cornering lights would be nice?

ken garchow

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
64
I've had a few cars that have cornering lights, ones that come on solid while your turn signal while its blinking on one side or another
i recently read that such a system also may have some safety aspects so it made me think it would be nice to add such a feature to my cars
could possibly use the fog lights one side or the other?
any ideas or commons on this idea?

thanks
 

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
Most ordinary fog lamps really aren't useful this way. There are vehicles that operate one fog lamp or the other to provide a cornering lamp function, but they have specially-designed fog lamps with an extremely wide lateral light throw to the outboard side (the right fog lamp throws very wide to the right, the left lamp very wide to the left). Most fog lamps, as such, are useless in their own right, though, so depending on whether and how yours are horizontally aimable, perhaps you can aim them outward to mimic this effect. Then disconnect the existing fog lamp wiring and use these lamps only for the cornering function.

As for the control circuitry: Most US- and Japan-market factory cornering lamps light when you put on the turn signal, and remain lit until a couple of seconds after the turn signal is cancelled. If you want to wire up add-on cornering lights so they work this same way, there's a ready-built control box you can buy. It's called a "delay on release relay", made by Amperite, and is their part number 12D2SST1; a quick Google search shows they are a little difficult to buy because nobody seems to have them in stock, but they aren't listed as "unavailable", you just have to wait (such as here). If you want to be able to adjust the delay time from 1 to 10 seconds, the part number for that control box is 12D1-10SSTB, which looks to be a little more readily available. Or, this diagram would seem to be a brew-it-yourself approach to the same idea.

The only tricky part I can think of would be wiring it up so the cornering lights don't come on when you use the hazard flashers, only when you use the turn signals. I guess on some vehicles you could tap into the hazard flasher switch and put an inhibitor relay in the delay-release relay's trigger circuit.
 
Last edited:

ken garchow

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
64
Thanks Virgil, that was very informative
i now recall having the cornering lights on my 86 toyota van and a couple of cads, i think all had special designed side lights

ill look into those controllers
 

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
Well, that's another option if you're "all in" (very devoted) to this project: take a trip through the nearest salvage yard and grab a set of cornering lamps off of something from the '80s or '90s when cornering lamps were separate items in the sides of the bumper fascia (Chrysler Lebarons come to mind, and various GM and Ford models), grab those, and graft them into the sides of the bumper fascia on your own car, making sure the vertical tilt is about the same as in its original application.
 

ken garchow

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
64
now that would be a feat to get the 80's/90's lamps to integrate with the newer cars aesthetics. i do like the idea of utilizing the fogs or adding "hidden" cornering lights. i have noticed many cars have the fogs mounted off to the sides and recessed in a way that they won't throw light in the center anyway so possibly a little tilting to the outside corners would make them good cornering lights.

i know, how about a dual filament bulb that acts as a regular fog if needed and a second filament that casts light to the side?

by the way has anyone seen any data on the safety aspects of cornering lights?
 

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
i know, how about a dual filament bulb that acts as a regular fog if needed and a second filament that casts light to the side?

Possibly optically feasible at the design level, but definitely not as any kind of a retrofit.

by the way has anyone seen any data on the safety aspects of cornering lights?

There isn't any.
 

ken garchow

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
64
boy here is my chance, invent a dual purpose cornering light!!

thanks I'm going to keep my eye out for an existing lamp housings that may make good cornering lights
 

fastgun

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
Messages
228
What a neat project for those of us that drive vehicles with front bumpers and grill guards that allow for the mounting of auxilliary objects.
Compact 100's aimed low and outboard would be a good candidate.

Thanks for the delay on release relay idea. That got the creative juices going.
 

Alaric Darconville

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 2, 2001
Messages
5,377
Location
Stillwater, America
If you do provide a cornering lamp function with the fog lamps, they must emit white light (since cornering lamps must emit white light). Also, put in something tied to the vehicle speed sensor so you aren't glaring people on interstate lane changes...
 

fastgun

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
Messages
228
A speed sensor would be a great addition. Or you could do a wheel angle sensor that activates only at high wheel angles not lane changes.
This sounds like a project that costs as much to make as the car that already has the features.
I believe the SAE recommendations allow for yellow also, but I have been wrong before.
SAE J575.
6.1.7 Color Requirements
The color of the light from a front cornering lamp shall be white to yellow as specified in SAE J578.
 

