Beam deflectors on UK cars in France...

[MrCanary]

My UK Citroen has Xenon headlights (the type that look blue from a distance). It is not possible to buy beam deflectors for the car. My Citroen dealer has said that cars with this type of headlight do not need deflectors in France. He assures me this fact is legally recognised.

Does anybody know this for sure?

[Missy]

Well... dunno about deflectors for any particular cars.... but the best deflectors I ever had/bought/made/used was a bit of black tape neatly cut and positioned over the offending beam so as not to obstruct the general light emitted.  Last thing I do just before boarding the ferry and never had problems with it or being told I wasn't 'régul' .......

One day they'll make a car that has an optional switch where you can move the beam on your headlights from left to right (as well as the dip bit), just for people like us, crossing the channel, that needs it!.... So simple really you'd think they'd done it by now.....

[Bugsy]

They have Missy, but it's only on certain models. I have a friend with a Hymer motorhome and he has a switch on the dash that changes the lights from left to right, good stuff.

[MrCanary]

What a good idea Missy...

The Citroen dealer in England that I use tells me that with Xenon headlights, the top of the beam (on dipped) is flat and, as such, does not need deflectors. Yet when I drive in France, I am continually being flashed.

In fact, the dealer went further in saying that nothing should ever be stuck to the perspex headlights because the heat from the Xenon bulbs would melt it to the lens and eventually it would crack! 

[David]

    I have just been on the AA Website and searched under 'Headlamps'.  What the dealer says is roughly correct. Deflectors cannot be used with Xenon Bulbs. However, the site states that  MOST  such units have a screw/lever at the rear which moves a shutter within. How easy they can be got to depends on the car.

Based on what a friend of mine had to pay to change a headlight Bulb on his Renault (£220 ) you will probably need a mechanic to do it. ( watch them do it and you can do it yourself next time). They had to remove the bumper and other bits just to get to the Unit. Bulb £10 fitting £210. The mind boggles.

David

[powerdesal]

 Have you tried the obvious route of checking in the owners manual if it tells you how to change the dip direction. If not, how about a Haynes

 manual? They are often, I believe, available in local libraries for reference.

 I am pretty sure there will be a changover facility, as a example, my Zafira has "conventional" lights which cannot be switched but the Zafs with Xenon units can be.

[Alan Zoff]

Some cars with properly adjusted Xenon lights are flashed in the UK, too, as their increased brightness can cause other drivers to think that the lights have not been dipped, especially when driven over uneven surfaces.

[Eslier]

There's a good chance that you will find a small hidden lever on the back of the headlamp assembly. If so, try moving it in whichever direction it will go (up, down, left, right) and you should find it alters the dipping of your headlamps.  I had a Merc. a few years ago with xenons that worked like this. There was nothing in the manual about it and most of the mechanics at my local dealer didn't know about it either but one, who had come across it before, knew where to find the lever and showed me how to make the adjustment. Once you know how it is very simple but I wouldn't have worked it out for myself.

Beware of driving with unadjusted headlights. Last year, on one particular day the police were stopping all UK cars coming out of the ferryport in Cherbourg and checking headlamps were adjusted. I expect they accrued a lot of 90€ fines that day !

[MrCanary]

Thanks Eslier - warning noted!

[oliveau]

I'm told by my UK Peugeot dealer that the lights on modern Pugs [406 onwards] dip downwards only, but not left or right, and therefore don't need adjustment of deflectors. I assume therefore that this probably applies to other PSA group cars as well.

No doubt I'll shortly be corrected!

Peter

[Bob T]

Easy to check, put the lights on dip with them facing a wall and see if there is a flat beam or if it kicks up to one side.

[Thibault]

We have just acquired a 06 Ford Focus and are having great difficulty in finding the correct "spot" to put the beam deflectors.  We have tried the facing the wall trick but there doesn't seem to be any difference.  This is using Halford's circular deflectors, as recommended.We have also tried the Ford template but this doesn't seem to work either [:@]

Has anyone any experience of putting deflectors on this model?

[Andyphilpott]

I have a Mazda  MX5 sports car - my 3rd -  and although I had to use a beam deflector on the first one the Mazda people confirmed that it is not necessary on the latest models including the new one last week. It is only necessary to rotate a knob in the car which dips the beam to comply with regs. I did not entirely believe them so checked elsewhere and you cannot even buy the stick on kits for them as I used to so I guess they must be right.

Certainly in the 4 or 5 years I have driven in France 'unconverted' I have never had any problems (so far!)

Andy