One of the main areas of improvement, (so to speak) this car had when I picked it up (besides the horrid jacked-up ride height which will be eventually addressed) is the lack of amber turn signals. Not only is this visually unappealing to me, but I also believe it to be a road hazard. Having red turn signals seems pointless in the sense that the eye doesn’t automatically recognize that this is not a brake light, which so happens to be red in color. It could be argued that the brain automatically recognizes red as an alert color and therefore causes people to pay attention, particularly when it is blinking red, but I do not believe this to be the case. Amber turn signals are a requirement in Europe which has more strct transit laws than the U.S. as well. And this is where the dilemma lies. The North American spec Jetta is not equipped with amber rear turn signals. It has amber fronts and amber blinkers integrated into the side view mirror housings, but the rear are red. And retarded.
Enter the European-spec Jetta and its beautifully constructed tail lights. Not only are they more appealing to the eye compared to its North American counterpart, but they also trade incandescent bulbs (except the reverse and the rear fog light) for LEDs. What this means in terms of safety is an improved light-up response compared to traditional bulbs, but also the ability to display the coveted amber turn signals thanks to LEDs being able to display two colors (yellow and red).
LEDs are the last generation [in lighting] and being used with increasing frequency in automotive signalling lamps. They operate with much lower power consumption, have longer service lives, are nearly impervious to vibration damage, and permit considerably shallower packaging compared to most bulb-type assemblies. LEDs also offer a significant safety performance benefit when employed in brake lights, for when power is applied they rise to full intensity approximately 200 milliseconds faster than incandescent bulbs. This fast rise time not only improves the attentional conspicuity of the brake lamp, but also provides following drivers with increased time in which to react to the appearance of the brake lamps.
An additional feature of these tail lights is the existance of a rear fog light, which is a feature lergely unknown and unused in the American market. Have you ever followed someone whose driver side tail light seemd brighter than the others? Well, that’s likely because that car’s rear fog light is on. Most people have absolutely no idea when/how to utilize a rear fog light (or the front ones for that matter). Installation was very simple, thanks again to Brian for walking me through the process. I was able to do this in the rain (granted, I was under a carport), in 30 degree weather with one hand on the computer and the other on the wires. After all was said and done, I ended up with what you see on the left. Click the image for a larger view of the amber in all its glory. Coupled with the European-spec light switch, I will be able to use the rear fog light (which has to be wired separately into the appropriate controller). For now I am running both, reverse and rear fog light as backup lights. Thanks in advance to the VWVortex coding wizards (Tim Birney and thread) for being the main players into getting this whole thing figured out; it was quite an endeavor.
Update (01/31/2006): Got the trigger wire to connect the rear fog position on the light switch to the controller. I wish I was a midget so I could work more comfortably in the footwell of my car…
Published under: Exterior, Lighting
