Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms ONE FOG AND ONE SPOT LIGHT?

Is it true that sports cars (MOG's?) were fitted with one of each at one time?

I wonder why and whether it is still advisable?

Cheers

Yes! It was suggested by Borghi when I had my driving lights fitted. Actually the only difference was the lens, one was plain and the other similar to a headlight lens.

I opted for them both the same as the headlight lens and asked that the relay be put on the high (main) beam circuit. This means I can only use them as driving lights, not as fog lights.

To have one of each would mean two separate circuits and switches.

David, I recall cars in the 60s were fitted with one fog lamp, lines on lens (near side to light up the kerb) and the other a spot lamp, with almost clear lens (off side to light up the road ahead.

Regulations changed after the 60s regard height and positioning of auxiliary lamps and they were to be installed in pairs. Either fog lamps or driving lamps.

The first paragraph of Wirewheels answer advises of the reasoning in the 60's when headlamps were both poor at lighting the road ahead and had no sharp cutoff to reduced light being reflected back by the water particles in mist and fog and by falling snow.

It also must be advised that the fitment of these pairs of differing lense lights were in a lot of cases an extra added by the garage to get the sale or were the owner adding these item because it made the car "Better"

They have no real place on a car today as headlights are now much better these days. Therefore they are basically a "retro addition" not a functional improvement to the car

I'm sorry but the second paragraph is incorrect as there was never anything at all in the regulations to advise that the lights had to be a matched pair.

If you look at the regulation the previous poster was thinking about they had dimensions re distance from the outside of the car to the additional light and some height regulations and if I remember 16" 400mm was one and 10" 250mm was an other measurement but I cannot remember which measurement it was.

These regulations were superseded when the EU produced regulations covering all of the EC and the old UK construction and use regulations became a carbon copy of the EU standards.

I have seen them on a website somewhere and I used to have a copy of the regulations on paper somewhere.

Eddie, I am happy to be corrected.

What an interesting mix of recollections - I wonder if we have done the right thing in opting for a pair of fog lights that come on with the side lights to give our low MOG extra front end illumination?

Hoping for less "cutting up" by higher vehicles which I assume do not see us!

Cheers

I often have my dipped headlights on during the day to ensure I am more visible to other motorists, so having fog lamps on instead of headlamps seems a good move to me. Much more in keeping than some day light running lamps.

It is actually illegal to use fog lights unless the visibility is less than 100 metres or there is heavy spray.

In that case, David put in lower rated bulbs or call them driving lamps!

A friend of mine in the distant past had a single auxiliary lamp which had a three position switch, which must have been fog, spot, and goodness knows what else. That's all I can remember.