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Reverse light to Fog light conversion??????

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Old 27 December 2006, 02:20 PM
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Impretzel
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Default Reverse light to Fog light conversion??????

I have a 1995 WRX saloon, purchased almost exactly 1 year ago from an importer (new into the country).

People kept telling me that one of my reversing lights was out...........on further investigation it turns out that someone has put a red bulb behind the white reversing lens and wired it to the fog light switch on the dash.

As my MOT is nearly due, i'm concerned that the MOT tester will think i have a reversing light out!! And that the fog light is inappropriate/wrong etc

Does anyone have any idea whether my car will pass with this arrangement???????????

Thanks in advance
Rory
Old 27 December 2006, 02:40 PM
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HoonDevil
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I have the same arrangement in my rear lights and I've never had any problem with MoT - the fog light should be on the offside light BTW.
Old 27 December 2006, 04:13 PM
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Impretzel
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Aha, sounds promising, thanks. Another thing is that the fog light is only about as bright as my stop lights. Is this right?
Old 27 December 2006, 05:07 PM
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WRXshaneWRX
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urmmm im not 100% sure but i dont think you have to have 2 reverse lights to pass the MOT
Old 28 December 2006, 12:58 AM
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phelpsa
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Considering the foglight uses the same bulb as the brake lights I would be worried if it were brighter!
Old 28 December 2006, 02:30 AM
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stevebennett
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Originally Posted by WRXshaneWRX
urmmm im not 100% sure but i dont think you have to have 2 reverse lights to pass the MOT
No one of each is fine. A lot of cars only have one of each Ford fiesta, Renault clio etc.

but back to the original question, justwarn the MOT tester that one reverse light has been converted to a Fog light. and check yourself that the bulb is the correct wattage.

Steve
Old 28 December 2006, 02:32 AM
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wrx_yank
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IIRC you dont need a reverse light in this country.... i just imported a car and thats what they said, and mine passed
Old 28 December 2006, 01:58 PM
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ralphandcarol
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If you want to up the brightness then all you need is a multi Led bulb, I have one of these and it is as bright as any fog light you will see.
Old 28 December 2006, 02:50 PM
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Impretzel
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Bought a multi led bulb from halfrauds yesterday, cost me £13!! Was difficult getting into the hole but managed to force/persuade it into place.

Thanks for your help

Rory
Old 28 December 2006, 09:42 PM
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HoonDevil
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Is it a good red? Because whilst my red bulb works fine it's more of a pink... STi cerise, rather.
Old 28 December 2006, 10:53 PM
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Jonty
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Originally Posted by Impretzel
Does anyone have any idea whether my car will pass with this arrangement???????????
Yes, it would be fine and is a common and cheap way of engineering a fog lamp solution.

The basics behind rear fog lamps is that you need a dedicated red lamp positioned either centrally or towards the off-side. Whilst there are no guidelines for brightness of a rear fog, the light should be red in colour and visible from a reasonable distance. You also need a tell-tale in the cabin, whether an indicator on the dash or a button which illuminates. Regarding a fog bulb, it's actually no different to regular stop and tail light bulbs -- the lens and reflector actually make it seem brighter.

Appreciate that red bulbs aren't always as red as we'd like, but fitting an LED red bulb may cause you an instant failure if it's not E marked and the tester wants to be picky.

Best of luck though.

Jonts.
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