Moving to the UK? You are going to need a light conversion.

JeremyAlan

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Hey guys,

For those who don't know there are many different lighting requirements here in the UK. "Repeaters on the wings" aka Blinkers on the fenders are one of those requirements. This is my attempt to keep the car looking fairly OEM while meeting the lighting requirements. I think it's better than drilling a hole in the fender or having some cheesy stick on light.


Just putting this info out there so people know there is another option for light conversions.


[video=youtube;23n4SL62evc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23n4SL62evc&feature=youtu.be[/video]


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There is a hole behind all emblems on SN95's and its about 1/2 inch in diameter. I mounted the LED behind that hole and had it shine through to a plexiglass cobra emblem cutout mounted under the actual emblem.
The LED is a "Luxdrive Endor Star" and puts out around 200 lumens at 700mA. The LED driver is also Luxdrive.


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The bracket is just some scrap sheet metal I got a hold of and bent with some pliers. This part of the design could be done much better if it was made of aluminum. Aluminum is a better heat sink than sheet metal and the LED needs something because it gets hot, really hot. If I had to guess I would say 150-180 degrees F after it's been on constantly for about 2-3 minutes. I decided that the sheet metal would work because in operation on the vehicle it will never be constantly on, only flashing. Usually it wont even flash for very long either.


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Boom! UK legal!
 
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JeremyAlan

JeremyAlan

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Update for the rear fogs.


Ford decided not to utilize the inner most lamps to perform brake light functions and only tail light functions on SN95's 1994-2004. A common mod I would do in the states is to add a wire to this lamp so that the 'high' filament would be utilized along with the other two elements in the tail light. More light to show other drivers you are braking is never a bad thing lol.


Now that I'm here in the UK and require a rear fog, I already know how to go about it. The socket the bulb is installed in is ready to accept an extra pin. You can source the pin from a spare harness. In the case of the Cobra I was installing some super bright LED reverse lights and due to space constraints of the bulb I had to hard wire it into the harness. This earned me 4 extra pins total(I have an extra 2 if someone needs them). Cut a slit in the blue rubber and insert the pin into the socket. I ran a yellow wire along the harness and through the rubber grommet leading into the trunk. Add a little plug so you can get the harness out in the future and viola!


I picked up the switch from an online retailer, its called an Anti-Vandal switch. I also used the laser etcher at work to engrave the fog light icon. I think it came out good!


PICS!


Here you can see the 3rd wire added in.
photo24-1.jpg



Yellow is the rear fog wire and the green is for my 99/01 turn signals.
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Switch in the off position
photo16.jpg



Switch in the on position with LED indication
photo25.jpg



Finished product from behind the car
photo35.jpg
 

Darth V8r

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Did you go through MOT yet? Just wondering whomever inspects will accept that set up given it is obscured by the logo.

It'll probably depend a lot on the inspector (knob or ok guy)...

It's neat setup - may attempt something like that myself even though not needed.
 

Burninriverdiver

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Awesome idea, I can see this being a mod people wanna do weather it's required or not
 
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JeremyAlan

JeremyAlan

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Did you go through MOT yet? Just wondering whomever inspects will accept that set up given it is obscured by the logo.

It'll probably depend a lot on the inspector (knob or ok guy)...

It's neat setup - may attempt something like that myself even though not needed.

The MOT testers handbook states that indicators must be visible under the following condition.

"Stand level with the rear bumper and move 1 meter to the side. The indicator must be visible"


Thanks for the positive feedback guys. I'm happy with how it turned out.
 

Mack

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Here in the Netherlands we have the same requirements for the blinkers in the fenders and the rear fog light. Most Mustangs will have a rear fog light either fitted under the bumper, or they configured the taillight in such a way one of the three lights is used as fog lights (leaving only two for rear light / brake light / indicator)

My car has neither. No lights in the fender and no fog light.

Yes, it's required but no cop will pull you over for it. I will not drive in fog anyhow. It's only required for the yearly inspection, so each year my garage installs a temporary fog light and temporary blinkers taped to the fender, and removes it after the inspection. A bit of trouble but I want my car as American as it can be, without European mods.
 
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JeremyAlan

JeremyAlan

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Thanks! I would rather have the slight modifications to avoid giving police any extra ammunition to pull me over lol
 

FivepointSlow

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They require a rear fog light???
How fast and often do you guys drive in reverse? That seems a bit unnecessary...


Crapatalkin' on the iPhone 5.0
 

Mack

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They require a rear fog light???
How fast and often do you guys drive in reverse? That seems a bit unnecessary...

It's for people behind you to see you better. The rear fog light is a very bright red light, much brighter than your taillight. Annoying in normal conditions but in foggy conditions it works well.

The only problem with it is: under Dutch regulations you're only allowed to use it with sight less than 50 meters. For that it has to be EXTREMELY foggy. In the Netherlands we often have fog, but not that dense. So you end up with a useless light on your car, and with other motorists turning on their extremely annoying light by accident or "just to be sure" in a light drizzle.

Fog light vs. regular taillight in the fog:
showimage.php
 
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JeremyAlan

JeremyAlan

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I find the rear fog light quite helpful, because we have had fog so thick that I can't see more than 50 yards. Kinda nerve racking driving home from work like that, day or night.

I'm going to use my coin holder delete to mount an illuminated switch and it will light up the second element in the 3157 bulbs in the inner most tail lamps. Ford never configured them to light up from the factory anyway for some reason, so I might as well use them for rear fog lights.


EDIT:
Just remembered I took some photos last week of the fog.

The speed limit on this road is 60mph and there are some tricky corners and junctions. If you didn't know the road it would be dangerous at those speeds. Obviously you slow down and look out for trouble, but it can sneak up on you quickly in this fog. You will see the glow of a red rear fog light MUCH before you will the actual vehicle. They are very handy to have. Both photos taken around 8am. You'll also notice my rear fog is on in the BMW :)

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ProKiller

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i'd be interested to see the light output at night.

that fog light thing explains a lot for bmw and merc model cars. i've see it numerous times over here where one light is much brighter than the rest. never knew why
 

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