And now I've seen it all ...

[Arfa Daily]

Yes, I know I've had a bitch on here before about DIY headlight repairs, but I swear it's getting worse year on year. Since the evenings have got dark again, I've been blinded from the front and dazzled from the rear so many times that I've lost count. This is either because headlight bulbs have been fitted incorrectly, or the cretins behind the wheel don't know what the blue light on the dash means ...

On top of this, on more than one occasion, I've almost run into the back of a motorbike that's turned out to be a car with the offside tail light out.

Today, I had to drive to another town some thirty miles away, and for most of the time it was more or less foggy. At least one in three cars was not showing any lights. I think I saw about two that were actually using their rear fog lights. Funny how drivers always manage to find the tiresome things on a dark wet night when they are guaranteed to dazzle you, but never have them on when it's full daylight and thick fog !

Anyway, on the return trip, as I passed the main county police headquarters, a law car pulled out behind me. It had one headlight pointing into the ditch, and the other up into my rearview mirror. If it's now reached the point where even the coppers can't keep their own vehicles legal, we might as well all give up ...

DIY headlight bulb replacement should be banned. You ought to have to take your car to approved garages where there is someone trained and certified to change the wretched things correctly >:-(

Rant over ...

Arfa

[Andrew Gabriel]

In many cars nowadays, the headlamps are not user replaceable because you have to remove other parts of the engine to get to them. That maybe why so many cars now drive with a headlamp out.

[harry]

The problem is not the replacing of bulbs. It is the soft suspension of modern cars neccesitating headlight adjusters that work from the dashboard which some people don't bother with.

[Tim Lamb]

In message , harry writes

snip

Or rather they get adjusted *full up* and never put back.

SiL complains of poor night vision and usually sets his dipped beam to high.

Night light dazzle can be an age/eyesight problem.

Concur on the dark evenings equals faulty lights syndrome. Does this mean number plate recognition systems only work in daylight? Otherwise it would seem a low cost fix: automated letter through post followed by a penalty ticket if not put right.

[fred]

In article , Tim Lamb writes

Isn't 'full up' meant to be the default, with switched departures from the 'zero' position all being progressively further degrees of dipping to compensate for increased loading in the rear? The headlights should be manually adjusted (and hopefully MOT'd) with the setting at zero (or highest) so that they can't dazzle due to switch setting error alone.

Static ones are certainly illuminated with IR floods and you get the plate lighting up with the on axis reflection, just like cats eyes. Don't know about the mobile ones but it would be a bit of an omission if they didn't have them too.

[Dave Liquorice]

Just that the dark evenings mean lights are on and thus the duff ones that have been duff all summer are now noticeable. For many commuting wages slaves it'll be the first time the lights have been used since the previous April...

I like that idea.

[Dave Liquorice]

And it would only get worse if people had to pay for someone to change a bulb. Be better to ban street lights IMHO, then people may actually notice that they have a head light out. With the level of street lighting in some areas you can't tell if you have lights on or not apart from the dash being lit.

Also bear in mind that to most people a car is something you put fuel in and take to the MOT (if it requires one(*)). Servicing might happen at the mileage intervals but nothing is checked or done by them between MOT/servicing. Certainly the "weekly checks" of tyre condition, pressures, lights, washer fluid etc isn't done by most.

(*) How many of these duff lights are on vehicles

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Changing a bulb for one of the correct type won't alter the beam setting. What is more likely is the car has been damaged and repaired and the new unit not adjusted correctly. If a new car, this won't be picked up until the first MOT.

[polygonum]

Whilst I agree with your rant, it can also be medical issues that make one more sensitive to being dazzled by oncoming headlamps. Certainly that happened both to my partner and to me. Luckily I didn't get too bad and treatment has resolved it entirely. The other day was the first long (multi-hour) trip in all blackness for several months and, when I got back home, it was worthy of comment that not one single oncoming headlamp had dazzled.

As so many people need to be able to drive even when not 100% medically fit, attacking the badly aligned headlamps is, nonetheless, the first priority.

[Brian Gaff]

I see Halfords are now advertising a change your bulb service.

Brian

[Brian Gaff]

Bring back the 2CV system I say.

Brian

[Bill]

In message , Andrew Gabriel writes

I've been wondering whether the modern fetish for flashing lights to say "Come On", "Thanks" and so on isn't causing lamp failures. I thought that when you apply volts to a cold filament, there is a sudden rush of amps.

Other hates are drivers who park, often just over the brow of a small hill, on the wrong side of the road with the headlights on. Often these are taxis waiting outside restaurants.

[Andy Burns]

Clearly what is needed is legislation that restaurants must be on the correct side of the road and not situated near small hills.

[Bill]

In message , Arfa Daily writes

Like Halfords maybe ????

Now that could be the beginning of a totally new rant?

[Bill]

In message , fred writes

I recently fitted an ANPR camera for a customer, attached to their CCTV system. They are amazing, even in bright sunlight there is next to no image. As you say they have IR illumination and this is reflected back from the number plate. The effect is outstanding, the filter in front of the camera basically only allows the IR frequency of light through and the number plate shows perfectly, day or night. The mobile ones do appear to have IR illuminators too.

[Tim Watts]

Modern!??

Everyone was doing that in 1975. Probably before...

[Steve Firth]

writes

And how. I took my wife's car to Halfords (closest to work) and asked them to fit a headlamp bulb. I was wearing a suit and didn't want to get mucky. They pissed about for twenty minutes and couldn't get it right then the "bulb fitter" handed me the bulb and walked away. I followed him back into the shop and asked for a new bulb and the money for fitting the bulb back. Took moaning all the way up to shop manager level to get the cash refunded. I wanted a new bulb because dickwad handled the bulb capsule with bare hands.

Took the car to the garage where it is normally serviced which I should have done first time. Fitted the Halfords bulb for free and it took them about two minutes.

[Steve Firth]

Putting the bulbs in upside down will alter the beam setting.

[Steve Firth]

I have to agree with you. It's also not helped by the general "can't give a toss" attitude of the majority of drivers who think that unless they drive around with fog lamps and main beam that their manhood will shrivel. It's fairly common on country roads to be followed by some duck who refuses to dip his headlights.

As to bulb maintenance you're right again. In any queue of ten vehicles at least two will have one or more bulbs out. At least one will have bulbs in but probably upside down.

[Tim Streater]

What about muddy ones or in fog? And was the customer hooked into the database?