12vWhat

In my pursuit of good quality amber fog lamps I was led to multiple lighting forums. Found lots of great and interesting information that I believe a lot of you will find useful as well. I know there are a few on these forums that like to do purely cosmetic enhancements to their vehicles, and this is not intended for them. There are quicker ways to getting lights that look yellow and serve no other purpose (i.e. buying coated bulbs like most everyone else). So, here is some interesting info on the subject of amber/yellow bulbs/light for you vehicle.

For starters, if you are an HID user, this doesn't apply to you, as the burn temp is what determines the color spectrum emitted. This is for non-HID users only.

Most everyone knows that amber light is the best for inclement driving conditions. Does everyone know that it is actually the best light to use in all driving applications? Well, As it turns out, even though the 'bright white', 'blue', and god forbid 'purple' look brighter to the eye, it is due to the iris' inability to filter certain wavelengths of that color out. This means it looks brighter because its 'harder' to look at. This also means that anyone heading in your direction on OUR roads is quite a bit pissed that you favor color over safety. Ok, that's the start.

Next, in most (nearly all) amber light applications, manufacturers coat the lens in a dichromatic (I hope I'm using the correct spelling) coating. This gives the bulb a tint and filters out the blues, leaving the amber color that you want. Unfortunately, by filtering out the blue it means that it's filtering out light meaning less light. Typically these bulbs also do not produce a distinct amber, more a yellow-ish color with purple and blue refractions casting away from the focused beam (look at the light in a non head-on angle and it won't appear yellow at all). So, coated bulbs = less light and poor quality amber.

Of course, you could spend $50 or so on some PIAA super ultra extra high-output amber laser space lights that are a little closer to the color you want, but still have the other shortfalls, now including the price.

You could go the way of JDM (I have no idea what this stands for) bulbs, and you can find them sometimes at your local auto parts store, but more commonly they are purchased online. Major issue for these...they are intended for use in left-hand drive countries ONLY! People think the light output is incredible with these lights because they light up more of the road, and they do. But it's the side of the road that oncoming traffic uses and it is incredibly dangerous to other motorists (ever flash you lights at someone you 'knew' had their brights on, but then they flash back their brights???? JDM's or very poorly adjusted headlamps). Yup, this means that bulbs have an intentional 'list' to them for safety. You will, and should, see more shoulder that opposing traffics lane with correct lights.

So, the way to get what we want, and I'll have a write-up with pics added tonight. Do what LeMans and Daytona racing teams have done for years, coat your reflectors. This does mean disassembling you fog lamp housings (both sides took me 2hrs to complete, not including drying time). This means you can run a high-output, clear bulb and have a true, high-quality amber light. You'll need only to buy two things to accomplish this: Dupli-Color Metalcast Anodized Yellow spray paint, new, in our case, H7's (cleaer), I used ultra-visions, and a slightly harder curing blue or black RTV.

Again, I'll put the DIY write-up in this evening. Hope everyone finds this useful and interesting. Happy allroading!

Mike B

Is that why the french decreed all headlamps be amber sometime in the '90's? Not sure if they still do.


Seems to me that your clear bulbs are still putting out light in the blue spectrum. What happens to that?

12vWhat

I believe that the French government mandated yellow headlights well before the 90's, but I could be wrong. They actually did it for two reasons: 1)Safety, so, yes. 2)To be able to identify French licensed vehicles more easily. I read that somewhere, though I don't know why they would need to do that. Maybe because of all of the borders (something I would know little about here in the U.S.).

As for the where the blue/purple light goes...I'm not exactly sure how that works. I don't know if it is absorbed at reflection, or if it is simply reflected as yellow due to the reflector being yellow. If anyone else has any more info on this I am certainly interested. When I post the DIY this evening, I will include pictures taken at several angles as I see little to no visible blue/purple light.

Great questions Mike B.

12vWhat

Here's the write-up:

Disclaimer - Blah, blah, blah. Don't be an idiot. Don't hold me responsible. Period.

Time:
About 2 hours, not including dry and cure time

Tools/parts list:
-fingers
-medium bullnose phillips screwdriver
-very small flat head
-medium to large flat head
-razor knife
-oven or low heat torch
-green painters tape
-low lint paper towel
-mineral spirits or the like
-DupliColor MetalCast Anodized Yellow spray paint
-blue or black RTV sealant
-New, clear H7's (I used UltraVision)
-3M headlight restore kit + 300 grit sandpaper or as needed (optional)

Directions:

1)Remove fog assemblies from car. To do so, first remove the plastic grill that surrounds them. Do this by prying STRAIGHT OUT on the grill with your fingers. Be sure to use/grab at stronger parts of the grill. Try to do this in warmer weather or in a heated garage as the cold with make the plastic brittle and a bit of prying my be in order. I plastic welded my passenger side grill back together after a tough removal in the cold. Now you can get to the 3 phillips screws holding the fog lamps in place. Remove the screws and disconnect the wire housing.

2) [pic1] Twist and remove the cap from the back of the assembly, disconnect the bulb and remove from the assembly.

