! :rotfl:

georgiac

We cycled to Paris with our 7 year old and 10 year old last year so no shortage of vests!