http://www.autocarparts.com/search/i...ID=745&vehID=3
Legal?
look kewl ?

 

Its legal for the rear turn signals to be red. I think the front turn signal must be orange/amber though...

 

or white/clear

 

i thought red and orange turn signals were legal but blue and clear signals weren't.......bioyuki, are you sure?

 

I think he was referring to the bulb color; yes, you can have a white/clear rear turn signal lens but the light emitted from it has to be either amber or red, at least here in California.

Tony

 

And that goes for the rear ONLY. The fronts cannot be red.

 

It's OK to have RED signal on the back. It's illegal to have it on the front. Only the emergency vehicle can have RED or BLUE color light on the front. I got pulled over for having RED turn signal on the front corner when I had my Accord. It was just fix ticket, but you know....

 

ah, I see......thanks

 

Well, duh...and they can't blink any other color except amber, either; but that never stopped anybody from putting in them hyperwhite turn signal/marker bulbs up front.

Just messing with you; don't take my reply (the "duh" part) too seriously...

Tony

 

California vehicle code says that you may have only White or Amber front turn signals. Rear turn signals must be either Red or Amber. By this, it means that it must project the appropriate color light during illumination.

So YES you can legally put hyperwhites into the front turn signals in California. No you may not put hyperwhites in the rears if you have clear corners. No you may not put red bulbs in the front turn signals.

I read the requirements from the CA vehicle code, so I'm quite sure that it's correct.

I'm not as sure if it's legal to remove the orange signal reflectors in the headlight assembly, because that light is visible from the side of the cars. I heard one report that said any turn signal lights on the front 1/2 of the car could be either White or Amber and any lights on the rear 1/2 side of the could be either Red or Amber. Another report I heard is that any side signal lamps must be Amber.

 

Some lamp/light-related CVCs:

24600(e) Taillamps shall be red in color and shall be plainly visible from all distances within 500 feet to the rear except that taillamps on vehicles manufactured after January 1, 1969, shall be plainly visible from all distances within 1,000 feet to the rear.

This is why Altezza-style rear taillamps are okay--because the circular portion of the lamp assembly is red in color.


24603(e) Stoplamps on vehicles manufactured on or after January 1, 1979, shall emit a red light. Stoplamps on vehicles manufactured before January 1, 1979, shall emit a red or yellow light. All stoplamps shall be plainly visible and understandable from a distance of 300 feet to the rear both during normal sunlight and at nighttime, except that stoplamps on a vehicle of a size required to be equipped with clearance lamps shall be visible from a distance of 500 feet during such times.

So, it would be pointless to put hyperwhite bulbs for your rear brake lights since in combination with a red rear stoplamp the light emitted will still be reddish in color. A hyperwhite bulb used in combination with a totally clear rear taillamp assembly would of course be illegal.


24953. (a) Any turn signal system used to give a signal of intention to turn right or left shall project a flashing white or amber light visible to the front and a flashing red or amber light visible to the rear.

So, you can put hyperwhite bulb in front for your turn signals, as long as it is whitish and not bluish. However, see the next CVC, which may put a damper on this a bit:


25100. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (d), every vehicle 80 inches or more in overall width shall be equipped during darkness as follows:

(1) At least one amber clearance lamp on each side mounted on a forward-facing portion of the vehicle and visible from the front and at least one red clearance lamp at each side mounted on a rearward-facing portion of the vehicle and visible from the rear.

(2) At least one amber side-marker lamp on each side near the front and at least one red side-marker lamp on each side near the rear.

This means no cleared out front turn signal lamp assemblies. Note that the TL-S has the amber strip along the bottom of each front turn signal so as to be in compliance with this CVC.

Note that there is a distingushment between lamp color and emitted light color. Also, the above applies only to those of us living in California; however, I would imagine that there are similar lamp/light laws in other states.

Hopefully you all will find this info helpful, if not interesting.

Tony

 

I didn't take it toooooooo seriously.:p

From an obvious (hopefully) standpoint, putting red lights in the nose of a car could confuse someone into mistaking it for the rear. Amber or "hyperwhite" lights would not cause this confusion and as you noted, are legal.

I had never read the CA manual and hopefully will never have to. Good bedtime reading. Yawn. Since most states are similar it's good info though...

 

Orange or red is Kosher..
Ed

 

Tony, I'm not sure where you bought your TL and what wide-body variant you might have, but I just measured the overall width of mine and it's 68 1/2 inches. Looks like it's time for me to clear my headlights.

 

i got red blinkers in my Inspire lights and i like the way they look.

 

Oops--you got me there. Somehow "width" turned into "length" in my mind; oh well, read and learn.

Tony

 

bebber--

Okay, I think this is the one:

24801. Parking lamps are those lamps permitted by Section 25106, or any lamps mounted on the front of a vehicle, designed to be displayed primarily when the vehicle is parked.

