Car lights. Device and principle of operation. Types and purpose of headlights Layout of headlights on a car

Sergey1986

There is judicial practice on this issue.

In short, then: By the resolution of the magistrate of the judicial district No. 58 of the Volgograd region of June 15, 2017, proceedings in the case of an administrative offense under Part 3 of Article 12.5 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses, in relation to Skorikov A.S. terminated on the basis of clause 2, part 1, article 24.5 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses, due to the lack of corpus delicti of an administrative offense in his actions.

Justifying the innocence of Skorikov A.S. in committing an administrative offense under Part 3 of Article 12.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, the magistrate referred to the fact that the use of LED lamps of the LED category in lighting devices does not constitute an administrative offense due to the fact that the use of these lamps is permitted in certain types of headlights.

What the city court confirmed: According to the expert’s conclusion /ld.no/, when conducting a study of the Peugeot Boxer car, state registration plate No., it was established that the LED lamp submitted for study corresponds to the type, color of the lights, location and operating mode of the lighting fixtures installed by car, as well as the requirements of the Basic Provisions for the admission of vehicles to operation and the responsibilities of officials to ensure road safety.

Alexey-453

I want to install low-beam headlights from BMW on the VAZ 2106; they have halogen bulb lenses, just like on the original H7, but on the BMW H1. The VAZ2106 car is out of production. Do they need to be registered?

Good afternoon Please tell me. I have a Lancer 10. Not long ago I installed 2 in 1 lamps in the turn signals. That is, DRL + turn signal, when the turn is turned on, the DRL goes out and then lights up again. Will this constitute a violation of the headlights? If, when you turn on the low beam, the headlights and DRLs turn off at the same time. Thank you in advance

Good luck on the roads!

Denis, Hello.

If I understand you correctly, then changes were made to the design of the car that were not provided for in the documentation, and permission from the traffic police was not previously obtained. In this situation, traffic police officers may impose.

Good luck on the roads!

Sergey-665

Hello, Maxim!

I am interested in a question about LED lamps, in particular in fog lights. I notice an interesting interpretation of the meaning of words in everything related to the ban on LED light bulbs. Point 3.1 of the list says "The number, type, color, location and operating mode of external LIGHTS do not meet the design requirements of the vehicle." Is there anything about light bulbs here?

Let me start with the fact that the term “lighting device” according to GOST is “a device containing one or more lamps and lighting fixtures that redistributes the light of the lamp (lamps) and (or) transforms its structure and is intended for lighting or signaling.” Thus, for example, the entire PTF is the lighting device, and not the light bulb:

quantity - was 2, became 2 lighting devices;

type - was PTF, became PTF (a little later);

color - was white, became white;

location - where it is intended by the design, they stand there;

the operating mode of the DEVICE (not the light bulb) was constant, not flashing (flashing) - it remained that way;

The same thing with Part 3 of Art. 12.5 of the Administrative Code - there is not a word or thought “about a light bulb” anywhere. Where in the “vehicle design requirements” is there a ban on LED lamps as a light source?

You write: "...However, nowhere does it say that this can be done without obtaining permission from the traffic police...". Also, nowhere does it say that this needs to be done with the permission of the traffic police.

Your opinion on this view on this topic is interesting. Thank you!

Sergey, Hello.

In this case, if you manage to convince the judge that you are right, the punishment will be canceled. If you decide to try, please write here about the results. I don’t exclude that this is possible, but so far none of the drivers have written about a positive result.

There are quite enough examples of cases with the result in the form of deprivation of rights in the public domain.

Good luck on the roads!

Comrades, tell me, I have a Nissan Almera II N16 restyled hatchback 5 doors. I purchased new headlights marked HCR H7, low beam lenses, there is a headlight washer, headlight range control from the inside, can I put 5000k xenon in there?

Vladislav-45

You can talk, prohibit, etc.

And who is responsible for not seeing an obstacle in time or if the car was not noticed?

Which risk is more dangerous?

Where is the methodology for assessing security risks?

Who is guided by it - i.e. calculates an assessment of the degree of risk of harm as an engineer with a higher education.

Hello, please tell me if I can install LED lamps (low/high) in a car produced in 2018. Kia Rio? In some trim levels, the headlights already come with a lens.

Danil, Hello.

If the headlights were originally designed for LED bulbs, then this is possible. If the headlights were equipped with halogen lamps, then you cannot change them to LED ones.

Good luck on the roads!

Mikhail-198

Good day! I would like to ask the question why you are starting from paragraph 3 of Article 12.5 "...the operating mode of which does not meet the requirements..." I took a break from a bunch of regulatory documents, I could not find regulations on the operating mode of LED lamps, as well as any mention of LED lamp, how about the type of lamp. This simply does not exist in the legislation of the Russian Federation (for xenon there are operating mode standards: automatic headlight leveling, headlight washer, etc.). Accordingly, because there is no regulated operating mode, clause 3 of Article 12.5 cannot be applied when punishing for installing LED lamps. It follows that for this violation, clause 1 of Article 12.5 on making changes to the design applies. For the first violation - a warning, then a fine of 500 rubles.

Anatoly-85

Hello, Maxim.

Please tell me whether it is possible to use LED lamps on the Citroen Jumper 2017.

The designation on the headlights is HCR?

Thank you in advance.

Michael, Hello.

If you want to prove the opposite point of view, then this must be done in court.

Currently, courts are denying licenses for LED bulbs and drivers should be aware of this.

Good luck on the roads!

Good luck on the roads!

Good evening, please tell me, I drove a 2012 Kalina I car, the headlights were factory halogen lamps, and on the right headlight, a blue LED lamp was installed in the clearance compartment from the former owner. While driving, the right low beam headlights burned out and at the post, the traffic police inspector noticed that the side lamp light was not quite right white and stopped me. After much persuasion by two inspectors, I refused to solve the problem on the spot. And then they first drew up a protocol for the right low beam, I thought that this would be enough for them, but not at all, I thought and began to draw up a protocol for the seizure of the side lamp under paragraph 1 of Article 12.5, now the magistrate has issued a decision in absentia to deprive me of a driver’s license, although I wrote a statement about the postponement of consideration due to illness, but it turned out that she decided to punish me with deprivation of my rights. Now I’m waiting for the decision to file an appeal. Please write to someone who had something similar and how it ended .Thank you in advance

And on discontinued models (note point 3)?

Hello, I have gas 3102 with conventional halogen lamps, I want to install LED bi-lenses that are designed for installation in the H4 base, will I have problems with inspectors? The glass on the headlights is smooth, there are washers

Timur, Hello.

