Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 10:03:29 CST
Reply-To: Joel Walker <JWALKER@UA1VM.UA.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.sdsc.edu>
From: Joel Walker <JWALKER@UA1VM.UA.EDU>
Subject: Re: aux headlights
In-Reply-To: <3.0.3.32.19971218092139.006f4d84@helix.nih.gov>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
On Thu, 18 Dec 1997 09:21:39 Rick "blind as a bat" Koller said:
>which kind of aux. lights to mount on my van(s). I noticed in the Imparts
>catalog several choices of Hella lights. There are the round driving lights
>(Hella 550's) and also a type of auxilary low-beams that are foglight in
>shape and size. I want to be able to use these lights simultaneously with
>the regular low-beams, but I'm not interested in blinding my fellow
>motorists (even if they arn't driving vanagons!). I prefer the round type
>for their looks but if they are too bright to use all the time I'll go for
>the extra low-beams. Any and all opinions welcome.
ok, here's what and why i did what i did on my bus. :)
fog lights.
- necessary?? yeah, well ... but they sure do HELP at night on dark roads
and in rain and snow and fog and in the woods. fog lights have a low
wide beam ... it goes out to the sides more than up, and goes forward only
about as much as the regular headlights (if you get some good fog lights,
that is). with the headlights ON, the fogs act more as "fill" lighting,
and light up the ditches on the sides of the roads. properly aimed, they
do NOT blind anybody coming at you ... as they have a "cut-off" on the
beam: almost all of the light is below this cut-off. that's also why you
want the fog lights mounted LOW on the bus. UNDER the bumper is the most
optimum place for the correct lighting ... but it's also the quickest way
to destroy them!! <the Voice of Experience>. put them on the TOP of the
bumper and save yourself some money. but watch the lens ... it should have
the word "top" (or "oben") etched or cast into it. this MUST go toward the
top, whichever way it's mounted. you should be able to remove the glass
lens, and rotate it so that the lens is pointed right (no matter which way
the mount/receptacle/whatever is bolted). the Bosch round fog lights can
also be mounted sideways!! (that is, they can be bolted into a brush guard
and the lens still positioned correctly).
i got the Oscar Plus model by Cibie, 7" round, reaches out to about 600
feet forward and about 200 feet to each side. the cut-off is about three
feet above ground. i have them angle slightly toward the sides to get more
coverage on the sides, than to the front.
Hella makes some called the Rallye 500 series and the Rallye 1000 series
that are about equivalent (i think).
Bosch also makes some good lights.
normally, fog lights are wired with a relay. and that relay is "triggered"
by a 12v source. all the "trigger" voltage does is make the relay switch
the power (from a bigger wire, going to the battery) to the lights. be SURE
to put fuses on each light!! anyway, the trigger voltage is customarily
the low beams of the regular headlights. this means, that with the fog
light switch OFF, you can turn on your headlights, low and high, like
normal. if the fog light switch is ON, then the fog lights will come ON
whenever the low beam headlights come on (and go OFF when the high beams
come on). this is what some states require. and some states have a rule
about having ONLY FOUR lights on the front of any vehicle ... so if you
have the rectangular headlights on HIGH and have the fogs on, that would
be SIX ... and you'd be illegal. :(
i chose to trigger my fog lights off the parking lights ... so that i can
run my fog lights ONLY ... that is, NO headlights at all. this puts ALL
my forward lighting right down on top of my bumper. why? well, it cuts
out a lot of glare back into the windshield in heavy rain and snow and
fog. and since the fog lights put out as much light as my low beams, it
doesn't really cut down on the amount of light ... just changes the
pattern (lower and wider). technically, this is illegal ... IF i do drive
on the highway that way. i usually don't, but i like having the choice.
driving lights.
- necessary? nope. but boy, it sure is nice to be able to see waaaaaaaay
down the road on some lonely dark 2-lane. :) you do NOT get much chance
to use them on Interstates: too much traffic coming in the other direction.
now these lights WILL definitely blind people, so you have to be careful
how you use them.
there's really TWO kinds of "driving light":
- a "driving" light - this reaches out about 4000-5000 feet (yup. a MILE
down the road) with a semi-sorta-kinda wide pattern. well, about as wide
as a two-lane road (meaning that it's lighting up the oncoming lane as
well!). the pattern is about that wide almost all the way down the entire
reach of the light. VERY nice. :)
these have a cut "pattern" in the glass on the light. not as many "facets"
as are on the fog lights, but noticeable.