On the TL-S, the (front) parking lamps are the front turn signal lamp assembly, located right next to the headlight housing. IIRC, it is a two-bulb assembly where the lower portion of the assembly has the amber strip, and the upper dual-filament bulb (the bulb above the one that lights up the amber portion) is an amber-colored. Now, read CVC 25106, referenced above in CVC 24801:


25106. (a) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with lighted white or amber cowl or fender lamps on the front. Any vehicle may be equipped with not more than one amber side lamp on each side near the front, nor more than one red side lamp on each side near the rear. The light source of each such lamp shall not exceed four standard candlepower.

(b) Lamps meeting requirements established by the department for side-marker or combination clearance and side-marker lamps may be installed on the sides of vehicles at any location, but any lamp installed within 24 inches of the rear of the vehicle shall be red, and any lamp installed at any other location shall be amber.

So, (a) allows you to put in the hyperwhites for the front turn signal bulbs, but if you look at (b), the inference can be made that the front turn signal lenses cannot be entirely clear (meaning that you cannot "clear out the headlights"--even though on the 2002 TL-S you're not really clearing out the headlights, but the front turn signal lenses); hence the amber strip inside the front turn signal assembly.

Of course, I may be incorrect but that is how I interpret 25106(b).

Tony

 

Just wondering, does anyone know where to buy blue turning signals? I know they are probably illegal, but my friend wants to get them for his Dodge Intrepid, so I'd like to find a place that stocks them.

 

I'm sure Snook can get them.........just email him
info@acura-tl.com

 

Tdoh, you bring up a good point about the regulations on the yellow reflector in our TL headlight assemblies. I suppose the law is somewhat unclear on this topic. (Any lawyers on this board who can help out, btw?) The statements could be interpreted in many ways. Technically, the front turn signal bulb is facing the front of the vehicle so it should be allowed to be clear. However, a fraction of the light from the bulb can be seen from the sides of the vehicle, which may allow it to be construed as a side-marker lamp which should be amber in color.

This may be one of those questions without an answer. Like how many likes does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? Or why do hot dog buns come in packs of 8 and hot dogs in packs of 10?

At any rate, if the law is so unclear on this topic, conceivable cops would be confused too and just might not bother to cite you. Even if you did get cited, the officer would have a difficult time arguing his case in court given the ambiguity of the corresponding CA vehicle codes. I think I might just get my lights cleared for the fun of it and live on the edge.

 

bebber--

I hear where you're coming from; people will do what they want to do, regardless of authority. I guess my point was that one should never underestimate cops when it comes to vehicle infractions, especially involving vehicle equipment.

Case in point--many people on this board love to lower their vehicles; most of them have probably been pulled over and/or cited for having their cars too low. How many people (at least for California) do you think knew what the rule is for vehicle ride height at the moment they were pulled over? The rule most likely to be cited is that no portion of the vehicle other than the tires can be lower than the lowest point of the wheel/rim. Many lowered vehicles may very well pass this test; however, can they pass this one--headlamps (including the bulbs) must be located at a height of no less than 22 inches nor more than 54 inches. Note the mention of "bulbs"--essentially this means that the height is to be measured from the "center" of the headlight--usually where the bulb itself is located--not just the lowest portion of the headlight assembly. Cars that combine body kits with springs that offer more than 1 3/4" drops usually fail one or the other, or even both tests.

So why am I rambling here? I thought I was too smart for my own good when a CHP officer pulled me over for lowered vehicle ride height; he asked me if I knew the rule, I told him about the rim rule, he said yep but did I know about the headlight rule? Boy did I feel sheepish afterwards...however, he let me slide, probably because I didn't give him any attitude...

Tony

 

This is very true. But remember, every state is different. There are so many regulations regarding vehicles that it would be next to impossible for anyone to have a vehicle 100% in compliance all the time. I'm very knowledgeable about MA motor vehicle laws only, so I can't speak for other states, but I will agree that certain regs cops either overlook, ignore, or just don't know about. Your example of lowering--in MA you cannot lower a vehicle more than 2". This is measured by taking the factory spec for the height of the frame rail to the ground and comparing it to the lowered vehicle. For most cars, a 1.75" drop in springs is the most you can go legally because after settling you'll be at or below the 2" rule. Now the question is, how many cops know this and how many will enforce it? In order for it to be enforced the officer would have to have a list of every vehicle manufactured along with the frame height. I doubt that's going to happen. But this particular offense is a towable offense. Meaning that MA considers the car unsafe to drive if it is lowered more than 2" and the officer can have the vehicle towed.

There are a lot of regulations like this and I'm sure every state has them. If you alter your vehicle in any way, you risk violating some obscure ordinance or regulation somewhere. Most go unnoticed but there's always the risk.

 

I agree--not all states share the same rule; but then again, that's probably why California's vehicle ride height rule is easier to remember and enforce than let's say MA.

Bottom line--sure, there may be a few cops who probably don't have all the obscure codes memorized. OTOH--there are cops who do, and use them just so that they have a valid reason to pull someone over on the pretense of perhaps finding something bigger to bust; you know--pull a driver over for a seat belt violation and hope that you might hit the jackpot and bust him for drugs or something like that. Happens a lot more often than people would like to think...

Not to say that these obscure codes are there just to serve an ulterior motive, but they can be used as pretty effective enforcement tools.

Tony

 

i got some at pepboys