Finding Total Candlepower

[LightCrazy]

PA says total candlepower for headlamps and auxilliary lamps may not exceed 150,000. I am assuming they mean low beams and fog lights on together <150,000 and high beams and driving lights on together less than 150,000. How do i figure that.

 

[-Virgil-]

You don't, really -- not without expensive testing which you aren't likely to do (and neither are they). Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 has since 1978 limited high beam headlamp intensity (on axis) to 75,000 cd per side of the car and therefore 150,000 total (before that, the limit was half of that figure; 37,500 per side of the car and therefore 75,000 total). Most headlamps do not approach the 75,000 cd limit; some of the higher-performing ones do, and a few exceed it. This piece of PA code (can you provide a citation, please?) was probably written right around the 1978 introduction of the higher limit on high beam intensity, with the intent of allowing auxiliary driving lamps only in conjunction with headlamps meeting the older 37,500 cd limit. If that's what the intent was, it was not a well thought out way to write the statute because even after the limit was raised, most new headlamps' high beam maximum intensity was still well below the new limit and a large number were still below the old limit. Low beams and fog lamps will not press this limit no matter what combination of lamps you use; look elsewhere in PA's vehicle equipment code for more explicit requirements regarding headlamp and fog lamp installation, hookup, and usage.

I'd need to see how the statute is written, but in concept it sounds practically unenforcable; the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is just as unlikely as you are to spend the money to test your headlamps and auxiliary lamps and see if the total exceeds 150,000 cd.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/067/chapter175/s175.66.html

(partial)
(7) A vehicle specified under this subchapter shall be equipped with a beam indicator, which shall be lighted whenever the high beam of light from the headlamp is in use and shall not otherwise be lighted. An indicator shall be located so that when lighted it is readily visible without glare to operator of vehicle.

(d) Total candlepower. The total candlepower for headlamps and auxiliary lamps shall not exceed 150,000.

The code refers to other codes, which point to others, etc. Largely unenforceable; with the burden being on the State (or, in this case, Commonwealth) they'd have to spend money determining if your system was unlawful. The main thing is to be sure they can't get you for using the lamps improperly, such as using auxiliary high beams in traffic, or fog lamps in clear weather-- and to make sure they don't get you for badly aimed lamps

 

[LightCrazy]

Other than using off-road lights (usually roll bar lights) on the public street, we generally do not enforce this section. I have regular 4666 sealed beam lights (high/low beam in one unit), Hella 500FF Fogs with the Rangepower +50 H3 bulbs, and the Hella 1000FF lights with regular 55watt bulbs on the front bumper area of my vehicle.

Subchapter E - Passenger Cars And Light Trucks (from pennDOT Pub. 45)

175.66. LIGHTING AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS.
(a) Condition of Lamps and Switches – Every required lamp or switch shall be in safe operating condition as described in §175.80 (relating to inspection procedure) .

(b) Lighting Standards - A lamp shall comply with vehicle lighting equipment requirements of this title. See Tables II-IV Chapter 153 and 75 Pa. C.S. §4301.

(c) Headlamp System - A vehicle specified under this subchapter which is driven on highway shall have two- or four-headlamp system. See 75 Pa. C.S. §4303 (a) (relating to general
lighting requirements) .
(1) Both lamps in the two-headlamp system shall be of Type II construction consisting of high beam and low beam. One lamp shall be located on each side of front of motor vehicle.

(2) In the four-headlamp system, two lamps shall be of Type II construction and two lamps shall be of Type I construction. Type I lamps consist of a high beam only. One of each type shall be located on each side of front of the motor vehicle.

(3) The headlamp low beam minimum candlepower shall not be less than 7,500.

(4) The headlamp high beam minimum candlepower shall not be less than 10,000.

(5) A headlamp shall be aimed to comply with inspection procedure of this subchapter.

(6) A vehicle specified under this subchapter shall be equipped with manual dimmer switch conveniently located for use by the driver while in normal operating position. An automatic dimming device may be used in addition to the manual switch.

