My TT 2002 has failed the MOT due to headlights

[careyscat]

My TT 2002 has failed the MOT due to headlights not giving a good beam, can anyone suggest a fix as I have been quoted £ 500 per headlamp OUCH 

[Steve Q]

1 hour ago, careyscat said:

My TT 2002 has failed the MOT due to headlights not giving a good beam, can anyone suggest a fix as I have been quoted £ 500 per headlamp OUCH 

Have the lenses gone cloudy? 

If so they can be machine polished either DIY or via a professional. I believe cleaning it with toothpaste with a toothbrush works too! 

[geoffrey]

what on earth is meant by 'not giving a good beam ?'

and how is it supposed to be an MOT failure.

do headlights now require to give a legal light intensity, apart from the geometric alignment?

or is this some cowboy trying to upsell something ?

just curious.

regards ken

[Magnet]

Hello Ken,

I would guess - and we can only guess from the poster’s description - that Steve has the right answer. 
I think we have all seen examples of clouded plastic headlight lenses, and have wondered why owners just carry on using the cars in this condition. 
This obviously becomes a visible-to-all issue, and personally, I wouldn’t question the tester’s decision, since the headlight intensity may be well below what they could/ should be, and this can create an hazard with night driving. 
Of course, this may not be a cloudy lens issue, but perhaps a poor earth issue ( again at a guess). 
Carey really does need to give us more to go on, if meaningful advice is to be given, but meanwhile, my stab at is is with Steve. 
‘…not giving a good beam..’ could also mean someone has replaced the bulb and it’s not seated properly in its holder. Seen that many times too. But there we go, guessing again! 
Kind regards,

Gareth.

[audia4b5kev]

2 hours ago, Steve Q said:

Have the lenses gone cloudy? 

If so they can be machine polished either DIY or via a professional. I believe cleaning it with toothpaste with a toothbrush works too! 

shaving foam  good  to 

[Steve Q]

Just now, audia4b5kev said:

shaving foam  good  to 

Oh wow, I hadn't heard that one! 

[audia4b5kev]

4 hours ago, careyscat said:

My TT 2002 has failed the MOT due to headlights not giving a good beam, can anyone suggest a fix as I have been quoted £ 500 per headlamp OUCH 

£ 500 per headlamp  feeecc me  !Removed! turpin or what 

[Steve Q]

6 minutes ago, audia4b5kev said:

£ 500 per headlamp  feeecc me  !Removed! turpin or what 

That's about right, I know they're a similar price for the A6 c5. 

[audia4b5kev]

would never pay that like  i have always done my lights when needed to   rip off britan  lol 

[audia4b5kev]

plus  i  use this to  jewelers rouge  cracking  job it does  

[Stevey Y]

3 hours ago, geoffrey said:

what on earth is meant by 'not giving a good beam ?'

and how is it supposed to be an MOT failure.

do headlights now require to give a legal light intensity, apart from the geometric alignment?

or is this some cowboy trying to upsell something ?

just curious.

regards ken

Hi it normally means the reflector pattern is distorted and the machine used to measure the cut off of the beam height and intermediate lighting does not come up to the required marked scales within the testing unit, this is either caused by clouding of the lenses or deterioration of the reflector at the back of the headlamp unit.

Steve.

[audia4b5kev]

 

[coupe4]

samething happened me here in eire with mt 2002 tt,i got a new set for 300 euro from lithuania ,and what i didnt know is that theres a little switch in the back which changes them from lhd to rhd,very handy.theyre not genuine audi lights but they look very well.

[geoffrey]

update to my last comment about headlights.

on my mot inspection my car was failed on headlight beam distortion.

i had a chat with the MOT inspector about this and was quite surprised to be told the reason. for the failure.

it's a simple reason and not to easy to take.

the bulbs had been incorrectly fitted, even though they have location tabs they can be forced into the fitting.

the proof is in the light output on the beam measuring device.

mine showed a full moon due to incorrect fitting.

the bulbs are very fiddly to fit as i witnessed ,

when the bulbs were correctly fitted the beam was more of a crescent moon lying on its back.

this car had been passed by a well known MOT station  last year

i guess they didn't use the beam machine to do the required test.

at least i will not be dazzling on coming traffic from now on.

Regards Ken