Taking the 2005 Ghia X mondeo to europe soon, I notice you need a bulb kit, exactly which bulbs do you require as there are quite alot of bulbs on the car, anyone have any ideas?
Thanks!
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Places like halfords do bulb kits specific to manufacturers/models and i imagine Ford would also do a similar item but with a hefty price tag.
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SFAIK you need one of every bulb which, if it failed, you would be illegal on the road. Headlight, main and dipped, sidelight, stop light, turn indicators, number plate bulbs etc. Easiest is to go to Ford and buy the kit and put it in the boot and leave it there! If you do you will never need it - if you don't you will have a headlight fail 10 miles out of Calais and plod will spot you. This is called Sod's Law!
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SFAIK you need one of every bulb....
>>Easiest is to go to Ford and buy the kit and put it in the boot and leave it there!
>>
Do they have such kits?
All the online bulb suppliers had the wrong spec for my 98 Mondeo.
I have organised my own collection that I know is correct.
I hope the current Mondeo permits easier changing of the front bulbs.
I have to remove the grill and headlamp units to change a bulb.
Is waving a spare bulb kit at the French traffic boys enough to placate them?
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I bought a bulb set in a blue/clear plastic box from Lidl for £2.99 a few months ago. I think it holds 5 bulbs. The little kits pop up regularly in Lidl & Aldi. Certainly the 2-element brake light looks a good fit but I have no idea if the others are any good, but it's my plan to wave the box under the noses of the gendarmes if I need to.
But do they know that you need to dismantle the car, starting forward from the boot lid, if you want to change a headlight bulb?
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There is no legal requirement to carry a spare bulb kit in France;but there is a law that you must not drive with a bulb out which is enforced unlike the UK.And both Ford and Halfords sell such kits.
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Are you sure about it not being a requirement?
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I would make sure you have all external spare bulbs such as headlights - rearlights/brakes and indicators. You cannot be too careful in France as the Gendarmes don't take prisoners!
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There are many conflicting views on spare bulbs in France. Sadly I don't speak the lingo to read their official web site. The most common quote I've seen was
"The carrying of a spare car bulbs kit is mandatory in certain parts of Europe, including France, the Netherlands, and Spain, and is recommended in all other European countries."
Martin
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According to the AA a spare set is "recommended".
This link takes you through to the AA site´s list of countries and their specific requirements (warning triangles, reflective vests and the like).
snipurl.com/ryvw
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PS with a useful table of ´compulsive requirements´ for each country, clickable towards the bottom of the page.
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"compulsive requirements" - I love the idea !!
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It is not mandatory in France irrespective of what some magazines and papers claim-Read what I said!!
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My local VW dealer in Spain supplied with the car an official kit comprising 10 different bulbs plus 3 different fuses along with the two fluorescent jackets and two warning triangles (only one needed if non-resident)
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Germany can be a fine for a bulb out and no spare bulb kit no problem if you have, you just get told to change it at the earliest convenient place.
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OK jc2 - I've read the AA stuff and you are right. Spare bulbs are not compulsory - but a reference to somewhere authorititive would have helped not just because you say so.
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And made a hefty profit on charging you for all those bits,not all of which are legal requirements!
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For the sake of a few quid, something to show the Gendarmes/Police will get you off the hook.
Never mind that I need to spend several hours and some obscure tools before managing to change the headlight bulbs on my Passat.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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Tesco do a European Driving Kit which has a set of bulbs, a GB sticker and a pair of headlight deflector sticker things all for about £8
Buying just the headlight things from somewhere else can cost you nearly as much as that!
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do they still sell them?
cant find em on the site :(
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2005 Ghia X mondeo
>>I notice you need a bulb kit, exactly which bulbs do you requireas there are quite alot of bulbs on the car, anyone have any ideas?
It would appear you need both H7 for dip and H1 for main beam so probably any cheap kit will need supplementing.
These may help.
www.powerbulbs.co.uk/
www.consumabulbs.com/index.php
www.performancebulbs.co.uk/
www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/home.php
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For bulbs, yellow jackets, warning triangles etc in France, go across channel, go to first Auchan/Carrefour/Leclerc supermarket you find and stock up at (generally, though Tesco kit sounds good) much cheaper than in UK.
Oh, and buy the bulbs etc after the wine/beer otherwise you might squash the bulbs!
--
Phil
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With many modern cars it would not be possible to change headlight bulbs at the roadside!
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The VW bulb kit I bought for the '97 Passat was good value (cost hardly more for multiple + fuses than a single H7 headlight bulb in a large motoring chain).
When I had the LagunaII, I eventually discovered the Renault did a spare bulb kit omitting the Xenon. I could not find out the legal position regarding spare headlight bulbs for Xenon-equipped cars.
Just over 3 years ago my friend in Sweden said there was a huge argument going on there between the Police and Citroen as the C5 needed a special tool to change the headlight bulbs - a burnt-out headlight in the land of the daytime running lights is a serious offence...
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I bought a spare set of bulbs in Auchan (french hypermarket) in Calais, much cheaper than UK.
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