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Styling Help! Fiat 500 daytime running lights. (Drl's)

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Styling Help! Fiat 500 daytime running lights. (Drl's)

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BrookThompson

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New to this and not very technical when it comes to all things cars. Bear with.. I'm looking for some (white) not blue drl bulbs to fit instead of the stock yellowish ones which I personally think are rather ugly. I've looked for some T10 21/5W white bulbs. But can't seem to find any non LEDS anywhere... Plus I don't really want to be pay ridiculous money for some. :(

If anyone can send any links for some or help me out and point me in the right direction I'd be extremely grateful!;)
 
Whilst this subject has come up, can I please appeal to all of those who have their DRL's activated, to remember to put dipped beam on when going out first thing in the morning now the mornings have got darker, especially on the motorway!

As someone who drives in excess of 40k miles per year and from my experiences over the last couple of mornings joing the M1 at 6 in the morning, far too many people merrily chugging along with no rear lights showing, seemingly fooled by the fact their instrument/dash cluster is fully illuminated. And today has been particularly bad with the horrendous amount of rain we've had today, seen far too many people almost get slammed in the rear end because they've got no rear lights showing, just driving with DRL's.

Trust me, it aint funny! :bang:
 
BrookThompson said:
New to this and not very technical when it comes to all things cars. Bear with.. I'm looking for some (white) not blue drl bulbs to fit instead of the stock yellowish ones which I personally think are rather ugly. I've looked for some T10 21/5W white bulbs. But can't seem to find any non LEDS anywhere... Plus I don't really want to be pay ridiculous money for some. :(

If anyone can send any links for some or help me out and point me in the right direction I'd be extremely grateful!;)
Click to expand...

The best white ones known are called M-Tec 21/5W bulbs.
 
frupi said:
Whilst this subject has come up, can I please appeal to all of those who have their DRL's activated, to remember to put dipped beam on when going out first thing in the morning now the mornings have got darker, especially on the motorway!

As someone who drives in excess of 40k miles per year and from my experiences over the last couple of mornings joing the M1 at 6 in the morning, far too many people merrily chugging along with no rear lights showing, seemingly fooled by the fact their instrument/dash cluster is fully illuminated. And today has been particularly bad with the horrendous amount of rain we've had today, seen far too many people almost get slammed in the rear end because they've got no rear lights showing, just driving with DRL's.

Trust me, it aint funny! :bang:
Click to expand...

Can definitely relate to that! Drive me mad also!!
I see far too many people driving with them when it's dark and it's asking for trouble!
I only use drls in normal conditions. If it's dark, dusk, foggy, rainy then normals are always on. Pet hate is people driving with sidelights at dusk or in the rain thinking they are as good as dipped beam ?:bang:
 
Well I totally disagree for what it's worth, it's the DRLs themselves that are the daft idea and sidelights are perfectly acceptable when correctly managed and judged. Taking control away from the driver just encourages "dim" behaviour.

And why would you seriously object to the standard colour of your lights when you are sat in the car and can't see them? :confused: Want to pretend you're an Audi?

And Frupi, do you really need to always tell people how to drive / what to buy / what to do etc? I appreciate you spend a lot of time in / around cars but ease up a little please. (y)
 
bluejohn125 said:
Well I totally disagree for what it's worth, it's the DRLs themselves that are the daft idea and sidelights are perfectly acceptable when correctly managed and judged. Taking control away from the driver just encourages "dim" behaviour.
Click to expand...
I agree totally about the behaviour.

Trouble is, with a 500, you can't have sidelights on with engine running.

Also, I think you'll find that it's illegal to drive on sidelights. Side lights (if you could have them) are for parking only and are generally not bright nor big enough for using whilst driving.

For what it's worth, I like the DRLs but I'd like the rear lights on at the same time.

Regards,
Mick.
 
Mick F said:
Also, I think you'll find that it's illegal to drive on sidelights. Side lights (if you could have them) are for parking only and are generally not bright nor big enough for using whilst driving.
Click to expand...

