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Nov 14, 2012 22:45:33 GMT
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I know the difference in terms of usage, & what the beam pattern is supposed to do, but how do I tell whether an auxiliary lamp is a fog or driving / spot, e.g. by looking at the lense? I'm about to fit a pair of old Hella lamps to my car, and depending on what they are dictates how they should be wired in.
Cheers!
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Nov 14, 2012 23:19:56 GMT
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If you can wait till tomorrow, I'll have a look at some I've got in the garage. Failing that, could you not do a quick lash up just to illuminate the bulb and point the lamp at the wall - you should see fairly quickly what the beam pattern is.
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Not always true, but fog lights tend to have a little metal shield over the bulb to block some of the light and create the pattern; spots often don't have it, just the bulb.
Not a rule of thumb by any means, but it's often an identifier.
-Phil
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Nov 15, 2012 11:14:02 GMT
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Spots produce a far reaching "pencil" beam. Fogs produce a wide spread but very little projection. A simple check with them connected to a battery should show which you have.
Also, visibly, older spots tend to be plain lense whereas fogs have heavilly diffused lense.
Don't forget there are also driving lights which are more like headlight pattern ie a cross between spot and fog pattern !
Paul H
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Nov 16, 2012 15:22:35 GMT
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Cheers chaps - unfortunately wiring them up to check the actual beam pattern isn't really an option at the moment as I currently have very limited car tinkering time. visibly, older spots tend to be plain lense whereas fogs have heavilly diffused lense. Excellent - thank you sir! That answers my question perfectly. As well as the pair of '60s Hellas (with diffused lenses), there's also two pairs of similar era Lucas lights (one pair with extremely clear lenses, the other diffused) that I was trying to identify, and it was the vast difference between these two that prompted me to ask the question. The Amazon needs some front fogs (headlights are more than good enough so spots / driving lights of little use to me), so fortunately the Hellas (which are OEM correct, off a 123GT) can be used. Looks like either pair of the Lucas units may end up on my Sprite - probably the spots as the headlights are useless!! |
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Nov 16, 2012 16:49:55 GMT
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I've got a new matching pair of Carello fog and spot lights for my Sprite. Been in my "stock" for years and in fact the box is marked in pounds shillings and pence. They also have padded, chequer, soft covers. As a reversing light I've got a genuine 1960's Lucas WFT576 rear mounting fog light.  Plenty of reproductions but I've had it from new and it's been on numerous cars yet chrome is still perfect - far better than the one in the pic above. It's the reversing light you always saw on the back of works Mini rally cars . Fog lights work better than spots for reversing lights. Wiring goes down the centre of the mounting bolt ;D Paul H |
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Nov 16, 2012 23:06:24 GMT
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Very nice! What year is your Sprite? Would be interested to see a pic of the fog / spot setup on the car. As a '61, mine doesn't have reverse lights, & there is no way I'm fitting the later factory square type items, so one of the Lucas ones may well end up on the back. It's already running Frogeye rear overriders (upside down, as per factory fitment on very early Mk2s), so the look of the tail is already quite different to normal. One day I hope it will see the road again....
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Last Edit: Nov 16, 2012 23:08:00 GMT by Paul H
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Lopez
East Midlands
Posts: 867
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Very nice! What year is your Sprite? Would be interested to see a pic of the fog / spot setup on the car. As a '61, mine doesn't have reverse lights, & there is no way I'm fitting the later factory square type items, so one of the Lucas ones may well end up on the back. It's already running Frogeye rear overriders (upside down, as per factory fitment on very early Mk2s), so the look of the tail is already quite different to normal. One day I hope it will see the road again.... My Sprite is a 1972 Austin version. I bought it assuming an Austin Healey with intention of using it as a basis for an Arkley conversion but noticed the badge wasn't right. Seems just 82 Austin Sprites are known so now it's going to get a full restoration. At the moment the spot and fog aren't fitted nor is the reversing light. I intend mounting the reversing fog light onto a plate that attaches to one of the factory reversing light apertures to avoid making any more holes in the bodywork.  Paul H BTW I used to have an Amazon auto ! |
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Nov 17, 2012 10:32:51 GMT
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The royaly agreement between Austin and Healey ended in 1970 and the Austin-Healey name was dropped.
Just over 1000 Austin badged Sprites were produced at Abingdon in between Jan and July 1971, before the name was dropped and all cars were badged as MG Midgets.
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Nov 17, 2012 11:11:16 GMT
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The royaly agreement between Austin and Healey ended in 1970 and the Austin-Healey name was dropped. Just over 1000 Austin badged Sprites were produced at Abingdon in between Jan and July 1971, before the name was dropped and all cars were badged as MG Midgets. Actually 1022 were made ;D Out of that just the 82 are still know to exist. Personally I think that is wrong and think there will be more as mine is registered as an Austin Healey despite badge and VIN confirming it's an Austin version so reckon there will be others similarly incorrectly registered out there. DVLA say no problem amending V5 when it's put back on the road but not before  BTW got it wrong. Mine is reg Aug 71 and not 72 are previously stated. paul h |
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Jan 19, 2013 16:40:23 GMT
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Apologies for not replying at the time - just found this in my bookmarks. The Hellas are now wired up and working properly, and are indeed fogs, confirmed not only by the lenses, but also the beam pattern (as per below). Excellent link - cheers! My Sprite is a 1972 Austin version. I bought it assuming an Austin Healey with intention of using it as a basis for an Arkley conversion but noticed the badge wasn't right. Ah - a few years back, a friend had custody of what was apparently the last AH Sprite (whether last built that was badged that way, or youngest known survivor, I'm not sure) but whilst all the running gear was excellent, the shell was foul, and thus I gather it became the donor for a Westfield XI. BTW I used to have an Amazon auto ! That's a lot of co-incidences  mine is registered as an Austin Healey despite badge and VIN confirming it's an Austin version so reckon there will be others similarly incorrectly registered out there. DVLA say no problem amending V5 when it's put back on the road but not before BTW got it wrong. Mine is reg Aug 71 and not 72 are previously stated. Ironic as its V5 (or whatever they are now called....) has mine listed the other way round, I.e. as an Austin, & Healey Sprite as the model.... Btw, iirc all the chassis plates for Sprites say 'Austin', even when they are in fact Austin Healeys, hence why I assume mine ended up on the system in this way when the V5 was reissued in the '80s. |
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Last Edit: Jan 19, 2013 16:42:50 GMT by Paul H
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BTW got it wrong. Mine is reg Aug 71 and not 72 are previously stated.