Most likely there will be problems.

Good luck on the roads!

Specifically, I am interested in the fact that the article contains the words that LED light bulbs VIOLATE THE OPERATING MODE. How can you violate the OPERATING MODE when this OPERATING MODE is not described and there are no requirements for the operation of LED lamps? Please point your nose at the place where the operating mode of LED bulbs is described, yes, LED bulbs!?!?!?!

Also, international standards do not provide for separate labeling of LED headlights or am I mistaken? They are also marked HC/R. New cars that are equipped with LED headlights still have the same notorious HC/R marking, take the same Ford.

It follows that LED light bulbs are nothing more than constructive interference with a warning or a fine of 500 rubles. Another question is to install ice instead of halogen lamps - a controversial point and I would punish for this, but again, on what point? still the same design... it's a different matter with the bi-led lens (still the same constructive intervention) when the native reflector no longer has any role, the headlight has a bi-led lens that works like a long-range lens...

And you write about deprivation, it seems to me that there are some omissions on these issues.

If we are talking about the letter of the law, let's talk about the letter of the law and not about how "non-born" drivers are being scammed.

It does not allow me to attach a resolution from the inspector who issued a warning for the LEDs in the headlights. (if I find a way to compress without losing quality, I’ll post it)

Let's return to the letter of the law. That is, the court assumes the right to punish drivers for a non-existent violation? It's like a driver driving himself along the road on a sunny day. and the inspector stops him and begins to fine him for the fact that the driver’s visor is not lowered so that the driver does not accidentally go blind.... After all, deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle for the fact that there is an LED in the headlight (or if in mind it is a BILED LENS) is nothing more than arbitrariness , because no operating modes can be violated, how can I violate something that does not exist (how can I violate a rule that does not exist)? It’s the same as being punished for a law that will be invented after you are punished with the wording that ignorance of the law does not exempt you from responsibility - nonsense? I would really like to see a resolution where the court assumes the right to equate LEDs in terms of operating mode with gas-discharge light bulbs (or xenon in common parlance) - according to what kind of supreme law or laws of physics are they doing this? That is, they are generally aware that an LED is not a gas discharge in order to assume the right to equate it with xenon???? Why then are new cars allowed on the roads that come from the factory with LED headlights marked HC/R - let me remind you for those who have forgotten that this is the marking of halogen headlights? That is, all drivers who have just bought a car should immediately lose their license? So, or on what principle is the decision made to deprive these of these not to deprive - on the principle of who will give more? Because as an excuse, this car is equipped with LED optics from the factory, but this one won’t work... In addition, in the same provision there is a note about discontinued vehicles, where the installation of external lighting devices from other vehicles is allowed (given the trend of releasing modifications every three the car is discontinued after three years)

And if someone has problems, find yourself an intelligent lawyer who understands the essence of the issue and not what our courts are used to doing.

Good luck to everyone on the roads

My post is a script, just sticking an LED bulb into a headlight that was made for halogen is evil, you blind drivers and I would punish for this. do it wisely and install ticket modules that do not interact with your reflector in any way, everything will be there inside and out and no one will be blinded and the result is obvious as they say... However, this is still the same warning or a fine of 500 rubles.

Evgeniy199

It's actually quite simple! The entire traffic police system works in one connection with the Judicial system.

This is where the statistics on prison sentences come from.

Judges are quite incompetent in such complex issues... There is little practice...

There are no specific regulatory documents regarding LED lamps and their operating modes..

If, for example, they approved it with xenon... Be kind and do it using diodes, and not cunningly play around with it, as “conscientious” traffic police officers like to do. Whatever the traffic cop writes, that’s how the judge will most often make a decision. In favor of “their” system without understanding it.

if there is no normal qualified defender in defense.

or a conscientious judge...which has become a rarity these days...

Sergey-710

Good afternoon Maxim. I have a slightly off-topic question, but it also concerns car lighting equipment. For some time now, Vesta’s car has had headlights and taillights, so to speak, from the “Tuning” series. When stopped by traffic police officers, how will the owners of these cars with devices installed on them be punished? Thank you.

Sergey, Hello.

2. If you want to install non-standard headlights, then it makes sense to officially legalize them. In this case there will be no penalties.

3. For changing the design, a fine of 500 rubles (and cancellation of registration) may be imposed.

4. So far, I have no information about whether they are punishable under Part 3 of Article 12.15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (deprivation of rights) for a complete replacement of lighting devices. It cannot be ruled out that such punishment is possible.

Good luck on the roads!

Sergey-710

3. Driving a vehicle with lighting devices with red lights or red reflective devices installed on the front part of which, as well as lighting devices, the color of the lights and operating mode who do not comply with the requirements of the Basic Provisions for the admission of vehicles to operation and the duties of officials to ensure road safety, -

entails deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for a period of six months to one year with confiscation of the specified instruments and accessories.

In the article, the quotation highlights “operating mode”, i.e. By installing LED lamps in halogen headlights, the driver violates. Sorry, but what has changed in the headlights? How did LED lamps affect lighting?

Sergey-710

I read it. I understand that only equipment for which the manufacturer has a certificate can be officially legalized? So if I buy headlights for which the manufacturer does not have a certificate, I will not be able to legitimize and install them? Thank you.

Sergey:

1. If you are confident that you are right, then you can use any light bulbs. And you will simply need to prove your point of view in court later. I do not rule out that you will succeed. If this happens, then please write here about the results.

Headlights don't work? Do you need to change your car headlight bulbs? Let's figure it out.

First, let's look at what types of headlight bulbs there are.

First of all, car lamps can be divided into 2 main types:

Headlights- installed in the headlights of the car.

Additional light lamps- these include side lights, parking and interior lamps, brake lights.

Each type of lamp has its own designations and connection standards (for example, H1, H3, H4 - designations for lamps containing halogen gases).

Secondly, according to their purpose, the front lamps are divided:

High/low beam bulbs- basic lighting of the road surface in front of the car. They are component headlights that can be switched when necessary to illuminate distant/nearby sections of the road.

Fog lamps- installed in head optics. The light from the headlights seems to spread along the road, not illuminating the fog in height. Used in severe weather conditions (fog, rain, snowfall). They not only help the driver better navigate the road in bad weather, but also increase the visibility of the vehicle itself for other road users.

Thirdly, division by design:

Automotive incandescent lamps- the oldest type of lamp. One might say outdated.

Halogen (halogen) lamps- are an incandescent lamp in the bulb of which there is a buffer gas (halogen vapor - bromine or iodine). They have a long service life. The most common type of lamps used in car headlights. They are constantly being improved to obtain greater light intensity and increase the radius of illumination in front of the car.

