To those of you who have replaced the rear side markers with the clear version, did you need to replace the stock bulbs as well or is the stock bulb bright enough to shine through the new lense?

 

the bulb is clear. I got red leds for my clear sides

 

Sorry maybe I should have rephrased my question. With the clear side markers, does the stock bulb produce enough light to light the housing up at night (in order to keep it legal) or is an LED bulb needed to produce brighter light?

 

Not sure but I think it needs to be red to be legal

 

im not really sure on this one, i'd call to check if it's legal

 

SN95 Mustangs had the rear "light" in the same position, but there was no bulb. So I don't think the color of the thing has anything to do with legality, purely cosmetic/visibility.

 

Florida law section 316.2225 through section 316.226 covers this subject. Our cars require two clearance lamps and 2 clearance reflectors on each side. The front lamps and reflectors must display or reflect respectively an amber color. Likewise the rear lamps and reflectors must display or reflect respectively a red color. For my Torch Red vert it was a non issue in the rear as the red reflectors look better but up front I had to find a clear corner lamp with an amber reflector.

These sections also list this as a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation. This means they won't stop you for it but if you are stopped for anything else and they notice it then you will be dinged for an $80 nonmoving violation in addition to the original infraction. You takes your chances.

BB
Semper Fi

 

It's not the brightness that makes it legal or illegal, it's the fact that it must be amber when you turn on the signal. I'm in PA same as you and I've been running the clear front/rear corners with stealth amber bulbs with plenty of attention from but no problems with Popo. Both the stock bulbs and/or clear LED bulbs would be illegal with the clear corners, at least in PA.

 

I think he's referring to the rear markers

 

Yea I saw in his original post he was referring to the rear side markers, but what I said applies to both fron AND rear clear corners. In PA, if you do either front or rear clears, you must replace the bulb with either an amber colored or stealth amber bulb. The stock bulb and/or a clear LED would be illegal.

 

Thanks for the info so far guys. Maybe Im being hard headed here, but Im still a little confused. So it is or isnt ok to use the stock bulbs with the clear rear side markers and be legal?

 

You are dealing with two different issues here, side reflex reflectors and side marker lamps. The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards or FMVSS.108 provides guidelines for the manufacturing of vehicles in the United States. Now certain states including Florida have pretty much adopted those standards as part of their DMV regulations (as in laws). You'll probably have to go to the Penn. DMV site for your regulations but I don't expect them to vary from the FMVSS guidelines.

For reflex reflectors you have to have 2 amber up front and two red in the rear. Putting a clear reflector in the rear will be out of compliance with FMVSS.108 but may not be against Penn law (again check your statutes). Putting a clear corner up front that only refects white will also be out of compliance but may not be against local law.

For side marker lamps from what I've seen most if not all states have complied with and incorporated FMVSS.108 standards as state law. So this says you need two amber clearance lamps up front and two red clearance lamps in the rear. The color may come from either colored lenses or colored bulbs.

So to answer your question; by changing over to clear rear marker lenses, you may or may not be breaking your state motor vehicle statutes. If however, you don't replace the white bulb with red bulb you are then illegal. If your state views this as a criminal traffic violation then they will stop you and ticket you. If they view it as a noncriminal infraction then if they stop you for anything else then you may also be ticketed for this infraction. Finally; the replacement LEDs for the clearance markers are usually brighter than the bulbs they are replacing so that shouldn't be an issue.

Concerning legality of vehicle modifications these forums are not the best source. In order to answer your questions I had to research Florida statute 321 and FMVSS.108. With enough time I could probably find your states vehicle statutes but I'll leave that up to you. If you do your own research, you'll know what is legal and illegal. Another food for thought is that most LEOs are excellent patrol officers but unless they have gone through certification as a traffic homicide investigator then they probably know about as much about the vehicle statutes as the local drivers who have read their DL handbooks. I learned that from my neighbor who is a certified traffic homicide investigator instructor.

BB
Semper Fi

 

Thank you very much for that info. It is grealty appreciated. Ill check with my PennDott and see what they have to see and in the meantime I will just leave it as it is.

 

Thank you very much for that info. It is greatly appreciated. Ill just go ahead and order some red LEDs for the rear just to be safe. Thanks again!