An efficient lighting system plays an essential role in active safety, even in daylight. When driving, it is essential not only to see, but to be seen.
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Different lighting systems require different types of light bulb. Depending on the type and design of your vehicle's lighting system, it may use incandescent bulbs, gas discharge bulbs or the latest generation of LED bulbs.
Vehicle light bulbs are designed and manufactured according to UNECE standards to ensure easy replacement. Replacement bulbs must function in a way that ensures your vehicle's lighting system will continue to satisfy legal requirements.
UNECE standards apply to all types of vehicle light bulbs for external illumination.
Photometric values, and in particular luminous flux, power, luminance, colour temperature and UV emissions are important parameters to be respected in the design of a vehicle light bulb. For proper illumination and duration, for your own safety and for that of drivers coming in the opposite direction, always insist on original light bulbs distributed by Mopar®.
Halogen bulbs have been used in car headlights since the mid 1970s, but can be used for all front lighting purposes.
Halogen bulbs are a special kind of incandescent bulb. Incandescent bulbs can be filled with various types of gas to increase the temperature of the filament, improving light efficiency and raising colour temperature.
The bulbs fitted to your vehicle as original equipment guarantee an extended lifetime, fewer premature failures and excellent light diffusion thanks to correct positioning of the filament and its attachment to the bulb base. This in turn means better visibility and greater safety for you and for the drivers of oncoming vehicles.
The same bulbs fitted to your car as original equipment are available as spare parts to ensure the highest possible quality and performance.
If you drive regularly at night, if your car is equipped with automatic daytime running lights, or if you often need to switch your lights on during the day, you may well have to replace bulbs more frequently.Long life bulbs are being fitted more and more frequently, even as first equipment. The main benefit of this type of bulb lies in the fact that it lasts up to twice as long as a standard bulb.
The benefits of gas discharge bulbs include greater luminosity, a more intense white light, greater light emission for the same consumption and a longer lifetime.
Gas discharge bulbs are more complex in design than halogen bulbs. The lighting circuit includes the bulb itself, a starter, a current regulator and a connecting cable.
Inside the bulb, the classic filament is replaced by two electrodes, one a few millimetres from the other. These generate an electrical discharge in an environment saturated with xenon gas at low pressure.
Xenon bulbs produce twice the luminosity of halogen bulbs, and give almost daytime levels of illumination. The result is better visibility, less eye fatigue and improved safety. They also consume less electrical power, around 35 W instead of the 55 W consumed by a conventional halogen bulb.
Xenon bulbs also last a lot longer than conventional types and are not subject to unexpected failure. While halogen bulbs can fail instantly if the filament breaks, generally as a result of vibration or age, xenon bulbs lose their efficiency gradually over time. After around 2,500 hours of functioning, xenon bulbs lose on average 30% of their luminosity. Along with their intensity, the colour of their light also changes from white to a bluish hue.Xenon bulbs should always be replaced in pairs for this reason.
LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) have revolutionised lighting systems in the automotive industry and in other applications. Technically speaking, LED bulbs are not bulbs at all, but light sources.LED lights offer a number of advantages:
In addition to stylistic benefits, LED lights also offer major advantages in terms of safety: for example, they reach full luminosity in only two hundredths of the time a conventional bulb takes. LED lights are commonly fitted to the rear of vehicles. Used as brake lights, because they produce a signal 200 times faster, they can reduce the stopping distance of the driver behind you by over 6 metres if you are travelling at 75 mph.
These kits contain all the external illumination bulbs you may have to replace in an emergency. The bulbs supplied in these kits are all original replacements, of the same quality as those fitted to your vehicle as first equipment. Emergency light bulb kits do not contain gas discharge bulbs. Always have a gas discharge bulb replaced by specialist personnel at an Authorised Service Centre.
Emergency light bulb kits are original accessories.
Light bulbs have to be replaced with another of exactly the same type and power. But how do you know which is the right type?
Light bulbs have a technical name that identifies their type. This is normally printed on the bulb itself. Each type has specific voltage, power, luminous flux and duration characteristics as well as a specific type of fitting.
Vehicle light bulbs are designed and manufactured according to UNECE standards to ensure easy replacement. Replacement bulbs must function in a way that ensures your vehicle's lighting system will continue to satisfy legal requirements. UNECE standards apply to all types of vehicle light bulbs for external illumination.
In cold or damp climates, after a rain shower or after your vehicle has been washed, mist or condensation can form inside headlights or tail lights. This is a natural phenomenon due to the difference in temperature and humidity between the inside and the outside of the glass. It does not indicate a fault and does not compromise the normal functioning of your lights. The mist disappears quickly when the lights are turned on, starting from the centre of the diffuser and extending progressively towards the edges.
On the other hand, the presence of large drops of water inside a light unit is indicative of infiltration. Have this problem dealt with by an Authorised Service Centre.
Almost a decade has passed since it became obligatory to use headlights even during the day. In this time it has been demonstrated that the use of headlights in the daytime speeds up reaction times and helps prevent fatal accidents. Lights also help you estimate more accurately the distance between you and another vehicle and differentiate more easily between parked and moving vehicles.
Since 7 February 2011, all newly homologated vehicles sold within the European Community must be equipped with daytime running lights.
Daytime running lights (or DRLs) are front lights whose function is not so much to illuminate the road but to make the vehicle easily visible.
When handling halogen bulbs, never touch the glass part. If the glass of the bulb comes into contact with your fingers, the intensity of the light emitted will be reduced and the duration of the bulb may be reduced.
Halogen bulbs contain pressurised gas. Shards of glass may be projected if a bulb breaks. Always replace headlight bulbs in pairs to ensure uniform illumination.
Proper functioning and orientation of external lights are essential for driving safely and complying with the law. Changing a gas discharge bulb can be dangerous because of the high voltages involved.
For your own safety and to ensure correct functioning, always have gas discharge bulbs replaced by specialist personnel at an Authorised Fiat Professional Service Centre.
Light bulbs are consumable products and must be replaced at the end of their life.
A light bulb's working life is the most important parameter in defining its reliability. Light bulbs are very sensitive to variations in voltage: a 1% change in applied voltage causes an opposite variation of 12-15% in lifespan. The effectiveness of light bulbs decreases over time as the filament becomes consumed, begins to evaporate and forms deposits on the inside of the glass. Dirty glass transmits less light.
Gas discharge bulbs have a useful lifetime of around 3,000 hours. After 6-8 years of use, they may have to be replaced in pairs.