using a flashlight as a car headlight for emergencies

[coachclass]

If you had to, can you use a flashlight as an emergency headlight for your car (like if for some reason both headlights don't work?).

Other aspects should I be thinking about? What minimum requirements would it need? What's the cheapest light that would accomplish the job? Keep in mind:

1) Minimize the cost. The least amount of money to do the job.

2) Probably use AA lights - easy to find them on highway gas stations. Could be 1AA or 2AA...

3) Efficiency - enough burn time to get to the next city

4) Assume lower highway speed (55mph)

Also, I was imagining one would need to hold the light out the window, or have your passenger hold it out the window. But is there a better setup than that?

Obviously, throw would be important. But, how much and how many lumens? You don't want more light than you need, what's the bare lumens you would require?

Any suggestions on specific models? Keep in mind, lowest $ for the job

EDIT: So rather than spending $40 on a light just for bright throw, how about I add some another $20 for useful low modes too for an all around light? So some 10lm and 70lm settings as well as a high?

 

[freq18hz]

Had to do this recently when our car suddenly lost power. We were in the back country, no moon, pretty much pitch black. I'm glad I had my surefire e1b with me, or else we would have run off the road into a ditch. Using the e1b we were able to safely bring the car to a stop by turning into a service road.

Had I been equipped with anything that had less throw or output, we would have run off the road.

-Freq

If you had to, can you use a flashlight as an emergency headlight for your car (like if for some reason both headlights don't work?).

Other aspects should I be thinking about? What minimum requirements would it need? What's the cheapest light that would accomplish the job? Keep in mind:

1) Minimize the cost. The least amount of money to do the job.

2) Probably use AA lights - easy to find them on highway gas stations. Could be 1AA or 2AA...

3) Efficiency - enough burn time to get to the next city

4) Assume lower highway speed (55mph)

Also, I was imagining one would need to hold the light out the window, or have your passenger hold it out the window. But is there a better setup than that?

Obviously, throw would be important. But, how much and how many lumens? You don't want more light than you need, what's the bare lumens you would require?

Any suggestions on specific models? Keep in mind, lowest $ for the job

 

[sambeaux2249]

Just for fun, I did some testing one night with my Surefire E2DL... it's actually brighter than my headlights out to maybe 60ish feet?
I would think maybe something like a Trustfire TR-803 would work, but that's not AA... Maybe a Terralux Lightstar 300?

Sam

 

[RobertM]

If you had to, can you use a flashlight as an emergency headlight for your car (like if for some reason both headlights don't work?).

Other aspects should I be thinking about? What minimum requirements would it need? What's the cheapest light that would accomplish the job? Keep in mind:

1) Minimize the cost. The least amount of money to do the job.

2) Probably use AA lights - easy to find them on highway gas stations. Could be 1AA or 2AA...

3) Efficiency - enough burn time to get to the next city

4) Assume lower highway speed (55mph)

Also, I was imagining one would need to hold the light out the window, or have your passenger hold it out the window. But is there a better setup than that?

Obviously, throw would be important. But, how much and how many lumens? You don't want more light than you need, what's the bare lumens you would require?

Any suggestions on specific models? Keep in mind, lowest $ for the job

Just to give you an idea as far as output goes--a typical 55w automotive low beam is around 1000 lumens. Keeping in mind that you normally have two of them, I think you are going to hard pressed to find a 1xAA or 2xAA flashlight that will be bright enough to travel 55 mph and last long enough to "get to the next city."

I would try to find some sort of LED light around 500-1000 lumens that has a large reflector or optics oriented toward throw.

 

[Warp]

Between two low beams and two high beams, plus possibly fog lights, well, I really don't see how you are going to be out all four of those.

For less time/expensive/bandwidth waste than thinking about holding a flashlight out the window you could just make sure all four of your headlights are currently operational or, if you suspect somebody is going to come along with a hammer and break all of them, keep a spare bulb in your car. "Problem" solved.

 

[TyJo]

I would try to find some sort of LED light around 500-1000 lumens that has a large reflector or optics oriented toward throw.

TK30/TK40. Perfect balance between throw and flood. Headlights aren't pure throwers.

 

[onetrickpony]

Why don't you just duct-tape about fifty flashlights to your hood, then just check the batteries once a month or so. That way, no matter what happens, you'll be all set.

Just make sure they're waterproof, and that you have good duct tape.

 

[chicken dave]

Between two low beams and two high beams, plus possibly fog lights, well, I really don't see how you are going to be out all four of those.

For less time/expensive/bandwidth waste than thinking about holding a flashlight out the window you could just make sure all four of your headlights are currently operational or, if you suspect somebody is going to come along with a hammer and break all of them, keep a spare bulb in your car. "Problem" solved.

Fuses can blow, switches can fail. Happened to me last year. Got home with a Fenix TK 20. Much nicer diagnosing/repairing in my garage rather than on the side of a dirt road.

TK 20 was adequate (only a couple of miles, at about 20 mph) but more light would have been helpful. Wider beam would have been nice too.

 

[trooplewis]

A Dorcy 41-4650 works surprisingly well for this, and for just 20 bucks at Sears. 4 AA's, but it is a thrower, not a lot of spill. I have tried it at night, 100 feet in front of my car with the headlights on you can still see the hotspot very clearly.

