clear bulbs in clear turn signals?

[schnell944]

putting in a set of clear front turn signal lenses and was wondering what sort of laws there were that require them to blink orange. it looks soooo much better all white...I know i can paint the front of the bulb silver and it will look all clear basically when not lit, but i like to run the fogs with the parking lights most the time, and it would still show up orange. i know it must be state specific, but are there actually laws that say the turn signal cant be white? I'm in Massachusetts, btw. thanks.

[uscharalph]

In California it's supposed to blink amber or orange.

[632 Regal]

same in mich, I think it might be too bright also, blinding the cop thats following you might not workout either.

[Qube]

Since they're parking lights, they may be too bright and will count as a 'headlight'. In Ontario, 6 lamps on is a no-no... so I have to keep the bulbs amber. Of course, they would probably not pull me over, but why give another opportunity?

[schnell944]

hmmmm, well, i just realized that those lights arent on with my headlights and fogs, they only blink when i use my turn signal. the oranges that came with the abrahams motorsports lenses dont fit snugly into the bulb socket(different sort of blub) and the sockets that came with the clear lenses dont plug into the wiring....so i used the old socket with the old bulb. I'll leave it for now and hazard that some cop will pull me over(highly doubt they will) and I'll see if I can find an orange bulb that is exactly the same as this clear one that came stock in the orange turn signal lenses. any insights appreciated.

[632 Regal]

they have the same bulb in amber just has a "A" after the bulb number dictating amber, thats when you lightly dust it with silver paint. more insight is to use something other than your fingers to hold the bulbs while dusting them... :|
make sure its the same number as your stockers cause any change in the glass design or wattage can burn the socket and housing because of heat.

[schnell944]

OK, now I'm a little bit confused. when i took everything out, and installed the new lenses and such, the turn signal bulbs would only light if they were blinking.....not when the parking lights were on. now, the one on the passenger side stays lit when the parking lights are on but also blinks when i used the turn signal..what gives? how is it supposed to be, and what may be wrong? thanks

[uscharalph]

That's not the way it's supposed to work. Is it that way on both sides. If it's just one, maybe it's the bulb.

[Qsilver7]

OK, now I'm a little bit confused...the turn signal bulbs would only light if they were blinking.....not when the parking lights were on... now...the parking lights are on but also blinks when i used the turn signal..what gives? how is it supposed to be, and what may be wrong? thanks

Well, it depends on what country you live...but if you're in the USA, your front turn signals serve a dual purpose and serve as "parking lamps" as well.

Because of this "double" function...the front turn indicator bulbs should have a dual filament...which is visible if you look inside the bulb (for two filaments) or identified by the two contact points (instead of one) on its base:

(this is the dual filament bulb for the front indicators from my e38...note the 2 contact points on the base...the rear bulb is single filament 1156 which only has one contact point)


If you're in the USA, one of your filaments is probably burnt out ...or you have the wrong type of bulbs installed...or you have the wrong wiring harness/elec connector which isn't US/DOT correct. (Euro parking lamps/turn indicators work differently) If you turn on your parking lamps (1st position on headlight switch)...the front turn indicators should come on...and if you push the Hazard Flasher button...the front indicators should flash (the brighter filament) and the lower wattage filament should still remain lit. Its easier to see this parked inside your garage or at night when the sun has gone down or is low in the sky. The same thing should happen if you have your headlights/parking lights on and you use a turn indicator...the lower wattage filament remains lit while the higher wattage filament flashes.

[schnell944]

thanks for the info. off to the garage to check things out