Suggestions For Brighter Reversing Bulbs

It's a sad fact of being in the motor trade. Bulb numbers and types just rattle around in your head
 
norseman said:
You would think that manufacturers would embrace a particular technology around the same period, but it appears not to be the case.
Your 2004 vehicle doesn't have bulb monitoring (Canbus?) whereas my BM built six years earlier has :unsure:
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Why ? According to cost and complexity ( need for space ) it is more likely to come in successive waves i.e. HUD appears years earlier on Merc/BMW, before trickling down to Audi/Renault/Peugeot etc ditto Xenon then LED headlights.
 
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mointainwalker said:
Why ? According to cost and complexity ( need for space ) it is more likely to come in successive waves i.e. HUD appears years earlier of Merc/BMW, before trickling down to Audi/Renault/Peugeot etc ditto Xenon then LED headlights.
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Thanks for the reply. I was under the impression that many of these technology's were mandatory for cars produced in Europe on/after certain dates, for example daytime running lights, TPM etc. & I (wrongly) assumed that Canbus was one of them.
 
norseman said:
Thanks for the reply. I was under the impression that many of these technology's were mandatory for cars produced in Europe on/after certain dates, for example daytime running lights, TPM etc. & I (wrongly) assumed that Canbus was one of them.
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No, the regulations rarely specify a particular technology. They tend to just say what needs to happen, and it's up to the manufacturer how he achieves it. He could go for CAN or LIN or PSI5 or Flexray - (all similar to CAN), or indeed, conventional wiring and a load of relays. CAN is (currently) by the far the most common, though.
 
I know the British regulations had a maximum size for reversing lights, seem to remember 25 watt when I was an auto electrician many years ago, also the size of lights, which looking at some modern cars seems they are not now being complied with.
 
ericmark said:
I know the British regulations had a maximum size for reversing lights, seem to remember 25 watt when I was an auto electrician many years ago, also the size of lights, which looking at some modern cars seems they are not now being complied with.
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21 Watts for a conventional filament bulb in a reversing light. The size and positions of the lights are governed by United Nations regulations, adopted by both UK and EU. However, I'm not aware of any restrictions on size. They typically have requirements for the amount of light that is put out above, below, left, and right of the "reference axis", and the colour of that light. They have requirements for the lenses for UV and abrasion resistance, thermal stability of the plastics, and a few other things I can't remember. ECE Reg. 48 is the one that governs light positions, both relative to each other, to the ground and to the edges of the car.
 
ericmark said:
I know stop lights and indicators were 15 - 25 watt, although we used 21 watt bulbs. So assume reversing lights are the same. I have mislaid my Lucas book on the rules.
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I don't think I've ever seen a 25 Watt automotive bulb?
 
carmanmemoranda said:
It's a sad fact of being in the motor trade. Bulb numbers and types just rattle around in your head
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Thanks again, you saved me a bit of aggro. I cancelled the original order with Amazon and reordered the correct bulbs. Was too late to cancel, so they tried to deliver both cancelled and new orders yesterday. Refused the cancelled order and driver said would return it. Amazingly he actually spoke English. Anyway, saved me having to take to post office.

Will see how the new bulbs go and interested to see how long they last.
 
Reverse projector LEDs are in. Photos show one original and one new LED. Anyone hazard a guess which side is which? Prize is two old but working 380 bulbs (winner pays P&P). Answers on a postcard.

[GALLERY=media, 108689][/GALLERY]

[GALLERY=media, 108687][/GALLERY]
 
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