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Are MKII headlight assemblies for $200 from India any good?
Hello all:
I just uploaded a video about a brand new pair of headlight assemblies I bought for my rusty MKII saloon. I purchased these from an indian seller on Walmart.com so I was unsure if they were going to be any good.
Dip left or dip right is actually a major issue & you can get original pattern sealed beams from India with the correct round Lucas Logo on them if such things bother you. In many countries you won't get a Roadworthy Certificate, MOT etc. without correct dipping headlights. I live in one of them.
Same thing in Australia Glyn.
Even Harley Davidson motorcycles coming from the USA have to have their headlights changed.
(Australia is right hand drive and USA is left hand drive)
Cheers
A specialist may but good lights are clearly marked. See arrow on glass. Dip left. Fire them up and align main beam. Then go to dip & witness which side they dip to. (What I have in my car ~ originally sealed beams with round centre Lucas logo but like candles)
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; May 4, 2023 at 06:05 AM.
I think it's important to make a distinction between drive side and traffic side. Lights are distinguished by traffic side. For example, in the UK most cars are RHD however, they have Left Hand Traffic, i.e they drive on the left side of the road. The side of the car that the steering wheel is on is irrelevant to the required dip for the traffic side. In Japan for instance it is possible to buy some cars (mainly the European imports) in either LHD or RHD configurations, but the traffic is left hand traffic and the lights must conform to that.
My Cibié lights are not marked for direction of dip, as it appears the right hand traffic lights are not marked, but those for left hand traffic have the arrow. These are for right hand traffic.
Looking at the photo above, I would guess those lights are for left hand traffic, i.e UK, Australia etc. India is left hand traffic, so that makes sense.
Most often, the big triangular section of the lens refracts light away from that side. That would make your headlamps UK, Aus, India. The best way to be sure is apply 12 volts.
What I suspect are the same lamps are sold in the UK at a £100 or so. I don't know if they're legal here without the E mark. It's possible to buy all the parts separately, WIPAC halogen lights, bezels, rim, back bowl for less than £200.
I've just taken a headlamp of my car. It's an interesting hybrid, having been converted original to sealed beam and then to WIPAC halogen.
Most often, the big triangular section of the lens refracts light away from that side. That would make your headlamps UK, Aus, India. The best way to be sure is apply 12 volts.
What I suspect are the same lamps are sold in the UK at a £100 or so. I don't know if they're legal here without the E mark. It's possible to buy all the parts separately, WIPAC halogen lights, bezels, rim, back bowl for less than £200.
I've just taken a headlamp of my car. It's an interesting hybrid, having been converted original to sealed beam and then to WIPAC halogen.
Here in the USA just the headlamp bucket assembly is expensive. As I showed in my video, Welsh Enterprises lists the headlamp bucket for $83.55 and that does not include the rubber gasket, the glass bulb, or the trim ring. Moss motors does list a headlamp assembly with bulb for the MKI and MKII saloons for $99 but that doesn't include the gasket or the chrome trim ring and there would be a shipping cost added onto that. So quoting prices on stuff there in the UK might not really apply to the prices of pieces here in the USA. Here in the USA I bet you would be shocked by the cost of metric fasteners.
I know what you mean, Steve. What's readily available and cheap in one country is hard to find and costs a fortune somewhere else. Too often, we also have to pay for having the name Jaguar attached. For items like the headlamps, I'd look for generic parts from generic suppliers. 7 inch round was standard here for many cars and is still used in the kit car industry. UK kits use plastic backing bowls that cost very little and are made of plastic, which survives better than steel. I suspect the US moved away from 7 inch round earlier than the UK.
I love bi Xenon's because of the microprocessors monitoring attitude of car & perfect cut off, but SA has gone close to 100% high intensity LED in amazing shapes with a purpose including local spot dimming.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; May 4, 2023 at 02:17 PM.
Are MKII headlight assemblies for $200 from India any good?
