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As the autumn season gets underway, drivers should take extra care of their car. Driving can be a real challenge when the autumn weather hits the roads and visibility is reduced. Experts advise not only to take care of tyres or wiper blades to ensure visibility is not compromised, but also to pay more attention to the headlights of your car.
Replacing cracked or clear windscreens or polishing headlights, and making sure the headlight wash system is working properly, are all worthwhile. For all these reasons, not only will the headlights not provide adequate illumination of the road in the dark or in difficult weather conditions, but the irregular refraction of the beam can also blind other drivers.
Not only the headlights but also the rear lights of the car should be properly lit. It is essential to take the time to replace burnt-out bulbs as soon as possible. This is very important not only to ensure that drivers can see other road users, but also to ensure their own visibility on the road.
Driving without headlights would not only be very dangerous, but probably impossible, so as soon as they are broken it is essential to take the necessary steps to restore their functionality as soon as possible. There is no doubt that car headlights are essential for road safety.
Car headlights ensure the comfort and safety of the driver when driving a vehicle. They come in a wide variety of types and are classified according to their type, purpose, the type of bulbs used and the quality of the light distribution.
In practically all vehicles, there are two main groups of headlights: front and rear. They may comprise a different number of light sources with a wide variety of functions, but all are essential and necessary. Headlamps help to illuminate the road and to see obstacles from a distance when driving in the dark and make the vehicle more visible to other road users. Rear lights are designed to inform other drivers of manoeuvres to be carried out and to highlight the vehicle's bulk in the dark.
Modern headlights can be different for the same car model. The main types of headlamps currently available are halogen, Xenon, LED, Adaptive LED, Laserlight.
Jonas Bataitis, Director of Partecha, an international automotive parts company, says that although car headlights are not replaced very often, they still require attention due to bulbs that burn out and need to be replaced. These, in turn, can be:
Halogen. These are still very common, inexpensive and easy to change. Their operation is similar to that of conventional incandescent bulbs, except that there is a gas inside which produces the light. However, they are the most frequently replaced because they are not very resistant to power surges.
Light-emitting diodes or LEDs. These are modern light sources that are gradually becoming the new standard. LED car lights are characterised by their economical use of electricity and high efficiency. They are ready to use as soon as the car is started. An important feature of LED bulbs is that they can be made into different shapes of lights. They are slightly more expensive but last longer. However, LEDs can also start to fade over time and no longer provide the same bright light distribution as new ones. The downside of LED lights is that if even one diode burns out, you will probably need either a new lamp or a whole strip of diodes.
"Xenon is a new generation of light bulbs that use xenon gas to produce a very bright light output without being very bright. The main advantage of these light sources is their long lifetime. However, when it is time to change the bulb, the lamp on the other side should also be taken care of, otherwise the difference in the luminous flux of the two bulbs will be very large and will disturb the driver. Xenon headlights are very different from halogen headlights and can be recognised on the road by their blue tint," says Jonas Bataitis, Director of Partecha.
Adaptive headlights provide better illumination of the driving environment compared to conventional headlights, so you can see better at night or in low light conditions.
Unlike conventional headlights, which are fixed in position, adaptive headlights use electronic sensors that can detect the angle of your steering wheel and rotate them according to the direction the car is moving.
Adaptive LED headlights are a functional improvement on conventional car headlights. While conventional headlights only have two modes, adaptive technology helps these advanced headlights to change the illumination depending on the situation. This helps you navigate on motorways and empty roads at night.
Laser headlamps have the advantage of taking up much less space than conventional headlamps. The problem with both xenon and halogen headlamps is that they are quite large.
The technology generates a large amount of energy in a very small space, so laser headlights require around 30% less energy than LED headlights. They are also easy to use, as the automatic light sensor switches the dipped beams as soon as it detects the headlights of an oncoming car. This is especially good in case drivers in front are blinded by the high beams.
Jonas Bataitis, head of Partecha, advises that drivers who want to know the exact models and parameters of their car's headlights can find them on the headlights themselves. This makes it much easier to find new headlight parts when needed.
BMW 5 Series, G30 Adaptive led headlight:
Mercedes-Benz W205 Multibeam headlamp
The car's headlights must be in good working order. Manufacturers install reliable and high-quality equipment in their cars, but when repairing a car, drivers sometimes replace certain parts with analogues instead of the original ones.
