I've raised the first topic before, and nobody is intertested.
Topic 1
Why is it necessary to have top speed capability when in reverse gear ? Accidents are reprted perodically when somebody accidentally accelerates in reverse gear and causes damage and worse. With modern technology can't a selector be put on to limit speed to say, 5 mph ?
Topic 2
I have an auto box, and the reversing lights flash every time I change from park to drive. Not only does it cause alarm to drivers behind me, but it stresses to bulb filaments. Most cars now have a soft start device which causes the interior light to come on gently when the engine is turned off. That would solve the problem because by the time the device has started to react the lever will have moved on. Can I buy a similar device from an aftermarket shop ?
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I've raised the first topic before and nobody is intertested. Topic 1 Why is it necessary to have top speed capability when in reverse gear ? Accidents are reprted perodically when somebody accidentally accelerates in reverse gear and causes
Errrrr top speed is not capable in reverse gear. it has a very low gear ratio
Topic 2 I have an auto box and the reversing lights flash every time I change from park to drive. Not only does it cause alarm to drivers behind me but it stresses to bulb filaments.
Stresses the bulb fillament? I dont think so. I have never had a reverse light go in any auto I had. Cause alarm? I dont think so either.
You are searching for solutions for problems that dont exist.
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< Ex RF, Ex TVM >
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1 point scored to the Vectra. My reverse lights don't come on until approx one second after reverse is selected, so moving the gearlever from P to D (or vice versa) without pausing doesn't cause the reverse lights to briefly flash.
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So thats 99 for the Legacy and 1 for the Vectra then. Evere wondered why so many people from the Manchester area admit to driving Legacy's or Outbacks and none to driving Vectras?
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Because even the manc thieves find them so ugly they wouldn't be caught stealing them.
Is that the right answer?
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... reversing lights flash every time I change from park to drive.
How often are you changing from park to drive? Once per journey would be my advice. You aren't putting it in park at each set of lights are you?
Not only does it cause alarm to drivers behind me.
What's your evidence of this? I wouldn't be alarmed unless the lights stay on.
I think AE is right; there is only an imaginary problem here.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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>> Not only does it cause alarm to drivers behind me. What's your evidence of this? I wouldn't be alarmed unless the lights stay on.
Same here, if I see reversing lights flash when in stationary traffic I think, "it has an automatic gearbox". If the car actually starts moving backwards, then it becomes a cause for concern..
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Hi fellas.
The Outback has one reversing light, set high and to one side, and not much use in my circumstance. Hence I added two fittings with 25 watt tungsten bulbs beneath the back valence, where else ?
Ani fule no that the life of filament lamps depends on how often they are switched on / off. Most of the ?wear? on a bulb occurs as it is switched on. It is quite stressful to be raised from ambient temperature to incandescent temperature almost instantaneously.
If I?m sitting in an interminable queue at road works, as I seem to be doing more often now, I sometimes put the lever into park while I relax while listening to Classic FM, especially when there are two sets of traffic lights which are out of synch. If you are an experienced motorist, as most back roomers are, then you will be able to tell an auto from a manual just by watching the reversing lights blink on and off. Not so the 95% of motorists who are not sure where to put the fuel, water and air and are sometimes caught out because they didn?t bother.
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I understand your point, but why not do as I do in my Outback. Drop the car into neutral (not park) and apply the handbrake. It does the same job, without switching the reversing lights on at all.
It also means that when the lights turn amber, you simply flick the gearlever into Drive (no need to press the footbrake), release the handbrake and the car starts moving easily.
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Your point about filament bulbs is essentially correct. However I don't think you will be operating your reversing lights often enough for this to be a major problem. Think how often you turn on your brake lights - many more times than your reversing lights I guess - and they typically last years before they fail. if you are really concerned then try some of the ultra-bright white LED 'bulbs' which are now available in automotive fittings. Personally, I have other bits on my cars that I#d be worrying about first.
BTW - I agree that its better to put the lever into N rather than P for a short wait.
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BTW - I agree that its better to put the lever into N rather than P for a short wait.
I've heard it's not good for the autobox to be left in P when the engine is running. Might be ok for short periods of time, but to go through all those gates instead of just moving between N & D.
Or do what I do, leave it in D with the footbrake on. Not sure if the Legacy does this, but after a second or two my Vectra autobox drops itself into neutral and as soon as you take your foot off the brake the gear is selected again (cues complaints from people about my LED brake light burning out their retinas)
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To answer topic 1 in the original posting-there is no self-centering action in the steering in reverse-in fact if you don't hold the wheel firmly it will go to full-lock.
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As an auto driver (well DSG) I put it in neutral with handbrake applied when stationary for long periods. I've never checked if the reversing light comes on when passing through R from P.
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I've heard it's not good for the autobox to be left in P when the engine is running.
No different to leaving a manual in neutral. The Police & other forces leave autos & manuals idling for hours whilst on emergencies so no issue.
>>(cues complaints from people about my LED brake light burning outtheir retinas)
Yup you've demonstrated your ignorance of this before nothing has changed! So much effort to use the handbrake obviously!
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So much effort to use the handbrake obviously!
It is when to move the gear lever back into D from N, you first have to put your foot on the brake pedal to disengage the interlock that comes on to prevent you from accidentally knocking the stick into gear.
So, which is easier?
