Technical Bulb replacement on 500 DRL

[Johnrambo18]

Advice please on replacing DRL bulbs on 2023 Fiat 500.
First - getting to them. The manual I have says there is a blanking plate under front wheel arch, but I cannot find this.
Second - the standard bulbs are filament. Can I replace with LED, and if so does anyone know the type and where I can source?

 

[jrkitching]

I'm wondering about the justification for the law being in place, given the high intensity of modern headlights and high placement of SUV lights

LED bulbs have a different beam pattern; cars which have them fitted as OEM have headlamp housings specifically designed for LED's.

If you put LED bulbs in a housing designed for filament bulbs, the light distribution pattern will likely be incorrect; some cheap Chinese ones are truly terrible. I suspect the quality European manufacturers could produce an aftermarket bulb that would work just fine. but the law is what it is.

I'd agree that the intensity of some modern type approved headlights is a cause for concern.

 

[Johnrambo18]

In the UK, replacing existing halogen headlight bulbs with LED's isn't permitted under the construction and use regulations, so they can't legally be used on the road.

LED's fitted as original equipment when the car is type approved are fine.

Whether or not this makes sense isn't the issue; if you fit replacement LED headlight bulbs, your car won't be roadworthy, it will likely fail an MOT, you could be prosecuted for driving an unroadworthy vehicle, and you will likely invalidate your insurance.

Ok, except I wasn't talking about headlights, it was the Daytime running lights...

 

[gadb]

Ok, except I wasn't talking about headlights, it was the Daytime running lights...

Yikes, sorry for high-jacking

 

[gadb]

LED bulbs have a different beam pattern; cars which have them fitted as OEM have headlamp housings specifically designed for LED's.

If you put LED bulbs in a housing designed for filament bulbs, the light distribution pattern will likely be incorrect; some cheap Chinese ones are truly terrible. I suspect the quality European manufacturers could produce an aftermarket bulb that would work just fine. but the law is what it is.

I'd agree that the intensity of some modern type approved headlights is a cause for concern.

At risk of continuing my temporary hijack - how the fudge do you get 61mpg in your 500? I guess yours is a 1.2? I can't do better than 46 on motorway (with E10).

 

[gadb]

Ok, except I wasn't talking about headlights, it was the Daytime running lights...

Ok - in a last ditch effort to be mildly useful - I stuck cheap LEDs off eBay into my '08 500 for both DRLs and main beams a small number of years back (maybe 4). The DRLs got through the MOT fine but my main beams got the thumbs down (and I got charged - way too much - for stock halogen replacements). Of course, if the car comes with halogen from factory then the current monitoring will expect a halogen sized draw when the lamps are on, so if the replacement LEDs don't pull that much (probable) then you'll get the evil orange triangle on your dash telling you (erroneously) that something is wrong.

 

[jrkitching]

At risk of continuing my temporary hijack - how the fudge do you get 61mpg in your 500? I guess yours is a 1.2? I can't do better than 46 on motorway (with E10).

Run on E5, keep the speed on the motorway below 55mph, don't exceed 1700 rpm in the intermediate gears, and don't use the car for short journeys.

The 500 isn't particularly aerodynamic and fuel economy tails off noticeably above 55mph.

 

[chris3234]

Indeed, sorry I wasn't clear. I'm wondering about the justification for the law being in place, given the high intensity of modern headlights and high placement of SUV lights.

Led units in a car have a reflector and lense specifically designed for them and should have perfect beam pattern
Led out into halogen light can often have terrible beam pattens

 

[John202020]

Led out into halogen light can often have terrible beam pattens

But HID in halogen is exactly the same as halogen as the "capsule"/filament is in the same position, and the dispersion is the same ie 360 in every direction but is still a fail or should be so I just swap mine back for the mot, that said the hid in my fog lights are not tested( which are built into the headlight cluster, so there's 3 dip fog and beam plus the indicator in it)