Xenon lamps- consist of a flask with gas (xenon) and electrodes. They glow due to the electric arc that occurs due to the supply of voltage. The light that a xenon lamp emits is white, close in spectrum to daylight, and bright (the intensity is 3 times higher than that of halogen lamps). Bright, energy efficient, and long-lasting lamps. Comfortable for the driver's eyes, but may be excessively bright for other road users.

LEDs- consist of numerous light-emitting diodes (LED). The light emitted is close to daylight. They consume less electricity compared to halogen lamps and have a very long service life. Work without wear for a long time of use. Thanks to their small size, they open up wide design possibilities. However, in winter, the luminous flux of LED lamps is significantly reduced.

What you need to know about headlight bulbs before replacing them

1. The basic rule to remember if you are planning to replace headlight bulbs is that headlight bulbs need to be replaced in pairs.

There are good reasons for this:

• The light bulbs were installed together at the same time, which means that once one burned out, the death of the other was not far off.
• If you decide to leave the second one and replace only one in order to save money, then you will disrupt the light distribution picture, because a new lamp will always shine brighter than one that has already worked for a long time.

2. When going to the store to buy new headlight bulbs, take your old ones with you. This will make it easier for you to choose similar ones and eliminate the risk of buying unsuitable ones. However, do not forget to study the labels on the packages.

3. Continuing the topic about packaging: check whether it has a conformity mark. This is a prerequisite if the product is of high quality (which is exactly what is needed). If you see the words “Offroad use only” or “Not for use in Europe”, then we skip such lamps - they are prohibited for use in Russia.

4. The inscriptions +50% Light or Beam Performance +60% on the packaging promise you that some points in front of the car will be illuminated better compared to the capabilities of conventional lamps. However, remember that additional effects reduce the life of the bulbs, which means replacing them faster.

5. White and yellow lamps and inscriptions of the type 2600 K. Here the standard for comparison is the daytime color temperature, which is in the range of 4000-6500 K.

The value on the packaging is close to it - the light emitted by the lamp is similar to daylight. It is comfortable and familiar, creates less strain on the eyes, and objects are clearer in it. However, in rainy weather or fog, visibility drops sharply, because... white light reflects from water drops.

The value on the package is below 3000 K - you see yellow lamps. They are effective in bad weather, although not as comfortable in good weather conditions. In this regard, they are installed in fog lights, not headlights.

If the lamp bulb is colored, most likely this is a purely aesthetic decision - the light will be white. In some cases, the flasks are dyed blue to increase the color temperature.

6. Is there no indication of the lifespan of the headlight bulb? The standard lifetime at a voltage of 13.2 V is considered to be:

• for halogen lamps - 600 hours,
• for gas-discharge (xenon) lamps - about 3000 hours,
• for light-emitting diodes (LED) – 10,000 hours,
• for organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) – 30,000 hours.

Excessive voltage reduces the service life of the light bulb (for example, an increase in voltage by 5% results in a decrease in the service life of the lamp by 40%). However, the luminous flux will be stronger. At low voltage the situation is reversed.

7. The original lamp was 60/55 W, but only a more powerful one is available - 100/90 W. Is it worth purchasing it, and does it provide more light? No, bigger doesn't mean better. If you don’t want the experiment to end in a fire due to excess load on the wiring.

8. Are a gas-discharge (xenon) lamp and a halogen headlight bulb marked intense white xenon effect analogous? Both emits pure white light, but they still differ - HID bulbs shine better.

Replacing headlight bulbs

If your headlights won't turn on, you usually don't need to completely remove or replace your headlights to get them working again. The process of replacing a headlight bulb and the sequence of steps may differ depending on the car model, but often it is enough to unscrew a few mounting bolts and a little time. For example, Replacing headlight bulbs is as follows: unscrew the bolts, remove the headlight (you can remove it without pulling out the connector) or pull out the headlight without completely removing the entire unit to reach the light bulb, carefully unscrew or press on the special plug to separate the lamp, and install a new light element.

The main difficulty in replacing a headlight bulb is the design of the car, which does not allow easy access to the mounts and the bulb itself. Sometimes other parts of the car need to be removed to make the replacement. Also, some parts are too tight, so not everyone can cope with this task (this mainly applies to girls) or there is a risk of damaging the parts with excessive force (especially if this force is not needed there). In this regard, it is sometimes easier to contact a car service center than to waste time understanding the nuances of the process; besides, the service is inexpensive and will take a little time from professionals.

Read how to tint headlights.

Lighting technology on a car is the basis for safety and convenience on the roads. This is the same integral part of the vehicle as the wheels and steering wheel. At the same time, there are quite a lot of types and configurations of lighting equipment for a car. In this article we will look at the main types of headlights and their purpose.

Based on direct functionality, car headlights can be divided into separate classes:

• Side lights - designed to indicate the dimensions of the vehicle, located at the front and rear.
• Low beam - the main headlights designed to illuminate the road directly in front of the car; they shine brightly, but only for a limited short distance, about 40–50 meters.
• High beam - headlights that shine over a long distance, 200-300 meters. They provide a comfortable light path even at very high speeds.
• Fog lights are additional lights for worse weather conditions (blizzard, fog, etc.). When used simultaneously with low beams, fog lights strongly dazzle other road users.
• Running lights operate during the day to further identify the vehicle. They were first used in the countries of Scandinavia and the British Isles, where sometimes during the day the lighting is insufficient to fully ensure safety.
• Special front lighting devices, such as rally lights, light seekers, spotlights, etc.

Headlight device

The design of a car's headlight is approximately the same for all modifications. The glow is created by three segments of the headlight.

Light source

The lamp's radiation is not directed directly like a flashlight, in fact, it rather shines in all directions, directing particles of light to the next segment.

Reflector

It comes in many shapes, often a relatively regular cone, but there can be many variations depending on the headlight configuration and the overall design of the front of the car. Usually it is glass or plastic with a small coating of aluminum. As is quite clear from the internal form of the word, its main task is to reflect all the light that falls on it. With this reflection it intensifies. Special correctors, in turn, limit the light zone, directing the light beam. In terms of light reflection, three main subtypes can also be distinguished:

Diffuser

This is the outer part of the headlight, also made of glass or a special material. Have you seen huge white sheets on a tripod on a photo or film set? The purpose of a car diffuser is similar. Its tasks are to protect the headlight from external influences, as well as to diffuse and direct its light. For example, the fog lights do not shine straight ahead, but rather “under your feet”, downward - forward. For these functions, the shape of the diffuser may vary. LED and matrix headlights have a slightly different method of operation; we will look at this specificity a little later, when we talk about LEDs separately.

