Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

[Grumpycat]

If fog lights are installed properly they should not blind anyone.

I totally disagree.

A 2007 Toyota Prius comes with token "fog" lights which are little more than white parking lights.

Every 3/4 ton truck I have seen comes with blinding "auxiliary" lights in what most drivers call the "fog light" mode.

DOT/NHTSA/CFR definition of "high beam headlights" is more than 2 filaments illuminated. Fox/Auxiliary lights are legally high beams whether or not the blue indicator is illuminated on the dash.

 

[Grumpycat]

“If you can’t beat them, join them.” The first car I ever drove with HID’s was about 20 years ago, and I was instantly hooked. Our old Volvo in particular (2005?) actually yielded better visibility for spotting deer at night, than daylight, I almost felt bad for oncoming vehicles.

I have ordered HID’s or Xenon lights on every car we have purchased since 2005. I wouldn’t even consider any other option.

2000 Toyota Avalon with halogen headlights was better than 2007 Prius with HID.

2013 Tesla Model S with HID was very good.

2018 F-150 XLT halogen are quite satisfactory.

2023 Tesla Model Y LED is quite nice.

 

[Grumpycat]

Euro spec cars have adjustable headlights that work quite well.

Must be a regulation preventing USA vehicles from having this feature.

Used to be a requirement in the USA for HID to be self-adjusting for height. Might still be. Seems to have been dropped for LED.

 

[WinterDeere]

I blame it on modern digital dashboards. The dash is lit so the driver thinks the headlights are on.

I can't think of a car I've owned, where the digital dash doesn't dim when the headlights go on. In fact, with your pupils open wide at night, most these dashes go so blindingly bright when the headlights are switched off, that I can't imagine not realizing you're running dark.

Euro spec cars have adjustable headlights that work quite well.

Must be a regulation preventing USA vehicles from having this feature.

I remember learning about this my first time driving in Germany, and thought it was hilarious their cars were so small and light that a few passengers or suitcases changed the car's attitude so much as to require headlight readjustment. So, half the answer might be that they have a history of driving tiny 50 hp cars the size of our golf carts, whereas we are still descending from our land yachts of the 1970's.

But moreover, Germans are rule followers. Of course I asked why I can't just always turn them up, and their response was "it is forbidden". I wonder how the Italians handle them, their roads and driving style are more dangerous that our post-Civil War wild west.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Euro spec cars have adjustable headlights that work quite well.

Must be a regulation preventing USA vehicles from having this feature.

They're all adjustable, I'm guessing that you mean self adjusting?

If I remember correctly, my '23 Durango had automatically adjusted headlights.

 

[Oaktree]

Euro spec cars have adjustable headlights that work quite well.

Must be a regulation preventing USA vehicles from having this feature.

As others have noted, most if not all U.S. vehicles have adjustable headlights. They seem to have done away with horizontal adjustments, but they still have vertical. I suppose a corner could have been cut in the manufacture of Jstpssng's truck, but I'd venture a guess that the adjuster is just not obvious.

I can't think of a car I've owned, where the digital dash doesn't dim when the headlights go on. In fact, with your pupils open wide at night, most these dashes go so blindingly bright when the headlights are switched off, that I can't imagine not realizing you're running dark.

No kidding. I've got 'em set as low as they'll go in my truck, and it's still brighter than I'd like.

I have ordered HID’s or Xenon lights on every car we have purchased since 2005. I wouldn’t even consider any other option.

I suppose if you're buying new, but not always possible when buying used.
Does anyone make a retrofit HID that isn't junk? I read somewhere they use a voltage higher than 12V.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I suppose if you're buying new, but not always possible when buying used.
Does anyone make a retrofit HID that isn't junk? I read somewhere they use a voltage higher than 12V.

You can have projector HID retrofits done by a few companies, or do it yourself.
About the only tricky part is taking the housing apart and sealing it back up.

Just be aware that there are very good HID projectors out there, as well as ones you really shouldn't use.

 

[Jstpssng]

Funny, I made a similar comment last year after doing a search which said there was no way to adjust them.

After making my comment above I did the same search, with the exact opposite results.
If we ever get snow, I will have to find out which search was right.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

After making my comment above I did the same search, with the exact opposite results.
If we ever get snow, I will have to find out which search was right.

I use reflective signs and such along the road for initial adjustments. No need for snow.

 

[Jstpssng]

I use reflective signs and such along the road for initial adjustments. No need for snow.

If we don't get snow I won't be hauling my sled, so no need to adjust them.

 

[dodge man]

If you’ve ever looked it up in a shop manual it shows how to adjust the headlights to spec. Usually aimed at a garage door or wall.

 

[whitenorth]

Euro spec cars have adjustable headlights that work quite well.

Must be a regulation preventing USA vehicles from having this feature.

New models of the Ford F150s (maybe the 250s and 350s also but, I don't know) have self adjusting headlights when the nose tips up due to the backend being lowered due to towing/hauling.

 

[John0829]

And there is no way of adjusting them. I carry a snowsled in back most of the winter. It used to be SOP to pull up to the garage door in fall and adjust them down; then back up in the spring. Now I just blind oncoming drivers... Sorry folks, nothing I can do about it.