The lighting up laws have been tightened up over the years. The current legal position is this:

If you do not have sidelights*, you must use your headlights between sunset and sunrise.

If you have a vehicle with sidelights fitted, you may legally drive on sidelights only for half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise.

In practice, the vast majority of British drivers use dipped headlights whenever light levels are low, irrespective of the legal requirement.

*technically known as "conspicuity lights", for cars, this is front sidelights, rear lights & number plate lamps.

The laws also apply to bicycles but, sadly, it seems there is an increasing trend for cyclists to disregard them.
 
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One benefit of the 500 is no idiots driving them with sidelights on! If you do see this then they're even bigger idiots because both their headlight bulbs have blown lol.
 
One benefit of the 500 is no idiots driving them with sidelights on! If you do see this then they're even bigger idiots because both their headlight bulbs have blown lol.
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean... I could argue that ALL 500 drivers are "idiots" because the (5W) front sidelights are on when the headlamps are on. Pretty daft in a "smart", modern system.

Traditional front 5w sidelights are fine for picking out the car (whether parked or not), it's just that they don't have the lens design that some DRL assemblies do.
 
When I drive in the UK, since its cloudy most of the time, I just keep the lights on. Most of the times I end up renting a Merc A Class, which like the Fiat 500, if you keep the lights at the on dipped beam position, they close automatically when you turn off the ignition and remove the key. So then I do not have to worry about keeping them on or not, they are always on = )
 
bluejohn125 said:
Well I totally disagree for what it's worth, it's the DRLs themselves that are the daft idea and sidelights are perfectly acceptable when correctly managed and judged. Taking control away from the driver just encourages "dim" behaviour.

And why would you seriously object to the standard colour of your lights when you are sat in the car and can't see them? :confused: Want to pretend you're an Audi?

And Frupi, do you really need to always tell people how to drive / what to buy / what to do etc? I appreciate you spend a lot of time in / around cars but ease up a little please. (y)
Click to expand...

thanks for you opinion.
but as someone that enjoys and takes pride in the appearance and looks of their car (like most of the people on this forum), i personally dislike the colour especially as my car is a grey sport and i wish to make it look more sporty by changing the bulb colour. Not trying to impersonate an audi. otherwise i would choose to buy an audi.. which i havent.
 
Fitted the M Tec bulbs today (y)
Would have took about 10 mins each side but somehow when putting the near side bulb back in the bulb fell into the light housing.....D'oh :bang:
Not the end of the world though and quite straightforward to remove the the whole unit. 4 screws and 1 10mm nut and the wheel arch liner pulls away revealing 3 Allen screws that hold the light unit in place. Removed them and recovered the bulb and pushed it in properly this time :)
Nice white light and no error warnings in the dash.

Thanks for the link KaZetec
 
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Noxide said:
Don't wanna be really dense..

But what's the difference between sidelights/DRLs/headlights? Especially in the case of the 500.
Click to expand...

DRLs are the lights in the "cheek" of the front of the 500 they are on if the engine is on and the light stalk is off, they do not illuminate the rear lights. Side lights are the little 5w bulbs in the headlamp unit itself, only intended as parking lights in the case of the 500 they are activated by having the stalk in headlights on position but ignition off, they'll do what the the 1st click on your panda light stalk does. If you see a 500 running on sides only both headlamps have blown. Headlamps are no different to any other headlamp ever.
 
StevenRB45 said:
DRLs are the lights in the "cheek" of the front of the 500 they are on if the engine is on and the light stalk is off, they do not illuminate the rear lights. Side lights are the little 5w bulbs in the headlamp unit itself, only intended as parking lights in the case of the 500 they are activated by having the stalk in headlights on position but ignition off, they'll do what the the 1st click on your panda light stalk does. If you see a 500 running on sides only both headlamps have blown. Headlamps are no different to any other headlamp ever.
Click to expand...

Ah that's great! Solved my question nicely! (y)
 
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