Why Do My 9007 Bulbs Have Covers Over Them? 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan. Removable?

[-Virgil-]

Cannot do the signal DRL module there because they are single element signal fixtures & bulbs that only illuminate via the flasher.

Where did this idea come from? One doesn't follow from the other. The turn signal DRL module's compatibility isn't affected by whether the turn signal and parking lamp functions are combined in one bulb or separated in two bulbs.

I have the Daniel Stern DRL module on the city light bulbs

That's not a correct way to do it. Those are parking lights -- and they are only parking lights. They can't produce an effective, legal, or safe DRL function, no matter what bulbs you put in the sockets.

You really ought to undo this "creative engineering" setup you've rigged up and put it together correctly, with the DRL module running the turn signal bulbs the way it's supposed to.

I am still happy.

It's nice that you're happy, but it's not enough. Seems such a shame to do such a careful job of all the details in your conversion, only to mess this one up deliberately out of a misunderstanding of how the DRL module works and how the DRL function works/doesn't work.

 

[-Virgil-]

I use these: http://www.motivemods.com/Philips-BlueVisionUltra-W5W-p/phi-bvu-w5w.htm and like the output color, much closer to "white" then a normal w5w
now im waiting for Scheinwerfermann to come on and tell us those are junk

Less light output, shorter lifespan, higher price. I wouldn't call them "junk", because they're well made (being Philips bulbs), but they're a silly, pointless waste.

 

[therock]

Well, I keep reading negative stuff on LED replacement dangers or illegalities on forums but see no examples on the Webb or in the law books for GA. Maybe I missed it.

Call me stubborn but sometimes I have to see for myself. So I experimented with the parking AKA city light W5W lamps in my Zizalas'.
I know they were not designed or intended to be DRL lamps so them being very dim in nature are a given.

I couldn't stand it and the cat killing curiosity had me seeking LED lamps that would fit through the hole that is no less than 11.75mm or larger than 12mm. The units I found get good reviews and are of the CANBUS variety but for me it was the size.
I got them in there with loving care and careful wiggling. I fused all the lines in the circuit.
I wish I could have found a warmer color.
They are night and day brighter and noticeable at distances than the W5W.
I took them back out until I look into it more. As I am doing here.

I take what I get here with respect and am not trying to defy anything. Thanks

 

[-Virgil-]

H'm. Why? Just to see what would happen? The W5W bulb in that location is for the parking light function. That's the only function a bulb (of any type) in that location can serve. It can't be a turn signal or a daytime running light or anything else, just a parking light. Not because of what a lawbook says, but because of the technical prescriptions of the various lighting functions in terms of intensity, lit area, angular distribution of light, etc. There are many ways to implement a DRL function, but there is nothing you can install in the parking light socket that will provide that function or any adequate approximation of it.

It's possible these "LED bulbs" might produce a technically adequate parking lamp function through all relevant angles...and then again they might not. It's not something you can check by walking around the car and peering at it; it takes special test equipment.

Moreover, the intense heat from your H7 bulbs is going to cook those LEDs. How soon it will happen depends on how much you use the high beams.

(as for "good reviews" -- c'mon. How many reviews you find on the internet are written by anyone even remotely qualified to know what they're talking about?)

Please remember that every light on the outside of your vehicle is a safety device. They are not play-toys. They really need to work the way they are supposed to, otherwise traffic safety is endangered.

As for why "LED bulbs" are illegal: Don't assume you're Ollie Ollie Oxen Free just because you didn't happen upon a relevant statute in the areas where you happened to look. See here for a detailed explanation of what you're missing.

This isn't as big a deal (not as big a safety problem) as if you had put "LED bulbs" in the brake lights or turn signals or an "HID kit" in the headlamps, but it's kind of confusing; you went to such meticulous effort to do a very complete headlamp upgrade, even to the point of adding back the missing side marker lights and reflex reflectors...and now you want to go the other direction...?

 

[therock]

I figured as much. Good points there at the end. Thanks. I'm between jobs, going kind of crazy, and keep on messing with stuff.