This is the functional distribution of headlights, the same for any vehicle. They can also be divided according to the principle of the device. Scientific progress does not stand still; technologists and designers are asking one important question: how to ensure maximum safety and lighting range, while eliminating the glare factor. Also important are the reliability of the headlight, durability, long service life, environmental friendliness, and don’t forget about the design.

Types of lamps

Based on the method of lamp operation, headlights can be divided into four types:

• Incandescent lamps
• Halogen
• Xenon
• LED

Incandescent lamp

The simplest ones, the same as ordinary light bulbs. Its operation is ensured by a tungsten filament placed in an airless glass flask. When voltage is applied, the tungsten filament heats up, which produces light. Such lamps are not very reliable; they are obsolete: tungsten constantly evaporates from the filament. It becomes thinner, which ultimately leads to rupture. Also, such devices easily darken and are very susceptible to voltage surges. They are still widely used in everyday life, but are gradually falling out of use due to multiple shortcomings. They are no longer used on vehicles.

Halogen lamps

Also often used in everyday life. The mechanism of its operation is approximately the same - heating a tungsten filament, however, due to the fact that pairs of halogens (iodine or bromine) are pumped into the flask, which interact with tungsten atoms and do not allow the latter to settle, they move around the filament in a spiral, periodically again sticking to her.

The service life of such lamps is many times longer than conventional incandescent lamps. Such lamps have a long service life. Much depends on the quality and, accordingly, the cost. Good halogen lamps can last for several years of constant use. Technical documentation usually prescribes short service life, about a thousand hours of continuous operation and beyond, but in fact, a high-quality halogen lamp can last two to three times longer than its expected service life. It is also important that the wiring in the car is in perfect working order. Problems with the electronics or battery will affect the life of the headlights.

Xenon lamps (gas discharge)

Also common in the automotive industry. The first here were, as always, the Germans - they installed xenon headlights on the BMW 7 Series in 1994. This device works by heating xenon gas, a noble gas that emits a lot of light when heated. Such lamps are much more powerful than gas-discharge lamps. Let's say, with a power of 35 W, a xenon lamp produces a luminous flux of 3000–3200 lm, which is a third more than a halogen lamp can produce with twice the power.

Xenon lamps save electricity, produce a lot of light and last a long time (the service life of a xenon headlight will be about two thousand hours, about two to three times longer than its halogen counterpart.), but they are expensive. In such a device, in addition to the simple three units that we have already talked about, there are also special xenon heaters, consisting of an ignition unit and an electronic temperature and power control system. These mechanisms increase the price of the headlight several times.

LEDs

The LED flashlight is based on a semiconductor crystal that converts electric current into light. First, such devices appeared in the industrial sphere, but now they are widely integrated into everyday life. In the automotive industry, LEDs have begun to be used for ambient lighting - brake lights, dashboard lights, interior lighting, and so on.

It was believed that LED lamps were not bright enough to be installed in headlights. Now they shine very brightly due to the fact that they are installed in entire honeycomb segments inside the headlight. One LED emits less light than a xenon lamp, but when installed together they completely cover the amount of illumination required for safety. The LED itself is a self-sufficient light source. On some car models, the LED headlight consists of two to three dozen individual diodes. Each of them contains a lens, crystal, anode and cathode, providing a constant voltage. The burnout or malfunction of one diode usually does not lead to the breakdown of the others.

Laser

The newest technology that is being actively developed is laser headlights. For the first time such headlights were used on the futuristic BMW i8. The technology of the headlight is quite simple - the laser shines on a lens with phosphor, which in turn begins to emit bright light, and the reflector directs this light onto the road.

They are superior to LED headlights in terms of illumination and energy consumption, and the service life is comparable. A significant disadvantage of these headlights is their cost, they are the most expensive headlights of our time, at least 10 thousand euros, for this amount you can buy a new budget car.

Modern developments

The design of the LED headlight has been brought to the technological absolute in the matrix headlight. In it, the driver can change and adjust a separate diode to suit himself and the needs of the road situation. Such matrix LEDs can individually adapt to any, even difficult visibility situation.

LED headlamps appeared ten years ago. LED headlights on cars are becoming more and more popular due to the fact that they have virtually no disadvantages. They consume a tiny amount of electricity, their service life can be several times greater than the service life of other headlights; if the temperature conditions are observed, the service life of such a lamp will be five thousand hours or more. The only, but noticeable, disadvantage is the high cost. In the modern automotive market, headlights in general are not a cheap pleasure and are approaching the cost of laser headlights - for the price of an LED headlight you can sometimes buy an entire car, even a used one. On the other hand, such a lamp, if used correctly, can last for many years and never be reminded of itself, which can ultimately result in significant savings.

Initially, LED headlights were installed on premium cars, on some Cadillac and Audi models. Now some manufacturers are making LED headlights that can be installed in place of xenon headlights, so LED lighting can now be installed on brands that were not originally designed for it. In general, the opinion of motorists agrees that LED headlights will, one way or another, take over the market.

The problem with the lack of light has been solved thanks to technological innovations, and the price will gradually decrease under the pressure of demand and lower prices for materials. Perhaps in the near future, most cars will be equipped with LED headlights. But for now, for objective reasons, xenon and halogen headlights remain the basis of the market.

Headlights of modern cars can be divided into several main types - high and low beam headlights, fog lights and specialized additional headlights.

Additional headlights can be called spotlights, which ensure safe high-speed movement on the highway at night, rear and side lighting for comfortable maneuvering in parking lots or off-road in the dark. The characteristics of the light of a particular type of headlight are determined by the location of the lamp relative to its reflector and the pattern on its glass, as well as the placement of the headlight on the vehicle.

Fog light (English - Fog light or Fog lamp)

In rain, fog or thick snow, a conventional low-beam headlight reduces the effectiveness of illuminating the road. The first reaction to deteriorating visibility is to turn on the high beams, but at the same moment the driver realizes that the situation has only worsened, this is due to the blinding effect. The explanation is simple: the high beam has no restrictions and is not cut off at the top of the light beam. The high beam beam, reflecting from droplets of fog or snowflakes, blinds the driver with the reflected light.
Under constant external illumination, the amount of light entering the eye per unit time is proportional to the area of ​​the pupil. The eye reacts to external illumination by reflexively dilating or constricting the pupil, and the pupil of the unlit eye also reacts; this is called a friendly reaction to light.
Responsiveness to light is a useful regulatory mechanism because bright light conditions reduce the amount of light reaching the retina. Thus, the light from the headlights illuminating the road becomes poorly visible or completely invisible, this is the effect of blinding.