1. Leaving foot on brake and in D, and then releasing the brake pedal when you want to move off.
or
2. Put into N. Apply handbrake. And then put foot on brake to disengage interlock so as to be able to move lever back into D and then releasing handbrake before being able to move off.
Yup you've demonstrated your ignorance ....
Ignorance or courtesy? Don't know about you, but personally I hate having to wait behind someone to move off while they fiddle with the levers and controls. That can make the difference between 10 cars going through the traffic lights when they go green, or only 6 cars before they go back to red again.
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going slightly off topic here, but can SOMEONE PLEASE immediately pass a law to make it illegal everywhere in the world for a manual-gearbox car to be fitted with a foot operated parking brake? And some serious revision is needed to a lot of the electronic parking brakes currently on offer, e.g. the Renault Scénic's. One of many cars which cannot be used in a UK driving test.
Coming back on-topic again, US cars sold in Australia did at one time have amber reversing lights (indicators roped in as reversing lights so as to avoid red rear indicators). Never caught on - maybe they'll make a comeback one day...
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"1. Leaving foot on brake and in D, and then releasing the brake pedal when you want to move off."
Fine until someone rear ends you and you end up shooting into the car in front, or worse into the junction with cars passing in front.
I am an option 2 man and from the lights going from red to amber I have done the 'fiddling' (putting my foot on the brake and moving from N to D, releasing handbrake) and am ready to go as soon as green shows. Living in a hilly area a hill start using the handbrake is often required anyway. Riding the clutch on a DSG box rather than using the handbrake can result in an expensive repair.
BTW following a highly technical test yesterday (viewing the rear lights reflection in a parked car behind me) the reversing lights of the Audi do not illuminate as you pass from P to D. There is a period of delay between R being selected and the lights illuminating.
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Fine until someone rear ends you and you end up shooting into the car in front or worse into the junction with cars passing in front.
Ok, yes your foot could slip off the brake pedal if you're rear ended, but the handbrake will be no more efficient than the foot brake at stopping the car being shunted forward - probably less so. Besides which, if someone rear ends you and shunts you into the car in front, their insurance will have to not only cough up for the repair to your car, but the car in front as well.
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Just to get things clear.
With the Outback the engine will not start until the gear lever is in the parked position. (Some vehicles need the foot-brake to be pressed too.)
The gear lever is held in the parked position until the foot-brake is pressed. This is true whether the engine is running or not. Once you are out of park the lever is free to move into all other positions as and when.
If the gear lever is accidentally left in a mid position with the engine stopped sometimes it is fiddly to get to the parked position without the foot-brake being pressed. I?ll have to study that.
Anyhow, I?m duly chastened and will leave the lever in neutral if I?m stuck in a traffic queue for any length of time. I read somewhere that it?s recommended that you stop the engine in long queues such as happen during snowfall. What?s the view on that ? It took me two and a half hours to travel from Adlington to Hazel Grove (4 miles) one evening.
Anyhow again, can?t anyone recommend an after-market supplier of delay start or ramp-up devices for my reversing lights ? Possibly a Vauxhall or Audi spare part ?
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Anyhow again can?t anyone recommend an after-market supplier of delay start or ramp-up devices for my reversing lights ? Possibly a Vauxhall or Audi spare part ?
See Aprilia's post above. Are changing the reversing light bulbs a weekly occurrence on your car? Not necessary IMO.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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Re: an earlier comment:-
"the reversing lights flash every time I change from park to drive. Not only does it cause alarm to drivers behind me"
Could that have something to do with the two 25 watt tungsten bulbs you've fitted?
On a more serious note, you would need something that could handle 5 amps of power going through it. (50 watts divided by 12 volts = 4.167 amps) An interior light fading device would normally only have something like 10 or 20 watts of power running through the electronics.
Could you not just disconnect the reverse light switch and fit a manually operated illuminated switch on the dashboard somewhere instead if mechanical bulb sympathy is that important?
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"Could that have something to do with the two 25 watt tungsten bulbs you've fitted?
On a more serious note, you would need something that could handle 5 amps..."
Yes, I know the power, but the people behind don't suffer from welding flash. But, I can see when I am about to go over the garden wall before it happens. I don't want to alter the wiring more than I have done. The dealer was kind enought to put me a connection for the new lights. I'll have to get out my textbooks and maybe design my own softstart. I began my career in electrical engineering 57 years ago. I should be able to do that by now.
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Why do you want your Subaru to be different from all the other automatic cars built?
A trick I remember, from the days when mundane cars didn't get reversing lights, is to use hazard flashers when reversing - despite the off-phase they give a surprisingly good view behind you.
My reverse lights comes on each time I start up and each time I use reverse - as pointed out above, thats much less than the number of times I brake!
Like DD, my Vauxhall has the Aisin-Warner autobox with fuel-saving neutral select feature which means keeping foot on brakes at traffic lights - didn't cause me any problem on my Advanced Driving Test because the driver behind will only get dazzled if he stops inches from my boot - that is after all the point of high level brake lights!
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Hillman - the solution to your 'problem' is simple. The reversing light actuating switch will be at the base of the lever or nearby sticking of the gearbox. Simply break into one of the wires adding a switch near at hand so you can leave the lights switched off until you are really reversing. I guess the indicators must give you sleepless nights, all that flashing on and off...
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