(7) A vehicle specified under this subchapter shall be equipped with a beam indicator, which shall be lighted whenever high beam of light from the headlamp is in use and shall not otherwise be lighted. An indicator shall be located so that when lighted it is readily visible without glare to operator of vehicle.

(d) Total Candlepower - The total candlepower for headlamps and auxiliary lamps shall not exceed 150,000.

(e) Other Required Lamps - A vehicle specified under this subchapter shall have at least one red stop lamp on each side of rear of vehicle, which shall be illuminated immediately upon
application of the service brake.

(f) Illumination, Except Headlamps, Fog Lamps, and Auxiliary Driving Lamps - A vehicle specified under this subchapter shall be equipped with parking lamps, stop lamps, tail lamps, turn signal lamps and hazard warning lamps designed for that specific function, which under normal atmospheric conditions shall be capable of being seen and distinguished during nighttime operation at a distance of 500 feet. See 75 Pa. C.S. §4303(b)—(d).

(1) Stop lamps, turn signals and hazard warning lamps shall be visible at distance of 100 feet during normal sunlight.
(2) Rear lamps shall be lighted whenever headlamps, fog lamps or auxiliary driving lamps are in operation.
(3) A vehicle specified under this subchapter shall be equipped with hazard warning lamps unless the lamps were not included as original equipment.

 

[StarHalo]

The only measurement equipment a police officer may have regarding the lighting on your car is a Kelvin key, if your state doesn't allow colored headlights. Other than that, all the laws and statutes won't really help you; a cop who thinks your lights are too bright will simply cite you for it, and leave it to a judge to sort out the legal details. This sort of thing usually happens with stereo or exhaust sound levels, you get pulled over because the officer feels it's excessive, and there's no tools on hand to actually measure it, so it's left to the court to figure out.

 

[LightCrazy]

Well the 1000FF lights have the 55 watt bulbs, and are bright- because they are very efficient and have larger reflectors than the average driving light you see in the stores. Were they designed to be used on the road as driving lights (naturally with no other traffic) or designed to light the desert up for the Baja?

 

[-Virgil-]

Other than using off-road lights (usually roll bar lights) on the public street, we generally do not enforce this section.

Who is "we"? Are you a LEO?

175.66(c):
(1)Both lamps in the two-headlamp system shall be of Type II construction consisting of high beam and low beam.

(2) In the four-headlamp system, two lamps shall be of Type II construction and two lamps shall be of Type I construction. Type I lamps consist of a high beam only.

No problem with (1), but (2) would render most vehicles with 4-lamp systems illegal under PA law if it weren't for the principle of Federal pre-emption. Most 4-lamp systems have two lamps producing only a low beam and two producing only a high beam. A lamp producing only a low beam is not a Type II lamp (which is actually formally designated "Type 2" with Arabic and not Roman numeral), even if that low-beam-only lamp remains lit when high beam mode is selected.

(3) The headlamp low beam minimum candlepower shall not be less than 7,500.

(4) The headlamp high beam minimum candlepower shall not be less than 10,000.

These are good examples of State standards being a lot more lax than Federal standards.

(d) Total Candlepower - The total candlepower for headlamps and auxiliary lamps shall not exceed 150,000.

Sloppy, vague, unenforceable writing. Total of...what, exactly? Low beams plus high beams plus any auxiliary lamps? If so, virtually every vehicle on PA roads would be illegal if it weren't for Federal pre-emption.

(f) parking lamps, stop lamps, tail lamps, turn signal lamps and hazard warning lamps designed for that specific function, which under normal atmospheric conditions shall be capable of being seen and distinguished during nighttime operation at a distance of 500 feet.

More sloppy writing. What is a "normal" atmospheric condition? Normal on June 15th? Normal on January 15th? Normal some other time of year? And what does "capable of being seen and distinguished" mean? Seen and distinguished by what kind of observer (age, visual acuity, etc.), to what objective standard of seeing and distinguishing?

