16 replies to this topic

[Jammy]

Does anyone know roughly what the brightness of the rear side lights, brake lights, and reverse lights are?

[Cookie Monster]

Rear - 5w
Break 21W
Indicator 21W
Rear Fog 21W
Reversing - Whatever you want as it is not a legal requirment.

....as far as I can emember that is

[dan__wright]

Rear - 5w
Break 21W
Indicator 21W
Rear Fog 21W
Reversing - Whatever you want as it is not a legal requirment.

....as far as I can emember that is

you dont need to have a reverse light so theres no minimum but i think there may be a max, not sure on what it is though, this wouldnt have anything to do with the leds would it?

[Dan]

Reversing - Whatever you want as it is not a legal requirment.

Not a legal requirement to have one but if you do choose to have one it must comply with the regulations. Cars after 1986 it must be marked with an approval stamp (basically a reverse lamp with more than a 21 watt filament bulb won't pass the test). Cars before 1986 24 watt maximum.

I think he wants to know how bright they are not how much power they use, anyone can look that up.

Here's the thing, all the lamps on the rear of your vehicle must bear an approval mark (unless your vehicle was registered before 1974). By fitting any different bulbs into the lamp cluters than the ones it's designed to have you are breaking the approval as the bulb in the lamp governs its output which is part of the test. There's a bit in the regs which talks about only using filament bulbs which are themselves approved.

If you have a vehicle permitted to be fitted with lamps which don't bear approval marks then the only requirement for intensity for tail lamps and indicators is to be 'visible from a reasonable distance' with no power requirement at all. Brake lamps must be something like 15 to 36 watts with no intensity requirement but again that is talking about filament lamps. Fog lamps must always bear an appproval mark, ther's no other option for them. Reverse lamps are as above.

So if you're trying to fit LEDs into the standard clusters and get them to comply with the regs then it isn't technically possible because it's the act of replacing the standard bulbs with something else which takes them out of approval, not how powerful they are or how much light they emit.

If you can find an LED replacement lamp unit which has been through approval itself then it would be allowed to use this to replace the entire lamp unit, but the standard lamp clusters must be used with filament bulbs of the correct ratings to remain legal.

Edited by Dan, 13 February 2006 - 01:17 PM.

[Jammy]

Wasn't thinking of using the existing lamp units at all, was thinking of something very similar to this:



So I'm guessing I wouldn't get that through the MOT?

[Pooky]

Phwooaarr!

[mattyoung69]

very sweet...fancy doing mine too!!

[Jordie]

think 1976clubman did pass an MOT if i remember correctly.

[wobbit]

wow that looks great! would take a lot of time to wire up tho

[Jammy]

Yea, I know they look good, if you wish to praise who did them then put your comments here.

If you know the answer to my question of whether they are legal/would get through an MOT then put that here:

[Dan]

It does look very good. One of our MOT testers would have to tell you if they'd pass it or not. Obviously it's not an approved lamp but then if it fulfils the 'at a reasonable distance' requirement you might get away with it. Check the visibility angle requirement as well as LEDs drop off a lot when off axis.

[Jammy]

Yea, I had thought about the viewing angle, but then when I was looking through the requirements for all the rear lights on the MOT website I put up in the FAQ section (MOT Manual) I could only see one requirement that said that 50% has to be visible from the rear?

I'll print off the image and ask my MOT guy on the way home tonight.

[Dan]

Check THIS out. You need to read schedules 10, 11, 12 and 14 at the botom of the page.

The MOT only says the car is basically mechanically sound on the day the test was taken, it doesn't say it complies with all of the law as your car has been through type approval to determine that. If you alter the car away from it's type approval then it's up to you to make sure it's legal. That's why the SVA goes into more detail about these things than the MOT does.

Edited by Dan, 13 February 2006 - 04:40 PM.

[Jammy]

If my understanding of this section is correct:

14.—(1) Where a motor vehicle first used on or after 1st April 1986 or any trailer manufactured on or after 1st October 1985 is equipped with any lamp of a type that is required by any Schedule to these Regulations to be marked with an approval mark, no filament lamp other than a filament lamp referred to in the Designation of Approval Marks Regulations in-


(a) regulation 4 and Schedule 2, items 2 or 2A, 8, 20, 37 or 37A; or


(B) regulation 5 and Schedule 4, item 18,
shall be fitted to any such lamp.

Then, as my Clubman is of 1976 year, it suggest that I don't have to comply with that regulation, and therefore can fit a different type of light?

[Jammy]

Well i spoke to my MOT guy (who is very good, not some dodgy dude who'll pass your car for an extra tenner!), and he said as long as they operate in the same way he doesn't see a problem with them!