Euro spec cars have adjustable headlights that work quite well.

Must be a regulation preventing USA vehicles from having this feature.

Don't know about other vehicles but my Tundra has a little wheel on the dash to adjust the headlight vertically from normal position downward to compensate for loads in the bed.

 

[Jstpssng]

Don't know about other vehicles but my Tundra has a little wheel on the dash to adjust the headlight vertically from normal position downward to compensate for loads in the bed.

I will have to check my company truck for that. (2019 Tundra)

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Now that you mention it, so does my girlfriend's Daihatsu HiJet.

And I think all Citroen 2CVs had a knob under the dash for the purpose.

 

[Code54]

I believe that a lot, if not most of the new led light bars people are using do not meet DOT specs. Most if not all of the units I've seen online only talk about off-road use.

I totally disagree.

A 2007 Toyota Prius comes with token "fog" lights which are little more than white parking lights.

Every 3/4 ton truck I have seen comes with blinding "auxiliary" lights in what most drivers call the "fog light" mode.

DOT/NHTSA/CFR definition of "high beam headlights" is more than 2 filaments illuminated. Fox/Auxiliary lights are legally high beams whether or not the blue indicator is illuminated on the dash.

Yep, most lightbars are illegal and never meet DOT specs.

Front fog lamps are NOT auxiliiary lights and are NOT high beams (They are listed under the same subsection but definded differently in the CFR.). Fog lamps cut through mist, fog, rain as they are mounted lower down than headlights in the front of the car. If higher than, or of equal height of the headlights they are not fog lights. Your 07 Prius is likly what a fog light really is. Just used to to give light and cause less reflection in adverse weather conditions.

 

[Fallon]

As others have noted, most if not all U.S. vehicles have adjustable headlights. They seem to have done away with horizontal adjustments, but they still have vertical. I suppose a corner could have been cut in the manufacture of Jstpssng's truck, but I'd venture a guess that the adjuster is just not obvious.

No kidding. I've got 'em set as low as they'll go in my truck, and it's still brighter than I'd like.

I suppose if you're buying new, but not always possible when buying used.
Does anyone make a retrofit HID that isn't junk? I read somewhere they use a voltage higher than 12V.

I put a kit from The Retrofit Source | The Best Brands in Automotive Lighting in my 2009 Tacoma a couple years after getting it. back in the day they were allegedly the best source for HID stuff. Worked pretty well, but had to replace the controller board once (under warranty I believe) & one of the connections is occasionally flakey. Sold the truck a few years ago, but still work with the new owner. They had a pile of different kits at various price & quality levels. I think these days there are a lot of aftermarket housings for HID bubs. Lots of them are cheap & don't even have proper projectors. HID requires really high voltages, so they have a ballast between the 12v & bulb, just like a fluorescent light.

Putting HID bubs in a halogen housing is a recipe for glare & blinding other drivers. HID bulbs produce light in the whole bulb where halogens have the element in the center. That means you need to focus things differently with a different reflector (or even better a projector).

1. Remove the headlight assembly
2. Wait until you wife is out of the house when she'll yell at you for misusing her oven
3. Put it in the oven at 300 degrees or something for a few minutes to soften up the butyl rubber holding the clear plastic on
4. Pull the front off
5. Cut a hole in the back with a Dremel
6. Roughly align the projector
7. Bolt & glue the projector assembly into the back of the headlight assembly
8. Seal up the back of the assembly with RTV or something
9. Put the front back on (don't remember if I did the oven thing)
10. Mount up the controller & wiring
11. Make sure things work
12. Align the headlights

Aligning the cutoff on the projectors when they are on low beams was kind of tedious & I never felt super happy with my results. Mostly due to parallax & the dogleg for the cutoff on the right side of the road when in low beams rarely lining up depending on the distance.

Not sure if I'd go through the effort again. Well, given I haven't with my 2014 F350 I picked up pre-COVID I probably won't. Results were cool, but not quite OEM reliable. And after going down that path I always worried about my headlight alignment & blinding drivers a bit to much.

 

[Fallon]

Back to hauling something wrong... Somebody using a big truck to apparently haul a very small package a week or 2 ago. Looking at the photo, the truck looks lopsided, but I think that's just my camera work.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

DOT/NHTSA/CFR definition of "high beam headlights" is more than 2 filaments illuminated. Fox/Auxiliary lights are legally high beams whether or not the blue indicator is illuminated on the dash.

Fog lights are not high beams by a long shot. There's a reason the factory ones only work with the low beams.

I suspect that you're reading vehicle codes from when quad headlights came out, when four bulbs being activated meant it was on high beam.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Aligning the cutoff on the projectors when they are on low beams was kind of tedious & I never felt super happy with my results. Mostly due to parallax & the dogleg for the cutoff on the right side of the road when in low beams rarely lining up depending on the distance.

You should clock the projectors correctly before resealing the housing.

Then again, I had three sets of $1,600 headlights that had at least one projector each clocked wrong. That's when I decided to try a retrofit myself.