Date:         Fri, 30 Mar 2001 13:09:12 +1200
Reply-To:     Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject:      Re: headlight advice/f
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>I'm not sure what the reason is for the additional  parking lites is,
>but I do know that most English Motorcycles have them also.
>They serve absolutely no purpose, as far as I can see.
>Perhaps they were used when a guy does park, for a brief time at nite,
>so another vehicle doesn't run over his motorcycle.
>Why they would be of benefit for a 4 wheeled vehicle, is a mystery to
>me.

In some countries (NZ included) cars must have parking lights. These must
be left on when the vehicle is parked by the roadside after dark (who cares
how long it takes for the battery to go flat?). Of course nobody uses them,
except when driving in poor visibility, when nobody can see them from any
distance anyway.

In older universal-round-light vehicles the small bulb was a push fit in a
rubber grommet inserted in a hole in the lower half of the reflector. Newer
vehicles with model-specific lights tend to have them built into the
indicator clusters or on the sides of the headlights within the lens.

Some "VWs" eg my 74 Passat and the 75 Scirocco used the indicators as
parking lights. One side only would work, depending on which way was
selected by the indicator switch...good idea, used half the juice.



Andrew Grebneff
165 Evans St, Dunedin, New Zealand
fax 64 (3) 479-7527
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
VW van (something for every man), Toyota diesel & seashell nut
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