Headlights

[richardv]

Is there a way ( a switch) of adjusting headlights for driving on continent

[AlexB]

Xenons may have such a switch, halogens like mine don't. I simply attached two round pieces of masking tape at about 7 o'clock (facing the headlights) to the plastic lenses and turned the regulator down (position 4). These pieces of tape are equivalent to the "adaptors" sold in Halfords. They are rather useless, which is possibly the reason why they are not sold on the French side for the continental cars going to Britain. Nobody checks these on the ferry or in France anyway and hundreds of British cars travel with "wrong" headlights.

Careful with the adhesive tape! Some types including a few commercial stickers may damage the optical plastic. I used the lightweight masking tape from B&Q (yellow, semitransparent), which is safe.

Welcome to the Forum, BTW.

[IainMW]

You can buy a set of headlamp converters from Renault that will do this for you. No idea how much they will cost? Knowing Renault, a lot of money probably

[AlexB]

Have you seen them, Iain? From what I found on the Internet, there are two types of such devices: non-transparent shields, which are equivalent to a couple of pieces of masking tape sold at £7 by Halfords, and adhesive Fresnel lens, known as "beam benders". All of them have an adhesive side, which frequently damages the plastic lens. I achieved the best results with a single round shield, 6cm in diameter, attached at 7 o'clock with respect to the centre of each bulb.

I experimented with shields of various sizes. They are all almost useless because of the asymmetrical and large reflectors used in Meganes. The plastic lens (cover) is positioned away from the focal plane and has irregular shape, which complicates things. When boarding the ferry I have seen just a couple of cars with devices attached correctly. All "beam benders" I saw were too small to be effective.

I copied the shape and position of the shields from what Halfords recommended for VW Golf with similar headlights. They are moderately effective and indicate the fact that an effort was done...

**Corrected. Sorry for the multiple typos, which are fixed now. I was typing on a mobile device...

[IainMW]

Only seen them in a display case at the dealers, and have no experience of them.

[AlexB]

What size and shape were they?

[Gav]

5 Years ago I took my Punto (a Mk2) to Norway for 6 months and got (paid for by the company I worked for at the time, who sent me) headlight protectors with stickers to adjust the beam. I reasoned it was worth doing since it was 6 months and Norway require dipped beams on 24/7.

If you're going somewhere else where you wont need the lights on much then turning them down to position 4 might be sufficient not to dazzle oncoming drivers (assuming you have halogens rather than xenon).