Front park lights as daytime driving lights?

Silvia · Postby **Silvia** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 9:38 am

You're really saying here it's wrong to modify !!

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 9:45 am

Silvia wrote:You're really saying here it's wrong to modify !!

More that this modification will end up being a complicated way to get an end result that won;t work as well as the simpler alternative.

ie:
Hack, modify, replace, and adjust teh normal headlight/wiring/switching to make a DRL = result is a DRL that works ok, but not amazing.
Buy DRL, attach, wire up = result, works exactly as intended for much less effort.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 1:26 pm

HKS / sailholic are right of course .

Auto lighting is an engineering function - the lights on a car are designed for a function. A park lamp is part of an integrated system albeit one that has been in use for a long time. If you blow a park bulb you go to any servo or auto outlet and buy a fully compatible replacement. Why spend time looking for a replacement for a park bulb- to achieve what? Light output on a park bulb is limited and its meant to be. Some of these points seem to get lost

a legal DRL is an engineered product. Its not something that you can knock up in your garage. A drl has a legal function ie light up when engine is started , remains lit until parkers or headlights are switched on , switches off when ignition is switched off.

A bright led is not the same as a drl. An LED in the park lamp aperture will be useless as a drl.

Headlights work ok to be seen but that comes as 110W running also with tail lights on and bulb life being used up. DRLs were designed for being seen in the daylight whereas H/lights are desinged to see the road.

glennf · Postby **glennf** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 10:11 am

hks_kansei wrote:Do also bear in mind that if you put in bulbs that draw too much current or generate too much heat, you risk melting wires or the light housing.
I know LEDs are ok on teh heat front, but no idea on their draw.

I just turn my headlights on. You get the same result (personally I think it's a better result - more yellow light = less eye strain on other drivers) and it's free.

LEDs are very low current draw for the output.

The downside of LEDS in soem applications (such as dash lighting) is they are an ON or OFF affair so you cannot dim them. Below the cutoff voltage for the particular LED they are off, above that cutoff voltage they are on, there is no such thing as a dimmed or half lit LED.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 11:14 am

that was one of the main attractions of led- low current draw and bright for certain applications. The first take up was in trucks- leds were expensive but truck fleets took them up as side markers etc as they had long life which is cost effective on big rigs and fleets ( ie labour to replace) and of course they operate even with voltage drops.

Using a headlamp in the day is of course not free- you are using the halogen bulb life -consider that most drivers would use their cars in daylight at least 80% of the time. An drl runs on low consumption and very long life- far more so than a halogen headlamp bulb.

Silvia · Postby **Silvia** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 11:43 am

side markers = driving lights = led park lights :lol:

Aussie Stig · Postby **Aussie Stig** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 11:51 am

glennf wrote:
hks_kansei wrote:Do also bear in mind that if you put in bulbs that draw too much current or generate too much heat, you risk melting wires or the light housing.
I know LEDs are ok on teh heat front, but no idea on their draw.

I just turn my headlights on. You get the same result (personally I think it's a better result - more yellow light = less eye strain on other drivers) and it's free.

LEDs are very low current draw for the output.

The downside of LEDS in soem applications (such as dash lighting) is they are an ON or OFF affair so you cannot dim them. Below the cutoff voltage for the particular LED they are off, above that cutoff voltage they are on, there is no such thing as a dimmed or half lit LED.

Well that's a load of crap. My dash leds dim very nicely, thankyou.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Sat Dec 22, 2012 10:00 am

Silvia said " side markers = driving lights = led park lights" What does that mean?

Is Glennf incorrect or is there another explanation I guess AS replaced the incandescent dash lights with leds?

Silvia · Postby **Silvia** » Sat Dec 22, 2012 10:49 am

Mr.Morlock said......... "truck fleets took them up as side markers etc as they had long life which is cost effective on big rigs and fleets ( ie labour to replace) and of course they operate even with voltage drops."

Side markers are side driving lights, so why not put 'em in the parkers? Hell. no one uses parkers for parking do they? Realistically they're back-ups if the headlight fails :idea:

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Sat Dec 22, 2012 12:37 pm

as I said earlier all lighting is designed for purpose. A side marker is the light used on the side of trucks - now almost exclusively leds.These are typically standalone complete lighting units ie no replaceable led. Front of the lamp is white and red to the rear. A park bulb is always used in headlamps drawing only low wattage and intended to be seen especially in the transition between daylight and dark and useful in underground car parks etc. A park bulb offers no useful forward vision but is visible to other traffic users if a h/lamp bulb fails. A driving light is by common definition a light designed in addition to a headlamp for forward lighting and that does not include a fog lamp.