Pictured: Tyler holding the fake on the left... (Not impressive)
Recently the LED Taillight market has been flooded with fake reproductions of the LED Autolamps Maxilamp C3 Series Tail light.
We took it upon ourselves to get one of these fakes in to see how it holds up against our Genuine Maxilamp C3 Series such as the ones found here at OzLED.
It wouldn't take a brain surgeon to work out how the comparison went. The fake maxilamp as found on eBay and sold by many sellers is well inferior to the genuine article. Light output was all over the place with the Park/Tail circuit being much too bright for road use through to blue reverse lights and dim brake and indicators.
We can't stress enough that using these fake tail lights is going to be a recipe for the disaster. The fakes found across eBay and other marketplaces are a dangerous combination of non approved lighting and poor construction. Simple functions like the Brake Light are hardly a noticeable difference from the standard tail light.
Let's look at a number of ways to spot a fake both online or in person.
First and foremost, if you are in the market for Genuine Maxilamps, it should go without saying that you should ensure you are buying through an authorised LED Autolamps Reseller. We know that the initial pricing is attractive, with most fakes priced well below Geniune models. With that said, beyond the fact that you would almost certainly void your insurance using the fakes, they are also not built to the same level of standed and will absolutely not last the test of time.
One of the major giveaways, when you are looking at it, is simply by looking at the voltage. ALL Genuine Maxilamps are Multivolt and will work with both 12v AND 24v vehicles. If a listing is stating that they are 12v only you are looking at a fake.
FAILED ROAD APPROVAL TEST
ARTC standards photometric laboratory has tested these fake lamps to ADR/ECE standards and they failed in the following functions:
1) FAILED, ADR 49/00 - STOP FUNCTION
2) FAILED, ADR 49/00 - TAIL POSITION FUNCTION
3) FAILED, ADR 6/00 2a - REAR INDICATOR FUNCTION
4) FAILED, ECE REGULATION R3 - RETRO REFLECTOR
FAILED WATER INGRESS TEST
Ingress Protection Code Level Test has been performed at IPX7 and has failed. The test involves the lamp to be submerged to a depth of 150mm below the surface of the water for a duration test time of 30 Minutes. Test results show water has entered internally which will result in lamp failure.
Spotting a fake in person is much easier than online. The build quality is significantly less than that of the Genuine LED Autolamps Maxilamp C3 Range. The main points to look for are:
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