how does the law stand with rear lights,now with pics

[wrecker]

hay all,

at the moment I'm making a new rear metal bumper for my vitara,as the lights are in the bumper Ive bought same fancy
led lights, but

the lights Ive got are road legal,4 x red 2 orange

the idea being would it be OK to have 1 set come on as side lights then other set to use as break lights :-k next to each other

the only prob i can see is they will be the same brightness,is this a prob :doh:

thanks for your time all ;)
mark 8-[

[ben_haynes]

yes you need brighter stop than side, the best is to split them with an indicator or a Reverse light so there is a distinct difference also you can get a set of 5w or 10w for side and a 21w for stop

[Dr Evil]

Thats what I was going to say but you beat me to it   :lol:

[Range Rover Blues]

Side lights must be 5 watts.  IIRC brake lights must be 36 watts maximum and mounted symetrically in pairs (an extra one is no compulsory).

I also remember vaguely something about having the indicators outside the sidelamps on the back of my Sankey, the way the army have it not being legal :-.

But I reckon that if you are using E marked lamps then you should be ok.

[wrecker]

thanks for taking the time to explain that guys :clap:

ill post a pic when done to see what you guys think ;)

mark :D

[discowoman]

Side lights must be 5 watts.  IIRC brake lights must be 36 watts maximum and mounted symetrically in pairs (an extra one is no compulsory).

I also remember vaguely something about having the indicators outside the sidelamps on the back of my Sankey, the way the army have it not being legal :-.

But I reckon that if you are using E marked lamps then you should be ok.

side light should be on the outside of the vehicle/trailer to mark the extremities of it..
If your going to use LED's, why not take a visit to a local traielr/hgv repairer as they use a lot of these now..

[madmatt]

[/quote]
side light should be on the outside of the vehicle/trailer to mark the extremities of it..
If your going to use LED's, why not take a visit to a local traielr/hgv repairer as they use a lot of these now..

[/quote]

Be very careful what you buy. HGV direct have a lot on special offer but they are all 24volt! Make sure you get 12volt ones.

[Range Rover Blues]

side light should be on the outside of the vehicle/trailer to mark the extremities of it..

You'd have thought so, wouldn't you, but apparently not.  They have to be within a certain distance of the outside though and mounted symetrically, but look how far in the sidelights on a 300 series Disco bumper are, and agin the indicators are outermost.

[wrecker]

well here it is guys,do you think it would be ok [-o<

[Range Rover Blues]

I'd be more worried about the number plate, the bumper looks good though :)

[ben_haynes]

Agree with RRB get a square one and bolt it on the door and put a light on it or it will fail MOT

[S188]

Nothing wrong with 10W tailights!  My VW is spec'd (written in the handbook and on the original "E" marked combination bulbholders) with them, between the 21W brake lamps and fog lamp (only on the right).  So long as theres a resionable brightness difference between tail and brakelamps its fine.  They must be matched pairs unless its a centre brakelamp.  Fog lamps however can't be within 100mm of a brakelamp, and only need to be on the right hand side (they can however be a taillamp aswell, if the tail lamp has a matched pair on the other side - The current VW Transporter T5's is a good example of this, the fog lamp is the right hand tail lamp that gets much brighter (suspect its a 5/21W bulb), the brake lamps are out the way in the other end of the light cluster).

[Range Rover Blues]

Combined yail/fog lights are nothing new, the Sierra S2 had them as did the Cavalier.  I used to find I was replacing my brake light bulbs every year though as the sidleight was not there to pre-heat them.

[ben_haynes]

Combined yail/fog lights are nothing new, the Sierra S2 had them as did the Cavalier.  I used to find I was replacing my brake light bulbs every year though as the sidleight was not there to pre-heat them.

some vehicles have tail/fog and tail brake to eliminate this completly

[martha focker]

looks pretty cool :clap:

[wrecker]

thanks for comments and advice guys,all taken on board and is sorted,

where the number plate is there will be a rear winch so have a square plate under door Handel with light :D

thanks again :D