Headlamp aim for MoT

Stigy

Hi all,

Had the Mk5 Golf in for an MoT the other day and it failed on a few items, one of which was listed as "NSF Headlamp incorrectly aligned and could dazzle other road users" or words to that effect. Another failure was that the lenses were horrible and yellow, which understandably affects the beam pattern. So I had the work required done and the headlamps professionally restored and they now look like new. At the same time I had the alignment checked (all this at a different garage).

Anyway took it back for a re-test this morning and the tester stopped before he'd even started as he said the headlight aim was too high (stopped early as once 'no the clock' he'd have to fail it again apparently, costing me a full re-test fee). Not ideal, but fair enough I thought as I don't want to have to fork out another £50! So I went down there and had a look and the dipped beam looked okay to me against a wall. I spoke to the tester who told me it was actually the main beam that was at fault. I found this strange as judging by the test refusal sheet it hadn't failed on main beam, therefore I didn't have that checked with the rest of the work.

Anyway, took the car to the garage that did the work and they took it next door to where they have their tests carried out and they moved the bulb in the main beam so it was okay, but stated that the main beam should have failed anyway, because as part of the MoT the only failure in this respect would be if it a) wasn't working at all or a bulb had blown or b) if the blue warning light on the dash wasn't working.

Now I've researched this online a bit and can see certain things about testing main beam alignment on "British American cars"....I'm assuming this is exactly as it says on the tin really, and that only the dipped alignment should be checked on my Golf? My main grip was with the failure sheet which doesn't mention main beam anyway! When brought up with the Tester/service dept. I was told it didn't fail on this and it was discovered now. Surely the main beam shouldn't enter the equation in a re-test if it didn't fail on this? Not to mention the fact that it's not a failure item anyway in its current form...

Can anybody advise?

Thanks!

arcon5

http://www.ukmot.com/mot%20manual/index.asp?MOT_Section=D%20-%20British%20American%20Type%20%28Dipped%20Beam%29&MOT_Number=1.8

Looks like main and dipped are tested for alignment.

If your fail sheet just says 'headlamp' then this reads neither dipped nor main. Should have been clarified really.

Stigy

arcon5 wrote: »

http://www.ukmot.com/mot%20manual/index.asp?MOT_Section=D%20-%20British%20American%20Type%20%28Dipped%20Beam%29&MOT_Number=1.8

Looks like main and dipped are tested for alignment.

If your fail sheet just says 'headlamp' then this reads neither dipped nor main. Should have been clarified really.

I checked this source (Well, different but the handbook itself so the info is identical) and it states only British American types need to be tested on main beam...Unless I'm missing something. :beer:

arcon5

It's my understanding the top section applies to ALL headlines, irrespective of origin. Then there are further guidelines in respect to those that comply with european regs or british-american.

In your case I suspect the failure was

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1. A headlamp which does not conform to diagrams 1, 2 or 3 that has a beam image which is aimed so that it dazzles other road users.[/FONT]

I'm happy to be corrected if i'm wrong here though.

Stigy

arcon5 wrote: »

It's my understanding the top section applies to ALL headlines, irrespective of origin. Then there are further guidelines in respect to those that comply with european regs or british-american.

In your case I suspect the failure was



I'm happy to be corrected if i'm wrong here though.

The top section states;

The type of headlamp will determine whether the aim must be checked on main or dipped beam. See diagrams 1, 2 and 3, which include details appropriate to each headlamp type.

Then in the part marked 1.8B (European E beam headlamps), in the first paragraph it says "Checked on dipped beam". I'm assuming the Golf has this setup (On further investigation and seeing the diagrams I'm happy it does have).

Thanks for the responses! As I said, maybe I'm just not reading it right, but it seems clear-cut from where I'm sitting...

Also, if failing a main beam on the standard scale of things (a generic format same as dipped beam is tested) in that it's too high and will dazzle other road users, this to me makes no sense as main beam will dazzle other road users anyway, that's why you dip them again when other cars are approaching...Doesn't matter what the light is doing in this respect, surely?

Joe_Horner

"British American" lights are effectively an obsolete system over here (although I believe some US makers still use them for US cars). They have either a flat-top dipped beam (with no "kick up") or a "stepped" dip which has two horizontal sections with (for the UK) the left hand section higher than the right. It's the pattern we used to use with "pre-focus" bulbs before sealed beam units came in during the late 60's or so.