- a "pencil" beam - this reaches out, oh, 9000 feet (yup. almost TWO miles!)
and has a very narrow (about one lane wide) pattern from about 3000 feet
on out. do you REALLY need one of these?? probably not. but it sure lights
up any signs or construction work waaaaaaaay on up there!
these have an almost perfectly smooth (no pattern) glass on them.
i chose to use one driving light (on the driver's side ... to light up the
whole road) and one pencil beam (on the passenger's side ... to light up the
shoulder of the road). no particular reason. just kinda experimenting,
really. :) two driving lights would be perfectly adequate for driving, even
in the darkest of roads ... that is, you should NOT be overdriving these
lights on a road like that!! :)
however ... there is a problem: driving lights, for the maximum range and
performance, should be mounted as HIGH as you can get them. but there's
law that say you cannot have them LIGHTED on the highways if they are over
a certain height (like 40 inches or so). so your choice is to mount them
up level with the headlights (like the South Africans do, in the grill)
or put them down on the bumper, like the fog lights.
well, on the bumper isn't the best place for driving lights. any little rise
in the road cuts off their illumination (from your point of view). but i
didn't have any other choice ... so that's where i put them. i'm happy with
the results, but i can definitely see that putting them up level with the
headlights would have resulted in a LOT more light down the road.
one thought: if you REALLY go out on deserted roads at night, you might
want to consider putting them up top ... like on a camper's luggage area
(you'll look like one of those Macho Man jeeps with all the lights on the
roll-bar!). that would definitely put out some light. :) some big RV's have
a swiveling/remote-controlled spotlight up there, so they can see better
when navigating into a camping spot or parking place in the campground.
like i said, you will NOT get much chance to use the driving lights on the
interstate highways ... way too much oncoming traffic. if you drive long
2-lane roads a lot (like down in Baja California. but then, you ain't
supposed to be driving at night down there, are you??), they are very nice
and give you a much better feeling of comfort at night. they REALLY light
up the world waaaaaay on out there.
my suggestion would be to get some fog lights to start out with ... and you
can get a vw accessory fog light switch (with the correct fog light symbol)
that fits into that blank switch place on the instrument pod (right above the
hazard flasher switch) for about $15. the fog lights are much more useful
than the driving lights for most situations.
i like the round ones, too, but they'll look a bit funny with rectangular
headlights. :) i think the round ones give a better light pattern.
however, if you get a set of the rectangular fog lights, you could get a
2nd set and mount one of them on the rear bumper ... wiring it in as a
auxilliary backup light. :) so when you are camping in the woods, or want
to backup in heavy rain/snow/fog, you can actually SEE behind you!!! it also
helps a LOT if you have tint on the windows. :) actually, EVERYbody ought
to get a fog light and put it back there. use a fuse and relay for it also.
but it REALLY does help tremendously. a rectangular fog light fits better
on the rear, because of the hatch ... the light fits (and looks nice) between
the taillight and the license plate.
now, technically, what you SHOULD have back there is a RED fog light ... so
that in really bad rain/fog/snow, some clown doesn't run into you from
behind. in Europe, i believe the fog lights come 3-to-a-set with this rear
red fog. in the u.s., not so ... you'll have to buy a separate Hella or
Bosch red fog light. if you decide to put one on, the red fog light should
go on the Driver's side (whichever side that is for your country), and i'd
suggest the clear/amber fog light go on the passenger's side. a word of
caution: it is ILLEGAL in most states to have a clear light on the rear of
a forward-moving vehicle, so be sure you cut the rear clear fog light OFF
before you start forward again. :)
anyway, that's what my 88 bus has:
- two clear fogs up front,
- one driving light up front,
- one pencil beam light up front,
- one red rear fog in back,
- on clear rear fog in back.
- and a partridge in a pear tree. :P
i love it. planning on putting a similar system on my 87 camper ... as soon
as i can get some money. :( all these lights are NOT cheap ...so go slow,
and install the front fogs first, then the rear fog/backup, then maybe the
driving lights if you think you need them.
hope it helps.
joel
"honest, officer ... it was this big UFO, right thar, coming at me with all
them lights ablazin!!!" :)
