[rajivtelang]

I am finding the OEM lights on Ertiga are very much useless for night driving. One option that I use is to run on high beams and put them to lowest position by healamp leveling dial. Then switch on fog lamps that way to cover more area with light. However this idea is not helping much either on highways especially when it is raining and cars coming in with high beams.
Is there a solution other than increasing the wattage of lamps? Can we add extra lights on the front grille just like some of the Safari/Scorpio folks do to mimic a jungle car? I do not know if they mimic or do drive in jungles at night, but for my practical usage is this a viable solution without affecting the warranty? (My Ertiga is 3 years old now and it has 5 years of total warranty)

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Is there a solution other than increasing the wattage of lamps? Can we add extra lights on the front grille just like some of the Safari/Scorpio folks do to mimic a jungle car? I do not know if they mimic or do drive in jungles at night, but for my practical usage is this a viable solution without affecting the warranty? (My Ertiga is 3 years old now and it has 5 years of total warranty)

Realistically - what you are thinking about is the only workable solution. Get a couple of custom L brackets mounted on the front cross member. Find a point such that they protrude just a bit out from the existing slats / gaps in the grille components. And add Hella/Neolite aux lamps on them. Use a separate relay wiring harness with switch. Results are VERY good. You can have a look in the dedicated aux lighting thread on the forum. As long as you have not offended anyone at the MASC, your warranty will be okay!

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Realistically - what you are thinking about is the only workable solution. Get a couple of custom L brackets mounted on the front cross member. Find a point such that they protrude just a bit out from the existing slats / gaps in the grille components. And add Hella/Neolite aux lamps on them. Use a separate relay wiring harness with switch. Results are VERY good. You can have a look in the dedicated aux lighting thread on the forum. As long as you have not offended anyone at the MASC, your warranty will be okay!

Do you have any examples doing something similar? I saw some old thread here on BHP where a person has added Hella on Duster. Interesting stuff but involved drilling extra holes on panel. Since you mentioned offending at MASC, they may not agree with such protrusions. (2 more years to go, people at MASC will change along with their agreements )
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modif...rket-horn.html (Renault Duster Guide : How to install driving lamps & aftermarket horn)

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Do you have any examples doing something similar? I saw some old thread here on BHP where a person has added Hella on Duster. Interesting stuff but involved drilling extra holes on panel. Since you mentioned offending at MASC, they may not agree with such protrusions. (2 more years to go, people at MASC will change along with their agreements )
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modif...rket-horn.html (Renault Duster Guide : How to install driving lamps & aftermarket horn)

Yes - similar to what you have found with the Duster. Some more here -

Link - TBHP Aux Lamps thread (Auxiliary Lamps)

You won't have to "cut" anything. But if there are no existing suitable holes in the cross member, you might have to weld the bracket on it rather than bolting it. But those things don't generally bother warranty. My experience with Maruti has been that they don't make a lot of fuss about warranty for such additions as long as existing things (including electrical) are not removed/cut.

As an alternative - if your car has 2.5/3" sized round shape fog lamps/housings - replace them with HID projector type kits with 55W bulbs. If you have stock fog lamps - you can do a plug-n-play installation with canbus-adapter kits. This would need no wire cuts or connections at all. Safest from warranty perspective. You'll find information about those on the forum too! The effect is very good & in most cases, leaves actual headlamp quite redundant. Blaze India/XPMicro are some of the usual brands. (All sourcing from a Chinese manufacturer called IPHCAR).

[rich_heart]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Yes - similar to what you have found with the Duster. Some more here

Wouldn't it be better to replace stock headlight bulb with a brighter one? We get Philips one as part of GA itself. I had replaced it for my old Swift and am thinking doing same for Ertiga as well.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by rich_heart

Wouldn't it be better to replace stock headlight bulb with a brighter one? We get Philips one as part of GA itself. I had replaced it for my old Swift and am thinking doing same for Ertiga as well.

Brighter = more wattage one? In the previous Ertiga with H4 headlamp, that would mean a 90/100 W Ralley bulb installation. Needs a separate relay harness & ceramic holder for it to survive. Certainly it gives better output than the stock 55W bulbs. But it has its own problems. The thermal output is very high & the extreme heat has effects on the plastic based lenses & reflectors over time in most cases - if the car is used often in night.

If regular usage is predominantly daytime & only rare night drives, then the actual effect on headlamp housings isn't noticeable as they aren't used much. Prolonged (hours together) drives with 100W bulbs on, sure tend to heat up the lamp housings and turn them yellowish/opaque.

If Brighter = XV+/NB+ - my experience has been quite disappointing. The increase in light is not much to talk about & they are quite costly too.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

If Brighter = XV+/NB+ - my experience has been quite disappointing. The increase in light is not much to talk about & they are quite costly too.

