I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure ALL UK cars still hav eparking lights. I thought it was a legal requirement, despite no one using them any more.
As PU says, usually turned on with the indicator stalk.
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My VW (and the previous two, one of which was first registered in 1989), uses the indicator stalk to set either to left or righthand side of the car - I've also seen Vauxhalls with the same feature.
Never use it though. IIRC the lighting regulations were changed with regard to parking lights not being necessary if parked in a (30mph?) area and with street lights spaced no further than a set distance apart.
It's also, again IIRC, applicable to the use of sidelights whilst driving rather than dipped headlights, although not using the latter would seem foolish.
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Not a legal requirment.
I tend to use them only when parked on the village street (poorly lit).
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See:
tinyurl.com/d8cnj
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To clarify I was refering to the single sided parking lights not obligatory (parking) lights.
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>>To clarify I was refering to the single sided parking lights not obligatory (parking) lights.>>
My father had one of these parking lights for a 1947 Austin 8 we had in the late 1940s and early 1950s as the car had to be parked on the street - the parking light was hooked on to the top rear section of the driver's window for maximum effect.
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I've also seen Vauxhalls with the same feature.
Yep, but only certain makes and models. They tend to only be fitted to larger Vauxhalls, such as Cavaliers, Vectras & Omegas for example. The smaller range of Vauxhalls, eg, Astra & Corsa, I *think* they're only fitted to higher spec models.
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I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure ALL UK cars still hav eparking lights.
No car I've run/owned in the last 15 years has had parking lights.
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No car I've run/owned in the last 15 years has had parking lights.
Parking lights are also commonly known as side lights. If you can leave side lights on without the ignition key being in the ignition, then you've got parking lights.
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Every car built has parking lights, it's a legal requirement to use them whenever parked at night, EXCEPT in a lit 30mph zone.
Some cars like VW, Ford, Vauxhall can select lights on one side by use of the indicator stalk when parked.
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Only in countries where parking lights are still required.
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Only in countries where parking lights are still required.
like this one
223: All vehicles MUST display parking lights when parked on a road or a lay-by on a road with a speed limit greater than 30 mph.
Law RVLR reg 24
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"223: All vehicles MUST display parking lights when parked on a road or a lay-by on a road with a speed limit greater than 30 mph.
Law RVLR reg 24"
I think that implies lights on both sides of the car.
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>Some cars like VW, Ford, Vauxhall can select lights on one side by use of the indicator stalk when parked.Some cars like VW, Ford, Vauxhall can select lights on one side by use of the indicator stalk when parked.>>
It's one side or the other, depending on the position of the indicator stalk (covers vehicles for use whether you drive on the left or righthand side of the road).
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That's why they're called obligatatory lights.
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Fords don't allow you to select one side or the other. At least the Focus doesn't.
You have a light "dial" which you turn clockwise from off for sidelights, then full lights, then fogs. Parking lights come on when you push it in and turn anticlockwise from off and are essentially the sidelights but with no in-car illumination or warning chime at all.
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Fords don't allow you to select one side or the other. At least the Focus doesn't. You have a light "dial" which you turn clockwise from off for sidelights, then full lights, then fogs. Parking lights come on when you push it in and turn anticlockwise from off and are essentially the sidelights but with no in-car illumination or warning chime at all.
A-HA!
*That's* why I see all these Fords with fogs blaring in good weather!!
What a ridiculously stupid design, to have the fogs on the same switch as the normal lights. Whoever thought up that one wants shooting.
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I have them on the mondeo, wont they run the battery down?
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Not when used for the amount of time they should be used for.
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Not when used for the amount of time they should be used for.
...... and when the car is driven every so often.
--
L'escargot.
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>>wont they run the battery down?>>
I once left my then 1989 Jetta in the works car park for two or three days as I was going abroad and came back to find the battery absolutely flat.
The reason was that I had swung sharply left into the parking space and then forgot to return the indicator stalk to the central position.
A kind AA patrolman soon had me going again.
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Don't worry about using them. We have a 40mph limit road near us and there are tens of cars parked outside houses, the pub, the various takeaways every night,some facing the wrong way and I've never seen any of them with lights on or a ticket on the windscreen.
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Reckon they can be used over night without effecting a healthy battery unduly.
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Our '94 VW Golf and Passat both have the one-side parking light facility, which I use occasionally. Worked by operating indicator switch with ignition key removed.
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I believe each side light is 5 Watts. So, if your car has a parking light facility, then presumably you'll be burning two sidelights, one at the front and one at the rear, which is 10 Watts. 10 Watts at 12 Volts is 5/6ths of an Amp.
From there, you can work out how many amp hours you use, depending on how long you keep them on for, and compare it with your total battery's amphour capacity, assuming you start with it fully charged and aim to have at least half capacity remaining to start the engine with.
If your car does NOT have a parking light facility, then you'd be burning 4 sidelights, plus number plate light(s) plus all of the interior lights. Which will give you a much higher current draw. Probably 2 to 3 amps, depending on your car.
So, if you have, say, a 40Ah battery, you'll probably safely get away with 24 hours on parking lights or 6 to 10 hours on sidelights and still be able to start the car. You might get away with more, depending on how much you want in reserve to start the engine.
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