[honeybee]

@Naveen, my idea is to use the LEDs to illuminate the curve/turn on the road and not to use them as indicators. So I would go for white or maybe yellow lights.

@govigov, you are spot on. The only hitch is I don't have a Skoda and I don't want to tamper with the stock headlights, at least until a branded/OEM replacement is available.

Fitting LEDs to the bumper would be much easier.

[torquecurve]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Has anyone tried directionally adaptive lights on their car(s)?

Directionally adaptive headlights turn to the direction you are steering in, so that curves and turns in the roads are illuminated better. I am thinking if a similar thing could be done in a car.

Of course, modifying the stock headlights would be very difficult. But how about a strip of powerful LED lights on each side of the bumpers which lights up as you switch on the turn indicator? The only problem I foresee is this strip would have to remain on for as long as the turn indicator is switched on. Powering this strip from the stock indicator lights will most likely make the strip blink.

Any thoughts?

You will have to create a circuit to support the LED's so that they dont blink. Have a capacitor with a charge rate equal to the turn on time of the LED's and a discharge time equal to twice that. The Capacitor would charge when the indicator is on (LED's also on) and discharge when the indicator is off keeping it on. You might have to also use a rectifier circuit in this. The total setup (not including housing and stuff) should be 100 bucks.

Well, this gives me an idea of what I could do over the weekend!

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by torquecurve

You will have to create a circuit to support the LED's so that they dont blink. Have a capacitor with a charge rate equal to the turn on time of the LED's and a discharge time equal to twice that. The Capacitor would charge when the indicator is on (LED's also on) and discharge when the indicator is off keeping it on. You might have to also use a rectifier circuit in this. The total setup (not including housing and stuff) should be 100 bucks.

Well, this gives me an idea of what I could do over the weekend!

Well why not connect the LEDs before the blinker circuit and the after the stalk switch?

[Alter_Ego]

One of the headlight bulb of my safari has gone kaput.It was a philips 90/100 philips one. My mechanic is suggesting that he will replace it by a 100/130 as he has one readily available with him and he would just charge a nominal 260 for that bulb(which I know is a bluff as the bulb might cost much less).
Is it advisable to switch to a 100/130 from a 90/100 without any additional change like relay etc for a tata safari 3.0?

[honeybee]

The stock wiring can only support 55/60 bulbs.
To use a 90/100 bulb you must install a relay and an upgraded wiring harness with ceramic holders and fuses to ensure it can take the additional load.
To use a 100/130 bulb you would need to further upgrade your wiring.

Not advised. If you do want to use 90/100, you should be able to find it in any auto accessories/electricals shop.

[ilangop]

Originally Posted by Alter_Ego

My mechanic is suggesting that he will replace it by a 100/130 as he has one readily available with him and he would just charge a nominal 260 for that bulb(which I know is a bluff as the bulb might cost much less).

Stick to 90/100 bulbs. 100/130 bulb may cause a thermal deformation of the reflector, and over load the electricals. Yes, Rs 260 for a regular halogen bulb is too much. You could get one for less than Rs 150/-.

[Alter_Ego]

Originally Posted by honeybee

The stock wiring can only support 55/60 bulbs.
To use a 90/100 bulb you must install a relay and an upgraded wiring harness with ceramic holders and fuses to ensure it can take the additional load.
To use a 100/130 bulb you would need to further upgrade your wiring.

Not advised. If you do want to use 90/100, you should be able to find it in any auto accessories/electricals shop.

Thanks honeybee.Since 90/100 was already present in my safari so I am assuming that it would have the corresponding relay support too.So would go for 90/100 in line with the previous one.

Originally Posted by ilangop

Stick to 90/100 bulbs. 100/130 bulb may cause a thermal deformation of the reflector, and over load the electricals. Yes, Rs 260 for a regular halogen bulb is too much. You could get one for less than Rs 150/-.

Thanks ilangop.Yeah will stick to 90/100.And yes thanks for confirming the price.I was suspicious that my mechanic was trying to fleece me.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by Alter_Ego

Thanks honeybee.Since 90/100 was already present in my safari so I am assuming that it would have the corresponding relay support too.So would go for 90/100 in line with the previous one.

If you aren't sure, now would be a good time to actually check if you have got the relays and wiring for the 90/100 bulbs. If not, please get it done asap. You should be able to get your hands on branded kits like Hella for the complete setup at less than 1k.

If you don't have the wiring, you can try the Philips X-treme vision or a comparable product from Osram which are bulbs rated at 55/60 but are claimed to produce 80% more output. This is just in case you want to go stock but still want more light.

