The problem with some new cars is that all the lights inside the car goes on when you start it. Thus all the dials are lit up in front of the driver. So unless he/she looks for the tiny extra warning light saying the headlights are in fact not on, they drive blissfully around thinking their lights are indeed on. On my Audi (and as far as I am aware most VAG products) only the needles on the dash are illuminated when I start the car. Thus you are well aware that all the lights are not on (just like on any old car!)

Sorry to hijack your thread guys and gals, is it OK to post not a Yetti driver , but do you remember dim dip? Allnew cars registered on an E plate 88? had them fitted and when you switched sidelights on headlights came on half power , a coil behind the headlight "wasted " extra power .I can never understand why they stopped it, i remember thinking sidelights like volvo were good others less so , so we have returned full circle! Like the drls on the Yettie , Classy

Yes I dimly remember one of my Dad's cars having that. IIRC it was about 10% power, using the dipped beam bulb.

This is a company in the US who make DRL P13W replacement LED bulbs. The bulbs are actually for a Camaro, but they look identical to the Yeti P13W bulb and share the same model number. I think LED bulbs would be a better look, both visually and for safety. They don't seem to be CE certified though, so I suspect they would not technically be legal. Anyone know for sure?

Does some brave soul fancy ordering some to see if they fit?!

http://www.automotivelightstore.com/P13W.aspx#

Will they throw up a bulb failure warning ?

Not at those prices!!!

Will they throw up a bulb failure warning ?

Hmm, no idea. Presumably the current draw will be much the same. Perhaps the ECU doesn't monitor the DLR bulbs anyway due to the low current draw. But I dunno! Someone will just have to buy some and try!.....

Will they throw up a bulb failure warning ?

I suppose not, but that depends......

The light failure controls are quite sophisticated, as the systems detects if one of several indicator bulbs are not working, or if the a trailer bulb is not working.

On the other hand, I suppose that the circuits, where there is only one bulb on each side of the vehicle only needs to check for an open circuit (= bulb blown) in which case the lower drain from the LED's should not cause a fault indication.

Yesterday we had one of those days when the rain came down in bathfulls.(fast wipe - slow driving speed) Most drivers put their headlights on but a few (presumably trying to save the planet from the extra CO2) did nothing. They became virtually invisible during the showers. My DLRs were on - so I was fairly relaxed about being seen.

During one really bad shower, I put on the fog lights so that the rear fog light could be lit. I wonder why there is no provision for rear DLRs?

Yesterday we had one of those days when the rain came down in bathfulls.(fast wipe - slow driving speed) Most drivers put their headlights on but a few (presumably trying to save the planet from the extra CO2) did nothing. They became virtually invisible during the showers. My DLRs were on - so I was fairly relaxed about being seen.

During one really bad shower, I put on the fog lights so that the rear fog light could be lit. I wonder why there is no provision for rear DLRs?

There is no need for rear lights when DRL's are used.

Common practice and regulation in the UK and Germany,( I believe) is to used dipped headlights when wipers are in operation - so DRL's not enough when it rains. Following that rule also lights up the rear.

It is also a very good idea to use front AND rear foglights after rain, especially on Motorways, where the fine spray from wet roads tend visually obscure a car from behind.

One of my biggest gripes is people who drive in rain or spray with rear fogs on.

Whilst the car may be slightly more visible, the glare through the rain makes it virtually impossible to see if the brakes are on or not, so a much bigger chance of shunting them from behind as you didn't realise they were slowing rapidly. Indeed sometimes the glare is so bad, you can't even look directly at the car in front, further reducing reaction time.

As far as I recall it is only legal to use rear fogs in mist or fog, and not in rain?

...the glare through the rain makes it virtually impossible to see if the brakes are on or not,...

Hence I have a pet hate for cars with TWO rear fog lamps. One fog clearly shows you that the bright light you are looking at is in fact a fog lamp. Having two on makes the brake lights completely invisible as you state. They should make it illegal to rewire a car to have both working at the same time in my book.

Hence I have a pet hate for cars with TWO rear fog lamps. One fog clearly shows you that the bright light you are looking at is in fact a fog lamp. Having two on makes the brake lights completely invisible as you state. They should make it illegal to rewire a car to have both working at the same time in my book.

Just to play the devils advocate....

What do you then think about those morons, driving around with a missing tail or brake light?

My take: better to react as if a fog light is a brake light than not seeing the car in the first place.

Just to play the devils advocate....

What do you then think about those morons, driving around with a missing tail or brake light?

My take: better to react as if a fog light is a brake light than not seeing the car in the first place.

