Bob225 wrote:rear lights are used to be seen by, not for the driver to see
I had a Nissan note, I swapped the reverse bulbs out for 21w ones both sides, It made no difference to the rear visibility
Tbh put some lights on you house or drive way on a dawn/dusk sensor or timer
That's not true, they are dual purpose, both to warn drivers and to provide illumination when doing manoeuvres in the dark. This is why they are not coloured.
Putting lights up isn't possible and anyway that still doesn't solve the issue when I park in places other than at home.
According to the motor legislation (Schedule 14) you are restricted to 24W for any single light that does not bear an 'approval mark' and the light MUST be switched by detection of selection of reverse gear - i.e. a dash mounted switch is not allowed.
...... provided that the electrical connections are such that the reversing lamp or lamps cannot be illuminated other than automatically by the selection of the reverse gear of the vehicle:
As I have already stated, this is additional lighting to be used when needed, hence the use of a dash switch. That way I can avoid any regs related to the actual reversing light. I don't intend to touch the actual reversing light at all.
Rorschach wrote:As I have already stated, this is additional lighting to be used when needed, hence the use of a dash switch. That way I can avoid any regs related to the actual reversing light. I don't intend to touch the actual reversing light at all.
In which case, as I understand it, you need to wire it so that the switch disables the extra light when you don't want it to come on rather than it turning the light on independently of the fitted reversing lights that are switched by selecting reverse.
This is so you cannot leave it accidently on when driving down the road.
The point being is that it's NOT PERMITTED to have a self-switched light at the rear - I suppose this is to prevent you accidentally driving off with it on! The rules allow for any amount of white lighting on the rear (within the 24W per light rule), any beam shape, any placement etc but it reads, to me, as being very specific on them being controlled by 'gear selection'.
You can't even argue that it is an 'auxiliary light' as you are not permitted to have any 'white' lights at the rear except for reversing lights.
Would you hit a nail with a shoe because you don't have a hammer? of course not, then why work on anything electrical without a means of testing Click Here to buy a "tester" just because it works, does NOT mean it is safe.
It is permitted to be manually switched if you have a tell tale, which I would as I would use an illuminated switch. It also seems a reverse light is not a requirement anyway, which seems silly.
The only restriction I can see is that you cannot have more than 2 reversing lights, I plan to fit at least 1, which would be fine, 2 might cause me an issue but I doubt it. I see no mention of auxiliary lights in the regs and anyway I would not be using them on the public highway.
Rorschach wrote:It is permitted to be manually switched if you have a tell tale, which I would as I would use an illuminated switch.
Fair enough then. After all rear fog lights have a tell tale (usually on the instrument cluster) and nobody ever accidently leaves them switched on when its not fogggy do they.
Take a feed from the reversing switch or somewhere along the switched live wire, run back to dash, connect up a switch with a warning light or buzzer, run that switched feed to your new lights. They will only work when you select reverse, you only need to switch them at night should you need them, should not effect MOT, they can be classed for "Off Road" ie private land use only. Nos
Rorschach wrote:It is permitted to be manually switched if you have a tell tale, which I would as I would use an illuminated switch.
Fair enough then. After all rear fog lights have a tell tale (usually on the instrument cluster) and nobody ever accidently leaves them switched on when its not fogggy do they.
Personally no I don't and it would be tricky to do anyway with the way the switches are in my car. Also remember that 90% of the time these are going to be used when manoeuvring in my own driveway, they will never be switched on when driving along the highway normally.
So much passive aggressive vitriol in this post, I don't understand it
Thank you to those who gave constructive ideas and feedback, much appreciated.
Rorschach wrote:So much passive aggressive vitriol in this post, I don't understand it
Sorry you see it that way as the advice is only being given to prevent you from becoming a police statistic (or MOT failure) - none of the advice was 'wrong'. My gear box selection ability goes right out of the window when following cars with rear fog lights on when its not foggy!
Some form of interlock with the reverse gear selection would be ideal but a PIR over your garage/porch/driveway would serve you better and give you illuminated access when getting IN to the car at night.
But, fist of all, try a much larger wattage lamp (or equal power consumption but generally far brighter LED equivalent) - the original fitting is usually pathetic - and if your ECU doesn't fault on it then you may not even need an extra light.
Well the new lights arrived, blindingly bright, a lot better than I expected for cheapies. Ordered my switch and fuse-tap, now comes the hard bit of running a bloody wire the length of the car and keeping it neat
While I was limited on choice for sizes, turns out they fit perfectly on the lower rear bumper, nice and unobtrusive.
Well it took longer than expected, partly from wanting to do a neat job and partly because it was bloody awkward getting your hands in certain places.
All the wiring is in place and the switch hooked up, I can't power it from the fuse box yet because I am waiting on a fuse-tap to arrive so I hooked it up to a 12V battery to test and it works great, can't wait to get the last bit wired in and try it out properly now.
When they are not illuminated they look like reflectors and are quite discrete. The button on the dash is similarly discrete and is a good colour match. It has an led to show when they are on too.
If gloom had a voice, it would be me.
