Headlamp conversion for Europe

[Plodalong]

Does anyone know which part of the headlamps need to be masked to make suitable for driving in France?

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

Does anyone know which part of the headlamps need to be masked to make suitable for driving in France?

I've read elsewhere that they don't need masking at all.

 

[siteguru]

Ditto - the LEDs give a flat beam. Of course you could always adjust them slightly to move the beam further to the right. (Make a note of where the adjusters were originally, so it is easy to set them back).

 

[mg4mc]

My headlamps do not have a flat cut off (MG4 Trophy). They slope up on the left like most cars.

 

[jonney]

Yeah the LEDs on Trophy are laddered to the left, so you'd have to reverse that to be road legal in EU.

 

[GusPectin]

Yeah the LEDs on Trophy are laddered to the left, so you'd have to reverse that to be road legal in EU.

How do you do that? I can’t find it in the manual.

 

[wandle MG4 trophy]

I emailed MG UK a while ago. They said the MG4 has flat beam lights that do not need adjusting or masking when driving in Europe

 

[Plodalong]

I couldn’t find any info on this either. So true to MO, I bodged it. On halogen lamps using reflective lenses, to stop the dip beam from laddering left, you would mask the bottom right. LED lamps don’t use reflective lenses (they just dazzle any poor sod coming in the other direction, sorry ‘bout that, spot the grumpy old codger). So anyway, to satisfy any inquisitive Gendarme I put a 50mm circle of gaffer tape to mask the left side of the dip beam segment as you look from the front. Not sure this made any difference to the light pattern, but hey, it shows willing. I then set the headlamp load adjuster (next to the wing mirror adjuster) to 3 which brought the left hand laddering to below windscreen level.

 

[tsedge]

I emailed MG UK a while ago. They said the MG4 has flat beam lights that do not need adjusting or masking when driving in Europe

The lights are different between SE and Trophy.

On my Trophy the left hand beam is clearly laddered higher and so could dazzle abroad.

The lights are easily adjustable via screws under the bonnet.

 

[GusPectin]

Thanks @tsedge mine is a Trophy, and there’s definitely a “ladder” (wasn’t aware of this term before). The lights make a shape a bit like this:

 

[Ian Key]

As a "fix." Point the car at a wall and turn the lights on and take a photo for reference later. Open the bonnet and turn the height adjusting screw to lower the nearside light to the same level as the offside. This will stop you dazzling the French motorists.
When you get back using the photo and the same wall and distance from it reset the headlight.

 

[CarlMG4]

As a "fix." Point the car at a wall and turn the lights on and take a photo for reference later. Open the bonnet and turn the height adjusting screw to lower the nearside light to the same level as the offside. This will stop you dazzling the French motorists.
When you get back using the photo and the same wall and distance from it reset the headlight.

I like that, don't know why I've never done it like that I, once (with great difficulty) drew a chalk line on a wall of the beam pattern of a previous car, adjusted the screw then forgot all about it until 10 days later when I returned, and it had been washed off

Some kids had also been drawing outlines of themselves on the same wall with chalk, CSI style.

Next time I won't be so careless

 

[jonney]

I like that, don't know why I've never done it like that I, once (with great difficulty) drew a chalk line on a wall of the beam pattern of a previous car, adjusted the screw then forgot all about it until 10 days later when I returned, and it had been washed off

Some kids had also been drawing outlines of themselves on the same wall with chalk, CSI style.

Next time I won't be so careless