You can get an even better result with a Coleman Max for $25 at Wally World. Really. Very tight, white beam, very little spill. Not bad emergency car lights.

 

[enomosiki]

Aside from last-ditch measures like a flashlight, be sure to check your high beam regularly. If your low beam goes but high beam works, you will be able to use that.

But, for everyone's sake, carry a duct tape with you. If you are forced to use high beam, use the tape to cover up the top half of your headlamp so the beam doesn't blind the oncoming traffic.

 

[gladis]

The high beam suggestion is a good idea, also a substitute (if you have them) are foglights, which can help you see if you're going <25mph or so.

Rather than trying to have the light last through to the next city, why not A) pull over and call AAA/ Highway Patrol for assistance, B) just carry a couple spare bulbs?

Unless your car is in a terrible state (where lack of headlights wouldn't be the first thing I'm worried about), or you're doing some serious off roading (in which case I would hope you have some off road lights, and are already acquainted with portable lighting), or you're in a country where there's no road side service, those two suggestions should really cover it all.

But for your argument's sake lets say you do have trouble, how about a light that runs off of the cig lighter?

I guess what I'm saying here is that a portable, yet AA and cheap substitute for headlights is a really not a good idea, given the alternatives. IF I was forced to do something like that, I wouldn't trust anything less than something like a TK-40, or a reputable light putting out at least 500lm OTF.

 

[mvyrmnd]

I agree with the sentiment that car maintenance is the most important issue here. That said, I haven't found any of my production lights good enough to safely drive by. I have, just for fun, driven using only my Elektrolumens MCE-III mag. It's 2100 lumens, and roughly equivalent in output to my headlights. I could probably drive up to 80kph easily with it, I wouldn't be willing to go any faster.

The big issue is beam shape. Even though the mag has the same output as the two headlights, half of the light is being sent up into the sky, as opposed to the headlights having all the light aimed at the road. So even with a super-powerful flashlight, I still only get the same amount of useful light for driving as having only one headlight bulb working.

 

[beerwax]

Between two low beams and two high beams, plus possibly fog lights, well, I really don't see how you are going to be out all four of those.

i lost all lights for a few seconds (seemed longer at thetime i assure you) whenthe relay/switch jammed when switching to high beam.
cheers

 

[MikeAusC]

Between two low beams and two high beams, plus possibly fog lights, well, I really don't see how you are going to be out all four of those.

For less time/expensive/bandwidth waste than thinking about holding a flashlight out the window you could just make sure all four of your headlights are currently operational or, if you suspect somebody is going to come along with a hammer and break all of them, keep a spare bulb in your car. "Problem" solved.

You most probably believe that you will never have brake failure - after all, modern cars have Dual Circuit Brakes. When I had total brake failure due to fraudulent servicing, I found out the weakness to that argument - the Brake Fluid is common to both circuits !

If you think what's common to all four headlights, you might be able to better prepare yourself for things that can go wrong.

 

[mcnair55]

A very simple answer to your question in the UK if you were here is NO,you would be breaking the law.The Police would not even listen to your story of all lights had failed etc etc,you would be booked and fined or maybe taken to court.

 

[Mathiashogevold]

http://mobil.tv2.no/underholdning/broom/manglet-lys-paa-bilen-brukte-lommelykt-3169736.html

translate this text in Google translate.

This was a case in norway some time ago, this guy were charged and talen to court for using a flashlight as a headlight.

 

[AusKipper]

Nearly 12 months ago now I was coming back on a trip and my alternator died. It was at night and i really wanted to get home, so I had to turn off the lights just because they would have drained the battery.

Fortunately I had my TK40 with me, and a passenger, so the passenger held the light while I drove.

It did ok. I can tell you that if your headlights die you will probably be using the brightest light you have with you .

Lowest budget thing I can think of that would probably do the job fairly well is the iTP Polestar.

If using a lower output light (ie, if i had to drive with my Quark Turbo for example) you would aim it for the line on the outside of the road, as thats the bit you most want to follow

 

[goose2283]

I hit a moose last fall, and the electrical system of the vehicle shorted out. I hit it at approximately 50 kph, which killed both the moose and the engine instantly. I managed to get to the side of the road without power brakes, power steering, or headlights. This was in a 1-ton diesel van. After I got the van stopped, my wife and I used my Quark AA2 to make sure neither of us was hurt, and then used it to make the van visible while we waited for assistance. Not a pleasant experience, and it would have been much, much worse without a good flashlight.

I wouldn't have liked to use the Quark as a headlight, but in an emergency, I could have. That said, I have experimented with driving using my Catapult XM-L, just to see if I could. Not an ideal beam pattern, but it works.

 

[BoarHunter]

Americans cars are that bad you have to plan for this ?
How about spare bulbs and fuses ?

AMusing topic similar to "how many angels can dance on a needle head ?"

but to drive a car using a flashlight as the only light is dangerous and probably not legal. In case of major failure like this, better park and call for help.

 

[jtblue]

I tried driving with a flashlight once.......... I just hope that I'll never have to do it in an emergency.