Many state standards are at least this sloppy and poorly written, it's not just PA. It's frustrating, because it really isn't any harder to write a good and technically sound vehicle lighting code than to write a bad and technically unsound one.

 

[-Virgil-]

The only measurement equipment a police officer may have regarding the lighting on your car is a Kelvin key

Interesting. Please point us at such a Kelvin key.

 

[StarHalo]

It was on an episode of Cops; they had stopped a car for some infraction, and one officer produced a small color key, like a paint sample chip, which had a bunch of variations of white on it. He held this next to the headlight and determined that the lights were not within spec, so there would have to be a citation for it - not at all scientific, but that reinforces my point, a cop will just cite whatever doesn't look right.

I tried to find mention of the key by searching and ran across a police forum where they were discussing the issue of HID light color; some comments:

"Last night I noticed a vehicle with green headlights, it looked like a green traffic light coming down the road. I stopped that pickup and told the driver to lose the bulbs or next time he gets a citation. our state law says you can display a white headlight to the front, and no other color except for amber. so these blue and green lights are illegal."

"I see those all the time in the New Orleans metro area. It is illegal here and I frequently issue citations for it."

Note that there's no mention of any measuring equipment or standard at all, it's just the cop going by his eye, and that's what makes the determination.

 

[old_]

Most headlamps do not approach the 75,000 cd limit; some of the higher-performing ones do, and a few exceed it.

You've piqued my interest. Could you name a few of these top-performers?

 

[StarHalo]

You've piqued my interest. Could you name a few of these top-performers?

Use car audio cable to replace the wiring of your headlamps, and the lights you have now may do it..

 

[Qship1996]

Car audio cable?

 

[Lightdoctor]

Car audio cable?

Ever heard of Monster Cable? Total overkill, but it makes the posters point.

Speaking of colored headlamps, I really wish that yellow headlamps were allowed here in the US... I just happen to like them. Just incase you're wondering, I'm not some kid with a rice burner either. (My wife has a Civic, but it is just stock. )

 

[-Virgil-]

You've piqued my interest. Could you name a few of these top-performers?

Most of the projector BiXenon headlamps, certain halogen high beams mostly on German cars, etc.

 

[StarHalo]

Car audio cable?

If you look at the wiring for most cars' headlamps, they use dinky, skinny-gauge Radio Shack hobby wire which doesn't supply much power; replacing the wiring with heavy-gauge, low-resistance wire will usually give you a greater increase in brightness than new lamps (barring an HID conversion.)

 

[Alaric Darconville]

It was on an episode of Cops; they had stopped a car for some infraction, and one officer produced a small color key, like a paint sample chip, which had a bunch of variations of white on it. He held this next to the headlight and determined that the lights were not within spec, so there would have to be a citation for it - not at all scientific, but that reinforces my point, a cop will just cite whatever doesn't look right.

A spectrometer would be a better piece of equipment, as it would measure the specific components of the light. A "swatch book" might let you ballpark things, as the pigments would have to be very precise to subtract the right wavelengths. Perhaps a combination of lenses and swatches (like those "secret decoder" things wherein the message is written in a particular color amid a bunch of a different color, and a lens matching the masking color is needed to be able to read the text).

 

[Einarr]

As a former PA resident, I failed a state inspection once for installed lighting that was not functional (a rock had recently destroyed it, but I hadn't unbolted it). It probably depends on the inspection station as to whether or not to fail you for this, but just a warning that you may not be able to disable lights at inspection time. I was also required to install covers on bumper mounted lights.

 

[TEEJ]

In this part of NJ, they go after the "Blue Light Specials" like Bass to a Shiner.

They'll make a U-turn on a 6 lane hwy to go after them.

Yellow doesn't seem to excite them though. I too prefer yellow (Don't HAVE it, but prefer it for foul weather at least...), and find for me at least, that a blue light all but disappears when the road is wet, etc.....its like no light.