Jonas Bataitis, director of Partecha, a Europe-wide auto parts company, points out that, while at first glance headlights may look identical and have the required markings, they often generate an inaccurate direction of light and too little brightness. This can be caused by an incorrectly mounted or faulty lamp reflector, lens or lens diffuser. Thus, incorrect choices of car headlamp parts can lead to irregular road lighting, glare for other drivers and, in turn, a threat to road safety.
"When choosing the type of headlamp, it is important to know what kind of headlamps have been in the car before. It is not uncommon for a car owner to decide to change to a different type of headlight. In this case, it is very important to assess whether it is technically feasible to do so, whether additional changes to the car, such as programming the lights, etc., will be necessary," warns Bataitis.
"Partecha also advises that when replacing your headlights, you should pay attention to the original code, which will make it much easier to find the model of headlight that should be on your car.
The original code can be found on the label of the headlamp. It also often contains other very important information such as the direction of traffic for which the lamp is intended - LHD or RHD.
LHD - left hand drive - left hand steering wheel, traffic on the right side of the road.
RHD - right hand drive - steering wheel on the right side of the road, traffic on the left side of the road.
This is a very important parameter, because if the wrong headlamp (RHD headlamp in an LHD car) is fitted, the light output will dazzle oncoming drivers, and the driver may face additional problems and costs during the vehicle inspection with such inappropriate improvements.
However, choosing the right headlamp is nowadays a relatively easy task. The range of parts available in online shops is several times wider than in conventional physical outlets. And orders are placed and processed in a very short time.
"Quality is a particularly important aspect when choosing headlights. When choosing headlamps online, the seller should provide clear photographs from all sides so that the customer can check that all fixings are in order, that the glass and the body are not cracked, which would lead to un-hermeticity of the headlamps and to failure of the internal electrical components. This is also the practice we follow in our online auto parts shop partecha.de," says Jonas Bataitis, CEO of Partecha.
As modern headlights are becoming smarter and smarter, offering better visibility and comfort, their prices are of course increasing. However, experts point out that in many cases it is not necessary to replace the entire headlight - just a part of it, which will save you money.
If your lamp bracket has broken off in an accident, you can simply replace the lamp housing. If a stone has hit your headlamp glass while driving and broken it, or if it is so worn that it reduces visibility, it can also be replaced. This should, of course, be done by a professional.
"When choosing headlight parts, glass housings, headlight internals, chrome, etc., it is very important to know the type of headlight, make, model and year of the car. All these parameters can be filtered very easily in our online shop. Replacing only the parts of the headlamp and not the whole headlamp can save a considerable amount of money. For example, a new BMW G30 Adaptive LED headlight costs around €800 and its glass costs around €50 in our shop," advises Mr Bataitis.
Partecha experts reiterate that drivers should not put their hand on their car lights. Like all other parts, they can also wear out, but the role of the headlights is very important - after all, they are the car's visual function.
The outer part of the headlamp, the glass, is particularly sensitive and is responsible for both distributing light and protecting the bulbs from external influences.
These parts have to withstand quite a lot of stress: humidity, dirt, temperature changes, salt on the roads in winter, changing weather conditions, etc. Over time, the glass of the headlamp will scratch, become opaque and lose its transparency. As a result, the whole lamp does not shine as well as it should: the road illumination is reduced, the lamps do not form a regular beam, the roadside and other road users are not visible. All this can create road hazards, especially in the dark. In some cases, these problems can be attempted to be rectified by polishing and thorough cleaning, but sometimes these actions are no longer effective and it is time to replace the headlights.
The same applies to situations where the headlamp is damaged by a stone flying out from under the wheel or other accidents. In such cases, replacement should be carried out as soon as possible, as moisture can enter the interior of the headlamp through a crack and cause much bigger problems.
New, high-quality headlamp lenses can provide up to 50% visibility, so it is important to check them periodically and replace them if necessary.
"When ordering your headlights from our online shop, all you have to do is enter your car's manufacturer, make and modification and choose the one that's most suitable and relevant for you. Once you have paid for your order, it will be delivered to your address or pick-up point in just a few days. Our headlamps are worn but of excellent quality. They have the advantage of a much lower price than buying new. The headlamp glass and housings are new. Why do people look for them? Because replacing the glass or the housing costs much less than buying a new headlamp," says Jonas Bataitis, Director of Partecha.