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8 minutes ago, Ralph Whitaker said:

Talk about daylight running lights!, I think they will see me coming.

How did you arrange for those to turn off, or dim, at night Ralph - as you have to do to comply with the lighting regulations?

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2 hours ago, RobH said:

How did you arrange for those to turn off, or dim, at night Ralph - as you have to do to comply with the lighting regulations?

Uuh?  Sorry officer I didn`t realise.:huh:

The bulbs in the sidelights are replacements for the standard bulbs, but when the indicators are used somehow it turns off the white sidelight and flashes amber. They were the ones Bob reccomends . 

The ones in the headlight were a direct replacement for the 5w blade type bulbs because they looked like amber candles at the side of the led sidelights, so I upgraded to match.

At night the headlights will be on so presumably the halogen bulb will overpower the upper sidelights anyway.

I had not heard of the need to dim them at night?

It also has the benefit that if my headlights fail I will still be able to find my way home:).

They probably look a bit more dazzling on the photo than in real life.

Ralph

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This is the government guidance:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/daytime-running-lights/daytime-running-lights

The relevant bits are :

"DRL are necessarily bright to ensure they are visible in the daytime but not so bright that they will dazzle others. However they are too bright for night time use and are not intended to illuminate the road in the dark. If used at night they will cause dazzle and discomfort to others and so drivers should always switch to their position lamps or headlamps at night."

"DRL may be combined with other lamps. For example some manufacturers use the same lamp for both the DRL and position lamp. In these cases the DRL automatically dims to function as a lower intensity position lamp when the headlamps are turned on. DRL placed close to direction indicators may also automatically dim when the direction indicator is active. This is to ensure that the direction indicator is not masked by the light from the DRL"

 

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7 hours ago, Ralph Whitaker said:

I fitted LED bulbs in the sidelights, and also in the sidelight holes in the headlights. Talk about daylight running lights!, I think they will see me coming.

Ralph

sidelights.jpg

All you need now is a method to wake up the clown in the4x4 behind you when you brake

 

Fit Bob’s bulbs.  I also fitted this. https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/324201446270?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-153316-527457-8&mkcid=2&itemid=324201446270&targetid=4584826053363444&device=m&mktype=&googleloc=&poi=&campaignid=398226946&mkgroupid=1299622978767092&rlsatarget=pla-4584826053363444&abcId=2145997&merchantid=87779&msclkid=6302e76787c11698d58bb839d0e0a457
to the centre stop lamp.  Certainly wakes em up

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The sidelamps are quite small, so I think they will be OK.  On the subject of dazzle, the LED lights that cyclists are using can be a nuisance at night, especially the strobe versions, they can be quite blinding, and more than one has received a blast of my main beam as a suggestion that they should perhaps angle them down.

I like the strobe centre brake light idea, alas the 3a does not have a centre brake light, but some modern cars strobe the lights if under hard braking, so just updating the older cars to keep pace with modern expectations seems like a good safety feature to me.

Ralph.

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The TR3A can be provided with a centre brake light by fitting the centre lamp unit from a TR2 and linking the second (more powerful) filament into the brake lamp circuit.

Ian Cornish

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This has been good to follow given I'm interested in improving the halogen set up I have now (which in itself was a good improvement on the original around 15 years ago). I notice this topic is also covered in this month's TRaction, using the same LED bulbs as shown earlier in this tread. It's been a real help to making up my decision. I have a TR3A, the back lights don't seem to bad to me, is it a general view that there is a real benefit on changing to LED here as well? I'm guessing it less about current draw but more about visual effect (or rather being seen). Sorry to ask, but I'm just a little surprised as I thought they didn't look to bad but I'm not the person behind me :)

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12 hours ago, NCS_TR3A said:

This has been good to follow given I'm interested in improving the halogen set up I have now (which in itself was a good improvement on the original around 15 years ago). I notice this topic is also covered in this month's TRaction, using the same LED bulbs as shown earlier in this tread. It's been a real help to making up my decision. I have a TR3A, the back lights don't seem to bad to me, is it a general view that there is a real benefit on changing to LED here as well? I'm guessing it less about current draw but more about visual effect (or rather being seen). Sorry to ask, but I'm just a little surprised as I thought they didn't look to bad but I'm not the person behind me :)

This all started for me with the desire to upgrade my clear front indicator bulbs so they could be seen flashing Amber while maintaining the white sidelamp. This was only possible with LEDs. After all, how many drivers out there have seen White indicators built into sidelights.