Right. The brightness increases on logarithmic scale and not linear. So 100 Watt will not give double light of that of 55 Watt. But heat dissipation will be much more. I will surely check with MASC over this weekend about adding the external lamps on grille to make life easier (if not messier)

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

As an alternative - if your car has 2.5/3" sized round shape fog lamps/housings - replace them with HID projector type kits with 55W bulbs. If you have stock fog lamps - you can do a plug-n-play installation with canbus-adapter kits. This would need no wire cuts or connections at all. Safest from warranty perspective. You'll find information about those on the forum too! The effect is very good & in most cases, leaves actual headlamp quite redundant. Blaze India/XPMicro are some of the usual brands. (All sourcing from a Chinese manufacturer called IPHCAR).

The car indeed has round OEM fogs. I assume they are 35Watt fogs. Changing them to 55Watt may need extra wiring due to increased load, right? If not I can buy those Blaze India/XPMicro and replace at MASC only.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

The car indeed has round OEM fogs. I assume they are 35Watt fogs. Changing them to 55Watt may need extra wiring due to increased load, right? If not I can buy those Blaze India/XPMicro and replace at MASC only.

MASC won't replace it. Either has to be a DIY or get it installed at a known accessory place. There are quite a few good ones in your city I have heard/read.

What you need to check is - if the wiring used is the same gauge for the headlamp and the fog lamps. If its the same - you can use 55W kit. (There are 35W HID kits available too. Check that out.)

As an example - Tata Nexon comes with paltry 19W fog lamps (I suspect candles throw more light). However - the wiring used is identical for the headlamps and fog lamps in the harness. So realistically there is no risk for the wiring. The fuses are also same rating & take the load. I'd be surprised if its different in Ertiga.

In the worst case - use a relay harness to power them up straight from the battery. Use the factory fog lamp socket on one of the sides as a trigger switch for the relay (plug the relay's trigger into the stock socket). This way - you'll bypass the stock wiring & still will be able to use the existing fog lamp switch on the console/dash.

[volkman10]

In latest Global NCAP results, Ertiga gets 3 stars in crash tests.




Link

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by volkman10

In latest Global NCAP results, Ertiga gets 3 stars in crash tests.

Attachment 1929011


Link

The text is interesting

Its footwell area was rated as unstable and pedals displacement showed risks to the lower legs of the driver. Head and neck protection for adult occupants was good

[mohan41]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

The text is interesting

The report also says "The bodyshell was rated as unstable and it was not capable of withstanding further loadings."

The entire text from the report:

ADULT OCCUPANT
The protection offered to the driver and passenger’s head and neck was good. Driver’s chest showed marginal protection while passenger’s chest showed good protection. Driver and passenger’s knees showed marginal protection as they could impact with dangerous structures behind the dashboard supported by the tranfascia tube. The bodyshell was rated as unstable and it was not capable of withstanding further loadings. Footwell area was rated as unstable. The car offers standard Seat Belt Reminder (SBR) for driver and passenger. Passenger pretensioner failed to work properly during the test.

CHILD OCCUPANT
The child seat for the 3 year old was installed fordward facing with ISOFIX and top tether and was able to prevent excessive forward movement during the impact while it offered good protection for the head and fair protection to the chest. The 18 month old Child Restraint System (CRS) was installed with ISOFIX and top tether forward facing which explains the loss of head points, it showed poor protection for the head and chest. The recommended CRSs did not show incompatibility. The vehicle offers standard ISOFIX and top tether anchorages in the two outboard rear seats and does not offer 3 point belts in all seating positions.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by mohan41

The report also says "The bodyshell was rated as unstable and it was not capable of withstanding further loadings."

Another one after new swift. Will Maruti stop playing with safety now? Luckily they are seeing 3 stars over 2 for swift. Really borhering me. Avoid new marutis.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Another one after new swift. Will Maruti stop playing with safety now? Luckily they are seeing 3 stars over 2 for swift. Really borhering me. Avoid new marutis.

G-NCAP is really turning out to be an arch-enemy for the much advertised HearTect platform. Sooner MSIL does something the better. Awareness among customers is only going to grow with time & better if MSIL doesn't stay complacent as they have been previously thanks to their monopoly then.

[hkollar]

Originally Posted by volkman10

In latest Global NCAP results, Ertiga gets 3 stars in crash tests.

Attachment 1929011


Link

Doubts about the safety of Ertiga/Baleno platform was the main reason for me to buy Brezza. Brezza with inherited platform from Vitara SUVs, is a far safer platform.

Maruti Should rethink it's HEARTECT platform. Not a single car in that platform seems to have got a decent safety rating of 4 star or above.