3300John:
Hiya i was told it coats £74 to have a headlight bulb fitted on a audi A4 one and half hours work.
This is true, according to the Haynes manual for my Passat step one for changing a bulb is to remove front bumper
Dipped beam and indicators are just about accessible but main beam and sidelight bulbs are almost impossible without removing the bumper and dropping the whole light out.
Bulbs still nice and easy on Volvo’s, on my FM open inspection hatch, undo screw and push headlamp forward on it’s hinge. 5 mins to change a bulb, which is how it should be on any motor.
They must have changed them. My old passat you can change the bulb without taking anything off. The FM/FH system is about the best for changing bulbs. Even the lower bumper mounted bulbs are fairly easy.
Pat Hasler:
If my memory serves me correctly the law states that you should carry a set of bulbs?
RIZZO… without wishing to be critical of yourself, that is exactly the reason why so many car headlights are out these days. I am reliably informed that on certain cars it’s an hour’s labour to change a bulb!
IMO Construction & Use regulations could be amended to insist that tasks such as bulb changing can be done without any but the most basic of tools, and by the driver not a technician. Unfortunately the motor industry is so powerful that it would never consent to it.
Hiya i was told it coats £74 to have a headlight bulb fitted on a audi A4 one and half hours work.
we have a toyota rav that’s a job and half to change a headlight bulb. this should be a 5min job
in my book. i had a Volvo fl 10 at one time, if a headlight bulb blew you could just lift up the front panel
remove the rubber dust cover, pop in a new bulb replace cover shut the front and be away in 8 minutes.
i belive on the new scania you have to plug into a computer after you.ve fitted a new bulb to clear the
fault indicator on the dash. stupid in my book…rant over
John
Even more stupid Actros gets a new bulb then you got to drive the vehicle 5 meters before the stupid lighting ECU recognises a new bulb has been fitted and powers it up.Who thinks of this crap?
LR18-8:
I got pulled for the first time a few weeks ago, for a blown headlight. It turned out to be more than just a bulb though it was a wiring fault.
However when I took out my tacho it had chewed up in the head. They had my last 28days which are squeaky clean and the fact that I work for a company with an high quality maintenance record.
I was perfectly calm and helpful with them, my boss offered to call out volvo to get the wiring issue seen to but they still gave us a pg9 and gave me a £30 fixed penalty for “using a dirty or defaced tacho char or card.” the card was completely clean and legal going into the head.
I don’t believe there is any attitude test. I think if they want to be [zb] and hand out fines they will.
you might be right there, but at the end of the day if you presented the truck for mot it wont pass with a blown headlight bulb, even if you changed the bulb on test the tester would more than likely write RAS on the test sheet (rectified at station)
3300John:
Hiya i was told it coats £74 to have a headlight bulb fitted on a audi A4 one and half hours work.
This is true, according to the Haynes manual for my Passat step one for changing a bulb is to remove front bumper
Dipped beam and indicators are just about accessible but main beam and sidelight bulbs are almost impossible without removing the bumper and dropping the whole light out.
Bulbs still nice and easy on Volvo’s, on my FM open inspection hatch, undo screw and push headlamp forward on it’s hinge. 5 mins to change a bulb, which is how it should be on any motor.
Take it into any Halfords autocentre and they will change the bulb for free or a fixed fee on certain cars. I don’t think they do lorries though.
Pat Hasler:
If my memory serves me correctly the law states that you should carry a set of bulbs?
RIZZO… without wishing to be critical of yourself, that is exactly the reason why so many car headlights are out these days. I am reliably informed that on certain cars it’s an hour’s labour to change a bulb!
IMO Construction & Use regulations could be amended to insist that tasks such as bulb changing can be done without any but the most basic of tools, and by the driver not a technician. Unfortunately the motor industry is so powerful that it would never consent to it.
Hiya i was told it coats £74 to have a headlight bulb fitted on a audi A4 one and half hours work.
we have a toyota rav that’s a job and half to change a headlight bulb. this should be a 5min job
in my book. i had a Volvo fl 10 at one time, if a headlight bulb blew you could just lift up the front panel
remove the rubber dust cover, pop in a new bulb replace cover shut the front and be away in 8 minutes.
i belive on the new scania you have to plug into a computer after you.ve fitted a new bulb to clear the
fault indicator on the dash. stupid in my book…rant over
John
Even more stupid Actros gets a new bulb then you got to drive the vehicle 5 meters before the stupid lighting ECU recognises a new bulb has been fitted and powers it up.Who thinks of this crap?
None of ours do that, we’ve got an 11 plate, a 61 plate and a new shape 62 plate, and all will light the replacement bulb as soon as you turn the light on, I know because we test them before we put the headlight back together.
Mr.Shep:
Got pulled onto Michaelwood services for a routine check. One headlight in-op, given a report stating this and let go to carry on my journey as headlights are not mandatory during daylight hours
Unless its foggy etc with visability less than 100 mtrs surely?
I’m sure i’ve read somewhere that any bulb fitted must work (lighting regs?) and also that if you can prove a bulb has blown on that journey then you have a legal defence. The proof would be, I suspect, as limeyphil has written above with evidence of a pre-drive check
3300John:
i belive on the new scania you have to plug into a computer after you.ve fitted a new bulb to clear the
fault indicator on the dash. stupid in my book…rant over
John
The 08 plate scania i drive doesnt require a computer to be plugged in, it flags up on the dash but as soon as the new one is in the dash goes back to normal.
I should think alot of this comes down to companies not allowing drivers not to change bulbs and some drivers that just cant be bothered.
Trukkertone:
I have probably replaced half a dozen headlight bulbs on various vehicles in the last couple of months, I sort of come to expect it with working nights… I even had to replace both bulbs one night, and fuses cos they blew as well… It happens all the time and we are gonna fix them so why do VOSA take such an attitude… ■■?
I’ve just had to put a headlight bulb in the same headlight on the same daf exactly a week since the last one… cheap blooming bulbs methinks…