Generally brake lights go on and off as people slow and go forward again. Fog lamps stay on constantly. So in truth it is really not that difficult to see which is a fog, which is a brake and which is a brake light with one not working...

There is no need for rear lights when DRL's are used.

Common practice and regulation in the UK and Germany,( I believe) is to used dipped headlights when wipers are in operation - so DRL's not enough when it rains. Following that rule also lights up the rear.

I don't follow the logic. Why is there no need for rear lights when DRLs are used? Doesn't follow.

As far as I know there is no regulation requiring dipped headlights when using wipers. It may be common sense to do so in certain circumstances but, if it were a requirement, would not VW have "wired it in"?

1

There are NO regulations in the UK that say you have to have any lights on if you put your wipers on.

2

Fog lights, front or back, can only be used when it is foggy or in falling snow, not in spray. The Law actually states when visibility is 100metres or less.

Personally I would cut off the gonads of all the people who drive around with front fogs on "because it is cool" or any driver who uses rear fogs in rain, on any type of road. Perhaps if we had more active road Policing it would stop. I'm sure a £60 fixed penalty fine would stop it!!

Personally I would cut off the gonads of all the people who drive around with front fogs on "because it is cool" or any driver who uses rear fogs in rain, on any type of road. Perhaps if we had more active road Policing it would stop. I'm sure a £60 fixed penalty fine would stop it!!

OW - Painful. This is quite common. I noticed a number of cars with heads and fogs on yesterday and it added nothing to their visibility. Worst were the cars with no lights on at all, they were almost invisible in the rain. The Yeti DLRs are bright - certainly much brighter than the sidelights alone and they were more than adequate for the conditions yesterday. (except one very heavy shower when visibility was almost zero.)

This is a company in the US who make DRL P13W replacement LED bulbs. The bulbs are actually for a Camaro, but they look identical to the Yeti P13W bulb and share the same model number. I think LED bulbs would be a better look, both visually and for safety. They don't seem to be CE certified though, so I suspect they would not technically be legal. Anyone know for sure?

Does some brave soul fancy ordering some to see if they fit?!

http://www.automotiv....com/P13W.aspx#

Has anybody tried these? I was searching for LED replacements for the DRLs, and these were the only P13W LEDs I could find on sale currently. And does anybody know about the road legal issue?

Within the EU, every external bulb (of any type) must be "e" marked to be legal for use on a motor vehicle. However, the average Police occifer will have little knowledge in this respect and will be unlikely to be able to tell the difference, UNLESS the light emitted is significanly different from a standard lamp unit. It's up to you whether you wish to take the risk.

The Police are having a hard time at the moment working out which cars' LED marker lamps are legal and which are not, same goes for retro-fit HID headlamps (eg HID on a 10 year old Fiesta are definitely not, unless the boy-racer has done the impossible & cleverly fitted automatic load compensation (which your Yeti does have of course).. The rules are actually quite clear, but unless such lamps dazzle, the Police are generally turning a blind eye - "too much paperwork, & too much else to do"!

Will they throw up a bulb failure warning ?

I suspect they might. I tried to fit P21w LED bulbs in place of the incandescent bulbs in my Fabia and although it isn't enabled with the bulb warning function, they just didn't light up.

I suspect they might. I tried to fit P21w LED bulbs in place of the incandescent bulbs in my Fabia and although it isn't enabled with the bulb warning function, they just didn't light up.

On the A2 owners' club people tried to replace the brake lights with LEDs and found the same thing. The car thinks there is nothing there even when they added the extra bit to fool it into thinking the bulbs resistance is the same as that of a normal bulb. Also when they tried to replace the indicators with LEDs they just ticked faster indicating a blown bulb.

During my searches today I found quite a few LED "bulbs" that are canbus-enabled, in other words the "bulb" itself contains the necessary electronics to covince the car that the bulb is working correctly, and they seem to be working correctly most of the time. These "bulbs" are available at least for P21W and W5W types of bulbs. Also several different colors and shades of white is available out there. It's just the P13W that I have not been able to find anywhere.

Quick google search: W5W canbus LED

Edited 29 July, 201015 yr by the_raz

Sorry that my first post is a thread resurrection! I have just bought a 140 Elegance and find the DLR's a bit yellow-not keen on the "poached egg" look. So I've ordered a pair of LED's, about £35 from these people, http://www.superlumination.com/

I will let you know if the work OK or if they throw a fault light.

Keep us posted please JCP

Looks like that is the price per pair, whereas the only other ones I have seen are $99 each....

Looks like that is the price per pair, whereas the only other ones I have seen are $99 each....

That is a pair+$9.50 shipping. paid by paypal so optimistic they will arrive-then to see if they work!