Automotive Lighting

Daytime Running Lights ("DRL", also "Daylight Running Lamps") are lights on the front of roadgoing motor vehicles, automatically switched on when the vehicle is moving forward, and intended to increase the visibility of the vehicle during daylight conditions. DRL were first mandated in Scandinavian countries, where ambient light levels are generally low even during the day. Finland was the first country to require DRL in 1972. Sweden adopted the same requirement in 1977, Norway in 1986, Iceland in 1988, and Denmark in 19 ...

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The earliest headlights were fueled by acetylene or oil and were introduced by drivers in the late 1880s. Acetylene was popular because the flame was resistant to wind and rain. The first electric headlights were introduced in 1898 on the Columbia Electric Car from the Electric Vehicle Company of Hartford, Connecticut, but they were optional. "Prest-O-Lite" acetylene lights were offered by a number of manufacturers as standard equipment for 1904, and Peerless made electrical headlights standard in 1908. In 1912, Cadillac integrated their vehicle's Delco electrical ignition and li ...

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Headlight, Headlight - History of automotive headlights, Headlight - Automotive headlights, Headlight - Laws and regulations, Headlight - Types of headlights, Headlight - LED headlights, Headlight - Dual-beam headlights, Headlight - American system, Headlight - European system, Headlight - Care

Read more here: » Headlight: Encyclopedia II - Headlight - History of automotive headlights

A light source (filament or arc) is placed at or near the focus of a reflector, which may be parabolic or of non-parabolic complex shape. Fresnel and prism optics moulded into the headlight lens then shift parts of the light laterally and vertically to provide the required light distribution pattern. The lens may use both refraction and TIR to archive the desired results. Most sealed-beam headl ...

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Headlight, Headlight - History of automotive headlights, Headlight - Automotive headlights, Headlight - Laws and regulations, Headlight - Types of headlights, Headlight - LED headlights, Headlight - Dual-beam headlights, Headlight - American system, Headlight - European system, Headlight - Care

Read more here: » Headlight: Encyclopedia II - Headlight - Types of headlights

Headlamps require very little care. Sealed beam headamps are modular. When the filament burns out, the entire module is replaced. Most 1985 and later-model vehicles in North America use headlamp lens-reflector assemblies that are considered a part of the car, and just the bulb is replaced if it fails. There are many different bulb types, and they are not interchangeable, so the correct bulb for the specific vehicle year, make and model must be purchased. Manufacturers vary the means by which the bulb is accessed and replaced. Headlamp aim must be properly checked and adjusted on a regular, periodic basis. Misaimed la ...

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Headlight, Headlight - History of automotive headlights, Headlight - Automotive headlights, Headlight - Laws and regulations, Headlight - Types of headlights, Headlight - LED headlights, Headlight - Dual-beam headlights, Headlight - American system, Headlight - European system, Headlight - Care

Read more here: » Headlight: Encyclopedia II - Headlight - Care

Night driving has long been dangerous due to the glare of headlights from oncoming traffic which temporarily blinds drivers approaching from the opposite direction. Therefore, headlights that satisfactorily illuminate the road ahead of the automobile without causing this effect have long been sought. The first attempts to address this problem involved resistance-type dimming circuits, which decreased the brightness of the headlights when meeting another car. This gave way to mechanical tilting reflectors and later to double-filament bulbs with a high and a low beam. ...

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Headlight, Headlight - History of automotive headlights, Headlight - Automotive headlights, Headlight - Laws and regulations, Headlight - Types of headlights, Headlight - LED headlights, Headlight - Dual-beam headlights, Headlight - American system, Headlight - European system, Headlight - Care

Read more here: » Headlight: Encyclopedia II - Headlight - Dual-beam headlights

Modern headlights are electrically operated, positioned in pairs, one or two on each side of the front of a vehicle. A headlamp system is required to produce a low and a high beam, which may be achieved either by an individual lamp for each function or by a single multifunction lamp. High beams (called "main beams" or "full beams" or "driving beams" in some countries) cast most of their light straight ahead, maximizing seeing distance, but producing too much glare for safe use when other vehicles are present on the road. Because there is no ...

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Headlight, Headlight - History of automotive headlights, Headlight - Automotive headlights, Headlight - Laws and regulations, Headlight - Types of headlights, Headlight - LED headlights, Headlight - Dual-beam headlights, Headlight - American system, Headlight - European system, Headlight - Care

Read more here: » Headlight: Encyclopedia II - Headlight - Automotive headlights

A light source (filament or arc) is placed at or near the focus of a reflector, which may be parabolic or of non-parabolic complex shape. Fresnel and prism optics moulded into the headlight lens then shift parts of the light laterally and vertically to provide the required light distribution pattern. The lens may use both refraction and TIR to archive the desired results. Most sealed-beam headl ...

See also:

Headlight, Headlight - History of automotive headlights, Headlight - Automotive headlights, Headlight - Laws and regulations, Headlight - Types of headlights, Headlight - LED headlights, Headlight - Dual-beam headlights, Headlight - American system, Headlight - European system, Headlight - Care

Read more here: » Headlight: Encyclopedia II - Headlight - Types of headlights