Headlight Beam Conversion

[scar]

Can members give me some info on how to convert my right hand headlights to left hand for a upcoming trip. I have heard of horror stories of various ad-hoc tapes being attached only for them to bond to the lens. That I would like to avoid that.

Any other tips for travelling through France and Spain are appreciated.

Steve C. ( on my 3rd Rav all petrol models )

[redlew]

If you put "headlight beam converters" into eBay you will see that there is a Eurolight brand . That worked for me last year in Spain in driving rain. It tells you how to get them off -might be white spirit. If you to the AA site you''ll fuind what you need for France & Spain . V5 , MOT cert , Insurance cert -check you've got full cover or pay to extend it, GB sticker (unless on number plate), spare bulb kit (and allegedly tools to change bulbs-you'd need an oxyacetelene torch on some cars), spare fan belt, warning triangle (only one needed for Spain for foreign cars but safer to take two unless you want to argue the point when stopped), throwaway breathalyser x 2 , disable radar detectors, yellow tabards kept in car not boot. Enjoy!!

[Bristim]

Your local dealer can print out a diagram showing which part of the headlight needs to be blanked off for mainland Europe driving, roughly a square 2cm x 5cm to the right of a small circle embossed on the lens on the 4.2 from memory.

In 2006 I had my 4.2 RAV running round foreign parts for over a year with beam blocking consisting of B&Q black insulating tape applied in the ferry queue - came off with no problems after a year. I previously tried the yellow/silver beam blockers you can buy in Halford etc. which fell off after 2 days...

Make sure you comply with the requirements to take various bits and pieces. Use common sense and drive on the right side of the road - it is always hardest starting off in the morning and at complex junctions - if you have any hesitation, then stick a label on the dash to remind you, at least at first.

Make sure that your mirrors are well adjusted for checking before pulling out into the fast lane on the Autoroute; and that you trust your passenger for making the right call in pulling out that fraction to check yourself before overtaking on narrower roads!

Drive sensibly in Spain especially, they have traffic lights which are speed sensitive and go red if you are travelling too fast entering a town.

Driving 1000's of miles across Southern and Eastern Europe, going round the M25 is one of the worst bits - enjoy your road trip - in reality if you are a good driver in the UK, it's easy.

[anchorman]

Yes the 4.3 has the little alignment dot on the headlight too.

[shcm]

Just a thought, if anybody is not keen on adhesive on the front of their headlamps, I have, surplus to requirements, some full headlamp protectors, which the beam stopping tape at least etc, can be stuck onto instead. Appreciate these are not everybody's cup of tea.

These will fit a pre-face lift 4.3 (i.e. up to about 2009 - headlamp shape changed after that. i.e. they will not fit a 150 D4D etc). They are not in pristine condition, (small crack around screw fixing and some of the black detailing is comming off), but still completely functional:

If you are actually going to use them, they are yours for the postage (if needed) and perhaps a small donation to my swimathon/Marie Curie fund raiser.

Also have some that will fit a 4.2 pre-face lift (before 2003/04). Unfortunately one of these is cracked, but would still work OK. The fitting with these is even simpler, they just clip over - no metal clip and screw. Yours for the postage, although a tiny donation would be appreciated as above.