Non functioning tail-lights

Where a vehicle is fitted with a rear mounted spare tyre Australian design rules require that tail/stop/hazard lights can both be seen from a specified angle from either side of the vehicle.

Thus, any lights which don't comply have to be de-activated and fitted with ones that do comply.

Peter

As above ... its an ADR requirement.

When you get the chance .... check out the extreme angle you have to be on for the sparetyre to block your vision of the other side lights.

The change wasnt worth all the confusion of "why dont those lights work ?"

Angle....?

I cannot work out why they leave the FF lights active as well,

.

And to add a bit more fuel to the fire, a few years ago SWMBO reversed our GQ into a fence post breaking one of the "dummy" light kits. I went to Nissan to get a new one and was astonished at the price for what is basically a reflector! (Can't remember the price but well over the hundred $ mark!) My mechanic sourced me a PAIR of aftermarket working light assemblies, brand new, for $60! So I fitted them and wired them up. The back of the GQ looks like a christmas tree! Or it did until the Kaymar twin wheel carrier bar went on, now it blocks the aftermarket lights almost totally! :-(

Cheers

Brian

Thanks for those replies, it makes sense now.

I would have thought that it would be better to have those 'dummies' working as well as the lower ones for added visibility.

Thanks again

Neil

In design, the lights ADR also has relevance to the configuration of the rear doors, where the doors can be left open while traveling and they obscure the lights. As far as the visibility thing goes, rear lights must be visible for 60m at night. The angles refer more to front lights.

Attached are a couple of images and a link that explain it easily.

Cheers

Louie

ADR's

Image Could Not Be Found

Image Could Not Be Found

In addition to above,
My recollectiojn is that about 20 years ago, when the ADRs were even more ridiculous, there was a limit on how HIGH the lights were allowed to be. So to remain legal in Australia the manufacturers had to make a choice between fitting lights in the bumpers or lowering the suspension. Thats why some LandCruisers were relatively low slung. Later on this limit was raised to 1.5 metres.

The angles of geometric visibility specified in ADR13 apply to the rear lamps just as much as the front ones. For the rear lamps it is 45 degrees inwards and 80 degrees to the side hence vehicles with rear combination lamp assemblies that wrap around the side of the vehicle. It has nothing at all to do with driving around with the rear barn doors open on 4X4's which is a sure way to fill the vehicle with carbon monoxide anyway. When the spare wheel is rear door mounted the 45 degree inward angle of visibility is obscured so additional working lamps have to be mounted lower below the spare wheel. Hence some 4x4's now have the spare wheel centre mounted on the rear door. The reason the original lamps are not left connected is because ADR13 also specifies that lighting has to be symmetrical so if they were to remain connected for example on a Patrol at some point within the range of geometric visibility you would only see 3 lamps. The problem is not with the ADR's but more that these vehicles are made for global markets and some lighting configurations legal say in Africa are not legal in AUS. Re the after-market spare wheel carriers, if they restrict the view of the rear lamps a repeater lamp should be mounted on the spare wheel or carrier at the same height and distance from outer edge as the original which is obscured. If the supplementary lamp is an LED an additional red reflector will also be required.