car reversing lights question

[throwaway4372]

In the asda car park this morning the car in front of me stopped abruptly then started reversing at me with reversing lights not on. I was a bit wtf by this so once we're both parked up I mention it to them so they can check their lights. I didn't need to query the weird driving as it was a little old lady driving with her daughter passenger.

They checked their lights immediately and it turned out there were two tiny white lights at the bottom of the car which were on, there were also white lights next to the indicators at either side of the car but those lights were not on. She seemed content that her lights were working properly, I said I think they're not and left her to it.

Unfortunately I didn't note the model of car, so I'll just sketch what I saw:

Having not noticed the little lights which were on, it made me wonder if some cars are designed with lights in unexpected locations and I should be more aware of this. So I'm asking here out of curiosity to see if anyone knows if the light locations are standardised or the wild west, and if you think their car had a problem based on the diagram above.

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

Yeah I'd be getting me bulbs checkednif someone highlighted that to me

 

[GeX]

Was it a modern car? It sounds odd that there was nothing in the main cluster for reversing lights.

Looking at the requirements; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-ins...ectors-and-electrical-equipment#section-4-6-1 it's only for vehicles after 2009 that require them, and then it's a single light that displays white to the rear.

One of ours is a Mini, and I know the earlier ones had a single reversing light in the middle of the bumper where as the later ones have a fog light there and reverse lights in the main cluster

 

[throwaway4372]

Was it a modern car? It sounds odd that there was nothing in the main cluster for reversing lights.

Looking at the requirements; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-ins...ectors-and-electrical-equipment#section-4-6-1 it's only for vehicles after 2009 that require them, and then it's a single light that displays white to the rear.

I'd guess about 5-10 years old. Pretty shocking the requirement isn't 2 lights (1 either side in rear light).

 

[sovietspybob]

You do only need 1 reversing light, a popular mod on Japanese import cars is to convert one of them into a rear fog light as they don't have those in Japan.

But yeah reversing lights are very much an afterthought on a lot of cars now, they do the legal minimum and that's about it.

 

[pastymuncher]

I live in a cul-de-sac and we only have one streetlight and it's towards the first 3rd of the cul-de-sac plus it's a led so the light doesn't spread very far meaning that where we live at the end there is very little light and our parking bay is pitch black. I fitted a couple of powerful solar powered led floodlights but they only trigger when you get so close to them. Great for going out to the car but not so good when you are trying to reverse into your bay. My previous car, a Ford B-Max only had a single reversing light and it was hopeless. I upgraded it to a more focused beam led which improved things a little but still not good enough. My Current car, a 2021 Nissan Leaf has a pair of reversing lights plus they are led so are better again but still not that good and terrible in the rain so most of the time I have to drive into my bay and then turn the car in daylight. I would fit a more powerful bulb with a focused beam but we are restricted to the wattage we are allowed to fit. I have seen lorries with white spotlights as reversing lights but I am guessing they are not strictly legal. What is needed I think is some serious consideration of reversing lights by the manufacturers and have them a decent size and a better position on the car (lower down in the car rather than just below the window). If they are lower down or angled down there is a much lower chance of blinding other drivers so the bulbs could be better/brighter.

 

[Resident]

In the asda car park this morning the car in front of me stopped abruptly then started reversing at me with reversing lights not on. I was a bit wtf by this so once we're both parked up I mention it to them so they can check their lights. I didn't need to query the weird driving as it was a little old lady driving with her daughter passenger.

They checked their lights immediately and it turned out there were two tiny white lights at the bottom of the car which were on, there were also white lights next to the indicators at either side of the car but those lights were not on. She seemed content that her lights were working properly, I said I think they're not and left her to it.

Unfortunately I didn't note the model of car, so I'll just sketch what I saw:


Having not noticed the little lights which were on, it made me wonder if some cars are designed with lights in unexpected locations and I should be more aware of this. So I'm asking here out of curiosity to see if anyone knows if the light locations are standardised or the wild west, and if you think their car had a problem based on the diagram above.

Some models have auxiliary reverse/brake & sometimes indicators because the designers put all the main lights on the bootlid.

Audi, Vauxhall and Citroën are the ones I know of.

These auxiliary lights activate when the bootlid is open.

If the switch that tells the car the boot is closed then it will revert to the auxiliary lighting.

 

[Rilot]

The S2000 has a single reverse light on the left and a fog on the right. All other jurisdictions have two reverse lights. I'd much rather have the two reverse lights TBH.

 

[mjt]

The S2000 has a single reverse light on the left and a fog on the right. All other jurisdictions have two reverse lights. I'd much rather have the two reverse lights TBH.

But then how else could you blind people in rain and traffic jams?

 

[jpaul]

I would fit a more powerful bulb with a focused beam but we are restricted to the wattage we are allowed to fit.

good idea updating bulb .. so the LED in your leaf is already max power car would accept ... and also 'best' focussed/lumen light output on market ?

I've not tried/thought of using rear fogs to help in parking in our cul de sac .... had had to wire a rear fog on the right when imported car from Eu.

 

[pastymuncher]

I have no idea if they are the best led's on the market. My Leaf came with LED's both inside and out so they are the stock bulbs at the moment.

 

[MissChief]

But then how else could you blind people in rain and traffic jams?

By keeping your foot on the brake and not taking it out of gear and engaging the handbrake of course!

 

[Terminal_Boy]

Only have the one reversing light in the Duster, so fitted the most Lumeny LED bulb I could find that fitted as the OEM 5W incandescent was useless.

If your brake light switch activates before any pressure is applied to the brakes, you can always depress the brake pedal for more rearward visibility in pitch black conditions or just flip the rear fog/s on.

 

[jpaul]

I have no idea if they are the best led's on the market. My Leaf came with LED's both inside and out so they are the stock bulbs at the moment.

yes ok, I mean like halogen headlights, some are brighter - but burn half as long ..

Audi have these 6000K interior lights - stark like railway station toilets, need to find something warmer, too

 

[mjt]

By keeping your foot on the brake and not taking it out of gear and engaging the handbrake of course!

TBH most cars do this due to auto-hold. Frustrating but that's life. I often just put the handbrake up to disengage the brake lights

 

[GeX]

I use to get annoyed in taffic with people blinding me with their brake lights, thinking they were sat there with their foot on the brake.. now I have newer car, with auto hold and I understand

 

[Hussman]

TBH most cars do this due to auto-hold. Frustrating but that's life. I often just put the handbrake up to disengage the brake lights

Glad to see I'm not the only person to do this.

 

[ttaskmaster]

Simplest solution - Stop shopping at ASDA. That's where the poor people go, and since they clearly can't afford a properly configured car and/or the maintenance costs to keep their vehicle lights working, is it any wonder they're also such negligent drivers?

Personally I think you're lucky to have made it out alive!!

 

[BDEE]

Had an interesting recall on my revsering lights this year on my 2018 Cherokee. It was an FCA recall and Jeep didn't really know anything about it when I took it in for some other work to be done.

The reversing light was 13mm (yes, 13mm) too high apparently.

They said they would remediate it when the did the other work, but they, like me, probably thought it was pathetic and left it alone. There was certainly no evidence of them having gone near it at all.

 

[tangey]

some manufacturers have optimised the position of the reversing lights so that they act to illuminate the area for the reversing camera.