MOT fail requiring new headlamp

[Dazza95]

Hey everyone, 

 

My car failed its MOT recently due to the OS headlamp beam being 'obviously incorrect' - too far to the right which could dazzle oncoming traffic. Now the garage tried to adjust the beam but it would not adjust enough to be within acceptable limits, they also tried a new bulb. Unfortunately none of this worked so the complete headlamp was replaced and the car subsequently passed. 

 

Purely out of interest, has anyone had this issue before? What could cause this sort of failure? 

 

The worst bit was that the headlamp was only a couple of years old as it was replaced after an accident. It was a genuine unit from TPS and the car passed 2 MOTs before. 

 

Sorry if if this seems a waste of a thread but I'm just curious.

 

Cheers

[hutchysrs50]

Possibly the motor not being seated correctly or the housing inside has came away from the adjusters.

[sepulchrave]

It's not really very helpful to speculate, you should have asked for the old one back so you could inspect it.

[JWvrs25]

the reflector popped off one of the rubbers at the top. The adjuster can be wound all the way out then pull on the reflector to refit it and then adjust the headlamp properly. They just didnt know what they were doing I suspect.

Ive had it happen on my old car like that and its fairly straightforward to fix.

 

[Dazza95]

Thanks for the replies guys, I completely forgot to ask for the old one to be honest. Hopefully this won't happen again and if it does I'll have a look myself before agreeing on a replacement.

Edited 15 October, 2017 by Dazza95