Inop brake lights

[securespark]

Is it just me or are there 000's of cars out there with less than a full compliment of working brake lights out there?

This week and last, I have had the misfortune to be behind 12 cars with either 1, 2 or all three brake lights not working.

And what do these muppets say when you tell them? "Oh, I didn't know".

CHECK YOUR LIGHTS ONCE A WEEK!!!!

 

[AdamW]

I only check my lights 3 or 4 times a year. I know I should check them more, but I always feel like a right nerd when I do it. Front lights are easy to do, just wait until it is dark and then check you aren't bright on one side and not on the other. But brake lights are hard to check without either a white wall behind your car or someone looking.

Perhaps if all cars had a "bulb failure" audible warning on the dash. Everytime you use the brakes or indicators with a non-working bulb, it reminds you with an annoying voice: "Warning, a failure has been detected in your... RIGHT SIDE... brakelight"

 

[AdamW]

Oh, and I saw something light-related and rather silly on the A1(M) the other day. I overtook a Renault Clio, righthand drive, with UK plates. However, the headlights were dipped to the right. I wouldn't have thought this was due to it being imported, surely when they put the steering wheel on the correct side they remember to make the bulbs dip left. But this one, I went past and was then dazzled. Thought it was his mainbeams at first but as soon as I got back into the inside lane (he was in the middle lane) I was fine.

Has anyone ever seen a continental car with headlamp stickers on before? Those black plastic stickers that Brits are so careful to apply everytime we skip across the English Channel, so we don't dazzle the natives. I see plenty of French and Dutch cars around here, and have never seen one with them on.

 

[mildmanneredjanitor]

I'm just as guilty of this as the next man... Only ever check the car over before a long journey.

This has got me thinking...

Be quite a good idea for a business wouldn't it, once a week someone arrives at your place of work and does all the checks on your vehicle for you: Oil, water, washer fluid tyre pressure and lights etc.

Or even better, based in a supermarket car park. Whilst you a doing the weekly shop, your car is checked over.

Reminds me of my sister. Her husband used her car to pop down the shops one day and immediately noticed the oil warning light came on. When he mentioned this to her she replied "yeh, that's been on for about a week now" Doh!!!

Women, can't live with them - Can't shoot them!

 

[pipme]

1) A longish (garden) cane enables footpedal application from rear of car.

2) Batten cut to length, footpedal to seat front face, plus an old book. Wedge batten onto brake pedal, place book against seat front, opened at appropriate chapter (acting as spacer & seat protector), wedge batten to book ... bingo ! Brakes are 'on' whilst you observe vehicle from rear - AND / OR - tighten the bleed nipples, if bleedin' alone ... If you get my drift.

3)Get clever with fibre optics http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ca...elf-Check+brake+light+check+fibre+optic&hl=en

p

 

[ohmygodwhathaveyoudone]

had a volvo 440 turbo & it had a system on dashboard that told you if you had a blown bulb?thought it was a bit of a gimmick at the time but miss it now.think it sensed a voltage drop or something & a picture of a bulb came on the dash with a big cross through it.

 

[masona]

Has one on my Vauxhall Carlton telling you one of the bulb has blown and also the thickness of the brake pads, loads of information and when I trade it in for a top of the range Carlton, they done away with all the info on the dashboard and gave me a leather seat instead penny pinching eh !

 

[ohmygodwhathaveyoudone]

read a report on the vw golf the other day and the only thing that the testers moaned about was the computer that did avg mpg/time elapsed/temp etc... but not how many litres was left in the tank or how far they could travel wit remaining fuel left.
my response was d1ckheads LOOK AT THE FUEL GUAGE.you should never run a car dry of fuel or risk getting crud in your fuel filters.surprised they did'nt mention that when you press the brakes the car slows or when you turn the steering wheel the car moves in direction that you turned it.stooooooooooopid.

 

[P.S.]

I remember seeing a bulb failure warning device once, was an outline of a car which was stuck to the dash and had a number of fibre optics which you route to the apporiate bulb/cluster. So when the bulb was on, it would be reproduced on the dash display. I'm sure BMW, Volvo or someone fitted something like this to production models.

Or did I dream it and have just given away details of a great money making invention

 

[securespark]

I've already made appointments with Ford & GM for this afternoon......

 

[P.S.]

DAMN !

 

[mildmanneredjanitor]

On the new fancy buses we have down here now, they have clusters of LED's which seems like a very good idea to me. No single point of failure etc.

I think this is the way forward.

 

[P.S.]

Led's last 30,000 upto 100,000 hours !!! Who keeps their brake lights on that long ??? Oh yea, ever been on the M25 between the M3 and M4 at 5pm

Some new BMW's and Mercs have LED clusrters..

You can actually buy replacement bayonet bulbs with LED clusters built in !

And festoon type

And indicator wedge bulbs

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[pipme]

I've already made appointments with Ford & GM for this afternoon......

As I guessed ... no one bothers to click the URL so I'll enter it again !!!
Unfortunately was only in Google's cache when I found it :-
f'ing repeat :- 3)Get clever with fibre optics
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ca...elf-Check+brake+light+check+fibre+optic&hl=en
I do like the LED clusrters Woo Hoo
Pee

 

[kendor]

Grand cherokee ltd jeeps have a lamp blown system the downfall is you have to purchase their lamps as they have an extra contact for said system. mind you what's the cost of a lamp when you have to pay £60 every four days to fill one up! and £1000+ for basic services.