Have a read of this… some links to tried and tested bulbs…

https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic67685.html

 2011 Range Rover Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8

Previous cars :
2003 Range Rover Vogue TD6
1999 Discovery Td5 ES
1995 BMW M5 3.8 6 speed
1992 Range Rover 3.9 Efi Vogue
1992 BMW M5 3.8
1988 BMW 735i SE
1989 Ford Sierra XR4x4 2.9i
1981 Ford Fiesta Supersport

Or here

https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic67685.html “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” -where’s the fun in that?

Thanks for your help guys.
I'm always a bit concerned not to give insurance companies a 'walk away' from a claim. Since it's an mot failure to convert xenon to led, hence making the vehicle legally unroadworthy, have there been any cases where led conversions have failed their mot?

Interesting Mike - I bet not many folks know that (I certainly didn't)

I wonder how many vehicle actually get a fail due to this though... How would the MOT tester know unless they pulled the car apart to get into the headlight unit to check.? Ash
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2016 SDV8 AB

Hi,

MOT testing rules are pretty basic based primarily around positioning, alignment and operation. They'll also visibly check the light itself, you cannot have cracks, holes, or corroded reflectors. Excessive condensation would come under "failed operation" for instance.

Lights should be white, or yellow, now they say predominantly, so you could potentially have a white light with a blue haze, but as it's subjective on the tester it could be a risk. I had an indicator fail once because it wasn't orange enough for instance.

They do check for intensity, i.e. would they dazzle oncoming traffic, but as long as you have good cutoff and they are levelled correctly then you have no issue. So you need to be carefull those cheap lights you bought from Lithuania have a LHD cutoff so would fail alignment checks.

Similarly if you raised your vehicle, you need to make sure you adjusted the self levelling lights, or you'll fail the alignment checks.

There is no test for intensity, nor do they check for power, i.e. remember when we all had 4 x 100w spots even though road legal is limited to 55w. They are not allowed to open anything.

Other things they'll check is high & low beam switching.

They can't open it to check. However: "Existing halogen headlamp units should not be converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, the headlamp will fail."

But you could theoretically change a HID to LED, it doesn't specifically outlaw that.

https://www.motester.co.uk/mot-test-of-lights/

Andy Fuji White / Jet 2012 4.4 TDV8 Westminster

I'm fully expecting "I'll bet you're fun at a party" and similar comments, but I believe this could end unhappily.

If the converted vehicle had a valid mot, for the reasons explained by Andy, and was then involved in (worst case scenario) an incident where an individual was paralysed, the insurance company would be facing a £multi million claim. It would be naive to think that the claim assessor would not look for reasons to declare the vehicle unroadworthy and, hence, walk away.

I know this is a very unlikely scenario, but it is very possible. I've had this discussion about dpf removal, too, and it's too much of a risk to my family for me to be the test case. I would find it impossible to fund the care of a tetraplegic for a few decades so, sadly, I will muddle along with my dpf and my xenons much as I would dearly like to alter them.

Call me negative, call me a curmudgeon, party pooper or etc. but I choose not to take risks with insurances.

Hi,

Yes, you are correct, ignorance is no excuse and any modifications you make to a vehicle, whatever they are, have to remain within the law.

If you want to be anal about it, in theory any modification you make to any vehicle that is not "type approved" or homologated for that vehicle runs the risk of someone using that as an excuse not to pay out, be that warranty or god forbid insurance liabilities. To the point that "You" made the vehicle unsafe therefore "You" are criminally liable for any damage caused as a result of that modification.

Let's face it, everyday stuff, who's ever going to care, but as MykeH says, there are extremes especially if it's you vs the manufacturer.

I think best tread lightly and modify with open eyes.

Andy Fuji White / Jet 2012 4.4 TDV8 Westminster