U.K Laws on indicators

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Joined
Jun 10, 2016
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England
My Car
1971 Mustang Grande
The U.K Law states that i cannot have a red flashing indicator :mad:

So i have to rewire the reverse lights and replace a clear bulb with a orange one and run the indicator lights through the reversing lights. :shootself:

Does anyone know which color wires i will have reroute to achieve this? :thankyouyellow:

 
Hi Steve,

Well that's a PIA.:mad: Sorry , but offhand i don't know that answer.

In Australia, they let us drive around and use the red indicators at the rear of our Mustangs, even though orange indicators, front and back, are only used here in Oz on all the cars.

If you end up using your existing reverse lights as the new orange indicators, and the existing red lights now become just stop and tail lights, with no indicator function, what are you going to use for reverse lights as such?

Greg.:)

 
Hi Steve,

If you end up using your existing reverse lights as the new orange indicators, and the existing red lights now become just stop and tail lights, with no indicator function, what are you going to use for reverse lights as such?

Greg.:)
I will have no reverse lights :mad: :shootself:

Apparently having no reversing light is totally acceptable in U.K law.

Unless there is a way of attaching a aftermarket indicator to the underside of the rear bumper i just got to go with what the dumbass U.K law tells me

 
There was a chap who owns a '73 Vert in Western Australia who imported the car from China, where it has spent most of it's life. China road laws made him modify his indicator and reverse light setups front and back on the car.

These pics i have in my possession could give you some good working ideas. He has added little circular reflectors at the rear as well. I think his reverse lights setup on the rear looks not too bad.

That would enable you to turn your existing reverse lights into orange indicator lights, and end up with some decent reverse lights as well.

100_3686.jpg100_3687.jpg100_3685.jpg100_3684.jpg100_3683.jpg

Cheers,

Greg.:)

 
There was a chap who owns a '73 Vert in Western Australia who imported the car from China, where it has spent most of it's life. China road laws made him modify his indicator and reverse light setups front and back on the car.

These pics i have in my possession could give you some good working ideas. He has added little circular reflectors at the rear as well. I think his reverse lights setup on the rear looks not too bad.

That would enable you to turn your existing reverse lights into orange indicator lights, and end up with some decent reverse lights as well.

Cheers,

Greg.:)
Those added reverse lights look good. However, with street lighting here in the U.K i don't think i will require reversing lights.

 
For reference to any U.K member in the future;

Having just got off the phone with the ministry of transport (0300 123 9000) SVA/MOT Dept, I was told the folowing information;

Any vehicle registered after 1965 have to have fitted orange bulbs in the rear indicators. However white indicator bulbs can be fitted in front indicators.

 
The easiest and cleanest way I know is to use one of these, that are used to convert motor homes and other vehicles with US combined stop/turn signal wiring to separate stop and turn signals for towing cars that are so equipped:

https://www.amazon.com/Tow-Ready-118158-Taillight-Converter/dp/B001GKQZQG

Otherwise you will have to modify your wiring under the dash and in the steering column, as well as running a new wire from the front to the back for the stop lights.

I have used them on 3 or 4 cars and they work well.

 
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i swear i saw somebody that had made clear tail lights for a 73 so he could put the orange bulbs in it.

I think he had made the covers from LEXAN and made a mold from the original lights then vacuum formed the new tail covers to confirm to the stupid laws.

Also seems you could just swap the turn signal socket into the reverse lights socket in the tail light housing. instead of cutting and splicing

they sell reproduction white tail housing you could buy and cut them as needed to flip the light sockets around.

 
The easiest and cleanest way I know is to use one of these, that are used to convert motor homes and other vehicles with US combined stop/turn signal wiring to separate stop and turn signals for towing cars that are so equipped:

https://www.amazon.com/Tow-Ready-118158-Taillight-Converter/dp/B001GKQZQG

Otherwise you will have to modify your wiring under the dash and in the steering column, as well as running a new wire from the front to the back for the stop lights.

I have used them on 3 or 4 cars and they work well.
Good idea; But, $66 shipping....

Are the stop light and tail light encased in same bulb. 2 filaments in one bulb?

If this is the case can i replace 2 filament bulb with a single filament bulband just have tail lights and no indicator?

If the above is possible can i split the feed going to the indicator lights on the rear quarters and put extra set of indicators at the rear?

