kramar@sunybcs.UUCP (Chris K) (03/20/85)
Pardon me for my ignorance. I see what looks like fog lamps
attached to cars from the bottom of the bumper. (You also see them
on the tops of trucks with roll bars and stuff like that.)
But they seem to have some kind of opaque cover on them.
(usually says cie-bie (sp) or something like that).
If these are lamps of some kind, how does one use their
illumination if the cover is in place? Am I to understand that
if one wants to use them, one has to get out of one's car and
remove the covers? Must be fun in that unexpected rain shower
with accompanying fog.
---------------------------------
Christopher Kay (2 1/2 months and counting) - SUNY at Buffalo
ARPA & CSNET: kramar%Buffalo@CSNET-RELAY
UUCP: {[bbncca,dual,burdvax,rocksvax,rocksanne,watmath,decvax]!sunybcs!kramar}
"Nothing is forgotten or forgiven,
when it's your last time around,
I got stuff running 'round my head
That I just can't live down."spear@ihopb.UUCP (Steven Spearman) (03/20/85)
ON some fog lamps, there are covers you must get out and remove. Its not that bad if you only use them for fog - since most places that is unusual. There are also fog (and driving) lamsp which have louvers which are actuated by the heat of the lamp and open themselves. Steve Spearman ihnp4!ihopb!spear
rick@cadtec.UUCP (Rick Auricchio) (03/22/85)
Expires: Sender: Keywords: -------- [] In article <1366@sunybcs.UUCP> kramar@sunybcs.UUCP (Chris K) writes: > ....I see what looks like fog lamps >attached to cars from the bottom of the bumper. (You also see them >on the tops of trucks with roll bars and stuff like that.) >But they seem to have some kind of opaque cover on them. California vehicle code says that any lights which are higher than standard headlights (there's some magic number of inches from the road) need the covers. Matter of fact, the ones on truck rollbars MUST: a. Be wired thru a dedicated fuse; b. Have a dedicated switch; When driving on public roads: 1. The fuse must be OUT of the holder; 2. The lights must be covered; 3. The switch must be off (just in case). Simply driving on a public road without the covers is reason for a ticket, because we don't want to chance blinding oncoming traffic... ============================================================================== Opinions expressed have been generated solely by line-noise. Rick Auricchio Cadtec Corp. 2355 Old Oakland Rd, San Jose CA 95131 {cbosgd,decwrl,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!cadtec!rick N1150G (408) 942-1535 "This space available"
wales@ucla-cs.UUCP (03/30/85)
In article <57@cadtec.UUCP>, Rick Auricchio <rick@cadtek.UUCP> said that
fog lamps must be COMPLETELY DISABLED (lights covered, switch off, fuse
removed) when driving on public roads -- and that the simple act of
driving with uncovered fog lamps (even if they are turned off) is enough
to get you a ticket.
This is NOT TRUE -- at least, not in California. (If it is true in any
other state or country, I hope someone will speak up.)
The relevant law in California as regards fog lamps is laid out in the
California Vehicle Code, sections 24403 and 24405. Section 24403 says
basically the following:
(1) You can use fog lamps in addition to -- but not instead of --
the regular headlamps.
(2) The center of a fog lamp must be between 12 and 30 inches off
the ground.
(3) The top of the bright zone of the fog lamps must be at least 4
inches below the level of the centers of the lamps, when meas-
ured 25 feet in front of the lamps.
Section 24405 limits the number of forward-pointing lamps that you can
have on at once to four (six for emergency vehicles). If your car has
four "high-beam" headlights (as does my Honda Accord, for instance),
then this section effectively prohibits you from using fog lamps in
conjunction with your high-beams -- assuming you'd want to do such a
thing anyway.
Hence, as long as fog lamps are aimed properly (as specified in Section
24403), are used only when the regular headlamps are also on (also Sec-
tion 24403), and are not used in such a way as to have more than four
lamps lit on the front of your car at once (Section 24405), they should
be perfectly legal for on-road use.
My fog lamps are enabled via a relay attached to the "low-beam" wire.
Hence, they can only be turned on when the low-beams are on as well,
and they automatically go out when I switch to high-beams.
Regarding the aiming of fog lights, by the way, the instructions that
came with my lights (purchased from Honda) were ALL WRONG. Had I fol-
lowed Honda's instructions, I would have had fog lights that pointed up
into the eyes of oncoming traffic!
--
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Rich Wales
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Computer Science Department
3531 Boelter Hall
Los Angeles, California 90024 // USA
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ARPANET: wales@UCLA-LOCUS.ARPA
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