The fog lamp is specially designed for bad weather conditions and is initially designed for narrowly targeted use.
Fog lights have a wide light distribution pattern horizontally and a very narrow beam vertically. The main task of fog lights is to shine as if under fog, rain or snow, thereby not blinding the driver with reflected light, as happens when the high beams are turned on.

Requirements for fog lights: the upper cut-off line must be as sharp as possible, the dispersion angle in the vertical plane is the smallest, about 5 degrees, and in the horizontal plane the largest, about 60 degrees, and the maximum light intensity must be close to the upper cut-off line.

We strongly recommend not installing xenon lamps in fog lights. The focusing of the headlight is disrupted because A xenon lamp does not have a fixed light source, but a rotating high-voltage arc that forms a luminous ball. The headlight, designed for a specific type of lamp, cannot cope with the new light source and multiple mutual reflections and refractions occur in the reflector, which causes blurring of the cut-off boundaries and ultimately blinding oncoming and passing drivers. In addition, the fog lamp loses its ability to provide visibility and illumination of the road in bad weather conditions.

There are also rear fog lights. That's why they are called that because they are designed for conditions of insufficient visibility for drivers driving behind you. It is prohibited to connect them together with brake lights, or to turn them on on a clear night. For example, in a traffic jam, fog lights with fairly powerful 21W lamps will, if not dazzle, then irritate drivers driving behind. And stop signals are much less visible against their background. In other words, rear fog lights turned on inappropriately will not help, but will do harm!

Diagram light distribution

This is how the driver sees fog in headlights low beam

The same fog, but without low beam with PTF on

PT F Module D100

Dipped Beam or Low Beam

A low beam headlight is a light device designed to illuminate the road ahead of a vehicle. The lighting parameters of low beam headlights are selected to ensure visibility of the road ahead at 50-60 meters and safe driving on a relatively narrow road without dazzling oncoming drivers.

Modern lighting systems can be divided by type of light distribution - European and American.

European and American car headlight lighting systems are different both in the structure of the light beam created and in the principles of its formation. This is due to both the peculiarities of traffic organization and the quality of the road surface. Both systems have both two and four headlight designs.

American cars are equipped with headlights, or more often headlight lamps, in which the low beam filament is shifted above the horizontal plane. Thanks to this arrangement, the luminous flux of the low beam is shifted towards the right side of the road and inclined downwards. The entire reflective surface of the headlight reflector is involved in the formation of beams of both low and high beam.

The European lighting system is designed differently; the low beam filament is shifted upward relative to the focus of the reflector, while the filament is shielded from the lower hemisphere by a special metal screen.
Only the upper hemisphere of the headlight reflector is involved in the formation of low beam. On the left side, the screen is cut at an angle of 15 degrees, this allows you to get a clear asymmetrical beam of low beam. The border of the illuminated zone is clear, the right side of the road is brightly lit, and the left part of the beam does not blind oncoming drivers. The low beam illumination range does not exceed 50-60 meters. Modern low-beam headlights, as well as high-beam ones, are made with transparent glass, and the formation of an asymmetrical beam occurs on the surface of the reflector, which has a pronounced relief. This design allows you to increase the brightness of the luminous flux, since the beam is not scattered on the surface of the corrugated glass of the headlight and, as a rule, has the same brightness over the entire illuminated plane. This technology is called free form and is used on all modern cars, both in head and additional optics.

Driving light, Main Beam or Hi Beam

A high beam headlight is a light device designed to illuminate the road ahead of a vehicle in the absence of oncoming traffic. High beam provides illumination of the road and roadside at a distance of 100-150 meters, creating a bright, flat beam of light of relatively high intensity (min. requirements).

High beam headlights can be divided into two categories. These are standard high-beam headlights included in the vehicle and additional mounted headlights, of various shapes and sizes with various characteristics of the light beam and lamp power.

As a rule, standard headlights of modern cars, for the sake of design, have modest reflector sizes and have the minimum required characteristics. For infrequent night trips, the light from the standard headlights is quite enough. But, if traveling long distances at night is a necessity for you, then by installing additional high-beam headlights, you will significantly protect your driving at night.

The range of high beam headlights is so diverse that it allows you to choose mounted headlights for both a compact passenger car and a prepared SUV. Having decided on the size and design of the headlights, it is necessary to select the main lighting characteristics, namely the shape of the beam and the aperture of the headlight.

High-speed traffic on a highway at night requires headlights to have maximum beam range in order to respond in a timely manner to an obstacle. For such conditions, headlights with a narrow beam are best suited, where the entire aperture of the headlamp is aimed at achieving maximum range. This type of headlight is called a spotlight. The spotlight creates a narrow, weakly scattering concentrated beam and is used to illuminate objects at a considerable distance up to 1 kilometer.

If you often travel on secondary roads, the width of the beam that illuminates the side of the road and the surrounding area is much more important, because The side of the road at night is fraught with many surprises. For such conditions, we recommend high beam headlights and wide beam high beam headlights. These headlights are not as “long-range” as spotlights, but their range is quite sufficient for a timely reaction to an obstacle.

We remind you that in order to avoid dazzling, the high beam must be switched to low beam at least 150 meters before the oncoming car, and also at a greater distance if the oncoming driver periodically switches his headlights. Glare can also occur from the rearview mirror. Unexpected blinding of drivers of oncoming cars driving behind a break in the longitudinal profile of the road or around a bend is very dangerous. In these cases, you need to switch the high beam to low beam in advance.

Daytime Running Lights (DRL)

The first to realize the benefits of always-on headlights were the Scandinavian countries. Until recently, they were partially supported: in some places it was obligatory to turn on headlights only outside the city or only in winter. But it seems that these are only half measures...

European statistics and numerous studies have convincingly confirmed that “daylight” lights on cars need to be legalized. And so all the countries of the European Union decided to join their northern neighbors - since 2003, switched on headlights have become as mandatory a driving condition as wearing a seat belt!

In twenty districts of Lower Saxony, a campaign called “Turn on the lights during the day” was held. Information boards have been installed on dangerous sections of roads urging drivers to turn on their headlights during daylight hours. And although the calls were advisory in nature, German pedantry elevated them to the rank of law. The results were impressive: the number of victims on the designated routes was reduced by a quarter!