Are the inner oblong lights inside the front grille on a Mach 1 a sealed unit? I was thinking to attach a pair of Mach 1 lights to the rear of the vehicle and turn them into indicators.

http://www.cjponyparts.com/mach-1-grille-light-includes-lens-bezel-housing-1971-1972/p/PL13/

Or i could disconnect the rear quarter panel indicators and run a wire extension to the 2 Mach 1 lights attached to the rear of the car. I think this way i could easily put the car back to original for car shows and keep the car as original as possible. I could use a bracket to attach to bumper. Is this route possible with disconnection of quarterpanel lights.

pl13.jpg

 
Both the turn signal and brake light use the same filament. They also use the same wire from the turn signal switch to the bulb (one wire for the left side and one wire for the right side). The bulbs have two filaments, one for the taillight and the other for the combined stop/turn signal.

You can go to the "Data" tab at the top of the page, and select "Wiring Diagrams" and download the wiring diagrams for your car.

 
The U.K Law states that i cannot have a red flashing indicator :mad:

So i have to rewire the reverse lights and replace a clear bulb with a orange one and run the indicator lights through the reversing lights. :shootself:

Does anyone know which color wires i will have reroute to achieve this? :thankyouyellow:
I'm confused. Are you saying the in the UK that red turn signal lamps can't flash? I believe that is the International standard for turn signals.

What is a flashing indicator? Is that a turn signal? A brake light? A running light? A backup lamp?

 
Turn-signal indicators need to be orange/amber - not red, like with our combination turn-signal/brake lights.

I don't know at which point the turn-signal indicator circuit feeds into the tail light (brake light) circuit, but it's nowhere close to the rear of the car. You'll need to disconnect the turn-signal circuit from the rear-end circuit altogether - but good luck with that, since the 4-ways (Hazard lights) also run through there.

My guess would be to disconnect the turn-signal indicator circuit somewhere south of the turn-signal flasher as it connects into the rear-end circuit - which [i believe] is going to be somewhere in the driver side dash area.

If you need to put an amber/orange bulb in the sockets where the reverse indicators are currently, but don't need reverse lights, then I think that's all I would be doing... especially, since you're going for concourse.

On the other hand, you could add some reverse lights by putting some of the earlier model Mustang reverse lights in the rear valance, much like the earlier models had done - or maybe even use them as turn-signal indicators (although, I'm guessing they'd be too low on the vehicle to pass inspection as turn-signal indicators). Just a thought.

 
If it is just the "bulb" per the MOT, then just change to 1157A bulbs. If they didn't say what they meant, i.e.. they meant amber lenses must be fitted, then get amber truck/trailer lenses and fit them to a reproduction set of tail light lenses, if you don't want to modify the original lenses. I would go to great lengths to avoid hacking up the original wire harness. Just a thought. Chuck

 
OK, so what do all the other US import guys do to meet the laws. Don't most US classic cars have red rear turn signals? In Canada we now see both red and orange turn signals on the rear and white or orange upfront. Daylight running lights while great, pee me off. There just doesn't seem to be a standard. Sorry for going off-track.

I like the idea of modding a couple of repo lenses and keeping the originals safe. That also means no added light fixtures that just look wrong!

I would look at doing one side of the two red for stop and running and the second orange for turn signal, if that makes any sense.

 
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It's easy and you don't have to change the outward appearance of the car at all. There's a member on the MOCGB forum who produces LED boards. These fit neatly inside the rear lamp housings in the Reverse light section and produce White light when Reverse is selected and Amber light when the turn signals are used.

A great solution for the UK based cars.

Wiring mods are simple, I have a diagram on file.

Here is his website page for the 1971-73 Mustang

Bright light Customs

 
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The U.K Law states that i cannot have a red flashing indicator :mad:

So i have to rewire the reverse lights and replace a clear bulb with a orange one and run the indicator lights through the reversing lights. :shootself:

Does anyone know which color wires i will have reroute to achieve this? :thankyouyellow:
I'm confused. Are you saying the in the UK that red turn signal lamps can't flash? I believe that is the International standard for turn signals.

What is a flashing indicator? Is that a turn signal? A brake light? A running light? A backup lamp?
Turn signal = Indicator

Stop light = Brake light

Running light = Lights you use after dark

Red turn signal lamps are illegal on vehicles made after 1965

Turn signals have to be orange in the rear and front BUT white ones in the front are acceptable.

Hope this clears up any misunderstanding.

Its strange how Americans and the British speak the same language but we speak a totally differant language when it comes to having names for things. rofl

 
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