Alaric Darconville

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 2, 2001
Messages
5,377
Location
Stillwater, America
I believe the SAE recommendations allow for yellow also, but I have been wrong before.
SAE J575.
6.1.7 Color Requirements
The color of the light from a front cornering lamp shall be white to yellow as specified in SAE J578.

Ooops, my mistake! It's in SAE J583:
Restricted the color of a front fog lamp used like a bending lamp or cornering lamp to white and lamps without this
functionality from white to selective yellow to harmonize with ECE.
With these changes, SAE J583 and ECE R19 are harmonized for photometry requirements for an "F3" front fog lamp.

Still, while cornering lamps shall be white to yellow, and fog lamps shall be white to selective yellow, fog lamps with a cornering lamp function shall be white (all colors within the limits of SAE J578).
 
Last edited:

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
The relevant spec is in SAE J852 ("Front Cornering Lamps for Use on Motor Vehicles", which in §6.1.6 says "The color of the light from a front cornering lamp shall be white to yellow as specified in SAE J578". And according to J578, "White to yellow" means the color of light emitted from the device shall fall within one of the following areas: Yellow (amber), Selective Yellow, White, or the area between Yellow (amber), Selective Yellow, and White as shown by a dashed line in the SAE chromaticity diagram. I don't think I've ever seen a Selective Yellow cornering light, but I've seen some yellow (amber) ones on Ford products of the 1980s and '90s. Which is kind of silly; there's not much point to an amber cornering lamp.

The text in J583 (front fog lamps) doesn't really apply to a fog lamp that is repurposed as a cornering lamp, it applies to a fog lamp that is also used as a cornering lamp. Still, that's academic; white is really the best choice for cornering lights.

Also, that thing about cutting out the cornering light circuit at highway speeds would probably be a complexity/cost dealbreaker for anyone trying to add cornering lamps to a vehicle -- and there's no such requirement in North American regulations; that's a European requirement, probably overly glare-phobic. As long as the lamp is correctly specified and mounted, it won't be directing glare into the eyes of other drivers no matter how fast the vehicles are going. I have seen some (factory) installations that obscure the front side marker light when the much brighter nearby cornering light is lit; that's not so good.

Compact 100's aimed low and outboard would be a good candidate

If equipped with a 35w H3 bulb, yes, not with a 55w bulb.
 

ken garchow

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
64
nice read, tribute to a cornering lights

http://jalopnik.com/a-tribute-to-the-most-un-appreciated-light-the-corneri-1625241633
 
Last edited by a moderator:

ken garchow

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
64
found the adjustable relays in stock and ordered today (thanks for the part numbers). ended up calling Amperite directly and the were able to tell me dealers that had them in stock.
still hunting for the proper light and fixture. posted a link to article that mentions many cars that came with them (more than i knew). so the junk yard idea is starting to grow on me
 

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
"Currently gearing up to start selling". Where I come from, we call that "vaporware". And I don't see anything about the photometrics of these lamps. A cornering lamp is not just some random white light that spews some random amount of light in some random range of sideways angles. And these don't turn on until you actually turn the steering wheel, to which you've clamped a remote sensor that takes a battery...Uh, no, the idea is to be able to see where you're going BEFORE you turn the steering wheel.

No matter what angle I look at this from, it spells "fail" to me. Definitely not the way I would do it.
 

ken garchow

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
64
V
i was just happy to see someone else at least thinking about cornering lights for the aftermarket
u make a good point about the timing of the light
thanks
 

don.gwapo

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 7, 2010
Messages
949
Location
My avatar!
I've seen a VW Tuareg and Tiguan cornering light. At first, I thought it strange coz only one fog light is lit up when turning, then the fog light went off when after the turn.
 
Top