Daytime running lights, or daytime running lights, are lights on the front of a vehicle that emit bright white light to increase the visibility of the vehicle in daylight conditions.
Advantages of daytime running lights:
. Low power consumption, which practically does not increase fuel consumption.
. Does not increase wear on conventional headlights.
. Optimal contrast on a bright sunny day.

Since February 2011, cars and light trucks sold in all EU countries must be equipped with so-called daytime running lights.

Work lights

To carry out construction, installation, loading and similar work at night, specialized light is required. Since standard low- and high-beam headlights, and even more so spotlights, cannot create the necessary light spot, special work lights designed for illuminating large areas are used for these purposes.
Due to their specific specificity, Hella work lights have many models that differ in the level of protection, number of lamps and light distribution.

An important point is that all modern Hella work lights are built using modern FF technology (FF is an abbreviation for Free-Form - free form or free surface). The calculation of the reflector surface was performed on a computer; the result is an optimal fit of the reflector surface to the lamp with increased luminous efficiency.
Certain parts of the reflector, calculated point by point, are responsible for illuminating a certain part of the road. The light flux generated by the FF reflector is distributed more evenly than from a classic parabolic reflector and creates an evenly illuminated section of the road with soft transitions and without sharp contrasts. For example, in most headlights the intensity of the light beam has a smooth transition from maximum brightness at the top of the optical element with a smooth decrease towards the bottom. This effect is created by a FF reflector for uniform illumination. The beam, falling on the plane of the road surface, creates a uniform fill with the same brightness of the spot along its entire length.

Hella work lights have several types of light distribution:

Long Range- Most headlights with this index have transparent glass, without a pattern; headlights of this type form a light spot at some distance from the light source, and the gap between the headlight and the light spot remains minimally illuminated with a clear cut-off line. Such light distribution eliminates unwanted illumination of structural elements of the vehicle (hood, bucket or blade). As a rule, halogen work lights have these properties; headlights with a gas-discharge lamp (xenon) and the Long Range light distribution index form a light corridor of small width, but an impressive range of up to 140 meters.

Close Range- The wide, flood beam of this headlight illuminates not only a large area, but also vertical obstacles. The light spot is formed in the immediate vicinity of the light source. There is a feeling that the light is “peeping” around the corner. To increase the brightness of the spot, we recommend sticking out headlights with two 55W 12V or 70W 24V lamps or headlights with a gas discharge lamp (xenon).

Ground illumination- Specialized headlight to illuminate the ground with a very wide and bright beam, superior to Close Range headlights. In the upper part of the light beam, the headlight has a clear cut-off line, which does not lead to blinding of an outside observer.
Ground illumination is ideal for cases when you need to highlight the ground over a large area. The headlight is supplied with both H9 65W halogen lamps and gas discharge lamps (xenon).

Reversing Light- There is another type of light distribution, Reversing Light, which is indirectly related to work light headlights; the only thing they have in common is the level of protection of the headlights and the same housings. Reversing Light - This is a specialized light for reversing, the headlight forms a wide flat beam “fan” and requires a minimum mounting height. In this case, the light from the headlight is spread out on the plane, creating a maximum area of ​​illumination and without blinding drivers moving behind you.

It makes no sense to use work lights as work lights:
- Low beam headlights.
- High beam headlights.
- Fog light.

Anti-fog light

Work light

How do xenon headlight bulbs differ from halogen ones? Who first used incandescent lamps in a car? What are “adaptive” headlights? We decided to trace the entire evolution of automotive lighting systems - from acetylene torches to the latest “smart” head systems, in which beams from LEDs will illuminate the road according to commands from the navigation system.

Until the light bulb
Before the light bulb there were candles. Or oil burners. But they shone so weakly that at night it was easier to leave the car at home than to travel “by touch.”

The first source of automobile light was acetylene gas - it was proposed to be used to illuminate the road in 1896 by the pilot and aircraft designer Louis Bleriot. Starting acetylene headlights is a ritual. First you need to open the tap of the acetylene generator so that water drips onto the calcium carbide, which is located at the bottom of the “barrel”. When carbide interacts with water, acetylene is formed, which flows through rubber tubes to the ceramic burner, which is located at the focus of the reflector. Now the driver must open the headlight glass, strike a match - and off you go. But after a maximum of four hours you will have to stop in order to reopen the headlight, clean it of soot and fill the generator with a new portion of carbide and water.

However, the carbide headlights shined brilliantly. For example, acetylene headlights created in 1908 by the Westphalian Metal Industry Company (as Hella was called at that time) illuminated up to 300 meters of the path! Such a high result was achieved through the use of lenses and parabolic reflectors. By the way, the parabolic reflector itself was invented back in 1779 by Ivan Petrovich Kulibin - the same Kulibin who created a three-wheeled “scooter” with a flywheel and a prototype of a gearbox.

The first automobile incandescent lamp was patented back in 1899 by the French company Bassee & Michel. But until 1910, carbon filament lamps were unreliable, very uneconomical and required heavy, oversized batteries, which also depended on recharging stations: automobile generators of suitable power did not yet exist. And then there was a revolution in “lighting” technologies - filaments began to be made from refractory tungsten (melting point 3410 ° C), which did not “burn out”. The first production car with electric lights (and also with an electric starter and ignition) was the 1912 Cadillac Model 30 Self Starter. After just one year, 37% of American cars had electric lighting, and after another four, 99% did! With the development of a suitable dynamo, the dependence on charging stations also disappeared.

By the way, if you think that Thomas Alva Edison invented the incandescent lamp, then this is not entirely true. Yes, it was Edison who got serious about light bulbs when the gas in his workshop was turned off for non-payment. And it was Edison in 1880 who presented a comprehensive rationale for using lamps with a carbon filament placed in the airless space of a glass ball. Edison also came up with a base. But the basic design of the incandescent lamp belongs to the Russian electrical engineer Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin, a native of the Tambov province. He presented his development six years earlier. Moreover, historical documents mention a certain German watchmaker Heinrich Goebel, who managed to use electricity to heat a charred bamboo fiber inserted into a glass flask to glow, as much as 150 years ago, in 1854. But Gebel simply didn’t have enough money for a patent...

Dazzling Ideas
The problem of blinding oncoming drivers first arose with the advent of carbide headlights. They fought it in different ways: they moved the reflector, taking the light source out of its focus, moved the burner itself for the same purpose, and also placed various curtains, dampers and blinds in the path of the light. And when an incandescent lamp lit up in the headlights, additional resistances were even included in the electrical circuit during oncoming traffic, which reduced the filament’s intensity. But the best solution was proposed by Bosch, which in 1919 created a lamp with two incandescent filaments - for high and low beam. By that time, a diffuser had already been invented - a headlight glass covered with prismatic lenses, deflecting the light of the lamp down and to the sides. Since then, designers have been faced with two opposing tasks: to illuminate the road as much as possible and to prevent oncoming drivers from being blinded.