3)In a warm oven (I was impatient and used a propane torch) place your fog lamp assemblies on a cookie tray and heat for...I don't know...I used a torch. With a torch, be extremely careful not to have the flame actually touch the glass or housing. About 10-12" away, in a sweeping motion, move all the way around the housing where the lens is sealed. You will have to go around a couple of times for good, consistent heat. *Do not heat the lens/housing until HOT. You just want it good and warm. Now, with the razor knife, work your way around the lens/housing seal. Then, using the small flathead, work your way around the housing, prying the housing gently away from the lens (do not try prying up on the lens with the small flathead, you will chip/crack it). We are just trying to 'break the seal'. Do this every 3/4" or so, all the way around the housing. Then move to the large flathead and place it between the lens and housing. Using a slow and steady twisting motion, pry the lens up and off of the housing. Take your time. Reheat if needed [pic1].

4) [pic1] With the razor knife, clean up the old adhesive from the lens and from the housing. Careful when cleaning from the lens, as you do not want to separate the glass from the plastic attached to it.

5)The fun begins. Clean, with mineral spirits and a paper towel the inside of the housing, as well as the reflector. If the reflector looks really clean, wipe it with the mineral spirits anyway as there could be any number of things on it that would hinder the spray from adhering. Really good and clean I tell you. Blow in the housing a few times to try and stir anything up that may be hiding.

6) [pic1] Tape everything except the reflector.

7) [pic2&3] Spray a light coat to get started. I mean light. The first time I did this, I had to rush to get a paper towel soaked in mineral spirits to clean all of the paint off and start over. Just enough to start to see color. You WILL have the 'spitting' and hazy appearance on this coat. Relax and crack open the only beer you should imbibe during this process. This first coat need only sit for 5-8 minutes. Do not worry too terribly about any paint that seems not to stick and 'pull away' from very small areas and spots. This went away in my case by coats 2 and 3.

8) [pic4] Spray the second coat, light again, but the 'spitting' appearance should clean up. Also, you should notice better adhesion this go around. Close to 100% coverage, though a tiny bit hazy still. Let this coat stand for approx. 10min.

9) [pic4] You should have a pretty good looking amber reflector at this point. If you notice any cloudiness or haziness, use a clean, low ling paper towel and your finger to 'buff' those areas. First, check with your bare finger around the edge of the reflector that it is not tacky anymore. If it is, wait a few more minutes. I used light to medium pressure and small, fast strokes or motion to clear these areas up. You should have great reflection now. On to the last coat.

10) [pic5] Spray one more 'wet coat' on the reflector. Still not too heavy as it will run and ruin certain areas of the reflector. Let's say...twice as heavy of a coat as either of the first two. Set the reflector and housing off to the side to dry.

*Optional* 10) Restore lenses with 3M headlight restore kit. Since these lenses are a tempered, hard glass, I would recommend using a couple of lower grit sand papers to get things started. I didn't and, though marked improvements were made, I still have dinged, chipped and pitted lenses.

11) [pic6] Reassemble. Practice putting the lens in the housing a couple of times before applying the RTV. Remember the orientation. Using the RTV, run a light to medium bead on the inside of the housing as well as around the lens. Put the lens back into the housing and check all around the lens for any areas that may not be sealed. Apply additional RTV to those areas with the lens and housing together. Using small scraps of wood or whatever you have laying around, prop the housing so you can set it down with the lens at the top (i.e. weight of the lens on the housing).

12) The rest is reverse of removal. New bulb. Cover back on. Reattach wiring. Replace screws. Replace grill. Enjoy.

12vWhat

Pic 6 and results

Kristopher

The JDM lights are dangerous when the housings are used, that's what gives them the different beam pattern.

I had the Hella Yellowstars (H4)once upon a time and was even able to go to a higher wattage without any problems with other road users. The colour was much easier on the eyes for oncoming traffic and it allowed me to see much better. Very white light (and esp blue) is much harder on your eyes but because of this it creates a distinct colour difference in the objects it is illuminating. Thus the blue end of the spectrum appears to offer more light.

Here's the kicker...the yellow light seems to work better in dusty/snowy/foggy conditions since it's easier on the eyes but the major drawback is it casts all objects with that tinted look and therefore blends many objects together. I read a study on this once but I doubt I can find it again. Anyway my point is that object detection and differentiation suffered with the yellow light. Apparently our brains like to distinguish stuff by colour as well which might explain why manufactures insist on developing lights that are as white as they can get.

I like the idea of the driving/fog lights being yellow for those cases where you need to rely on them in crappy conditions.


Good work on the housings, did you use the adhesion promoter before the paint?

12vWhat

I did not. Didn't want to chance it decreasing any reflective properties.

Mike B

Looks good. Nice write-up.

aTOMic

That is a nice writeup. I can't understand why coating the reflectors is any different from coating the bulb, though. I do not wish to be argumentative, just want to learn.

There was a company (in Europe I think) that had glass "envelopes" that were made to be installed over the top of standard halogen headlight bulbs. They looked like amber bubbles, only elongated, and with a hole in one end. Of course, they provide little benefit over yellow bulbs, except for allowing easier replacement of a burned out bulb by using an easier to find standard (i.e. clear) bulb.These were especially attractive to me due to the interesting appearance of the headlights when off; looking straight in one sees amber but as soon as you're off-axis they seem clear. The envelopes were described as being for French use IIRC. And they were quite cheap, $5 perhaps.
I have seen old European cars with big headlights (think 1930s Delahaye) display this effect and liked it.


Sorry for the giant pic but it was hard to see the yellow in the smaller sizes.
Now I have to spend another hour searching for the envelopes. DOH!

Tom

aTOMic

12vWhat,
Here is a link to a study you may find interesting if you like to over-research things as I do. It's a PDF (warning, in case anyone's mobile).