[torquecurve]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Well why not connect the LEDs before the blinker circuit and the after the stalk switch?

There is no 'blinker' circuit per se. The bulbs depend upon built up resistance in the circuit. Remove one bulb and it will blink faster (because the resistance will reduce). Add a strip of LED's with a resistor it will blink slower, and it will still blink.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by torquecurve

There is no 'blinker' circuit per se. The bulbs depend upon built up resistance in the circuit. Remove one bulb and it will blink faster (because the resistance will reduce). Add a strip of LED's with a resistor it will blink slower, and it will still blink.

now that you mention the rate variations I understand.
I thought with the silicon now in cars,maybe manufacturers might have wired the stalk to switch on circuit governing the blinks ,ie, the "blinker " circuit.

in this case then,why not run the led connections with the stalk and separate physical switch attached to the indicator stalks. So that it piggybacks with its movement,and switches the appropriate led on or off.

It'd be an installers nightmare,I suppose.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by honeybee

I have recently bought an LED torch which has a 3v LED bulb inside. The throw is quite long and focussed, therefore I am sure a series of 3v LED bulbs would be able to light up the immediate vicinity of the road, making it easier to spot potholes or other obstacles right at the corner of a turn.

The idea is innovative. But could you compare the output of the torch with the LED strips? The torch has a reflector [I guess] to focus the beams to single direction. The LED strip basically light up the area where it is stuck and may not provide the throw that you are expecting.

[torquecurve]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

The idea is innovative. But could you compare the output of the torch with the LED strips? The torch has a reflector [I guess] to focus the beams to single direction. The LED strip basically light up the area where it is stuck and may not provide the throw that you are expecting.

Au contraire, the LED torch has a very simple convex lens arrangement which because the LED bulb is placed at the focal point disperses the light in a very sharp arc.

Originally Posted by mayankk

now that you mention the rate variations I understand.
I thought with the silicon now in cars,maybe manufacturers might have wired the stalk to switch on circuit governing the blinks ,ie, the "blinker " circuit.

in this case then,why not run the led connections with the stalk and separate physical switch attached to the indicator stalks. So that it piggybacks with its movement,and switches the appropriate led on or off.

It'd be an installers nightmare,I suppose.

Acutally I think this can be done, not easily but possible. Basically my thought process is something like this.

the lamp goes below your ORVM at an approximate angle of 15 degrees. The wire is brought into the compartment through the hole for the internal adjuster (in case of internal adjusting mech cars) or through the bunghole at the bottom of the car/ any other 'hole' in the car. The switch is basically a three way toggle switch pasted in line with the indicator stalk and connected to the stalk by a looped string/ wire arrangement.
The LED in this arrangement has its own power source (3AA/AAA cells?) so you dont need to tap into the car battery.

I am willing to test something like this on my car and lets hope it works out!

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

The idea is innovative. But could you compare the output of the torch with the LED strips? The torch has a reflector [I guess] to focus the beams to single direction. The LED strip basically light up the area where it is stuck and may not provide the throw that you are expecting.

Which is the reason it's good to toss it in a forum and see the kind of responses it will get.

A while back when I had my M800, I had purchased a set of lights from the Patel Auto, Goregaon. These lights replaced the stock parking + turn indicator combos on the front bumper. The new lights had a turn indicator as in the original, but the parking light was replaced with a bigger bulb and a small reflector to make it into a small foglight. And these lights were quite powerful, specially in city traffic where they provided good illumination for a few feet ahead. Maybe something similar could be done using the LED torch concept.

After all for taking turns you don't need the light to be as powerful as the headlight, a torch could illuminate it just as well for the purpose.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Which is the reason it's good to toss it in a forum and see the kind of responses it will get.

Absolutely ! After all, such a forum will help a lot more people than just the one who posted the query!

Can we actually point the bulb in the parking lights to outwards to light up the sides? Say if the bulb in its normal position is 0 degree, can we tilt it by 30 degrees or so, so that the beam goes outside always?

This could help to light up the sides of a car when we take turns. This will be more like the static version of adaptive lights than "dynamic" mode where the lights turn only when the steering turns.

[honeybee]

I doubt if that would work in the long term. The parking light bulb is designed to be fitted at the '0 degree' angle. If you try to tilt it, it might lose its positioning due to vibrations and bumps. Plus the parking bulb doesn't help illuminate the road in any way. It's way too up and way too weak for that.

We could try this with the foglamps, though even then I am doubtful if the bulb could retain its placement. Maybe design a new foglamp with two bulbs, one for normal straight on use and the other for turns, throwing light sideways?