Are led reverse, indicator and sidelights legal in the uk

[obi_waynne]

Are the new long life led reverse, indicator and sidelight bulbs legal in the uk?

I don't think the pattern matters on these, isn't the MOT just checking the colour of the light emitted from these lamps?

 

[old-git]

Yes

 

[Yugguy]

But some cars may report a bulb failure if you get cheap LEDs as they won't register the lower current of the LEDs.

You can get LED lights with a built-in resistor to stop this but they are little more expensive.

 

[HDi fun]

The shunt resistor also totally negates the current saving possibilities of the LED. All LEDs have to be driven with a series connected current limiting resistor as once forward biased the resistance drops effectively to zero ohms. Diodes, like most, if not all semiconductors, do not obey ohms law.

Possibly not illegal but I think there's something documented about construction/use or vehicle lighting regs which technically renders them unlawful, despite the fact that MoT only checks for function. This is in the case of vehicles which weren't LED equipped at the factory.

The chance of getting into trouble is effectively nil.