The only lights which should be checked on high beam are the flat-top version of the British American pattern. That's because the flat beam, with no step or "kick" on low beam gives no indication of how they're aligned left / right. So they're tested on high beam, which gives a visible bright spot to judge left / right alignment.

Your Golf will have E marked European lights with a dip beam "kick up" to the left (you can confirm that by shining them at a wall) and should be tested for alignment only on low beam.

The tester should know that, and if you've had the site manager involved then he should certainly know that. If they continue to play silly games, or try to charge you for adjustments in order to pass, a phone call to DVSA is in order to set them straight.

DUTR

Stigy wrote: »

Hi all,

Had the Mk5 Golf in for an MoT the other day and it failed on a few items, one of which was listed as "NSF Headlamp incorrectly aligned and could dazzle other road users" or words to that effect.

snip

Can anybody advise?

Thanks!

I used to have a MK5 Golf, the one time I replaced the dipped beam bulb, on the way to work, it did appear that the beam was off set as the drivers in front appeared annoyed, when I got to work I removed and replaced the bulb, it appears it was not seated properly, it was fine after that.

Stigy

Joe_Horner wrote: »

"British American" lights are effectively an obsolete system over here (although I believe some US makers still use them for US cars). They have either a flat-top dipped beam (with no "kick up") or a "stepped" dip which has two horizontal sections with (for the UK) the left hand section higher than the right. It's the pattern we used to use with "pre-focus" bulbs before sealed beam units came in during the late 60's or so.

The only lights which should be checked on high beam are the flat-top version of the British American pattern. That's because the flat beam, with no step or "kick" on low beam gives no indication of how they're aligned left / right. So they're tested on high beam, which gives a visible bright spot to judge left / right alignment.

Your Golf will have E marked European lights with a dip beam "kick up" to the left (you can confirm that by shining them at a wall) and should be tested for alignment only on low beam.

The tester should know that, and if you've had the site manager involved then he should certainly know that. If they continue to play silly games, or try to charge you for adjustments in order to pass, a phone call to DVSA is in order to set them straight.

Thanks for the info. They have passed the car now but only after I had the main beam sorted out myself. There was no cost to this for me so I'm not too bothered about that, however it's the principle I feel that is the issue, plus it seems even what looked like their most experienced MoT tester didn't understand the rules and regulations. That or they were annoyed that I chose to have the work carried out elsewhere. This test station was also a VW main dealer by the way.

To save having a heated discussion with the service manager, I took the keys and the paperwork and left, but even as I picked the car up the service manager/rep said he spoke to the tester and was told that "it hadn't failed" on the main beam which was why the refusal didn't list it. In hindsight I guess I should have told him to concentrate on the re-test and not worry about the main beam as it didn't fail on it.

I will be contacting DVSA anyway as I feel there is a certain incompetence about the place.

salubrious

It was failed on a dipped beam issue by the tester, and yet the same tester told you to fix the main beam image? - That makes zero sense.

Strider590

Stigy wrote: »

Thanks for the info. They have passed the car now but only after I had the main beam sorted out myself. There was no cost to this for me so I'm not too bothered about that, however it's the principle I feel that is the issue, plus it seems even what looked like their most experienced MoT tester didn't understand the rules and regulations. That or they were annoyed that I chose to have the work carried out elsewhere. This test station was also a VW main dealer by the way.

To save having a heated discussion with the service manager, I took the keys and the paperwork and left, but even as I picked the car up the service manager/rep said he spoke to the tester and was told that "it hadn't failed" on the main beam which was why the refusal didn't list it. In hindsight I guess I should have told him to concentrate on the re-test and not worry about the main beam as it didn't fail on it.

I will be contacting DVSA anyway as I feel there is a certain incompetence about the place.

Why so surprised?

Main dealers are run by people with sales backgrounds and the "technical" staff are usually underpaid trainees.

Stigy

Strider590 wrote: »

Why so surprised?

Main dealers are run by people with sales backgrounds and the "technical" staff are usually underpaid trainees.

This tester looked about 900 years old so was far from a trainee.

It was failed on a dipped beam issue by the tester, and yet the same tester told you to fix the main beam image? - That makes zero sense.

I know....