[Quisp]

I have been working on a LED reverse light and while posting on a lighting forum about my idea I was jumped and told that I was trying to do something illegal and they shut me down on that forum.
I have looked on the NHTSA and DOT websites and found nothing to confirm that this is illegal. The only requirement I could find was that the reverse light must be white.
Does anyone have any experience or knowledge in this area that can clear the matter up?

[E92ML]

I've had friends with LED and even HID reverse lights. HID reverse lights are overkill for sure. However, I don't see how something that helps you drive better would be illegal.

[g_rant]

^i didn't think HID reverse lights were real...

[Express]

i have projectors in my reverse lights.

[Lolitskasey]

Oh yeah well I have 100watt hid projectors in my reverse lights.

[nomis_nehc]

Originally Posted by express705

i have projectors in my reverse lights.

I can't tell if this is sarcasm. If not, I would love to see this, lol.

I have HID reverse myself, and it's flipping awesome with my backup cam.

[335iFab]

Originally Posted by Quisp

I have been working on a LED reverse light and while posting on a lighting forum about my idea I was jumped and told that I was trying to do something illegal and they shut me down on that forum.
I have looked on the NHTSA and DOT websites and found nothing to confirm that this is illegal. The only requirement I could find was that the reverse light must be white.
Does anyone have any experience or knowledge in this area that can clear the matter up?

I had my post removed before once too but i think its because they think were trying to sell a product and were not vendors. And I don't think its illegal to have LED as reverse.

[fdriller9]

Originally Posted by nomis_nehc

I can't tell if this is sarcasm. If not, I would love to see this, lol.

I have HID reverse myself, and it's flipping awesome with my backup cam.

Definitely sarcasm. There are no projectors I know of that will fit in such a small enclosure.

Who told you it was illegal? A board member? Moderator?

Are you sure they weren't implying that it's "illegal" to put a commercial post up? I got a warning for that on here, even though all I was trying to do is see if people would be interested in the product. It wasn't even a defined product, only an idea....

Look up DOT regulations. Then you'll be able to tell if it's illegal or not....if it is illegal, advertise as off-road use only. Consumers are then held responsible, not you.

[Vesar]

I saw a video with HIDs in reverse lights -.- wtf?

[335iFab]

Originally Posted by Vesar

I saw a video with HIDs in reverse lights -.- wtf?

HID Reverse is possible, i see kits for sale for them all the time its just kind of ridiculous because you only need like 3-4 seconds to reverse and your HID takes 10 seconds at least before it fully warms up

[RupertPupkin]

Newer cadillacs have LED reverse lights from the factory. Watch an old guy walk up and unlock one at night. they light up super bright. Ive alwasy wanted that. So no they are not illegal at all.

[nomis_nehc]

Originally Posted by 335iFab

HID Reverse is possible, i see kits for sale for them all the time its just kind of ridiculous because you only need like 3-4 seconds to reverse and your HID takes 10 seconds at least before it fully warms up

You need to be better informed. Even within one second of turning on, it's already brighter than halogen or LED setup.

Unless your HID bulb and ballast is ridiculously crap.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

DOT approved? EH

How many times do you go in reverse with a cop behind you?

But for the consumer market you might need some sort of credentials on the bulbs perhaps or just list them as "for off road use" like everyone else does.

[Shazmonkee]

lol. I guarantee you that trends will change all future cars into LED reverse lights, just as how trends has changed standard halogen DRLs to LED types.

[Quisp]

It was actually a lighting forum. The senior members were saying that they would blind drivers if you were backing up along a road. I was thinking..hmmm...if you are backing up along a busy road against traffic that is not the brightest thing to do in the first place. Then I got the NHTSA and DOT mentioned but theree is nothing specific against them. They were just being cranky i think and definitely did not like being questioned on the authoritah.
There are HID kits for revers lights. I have seen them and know where to order them. It is kind of interesting but it would not work so well with pre lci tails. Would work with LCI tails though.
I am working on a LEd light for Pre LCI and have it all set except for the pesky technical details. I know it works in the tailight reflector and works well I jst dont know a lot about electronics and resistors or error cancelling and heat dissipation so I am still looking for someone who has that knowledge. Then i will have a nice pre lci reverse light.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Well HPB already has HID reverse lights for wedge bulbs but from what they told me they dont think they will work on this specific application straight plug and play. Some modification would likely be required. But like I said if its labeled as "for off road use" it avoids all those potential laws. However cars today come with LED reverse lights which are quite bright. So I dont see why an LED reverse light would be illegal.

[Quisp]

I dont either. It would seem that you would want as much light as you can get behind the car when reversing. I think they were just being hardasses. The reasoning they used made very little sense and the explanation for the lights blinking at startup gave me a hint that they may not know as much as they think about this specific car.(that and they never asked what type of car or reflector.)
Here is part of the thread

I am not trying to contradict what you are saying, I am just surprised to hear that it is illegal. If the concern is the light getting in other drivers eyes then that is kind of strange since if someone is in a positin where your reverse lights arwe blinding them, they probably do not want to be there or you probably want to be sure you see them.

Or you're trying to back up on the side of the road and it causes problems for other drivers.





This whole thing arose from having window tint and a long driveway on a street with no streetlights. It was hard to back ouit of the driveway at night.

Do a three-way turn and drive out straight? Don't tint your windows that dark? Make sure your eyes are night-adjusted before driving? Install a streetlight?





I know that there is a way using either a resistor or canbus to have the lights work error free and not flash fast. When the car starts all the exterior lights blink a couple times as the cars ecu checks them. When it finds a light that is not using the normal amount of power(since the leds use less) the cars ecu thinks it is burned out and throws an error light and code. I guess that the resistor or canbus fools the ecu into thinking it is a regluar light by making it think that the right amount of power is being used and the light is fine.

Again, the fast blinking is not typically a CANbus issue and has existed long before CANbus did. I mentioned the reverse lights possibly causing CANbus problems because they apparently create a lot of EM interference. This can cause problems with other systems if it disrupts communication.

I have never heard the EM inteference causing the lights to blinkat startup. Was under the imporession it was the ecu checking the bulbs.
Life goes on and I move along

[fdriller9]

I can help you with the electrical aspect but doesn't Marc(LuxAngelEyes) already make reverse bulbs? Or maybe it's just for lci?

[wrickem]

Who would even know that there were LEDs in there?! Do it if you need the light.

[ChiDiddy]

Legal in state of texas as far as law enforcement. As long as it is only on during reverse gear and not forward motion. Also they must be white not blue or some impractical color. As an officer I would consider them a safety bonus to prevent accidents (I hate accident reports lol). Like aftermarket HIDs, even tho not DOT approved, I'm fine as long as they are properly aimed and not higher than 6000k. Any higher is not really usuable light output.

Hope this input helps! Of course it's just my personal outlook on it, other LEs may not feel the same or not as knowledgable about car modding.

[wachupita]

I have Angel eyes on my revere lights.
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nah just kidding, got stock but want to buy LED lights.
anyone know good vendor here?