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MG TD TF 1500 - Headligh orientation

I ordered up a set of halogen headlights that are reported to be close in appearance to the original bulbs used on cars for the US.

The bulbs have a vertical line pattern except for the left side.

Here, the pattern is different.

From the orientation of the lettering, i am assuming the different pattern goes to the left.

So first question. Are these correct for US cars?.

Second, what do these different areas do?







Bruce Cunha

Bruce, Not sure at all what the pattern in the glass does but your lights are definitely correct for LH drive (USA)
Here's a pic of a RH drive one advertised here which looks opposite to yours

willy


William Revit

Found this--it's RH drive so some specs need reversing for you there

https://www.led-car-light-manufacturer.com/good-headlight-beam-pattern-dot-ece/
William Revit

Here are the head lamps that came with the TD1250





L E D LaVerne

But he found a pair of these and chose to use them instead.





L E D LaVerne

Bruce,

Here is a lot of information on these headlamps.

http://www.bobine.nl/jaguar/13-electrical/lucas-le-mans-24-headlamps-on-xks/

John
J Scragg

Interesting. I am still trying to figure out the prizm cut on the left side of the US light.

Bruce Cunha

Bruce--I'm pretty sure it's to do with bending the light beam away from oncoming traffic when on low beam -That prism shape is on the opposite side on RH drive lights
Most of the low beam beam is below the oncoming driver's eye level but there is a slightly higher beam straight ahead but slightly offset (75R in that earlier link)away from oncoming cars that points the centre of the beam at the edge of the road and then at the side of the road it flairs further upwards out there as well---I believe that prism shape helps maximise the light to where it's supposed to go

willy
William Revit

I have been using the Sylvania 6024 halogens for years, and I don't have the problem that you are describing.

Lights continue to be bright white, even after 15 years and the light distribution pattern is excellent with a nice, clean cut-off.

But I must admit that they suck a lot of power, and as soon as I can convert to neg ground, I'm going to find a good pair of LEDs to replace the halogen lamps.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gord Clark

So, are we saying that they don't make LED headlights for positive ground cars? I have PL-700s on the TF and they do pull a lot of power. PJ
PJ Jennings

I have dual polarity LED headlights in my TD (positive earth) and my MGA (negative earth). They both put out copious amounts of light and draw minimal amperage. I got them from LBC. Jeff had them on sale for a good price and he's easy to work with.

Jud
J K Chapin

You're almost right, PJ. Positive grnd LED lamps in all flavours are rare. LBCCO do offer them; but hey, I also want to up-date my rear lights too. Solution is to convert to neg grnd, like almost all cars of today. Selection is like 100:1. Vastly better head lamp choices for neg grnd, and more competitive pricing too.

Lew Palmer is often on this forum, and offers a range of LED lamp configurations for our cars.

LEDs take significantly less power and run slightly cooler, but you will almost certainly have to change your flasher.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gord Clark

Thanks for the promo, Gord. Indeed we do offer LED light boards for almost all MGs from 1929 through 1980, and over 350 different British cars. Most are polarity neutral and those that aren't are available as either negative or positive ground.
www.brittrix.com

Cheers,
Lew Palmer
Lew Palmer

This thread was discussed between 11/10/2022 and 18/10/2022

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