Failed LEDs in headlight

[CocoPops]

I have two failed LEDs in the headlight

Am I correct in thinking the only way to fix is a new headlight?!

[Bibs]

I seem to remember this being discussed before and that was the only course of action. I'd be happy, as I'm sure you would to be corrected, but I'm sure they're solder in or something similar.

[CocoPops]

Indeed.

Thanks Lotus! I'm guessing a headlight is about a grand?!

All for two little LEDs.... Might be a "never mind" approach! :lol:

[Bibs]

I believe they are about a grand sadly. I wonder if someone talented with a soldering iron (eg tv repairman) could fix it?

[Barrykearley]

If you could get to the solder joint it's easy.

can you source the led itself??

[C8RKH]

@cocopops sorry to hear this. there are a couple on ebay just now for around £550. Ouch!  

I do wonder why manufacturers do this to us...

[Barrykearley]

If you can get to the LEDs - and get the LEDs - I'm more than happy to do the soldering......

[PaulCP]

Lee, there's a broken headlight assembly on eBay for £90, don't know if it's any use to you to rob the parts from

[j141]

What a PITA, this is one of my niggling worries about the car once I saw the LED cluster

As others have said I would think its a fairly easy soldering job for someone skillful it just depends IF you can get to the LED's/PCB

[j141]

Never used them but found this on google, it says they do many automotive parts not just instrument clusters, could be worth a call?

http://www.clusterrepairsuk.co.uk/repairlist

[Barrykearley]

If you can get to the LEDs - and get the LEDs - I'm more than happy to do the soldering......

happy to have a go if someone's got some bits....

[gregs24]

I'm not doubting you but I thought I had two failed LED's in one of my headlights but then when I looked again they were all working. Something to do with the angle I was looking at them maybe ?

[Kalli]

Geez Lee - you're not having much luck! Really feel for you. 

 

Personally i'd just get it replaced via Lotus - seeing as how you've only had it a couple of months, they may do you a nice deal. You'll also have the new laminate, which wont flake. If you went for an unknown year on Fleabay, you could have peeling within a short while. 

[CocoPops]

Murray's have said there is no money in the pot towards contribution.

I guess it's not an MOT failure.

[C8RKH]

Lee - I do think you need to have a conversation with MMC and remind them of all the problems you've had with the car and remind them of their obligations to provide you with a car fit for purpose under the sales of goods act (it applies to old as well as new cars).  

Given the problems you have had, they should be on slightly wobbly ground and their good reputation in the dealer network is what keeps people going back to them.  Now that they have real tough competition for services/repairs/options business I would have thought they would be interested in keeping their reputation intact. 

As ever though, the "everyone" should be reasonable approach does not always work in the real world

[CocoPops]

Well I had a reply from Lotus Customer Services....

Thank you for your recent e-mail; we are sorry to learn that one or more LED’s in the passenger side lamp may have failed.

 The side or running lamp, together with the direction indicator lamp LED unit are integral to the main headlamp assembly and are not available as separate serviced components.

 We are sorry but resolution will require renewal of the complete headlamp assembly, (Lotus Part D132M4001F, £822.73., plus VAT and fitting). Please note that replacement headlamps are no longer marked with the ‘Lotus’ branding within the lens cover.

So, not only is the "fix" a thousand pounds of fix, it appears that new lights don't match the old lights as they won't have the Lotus branding.

Genius!

[Advantage]

I believe the same manufacturer supplies Lotus, Aston Martin and many others - all reporting similar failures. With Astons, there is a DIY fix which involves dismantling the whole assembly (a hairdryer or brief visit to the inside of an oven can help to soften the black sealer) and replacing a couple of the drivers along with the LEDs themselves etc. No idea how much of a crossover there is between the two light units but it would be worth doing some investigating as I suspect this issue will become more prevalent as the years go on.

 

  

 

[Bravo73]

ISTR that there is a company willing to do this work. Unfortunately, I'm currently struggling to find a link for them. 

[PaulCP]

Are sealed LED side and indicator lights fitted since they are deemed to last the lifetime of the car, or is it just the latest style icon?

 

Edited September 21, 2015 by PaulCP

[Bravo73]

ISTR that there is a company willing to do this work. Unfortunately, I'm currently struggling to find a link for them. 

Found it. These are the guys:

http://www.ieruk.com

 

I'm interested to hear how you get on. 

(Scroll down to Bouldermobile's post in this PH thread: http://www.pistonheads.com/Gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=70&t=1462244&mid=181388&i=40&nmt=Replacing+headlight+unit%2C+easy+job+%3F&mid=181388 He outlines his experience with IER).

[Advantage]

Yep, was about to offer that link. I don't know if they will accept an entire/complete headlight unit or will require the thing to be stripped down to its electrical components for repair.

[Bravo73]

I suspect that IER are only interested in the PCB & LEDs. 

It will be up to the owner to remove them from the light unit. It is certainly what Bouldermobile had to do. 

[Kalli]

Jesus Lee - one of the reasons I got away from VX ownership was the fear of headlight costs, should they crack. And now to find out that the 'bulbs' in the headlights are a similar cost to that....Fudgemuffins. 

Whislt i'm sure this would have conflicting opinions from the dealership along with others on the forums, I personally would definitely put the pressure on the dealership. You dont expect this kind of cost from a car that you've only had for a short while from a main dealership. And dare I say it, LEDs shouldn't fail like that. For a dealership to sign off on an approved used car that they themselves have guarenteed the quality on, for the customer to then have to fork out on an ECU, along with now new headsights, which will now also be mismatched is not on. 

Whilst I'm not one to assume that a used car is going to carry the same TLC as a new car, nor that the dealership has bottomless pockets, this should be atleast slightly supported by them to some extent.

If they dont budge again by being the nice guy, its time to become an asshole in my books. 

[C8RKH]

Do we have any information from this forum and others as to prevalent failure rate?  If enough failures have been reported then pressure should be put on Lotus through the dealers to get the OEM's to accept the design / manufacturing failure and issue some sort of fix - even if it was on a swap-out/swap-in basis.

If the units are fixed and are not deemed to be consumables, then they should reasonably be expected to last the normal lifetime of the vehicle. These days, I do not think it is unrealistic to expect a modern motor car to have a life expectancy of 10 years.

If this was a 20 year old Esprit - OK, I'd reluctantly accept the hit as a cost of keeping a beautiful classic on the road for future generations. But 5 years, come on, that's just not on and not in the Spirit of the various consumer protection legislation.

Anyone got some solid practical advice or precedent's from elsewhere. Anything we can do to save a forum member another £1k hit on a relatively new car.

And Lotus and JMG really should be taking a keen interest in issues and feedback like this, as if the same units are fitted in the 400, then holy shit, why would anyone buy a used one and what will that do to residuals and the knock-on on future car sales.

 

Edited September 21, 2015 by C8RKH

[CocoPops]

@Bibs Based on the foums "Official Community Partner" status, is there any official interaction or review of current issues?

Say, a monthly report presented to Lotus based on new or recurrent issues per model range?