The busses in Leeds have these type of driving lights, almost identical, so I thought I'd at least be up to date with them. There seems to be quite a few vehicles now like this, esp. the german motors.

Leedsman.

 

I'm pretty sure it's still an offence to use fog lights except in falling snow or bad visibility but I don't know how the police discriminate between DRL's and fog lights.

 

I've no idea what the police view is but the definition of DRL is that they are auto-on not manually switched. Provided the home-brew DRL's are adjusted so that they do not aim directly at the eyes of oncoming drivers blinding them by their brightness or distracting them with their light pattern I see no issue. Front fog's however are different. Their flat and wide beam, positioned low, are for use as the name suggest for dangerously thick fog or severely limited visibility. I've always assumed a prosecution could come from fogs in an inappropriate situation like clear weather. It remains the case that a fog [ flat and wide beam] is not a DRL [narrow and straight beam]

 

Copy and paste from my original posting--
"you can pull out the plug should you get any grief from an MOT inspector".
If you get any grief from the police either, simply pull out the plug. In this way you can say the lights are under the control of the driver.

Leedsman.

 

Report as to possible damage:--
So far after driving around Leeds' potholes, speed bumps and some motorway, over reasonable kerbs (not the kind you need a Landrover for), there has been no damage.
I measured the ground clearance which was a tad under 7", normal tyres.

So far all my mods. have worked as intended with no side-effects, i.e.
The alternator charging mod. to 14.4volt (the pre-gassing voltage) from 13.8volt by a 330ohm resistor in series with the cold battery sensor.
The thermostat mod. in the upper coolant hose to radiator, after the usual one has jammed open due to a blocked rad.
The airflow mod. round engine bay to warm the diesel engine more quickly in cold weather.
The front tyre pressure (with help from Vmaxxer) raised to 42PSI. Gets better fuel consumption.
The handbrake mod. in particular lengthening the handbrake lever to apply more force.
Although not a mod., raising the battery voltage with a permanent little charger inside the vehicle to 13.8volt, the proper float-charge voltage, has been proved in practice. Due to a bit of bad wiring (on my part) around a terminal block, the +ve wire from the charger fell off the term. block, stopping the charging unbeknown to me. First I knew was the engine cranking got very slow of a cold morning. The digital voltmeter revealed the battery was 13.1volt when it should have been at the charge voltage of 13.8. I awarded myself a swift kick up the backside for this. Back to normal fast cranking next morning.

Leedsman.

 

7" Is quite good, higher than it looks from your photo.

 

The #13 comment wasn't a criticism Leedsman M8, I exactly said """Provided the home-brew DRL's are adjusted so that they do not aim directly at the eyes of oncoming drivers blinding them by their brightness or distracting them with their light pattern I see no issue.""" so there should be no need to pull the plug at VOSA test time. In fact the european standards [ECE Regulation 87, Revision 2: Daytime running lamps] are clear in terms of the specification of the light, brightness and angles, construction and approval and the use and state the DRL lights is to be fixed to point directly in front of the vehicle [unlike dipped headlights and fog lights that are aimed so as not to dazzle the oncoming driver).

But here I do have an issue with the legislation some legal DRL's are 30% brighter than dipped headlams and aimed directly at drivers eyes.

- DRL's can legally be between 400cd and a maximum of 1200cd and aimed directly at oncoming drivers eyes
- dipped headlights are typically around 800cd and aimed away from oncoming drivers eyes

The fog [not DRL] is 4" @ 25' on the Tecalemit for example, I don't think there is any beam specific specific data applicable to the UK test.
The Daylight Running Lights or DRLs became a legal requirement on new cars [trucks & vans in 2012] from 7th February 2011

 

@QinteQ: Is that the latest model of the Grand Cherokee?

 

No Al is an old 99-04 graphic, it was just an indication of :

- the voluntary DRL's becoming now mandatory
- the beam spread & distance of fog [not DRL] lamps
- the Regulation 87, Revision 2 Euro legislation itself
- the new GC is here the the non DRL wedge test is here

 

Yes indeed, I've heard complaints that some of these LED driving lights are dazzling in daylight. 1200 candelas is one hell of a light power, esp. if focussed.
BTW, the light you see from a white LED is not actually from an LED. What you see is the white fluorescence from a fluorescent powder which is excited by an ultra-violet LED, much the same as fluorescent tube or CRT (in that case from three electron beams).

I don't think these added driving lights are dazzling, not to me anyhow...

Leedsman.