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DC101

Member Since: 01 Jul 2012
Location: Pudsey, West Yorkshire
Posts: 271

2005 Defender 110 Td5 CSW Zambezi Silver

LED headlight, MOT failure and type approval.

Hi All,

My TD5 came with LED headlights fitted when I purchased the vehicle 3 years ago. After going through at least 3 MOTs at different garages the lights failed this year alone due to beam pattern(or blurriness of).

So I’ve taken the LED units out and can find no brand on shell of units and the only markings as per below photo. Can someone confirm that they aren’t type approved?

But how come they passed earlier MOTs…. (Don’t answer..!).

So as decent approved LED lamps look to cost a packet, could be reverting back to crystal lens and wipacs. Is it straight plug and play as also a loom for the DRLs on the LED lamp. Do I just ignore that?

Thank you for looking
Rob

Click image to enlarge

28th Sep 2025 1:15pm

Retroanaconda

Member Since: 04 Jan 2012
Location: Scotland
Posts: 2775

There are many LED units out there with fake approval markings - yours included.

A proper E-mark looks like this:

Click image to enlarge

28th Sep 2025 2:00pm

DC101

Member Since: 01 Jul 2012
Location: Pudsey, West Yorkshire
Posts: 271

Thanks for the confirmation.
My lights won’t be going back on then, though I didn’t mind the DRL aspect of them.
I’ll look at the options, though I suspect SWMBO will side on the crystal wipacs!

Cheers

28th Sep 2025 2:33pm

blackwolf

Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17974

2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey

They passed previous MOT tests because the test doesn't include checking that lights are correctly type-approved and E-marked, it only checks for beam pattern and that LED bulbs haven't been fitted in H4 light units.

The fact a vehicle passes an MOT test doesn't make it roadworthy and legal.

28th Sep 2025 4:09pm

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