How to remove Rear Reflectors

[Irving]

Guys I need some help,,,,,,

I want to wire up a couple of REAR FOG LIGHTS into my CU2 and would like to put Audi style LEDs into the narrow reflectors which are located in the rear bumper above the Mufflers.

Can someone please tell me how I can remove these rear reflectors so I can put the LEDs into them.

[aaronng]

You can access the reflectors from behind the bumper. Just look up from underneath the bumper, undo the bolts/clips to remove the rear diffuser pan, then you can see the reflectors being held in by clips.

[HunterZero]

You might find that it's a legal roadworthiness requirement to have 2 red rear reflectors on your car.

Since fog lights can only be legally used in bad weather, they can't be used in clear weather, is this mod worth the trouble?

- HZ

[aaronng]

You might find that it's a legal roadworthiness requirement to have 2 red rear reflectors on your car.

Since fog lights can only be legally used in bad weather, they can't be used in clear weather, is this mod worth the trouble?

- HZ
There are rear reflectors in the rear lights. My Astra does not have separate red reflectors on the bumper and yet it is still legal.

[whteva]

Can i have the old reflectors =) someone stole mine...

[richard_k]

they stole them? wow that would take a bit of effort :S

[NSHonda]

Think that you will find that the ADR requirements mean you need to keep the reflectors. There are reflectors in the actual taillight lens, but the rules may say that the lower ones must be kept

Busted a front foggy, but to change it over I think I have to pull the whole front bumper off to replace. Does anyone know if this is the case or is there a "cheat". Any advice gratefully received

[HunterZero]

There are rear reflectors in the rear lights. My Astra does not have separate red reflectors on the bumper and yet it is still legal.

Errm - no. While the tail lights are somewhat reflective, they're not the same as a proper reflector like the ones on the bumper. At least on my car they're not. The tail light buckets have facets in them to make them look fancy when they're on, I don't think they're intended to be functional reflectors.

The reflectors aren't required to be separate from the tail lights, nor do they have to be specifically located on the bumper. Many cars have reflector panels as part of the tail light arrays, and that's fine. But I'm pretty sure removing the bumper reflectors in a Euro is going to fail a rego check.

- HZ

[Irving]

I had a look at the reflectors on the bumper and they look more like dress plates than true reflectors. At the back there are several rectangular slots that bulbs or LEDs can be inserted. The rear surface does not appear to be reflective but made of grey plastic. So, I can't see any problem in inserting lights into them....

The red plastic assembly appears to be held in place by a single spring type clip. So should push out (I hope)....

I will take a closer look at them this weekend and wire up some true Rear Fog Lights.

[Irving]

Errm - no. While the tail lights are somewhat reflective, they're not the same as a proper reflector like the ones on the bumper. At least on my car they're not. The tail light buckets have facets in them to make them look fancy when they're on, I don't think they're intended to be functional reflectors.

The reflectors aren't required to be separate from the tail lights, nor do they have to be specifically located on the bumper. Many cars have reflector panels as part of the tail light arrays, and that's fine. But I'm pretty sure removing the bumper reflectors in a Euro is going to fail a rego check.

- HZ

Spoke to the VOSA Examiner today. He didn't seem to have a problem with it. Except that the Light globe must be e or E with a B or F marking and it must be 250mm min off the ground.

[HunterZero]

Ah, you have a CU2, not a CL9... So the panels between the reverse lights and the tail lights look like they might be reflectors, so you should be fine. I was thinking of my CL9 which does not have reflectors in the tail light assembly at all.

Make sure you post pics when you're done.

- HZ

[Irving]

Yea, I wanted to use LEDs but the examiner said that they will check the bulb for the correct light output. It has to be done right to be street legal over here and only operational when dipped or high beam is in use. A rear fog light has to be as bright as a brake light and must not be used when there is no fog as it can dazzle other drivers.

As a side note, the CU2 was in a shipping container (at sea) for 2 months and I left the battery connected (so the ECU won't loose the data). Car started first go....:D

[praja6]

Hi Irving,

So you are in Uk now? Did you take your car in shipping container (sea) is it.

GOod stuff.

[Irving]

Yea, just got delivered last Thursday. I am also going to put a digital speedo in (MPH) as the original is too complicated to recalibrate. In any case, when I come back to OZ I will need to get it registered with the RTA again....

[Irving]

Could someone tell me fuse number for the DIPPED Headlight. My handbook is with my furniture and won't be delivered until next Tuesday by the shipping company.

[tonymulia]

Yea, just got delivered last Thursday. I am also going to put a digital speedo in (MPH) as the original is too complicated to recalibrate. In any case, when I come back to OZ I will need to get it registered with the RTA again....

Hi Irving,

Wow, this is the first time I heard people shipping car from oz to uk. Would it be too expensive to do? do you need to pay import tax? Hmm, interesting :)

[Irving]

Nah Mate, If you owned the car for 6 months + there is no import tax (if you have the necessary Passport/Visa). The car fitted into a 40 foot container together with my furniture. The cost to ship the car was negligible (very small) as the difference for a 20" container is only marginally less than a 40 footer.

[Irving]

Literally Snowed under over here :thumbdwn:

Anyway, managed to get the car modified and pass VOSA testing. :thumbsup::honda:
A BIG THANK YOU to the local Garage for letting me use their workshop and Hoist to do the necessary mods.:thumbsup:

Now waiting for my Tax Disk (Rego sticker) to arrive in the mail....

[Irving]

Finally, Fully Registered in the UK and able to drive around :thumbsup:

The weather has been just awful :thumbdwn:

The temperature here has been around -7 deg C and the CU2 had been left out in the elements for a whole week. I checked the anti freeze and the bottle was still in a liquid state (with a concentration of 50% which was factory fitted) but the windscreen washer bottle was a block of ice....

We had snow which had turned into ice and although the roads have now been cleared, the snow/ice caused a lot of havoc !! Better weather ahead, so I am looking forward to a nice drive in the country this weekend.

[Irving]

Went for a drive in the Yorkshire Dales taking in the beautiful countryside on Sunday, the Euro purring along, the standard Yoko tyres struggling at the low temperatures. Getting heat into these tyres is difficult in this climate. Apart from the tyres, the car is performing very well in the -7 C to +7 C range. The climate control system also works very well with good heat and dehumidification. Engine performance is very good considering that I am running on stale V Power and the engine seems less likely to PCS. I was able to get the car to PCS under extreme load but generally (even with the stale V Power) PCS is not evident under normal driving.
Very cold Artic weather is again headed our way at the end of the week.

I am considering doing a write up of my experience relocating an Oz spec Euro to UK if anyone is interested. I can cover the details of modifications, Insurance and registration. Let me know know if you are interested.

[aaronng]

I am considering doing a write up of my experience relocating an Oz spec Euro to UK if anyone is interested. I can cover the details of modifications, Insurance and registration. Let me know know if you are interested.

That would be good to have in this forum, especially the details of modification so that we know what is involved when we want to bring our car/loved one overseas when we migrate.

[Irving]

That would be good to have in this forum, especially the details of modification so that we know what is involved when we want to bring our car/loved one overseas when we migrate.

There is a lot of detail/procedures involved in getting a car registered overseas including modifications. The same would/could apply if one brought a car into Oz....

I will prepare an account/writeup of importing a car to UK.