You can increase the brightness of incandescent lamps by raising the filament temperature. But at the same time, tungsten begins to evaporate intensively. If there is a vacuum inside the lamp, then tungsten atoms gradually settle on the bulb, covering it from the inside with a dark coating. A solution to the problem was found during the First World War: since 1915, lamps began to be filled with a mixture of argon and nitrogen. Gas molecules form a kind of “barrier” that prevents the evaporation of tungsten. And the next step was taken already at the end of the 50s: the flask began to be filled with halides, gaseous compounds of iodine or bromine. They “bind” the evaporating tungsten and return it to the spiral. The first halogen lamp for a car was introduced in 1962 by Hella - “regeneration” of the filament made it possible to raise the operating temperature from 2500 K to 3200 K, which increased the light output by one and a half times, from 15 lm/W to 25 lm/W. At the same time, the lamp life has doubled, heat transfer has decreased from 90% to 40%, and the dimensions have become smaller (the halogen cycle requires proximity of the filament and the glass “shell”).

And the main step in solving the problem of glare was made in the mid-50s - the French company Cibie in 1955 proposed the idea of ​​asymmetrical distribution of low beams so that the “passenger” side of the road was illuminated further than the “driver’s” side. And two years later, “asymmetrical” light was legalized in Europe.

Deformation
For many years, headlights remained round, the simplest and cheapest form of parabolic reflector to make. But a gust of “aerodynamic” wind first “blown” the headlights into the wings of the car (the first integrated headlights appeared at Pierce-Arrow in 1913), and then turned the circle into a rectangle (the 1961 Citroen AMI 6 was already equipped with rectangular headlights). Such headlights were more difficult to produce and required more engine compartment space, but along with smaller vertical dimensions they had a larger reflector area and increased light output.

To make such a headlight shine brightly with smaller dimensions, it was necessary to give the parabolic reflector (in rectangular headlights a truncated paraboloid) even greater depth. And this was too labor-intensive. In general, the usual optical schemes were not suitable for further development. Then the English company Lucas proposed using a “homofocal” reflector - a combination of two truncated paraboloids with different focal lengths, but with a common focus. The Austin-Rover Maestro was one of the first to try on the new product in 1983. In the same year, Hella presented a conceptual development - “three-axis” headlights with an ellipsoidal reflector (DE, DreiachsEllipsoid). The fact is that an ellipsoidal reflector has two foci at once. The rays emitted by a halogen lamp from the first focus are collected in the second, from where they are directed into a collecting lens. This type of headlight is called floodlight. The efficiency of the “ellipsoidal” headlight in low beam mode was 9% higher than the “parabolic” one (conventional headlights sent only 27% of the light to its destination) with a diameter of only 60 millimeters. These headlights were intended for fog and low beam (a screen was placed in the second focus, creating an asymmetrical cut-off line). And the first production car with “three-axis” headlights was the BMW “Seven” at the end of 1986. After another two years, the ellipsoidal headlights became simply super! More precisely - Super DE, as Hella called them. This time the profile of the reflector was different from a purely ellipsoidal shape - it was “free” (Free Form), designed in such a way that the main part of the light passed over the screen responsible for the low beam. Headlight efficiency increased to 52%.

Further development of reflectors would be impossible without mathematical modeling - computers make it possible to create the most complex combined reflectors. Look, for example, into the “eyes” of cars such as Daewoo Matiz, Hyundai Getz or the “young” Gazelle. Their reflectors are divided into segments, each of which has its own focus and focal length. Each “slice” of the multifocal reflector is responsible for illuminating “its own” section of the road. The light of the lamp is used almost completely - with the exception of the end of the lamp, covered with a cap. And a diffuser, that is, glass with many “built-in” lenses, is no longer needed - the reflector itself does an excellent job of distributing light and creating a cut-off line. The efficiency of such headlights, called reflective, is close to that of floodlights.

Modern reflectors are “formed” from thermoplastic, aluminum, magnesium and thermoset (metalized plastic), and the headlights are covered not with glass, but with polycarbonate. The first plastic lens appeared in 1993 on the Opel Omega sedan - this made it possible to reduce the weight of the headlight by almost a kilogram! But polycarbonate “glass” resists abrasion much worse than real glass. Therefore, brush headlight cleaners, which Saab introduced back in 1971, are no longer made...

The century-long reign of the incandescent light bulb is coming to an end. The noble gases krypton and xenon help her “end her career” with dignity. The latter is considered one of the best fillers for incandescent lamps - with xenon, you can raise the temperature of the filament close to the melting point of tungsten and bring the light spectrum closer to that of the sun.

But ordinary incandescent lamps filled with xenon are one thing. But “xenon” with a bright blue glow, which is used on expensive cars, is fundamentally different. In xenon gas-discharge lamps, it is not the hot filament that glows, but the gas itself - or rather, the electric arc that occurs between the electrodes during a gas discharge when a high-voltage voltage is applied. For the first time such lamps (Bosch Litronic) were installed on the production BMW 750iL in 1991. Gas-discharge “xenon” is head and shoulders more efficient than the most advanced incandescent lamps - not 40% of the electricity is spent on useless heating, but only 7-8%. Accordingly, gas-discharge lamps consume less energy (35 W versus 55 W for halogen lamps) and shine twice as brightly (3200 lm versus 1500 lm). And since there is no filament, there is nothing to burn out - xenon gas-discharge lamps last much longer than conventional ones.

But gas-discharge lamps are more complicated. The main task is to ignite the gas discharge. To do this, from 12 “constant” volts of the on-board network, you need to get a short pulse of 25 kilovolts - and alternating current, with a frequency of up to 400 Hz! A special ignition module is used for this. Once the lamp is lit (it takes some time to warm up), the electronics reduce the voltage to 85 volts, enough to maintain the discharge.


The complexity of the design and inertia during ignition limited the initial use of gas-discharge lamps to low beam mode. The distant light is the old fashioned way - “halogen”. The designers were able to combine low and high beams in one headlight six years later, and there are two ways to get bi-xenon. If a spotlight is used (like the one invented by Hella), then the switching of light modes is carried out by a screen located in the second focus of the ellipsoidal reflector: in low beam mode it cuts off some of the rays. At a distance, the screen hides and does not interfere with the light flow. And in the reflective type of headlights, the “double action” of the gas-discharge lamp is ensured by the mutual movement of the reflector and the light source. As a result, the light distribution changes along with the focal length.

