LED Rear fogs / LED PL700s

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KevinW
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LED Rear fogs / LED PL700s

Post by KevinW »

Just been perusing a company that had advertised in the latest edition of 289News that I hadn't seen before:
https://www.bettercarlighting.couk/

Not sure if this will pass with Mr MOT or Mr IVA(?), but this looks like a nice idea for adding an invisible fog lamp.

https://www.bettercarlighting.co.uk/ind ... ductId=576

I also noticed their new variant Pl700s. They look quite good but pricey...
https://www.bettercarlighting.co.uk/ind ... &Submit=Go

Anyway, as Sussex jumps up 2 tiers from the 26th, best wishes for a restful quiet Christmas and a well-vaccinated New Year!
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nikbj68
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Re: LED Rear fogs / LED PL700s

Post by nikbj68 »

Can’t see why it would be a problem for MOT, they’ve only been a testable item for a few years,
For IVA, height will be fine, I’m sure there is no distance from edge reg like for indicators/sidelights, only issue could be E-marking?
How cool would it be if they could include reversing lights too?!

I’m interested in the L542 conversion too, would like to see in person.
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KevinW
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Re: LED Rear fogs / LED PL700s

Post by KevinW »

I wasn't sure if the IVA guy would complain about having 2 fog lights, but don't know if its an issue or not. I like the look of the product, but no good for me as I have a stainless number plate holder that attaches underneath the number plate lamp unit.

I converted to LED coffins last year and used the Spyda unit - not cheap, but cheaper than Europa, and work just fine.
I did need to add a couple of diodes to make the dash light work properly and had to change the relay.
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peterc
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Re: LED Rear fogs / LED PL700s

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My understanding is that the Lucas L542 coffin style lamps are not suitable for IVA as they don’t give the correct angle of view.
I have had no issues with passing the MOT with the Spyida conversion.
From a safety point of view they are so much brighter than a normal bulb set up even with a polished reflector.

Ref the headlights I think the cost of the LED bulbs on their own is around £130 + vat so an extra £70 is not bad for a pair of headlights designed to suit the bulbs.
I wrote an magazine article on headlight bulbs not long ago. Using LED’s with either the standard P700 or PL700 whilst a lot brighter don’t provide a perfect full spread of light as a standard halogen P4 bulb.
The gremlins I had with the lights initially were down to poor earthing of the scuttle frame where a significant number of the car’s wiring is earthed.

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nikbj68
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Re: LED Rear fogs / LED PL700s

Post by nikbj68 »

Just found the relevant page from the IVA manual re rear fog lights. So, you can have 2, but as I guessed, (lack of) E-marking is an issue.
MOT test will only be concerned with condition & function.
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Re: LED Rear fogs / LED PL700s

Post by peterc »

Correction to my earlier post ref the P700 headlights.
I have since ventured onto their web site and the £199 does not appear to include the bulbs, so yes it’s an expensive venture. My experience to date with Better Car Lighting has been one of high quality so I guess you get what you pay for.
One would therefore expect that the deficiencies in my current set up with questionable quality of the headlight shells would be resolved with their options.
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Re: LED Rear fogs / LED PL700s

Post by frats289 »

In my experience it's all down to the quality of the bulbs and reflectors. I have concave Cibie units with Phillips Bulbs. It doesn't matter how many watts the bulbs have if the filament is not in the focal point of the reflector. In the past I have had 80/135W bulbs in Wipac Quadoptics which didn't give out as much useful light as my current set up using 60/55W bulbs.

Many LED headlights are blinding to on coming traffic for this very reason. On inspection of an LED headlight bulb it can be seen that the diodes extend a long way down the bulb - how can they possibly be all in the focal point of the reflector. A lot of scattered light is inevitable.

For a rain light I use a period Lucas reversing light with a red equivalent 21W LED bulb which doubles up as a reversing light

have fun

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Re: LED Rear fogs / LED PL700s

Post by peterc »

Totally agree Frank.
I have used the concave Cibies decades ago and can vouch for their nice level cut off of the headlight beam ( plus raised kerbside) and had a good fill in. They were also able to be converted for continental use by a simple movement of an adjuster where the bulb mounted.
Yes I’m sure most of the P700 and PL700 copies are still based around the P45 type tungsten bulb and not redesigned for a halogen bulb let alone an LED one.
If I did more night driving I would probably do as Clive has and fit some modern Cibie’s.
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