LED 3rd brake light as fog light?
blakep82 - 27/10/07 at 04:00 PM
just seen that ad for the Audi R8 (i don't understand the bit there it says "the slowest car we've ever built" )
looks like its got a LED 3rd brake light as a fog light. would that be alright to do? would certainly look nicer than the usual plastic fog lights you
get
[Edited on 27/10/07 by blakep82]
bigrich - 27/10/07 at 04:03 PM
think the quote relates to the time it takes to build in the factory
iank - 27/10/07 at 04:20 PM
From a straight reading of the SVA manual it isn't allowed as the fog lamp has to be 100mm away from the stop light.
BUT in this case the stop light in question is an optional lamp from section 9.2 rather than one of the two obligatory lamps from 9.1 so it's
arguable that the stop light mentioned isn't the one they intend. However I'd expect it to be an tough one to win with a tester so I
wouldn't bother. Lifes too short.
Production cars being allowed to do things we aren't isn't a new situation unfortunately, but there you, go the SVA is simplified as if it
followed all the subtlties of construction and use it would take a month to administer and cost £10k 
On the bright side retrofitting after SVA would be very unlikely to cause a problem as you could argue 'a production car does it so it must be
ok' with the traffic police far more easily. And that's in the hugely unlikely event it was foggy and they bothered to pull you on the off
chance it might not be quite allowed.
blakep82 - 27/10/07 at 04:25 PM
here's what i mean, the brake light is at the top of the window, and in the back bumper, it has what looks like another brake light, but i assume
is actually the fog (only having the role of a fog light)
iank - 27/10/07 at 04:27 PM
In which case you're down to only having the problem of finding an e-marked fog light that shape. Which is a bugger I suspect.
Sorry I misunderstood your original description.
blakep82 - 27/10/07 at 04:32 PM
i didn't really word the question very well 
premier wiring seem to have some nice ones, but nothing mentions if its e marked
iank - 27/10/07 at 04:33 PM
quote:
Originally posted by blakep82
i didn't really word the question very well
premier wiring seem to have some nice ones, but nothing mentions if its e marked
Give them a call. I'm pretty sure brake light and fog light have different marks though.
nitram38 - 27/10/07 at 04:42 PM
The only difference between a fog and stop lamp is the wattage.
Description
[Edited on 27/10/2007 by nitram38]
blakep82 - 27/10/07 at 04:44 PM
quote:
Originally posted by nitram38
Your fog light can be further than 100mm from your stop lights!
It can almost be in the centre of the car
think he meant no closer than 100mm
iank - 27/10/07 at 05:24 PM
quote:
Originally posted by nitram38
The only difference between a fog and stop lamp is the wattage.
My understanding is there are also differences in the reflector design.
See Steve @ sVc post here:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=36734
Fog lights also need an F mark.
[Edited on 27/10/07 by iank]
RazMan - 27/10/07 at 05:29 PM
quote:
Originally posted by nitram38
The only difference between a fog and stop lamp is the wattage.
I am fairly sure that the lense on a fog light is more directional than a stop lamp, but you can probably get away with it after SVA.
I converted my twin fog lights to act as fog / tail lights and they work very well visually and I reckon I can argue their funcionality when it comes
round to MOT time (or just disconnect the tail part)
E or F marks are only a factor that helps get the lights through approval - if they are deemed as suitable for the task by the inspector then they
will still get ticked as a pass.
[Edited on 27-10-07 by RazMan]
indykid - 27/10/07 at 05:31 PM
quote:
Originally posted by nitram38
The only difference between a fog and stop lamp is the wattage.
[Edited on 27/10/2007 by nitram38]
no it's not. both my stop lamps and fog lamp use a 382 21w bulb. the lenses and possibly reflectors on them are different though.
tom
speedyxjs - 27/10/07 at 07:40 PM
quote:
Originally posted by bigrich
think the quote relates to the time it takes to build in the factory
Aaah, now i understand
That bit confused me too 
Steve @ sVc - 31/10/07 at 05:46 PM
Here is the boring bit!
There are 4 levels of “brightness” for red rear lights.
The tail light is the least bright,
Following this we have the 3rd or hi level brake light,
Brighter, are the normal stop lights, and brightest of all is the rear fog light.
So, no, sorry the fog light can’t be replaced by any other, and as previously said, it has the unique “F” mark, together with the “E” mark that the
SVA examiner will look for.
Hope this helps a bit
Steve @ sVc
blakep82 - 31/10/07 at 05:52 PM
cool! nice one, cheers steve!
