US spec rear lights for mot?

[westbay]

Just about to tackle the US spec lights to get it ready for mot, just wondering weather I need to change the rear lights to UK spec red and amber lenses or can i keep the standard all red and just use the reverse lights for wiring up as indicators with yellow bulbs in?

 

[AxlFoley]

well my westy has had the reversing lights wired up as indicators, wich is a nice easy fix, but if I were you I would look for new green bulbs to fit in the indicator location, apparently green bulbs flashing through red = Orange!

they are readily availal on the internet, worth a search on google.

you get to keep your reversing lights then too.

Mark

 

[VWAIRCOOLED]

Most people seem to put the orange bulbs in the reverse lights,You could do this.Or fit the twin bulb units,paint the indicator bulb dark green and use the original all red lenses and leave the reverse lights as they where.You'll need to do a bit of wiring.From memory you'll need to remove the brake light feed from the hazard light switch,run it to the fusebox,there you should have two feeds going to the rear tail lights.Join one of the outputs to the other one So that both tail lights now run off the same circuit.The free circuit will now be your brake light circuit.So remove the wire that goes to the fuse which you disconnected (it goes to the rear lights)and connect that with an inline fuse to the link you removed from the hazard switch.(It was yellow on mine but could be red/black I believe) Then at the back near the light units you will have two feeds to the tail lights.One is you original feed and one is now your brake light feed.Cut the wire for your brake light feed off the tail light circuit and run it to both rear brake lights.Then connect all the lights to the correct bulbs(they would have been with the indicator bulbs tail lights and brakes combined before)
If you do a search you will find a more detailed way of doing this but it is simple when you work it out.But is worth the extra effort.
I suppose if you wanted to,instead of disturbing the original tail light circuits you could run an extra wire from the link from the hazard light right down to the rear light units and put an inline fuse at the front end.

 

[K@rlos]

The place i go to lets us spec lights go though no problem. if your able to find a guy like that your laughing, but many mot testers are total by the book geezers :roll:

 

[VWAIRCOOLED]

The place i go to lets us spec lights go though no problem. if your able to find a guy like that your laughing, but many mot testers are total by the book geezers :roll:

They have to go by the book these days as the VOSA inspectors are known to be able to sit near an MOT station with there laptop open and see what they're up to and do a routine inspection.I suppose if you did get caught the punishment may be minimal,maybe a few points (the punishment system works on a series of points a bit like a driving license) and you could still test cars,but if you start thinking like that then you're starting down the wrong path and you'll be banned from testing.
To be honest if I was doing an MOT and I am an MOT tester but not working in an MOT garage now since I'm self employed now,I would probably not take the risk and fail it.Especially as it is so obviously a fail to any police car that happens to pull them over on the way home.I would always do an MOT properly it's not worth doing it any other way.And I would hope that anyone getting there MOT done would want it done properly.I mean only failing things which it should fail on not making stuff up also.

Or at least carry a set of legal lenses around with you so that you can say you've just swapped them over if you get pulled over. Also put them on for the MOT and swap them over later.

 

[ianscooby]

as others have said, wire the reverse lights as the indicators and put coloured bulbs in, it's perfectly legal

 

[Clem]

Ive followed a few vans with stock US lights and its not that safe ... a red flashing light combined with a stop light isn't all that, in my opinion.
Id rather lose the reverse lights for indicators and know that the muppet in the Mondeo behind knows that Im manouvering

 

[westbay]

Ive followed a few vans with stock US lights and its not that safe ... a red flashing light combined with a stop light isn't all that, in my opinion.
Id rather lose the reverse lights for indicators and know that the muppet in the Mondeo behind knows that Im manouvering

thanks, I've gone the route of using the reverse lights as indicators, the back was easy, now just got to locate the fault with high beam :-(

 

[ronmidg]

The place i go to lets us spec lights go though no problem. if your able to find a guy like that your laughing, but many mot testers are total by the book geezers :roll:

there is an exemption for early vehicles, but only pre september 1965