Yeah - I was thinking - what does a pair of DRL's consume - 100 watts per car, and only while it's being driven? How many of us keep our computers on all day (and idle 90+% of that time)? What do they pull -
150 to 300 watts?Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")
This is obvious to us older guys who had cars in the days of V-belts. We all had times when our v-belts were loose or a little slick - they would be fine with no lights or a.c. on, but you turn the bright lights and a.c. on with cabin fan running full speed, and the belt would screech. Turn the lights and/or fan off, and it would quiet down. Why? Because of the extra load on the alternator/belt/engine.
With these good serpentine belts and automatic tensioners, the young pups don't get to learn the laws of physics first hand.
Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")
My favorite punch line is "Oh! I'm not a real Marine - I'm just wearing his hat!".
Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")
Obviously, California law enforcement officers are not enforcing this law. I wonder what would happen if they began enforcing it. Or if the DMV refused to give driving tests in vehicles so equipped.
Just so we're clear here - it draws electricity only when the compressor is on (clutch engaged). So most of the time, except on hot summer days, it's not pulling electrical power,a nd then it's cycling.
Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")
If the NHTSA allows it, it trumps state laws, unfortunately. It's illegal to drive against traffic with the high beams on too...but many GM vehicles are doing that as well.
Heh. You had AC? I would have killed for that on my old '55 Chevy when I was stationed in Mississippi. I would have killed even more for a battery/alternator that'd let me start the damn car when I wanted.
Mostly, I parked as uphill as I could and popped the clutch on the way back.
Ever find a hill in gulf-coast Mississippi?
doc
Pellet rifle... :)
JazzMan
"Bill Putney" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@kinez.net... | | This is obvious to us older guys who had cars in the days of V-belts. | We all had times when our v-belts were loose or a little slick - they | would be fine with no lights or a.c. on, but you turn the bright lights | and a.c. on with cabin fan running full speed, and the belt would | screech. Turn the lights and/or fan off, and it would quiet down. | Why? Because of the extra load on the alternator/belt/engine. | | With these good serpentine belts and automatic tensioners, the young | pups don't get to learn the laws of physics first hand. |
Yep. Plus the engine carburetors back then didn't have systems that would compensate (by adjusting the throttle) for the added load. Engine RPM would actually go down 100RPM-150RPM (and stay down) when one would switch on the headlights. Add the cabin blower to that and the engine would almost stall out...and if you needed a tune up, it would! A/C?...nope, we didn't have that back then! :-) A friend of my fathers had a old Ford Falcon stationwagon with a 3-speed on the column back in the 1960's that must have had a 30HP engine in it....it couldn't climb a steep hill at a camp site up at Sugarloaf Mountain (Frederick, County, Maryland) we camped at one time unless he killed all the electrical drain. He had to go up the hill blind...lights out at night, with all of us and our gear at the bottom of the hill (we tried reducing weight first...wasn't enough). I've since learned that reverse gear is lower than 1st gear...so we may have made it if we tried going up backwards...live and learn.
No, the "parking light" DRLs are based on the turn signals (the 'other' filament) in the parking/turn signal bulb.
Your argument here is "There is other waste, so this waste is OK."
No, you haven't. You've seen cars with the front *TURN SIGNAL* filaments burning full time as DRLs.
State law is trumped by Federal regulations. If a Federal regulation says an item of motor vehicle equipment is legal, any state laws saying otherwise are rendered null and void.
But it's only a turn signal if it's signalling a turn, otherwise it is for all intents and purposes a parking light.
JazzMan
My problem with LEDs is that not all of them last that long so you end up with a light that is "missing pieces". Stand me in front of a Christmas tree and I dont see the 399 lights that are on I seed the one that isn't. We all see plenty of LED third brake lights that are missing segments and it makes the car look old and crappy.
Steve B.
Nope, it's a turn signal whether it's on, off or flashing. Just as your car is still a car when it's parked. Just as an orange is still an orange when it's sitting in the fridge. Just as your brake lights are still brake lights when you're not stepping on the brake. Anyway, it's irrelevant -- the cited portion of the California Vehicle Code is overridden and preempted by Federal Motor Vehicle "Safety" Standard 108.
top posters are the ones that are too damn lazy to trim posts. So it is mostly top posters that leave unecessary crap in thier follow up posts. Other folks will trim posts and only leave relevant pieces when they do follow ups.
------------ Alex
Geez, how did you get to be such a high and mighty know it all?
Of course fuel is required to power all electrical devices on cars. I don't believe it is significant. Believe what you want, believe that stupid formula on how it works if you want to. Who wrote it anyway? A scientist? An engineer? Who the hell knows, yet you accept it as gospel.
And somewhere around the time of 07/28/2004 17:53, the world stopped and listened as James C. Reeves contributed the following to humanity:
Reminds me of a few lawyer jokes:
What do you have if there is only one lawyer in town? Not enough work.
What do you have if there is two lawyers in town? Too much work.
I think that says it all. Oh, and as a parting gift:
You have 3 lawyers neck deep in cement. What you you need? More cement!
Enjoy!
Yes, bricking the camel...
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