Vw main dealers can stuff their MOTs right in their bum holes.
Mine passed with the same THQ v3 with their LED bulbs. I even asked if they were legal and they explained why they were.
Perhaps VW are just salty that the THQ lights are 100X better than their shit effort.
Mine passed with the same THQ v3 with their LED bulbs. I even asked if they were legal and they explained why they were.
Perhaps VW are just salty that the THQ lights are 100X better than their shit effort.
I’d stick the video up their bum holes. Basically, everything I don’t like the sound of goes in a bum hole
I might have missed it but the wording provided doesn’t mention about whether you can see the LED ‘bulb’, it just mentions if aftermarket units are fitted and the units are constructed with LEDs then it’s allowed.
The THQ light units are designed to house drop in (H7) bulbs. As I understand it only halogen drop in bulbs are road legal in the UK at present. LED drop in ‘bulbs’ are not.
The THQ units are not ‘constructed with’ LEDs for the main or dipped beams, only the DRL and indicators. So, in my mind, technically they need halogen bulbs to be legal. There is a grey area in terms of lens/reflectors though which might allow the OP to argue the case? Drop in LED ‘bulbs’ in a reflector style headlight are the main issue. The original projector style lamps typically used halogen bulbs too but are more suited to LED ‘bulbs’ - and modern vehicles use LEDs behind projectors or reversed reflectors to manage glare.
As for being able to see the bulb (not that that is explicitly mentioned in the copy you provided) then unless they start poking around that’s not possible. However, one can still tell LED vs halogen by light up time (LEDs are instant, incandescent bulbs ramp up to full brightness), colour temperature, sharper cut off etc. etc. so it’s possible to tell without close inspection inside the light.
Personally I would have thought most stations would let it slide, based on not having to look too closely. Especially with projector units. Seems this one was very keen, even if they didn’t capture their observations on the video.
I know various bodies have been pushing government for clarity - the AA and RAC pointing out dazzling leads to collisions and some aftermarket LEDs can never be fitted/adjusted in a safe manner. It’s discussed in the lords, link Here.
Meanwhile Philips are lobbying for LED ‘bulbs’ to be made road legal (they are in a few European countries now) as long as tight controls are met.
Bit of a minefield as we transition from cheap replaceable proven halogens into expensive LEDs that can have technical benefits.
As tester’s aren’t permitted to remove anything while testing, I can’t see how they would be able to fail. A definite fault has to be found so if the pattern and height of the light passes it passes
Here in NZ we have similar MOT regulations fro modified headlights:
19. A headlamp is retrofitted with a type of light source other than that specified by the vehicle manufacturer or the headlamp manufacturer (eg a headlamp designed for a halogen bulb is fitted with any other type of light source such as an HID or LED bulb, or any other light source such as LED strips or non-OEM angel eyes) (Note 8).
So basically you are not premitted just change the bulb, but OK if the entire Headlight assembly is changed.
Modifications - reasons to fail
18. An overlay has been applied that reduces or distorts the light emitted from the lamp (eg a tinted cover).19. A headlamp is retrofitted with a type of light source other than that specified by the vehicle manufacturer or the headlamp manufacturer (eg a headlamp designed for a halogen bulb is fitted with any other type of light source such as an HID or LED bulb, or any other light source such as LED strips or non-OEM angel eyes) (Note 8).
So basically you are not premitted just change the bulb, but OK if the entire Headlight assembly is changed.
Where does this info come from ?
The lights are designed to house H7 bulbs.
You can buy them with H7 halogen or H7 LED but the LED ‘bulbs’ are not road legal.
They neglect to mention this at various points yet the packaging gives you the clue…
Being ‘designed to house’ LED ‘bulbs’ has nothing to do with whether LED ‘bulbs’ are legal or not.
Any reseller will tell you no LED drop in (H1, 4, 7 etc) ‘bulb’ is road legal in the UK.
THQ just aren’t making it as clear as others, but in law ignorance is not a defence.
People can google it and check for themselves. Many sellers have a page dedicated to the subject. And on specific bulb webpages in online shops you will see warnings for “off road use only” and/or “not road legal”.
Here is Halfords take on a specific page…
LED bulbs
There are two types of LED bulbs: Original Equipment (OE) and retrofit.OE LED bulbs are completely road legal and fitted as standard by car manufacturers. However, OE LED bulbs are a non-replaceable part and so if the bulb fails then the entire headlight needs to be replaced.
Retrofitting is when you replace a standard bulb with an LED version. At the moment, it’s completely road legal for you to replace an internal bulb with an LED bulb. However, there’s no legislation to cover retrofitting external facing light sources and therefore LED exterior bulbs in this instance are not road legal.
I think their reply to you is very woolly in that it’s not the whole picture.
Yes, the headlamp unit is E marked and in itself is compliant. I don’t doubt that for a minute.
And yes, as they will fit any bulb that conforms to the H7 fitment then technically they are ‘made to fit’ any H7 bulb.
So the two points within that short statement are indeed true.
What they aren’t saying is there are no H7 LED bulbs that are road legal in the UK.
If you ask them to send you a certificate or email stating their V3 lights when fitted with their LED ‘bulbs’ are fully road legal I think you’d get silence.
They’re designed to work together, many compliment how well they do work together and with a projector rather than clear optics reflector design they should be fine for other road users (as long as they are adjusted properly) yet they are unlikely, in my view, to be road legal.
I’m almost sure the main dealer won’t argue and you’ll get a pass on Monday. As we know if they cannot see the ‘bulb’ itself and it meets the beam pattern required for an MOT they’d have to be very confident you do have an LED in there to fail it and much of the MOT wording these days seems open to some relaxation. It’s a grey area - unlikely to be road legal but with what they can actually do as per MOT instructions probably should have passed it - this is why more clarity is needed at government level.
For MOT purposes, yes you need to see the mod that's been done. Hence why I mentioned earlier it would be a pass since it's hidden.
So, yes it will pass pending aim etc is fine. And thq don't say they are led headlamps so that argument at the side of the road with a disgruntled cop ain't going to cut it.
At the end of the day, his van shouldn't be failed as it's not visible.
Yeah, I worked my way round to that viewpoint (my last post probably crossed yours).
It would be nice if government got on with making decent LED ‘bulbs’ road legal and banning the ones that aren’t built right and can never be aligned. That’s their aim I believe and some other countries have done this now. Suppose we’ll get there eventually.
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