I could have stopped there, but I had wired up the sidelights in my headlight units, and they looked incredibly dim by comparison, so they were upgraded too.

I may add LED rear indicator bulbs for safety as they are much brighter and stand out better in daylight. I am quite happy with the tail lights, but may change my mind when I have seen LED examples.

One other thought about the centre brake light was that instead of using the lamp as a brake light, after all it is low level rather than high level, the second filament could be wired to a seperate switch and make a useful rear Foglight.  I don`t intend to use the car in winter, but around here we tend to get early morning mists at times.

Ralph

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Ralph, on mine the front indicators have a clear lens. Within this there is a dual filament bulb, one for side sight and one for indicator (at least that's my memory). The bulb is clear because it needs to be for the side light, but it's therefor a clear indicator flash as well. Have you got an LED bulb that has a clear look for the side light and an orange look for the flash? That sounds interesting.... I've not seen these, are they readily available? 

The halogen headlights I have (presently) also have a side light built in which I know is not as per factory but felt better with this setup. I am planning to stick with this but have an LED in here as I think. It would look wrong to have a normal fillement build as the sidelight in the headlight with an LED headlight. I don't often drive the car when it's dark, but I would like to be set up to do so. The morning mist is just the same on this side of the country so I can see your logic with that. 

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1 hour ago, NCS_TR3A said:

Ralph, on mine the front indicators have a clear lens. Within this there is a dual filament bulb, one for side sight and one for indicator (at least that's my memory). The bulb is clear because it needs to be for the side light, but it's therefor a clear indicator flash as well. Have you got an LED bulb that has a clear look for the side light and an orange look for the flash? That sounds interesting.... I've not seen these, are they readily available? 

The halogen headlights I have (presently) also have a side light built in which I know is not as per factory but felt better with this setup. I am planning to stick with this but have an LED in here as I think. It would look wrong to have a normal fillement build as the sidelight in the headlight with an LED headlight. I don't often drive the car when it's dark, but I would like to be set up to do so. The morning mist is just the same on this side of the country so I can see your logic with that. 

What’s being describe

 

https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/collections/12-volt-collection/products/bay15d-1157-warm-white-and-amber-tail-sidelight-and-indicator-combined-led-380

 I also use them for rear orange indicators and reversing lights on a 3A

as well as front sides and orange indicator 

 

https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/collections/12-volt-collection/products/bay15d-1157-warm-white-and-amber-tail-sidelight-and-indicator-combined-led-380

Peter W

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Again thanks, I think at this point I'm going to focus on the front. I just need to double check that's the side light in the headlight is a 501 bulb (memory says it is). I think I will go for the bright white rather than the warm white which I hope I won't regret at a later date. I'm not trying to make it look too modern but the white light does look like its better for visability. 

Neil

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10 hours ago, BlueTR3A-5EKT said:

 

 I also use them for rear orange indicators and reversing lights on a 3A

as well as front sides and orange indicator 

 

 

My 3a already had a pair of reversing lights fitted next to the indicators and I left these on, had I known then about the available LED bulbs I would probably have taken them off and filled the holes during the restoration and gone with Peters idea of a double filament indicator unit.

Ralph

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On 9/18/2020 at 6:37 AM, tr2_applegreen said:

That sound's interesting. So you have white glas lens installed at the back?

Could you post a picture?

Here is a view taken by Pat Mac Mahon at Stratford last year.

Cheers

Peter W

 

TR MAFE0026 small.jpg

Edited by BlueTR3A-5EKT
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Well, I've recieved the bulbs for the front and fitted them. Went with H4 LED headlights, LED sidelights (in the head lights) and changed over the normal indicator/sidelight as described above along with changing the indicator flasher unit. After setting up I must admit I'm very happy with the result. I've just fitted to the headlights I already had. A big improvement in visability and reduced load on the standard dynamo set up on the car. Now on with rebuilding the front suspension were every rubber conponent has degraded (not a shock given the time that has passed). At least I have something to do over the weekends I lockdown.

Neil

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Just a quick question on the reversing lights. Do you have a switch on the dash for these or have you built into the gearbox reverse gear somehow? I do like the idea of the centre brake light.......... I can see me moving on to the back next with regards to lighting. 

Neil

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9 hours ago, NCS_TR3A said:

Just a quick question on the reversing lights. Do you have a switch on the dash for these or have you built into the gearbox reverse gear somehow? I do like the idea of the centre brake light.......... I can see me moving on to the back next with regards to lighting. 

Neil

On my car I have the 2000 saloon gearbox, so had the reversing switch already.

Ralph.

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