But according to the French company Valeo, by using separate gas-discharge lamps for low and high beams, you can achieve 40% better illumination than bi-xenon. True, not two, but four ignition modules are required - the expensive Volkswagen Phaeton W12 has such headlights.

However, the future of HID lamps is not nearly as bright as the light they emit. Experts predict the greatest success for LEDs.
An LED is a semiconductor device that emits light when current passes. Until the early 90s, their automotive use was limited to display - the light output was too low. However, already in 1992, Hella equipped the three-ruble BMW Cabrio with a central brake light based on LEDs, and today they are increasingly used in rear lights as “dimensions” and brake lights. LEDs operate 0.2 seconds faster than traditional bulbs, consume less energy (for brake lights - 10 W versus 21 W) and have an almost unlimited service life

But in order to replace bulbs with LEDs in headlights, a number of obstacles must be overcome. Firstly, even the best LEDs are still only comparable in efficiency to halogen lamps (light output is about 25 lumens per watt). At the same time, they are more expensive and require a special cooling system - after all, these are the same semiconductor devices as computer processors. But the developers assure that by 2008 the light output of diodes will reach 70 lm/W (the current xenon has 90 lm/W). So the first production LED headlights may appear in 2010. In the meantime, semiconductors are entrusted with secondary functions - for example, constant “daylight”, as Hella did by placing five LEDs in each headlight of the Audi A8 W12.

Adaptation period
People began making attempts to turn car headlights to follow the steering wheel immediately after the appearance of the headlights themselves. After all, it is convenient to illuminate the part of the road where you are going. However, the mechanical connection of the headlights and steering wheel did not allow the angle of rotation of the beams to be correlated with the speed of movement, and the rules of the beginning of the century simply prohibited “adaptive” light. An attempt to revive the original idea was carried out by Cibie. In 1967, the French introduced the first mechanism for dynamically adjusting the headlight angle, and a year later they began installing turning high beam headlights on the Citroen DS.

Now the idea of ​​turning lighting is being revived - at a new, “electronic” level. The simplest solution is an additional “side” light, which lights up when the steering wheel is turned or the turn signal is turned on at speeds up to 70 km/h. For example, the Audi A8 (first use) and Porsche Cayenne have similar headlights. The next step is truly cornering headlights. In them, the bi-xenon spotlight, taking into account the speed of movement, the angle of rotation of the steering wheel and the angular velocity of the car around the vertical axis (“turn sensor”), rotates after the steering wheel within 22° - 15° outward and 7° inward. BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, and even Opel Astra are equipped with such headlights. The third option for “adaptive” light is combined. At high speeds, only the rotating spotlight is active, and during slow turns or when maneuvering, the static lighting is “connected” (it has a larger coverage angle - up to 90°). The Opel Signum is equipped with such headlights.

But perhaps the most interesting development is VARILIS: a system that Hella is developing together with several car manufacturers. The abbreviation stands for Variable Intelligent lighting system. One of the variations is the VarioX system, which allows the headlight to operate in five light modes. To do this, in the “xenon” spotlight, instead of a screen that turns on the low beam, there is a cylinder of complex shape. Light modes change when the cylinder rotates. So, for example, in the city the headlights shine close but widely, while on the highway the low beam slightly changes the shape of the beam - for greater range. VarioX is expected to be ready for mass production in 2006. And a little later, European regulations will allow headlights to be linked to the GPS system. BMW was one of the first to introduce such a development in 2001. Think of the X-Coupe concept car with its asymmetrical design. His headlights turned at the command of the GPS navigator, taking into account the speed of movement, steering angle and lateral acceleration. And the navigation system will also allow you to “predict” turns and give a command to automatically change the light distribution, say, when crossing the English border - after all, the VarioX system allows this too!

And the next step is to combine headlights and night vision systems. But this is a topic for another conversation...


America - Europe
The approach to lighting systems in the Old World and overseas is radically different. Let's start with the fact that American laws until 1975 prohibited the use of non-round headlights and halogen lamps! Moreover, in the States, the lamp and headlight were combined into one - headlight lamps have been used overseas since 1939. Such devices had one advantage - the tightness of the headlight lamp made it possible to cover the surface of the reflector with silver, the reflectivity of which reaches 90% (versus 60% for chrome-plated reflectors common at that time). But, of course, the entire headlamp had to be replaced.

And the main difference is that in Europe, since 1957, asymmetric light distribution has been adopted with better illumination of the “passenger” side of the road and with a clear cut-off line. But in America, the use of headlights with a border of light and shadow was allowed only in 1997. Allowed, but not required! The light of “American” headlights is distributed almost symmetrically, completely blinding oncoming drivers. In addition, Americans adjust headlights only vertically. And in the USA and Canada there is no uniform procedure for certification of lighting devices. Each manufacturer only guarantees that its headlights comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS), and this has to be confirmed, for example, in the event of an accident due to the fault of the lighting devices.

Vehicles officially imported from the United States are expected to be tested to ensure compliance with European regulations. “American” headlights are marked with the abbreviation DOT (Department Of Transport, Ministry of Transport), and “European” ones are marked with the letter “E” in a circle with the number code of the country where the headlight is approved for use (E1 - Germany, E2 - France, etc.). d.).

It should be taken into account that when passing technical inspection in Russia, “American” headlights and head optics of “right-hand drive” cars can create problems, since the regulatory document, GOST R 51709–2001, regulates the “left-asymmetrical” distribution of light and a clear cut-off line.
H1 - D2: knight move

Automotive lamps usually differ in the design of the base and light output. For example, in two-headlight systems, H4 lamps are most often used - with two filaments, for high beam and low beam. Their luminous flux is 1650/1000 lm. The “foglights” use H8 lamps - single-filament, with a light flux of 800 lm. Other single-filament lamps H9 and HB3 can only provide high beam (luminous flux 2100 and 1860 lm, respectively). And the “universal” single-filament lamps H7 and H11 can be used for both low and high beam - depending on the reflector in which they are installed. And as always, the quality of the lamp depends on the specific manufacturer, equipment, concentration and types of gases (for example, H7 and H9 lamps are sometimes filled not with halogens, but with xenon).

Gas-discharge “xenon” has different designations. The first xenon lamps were devices with the indexes D1R and D1S - they were combined with an ignition module. And behind the indices D2R and D2S are second-generation gas-discharge lamps (R - for a “reflective” optical design, S - for a spotlight).