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Old 09-07-2014, 07:22 PM   #1
todd3131
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Default 32 cowl light question

I am still learning about 32s, should the cowl lights be on the same time as the head lights? In a model a they are not on with them,
Thanks
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Old 09-07-2014, 07:44 PM   #2
Kahuna
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Default Re: 32 cowl light question

Nope
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Old 09-08-2014, 02:25 AM   #3
tiger.1000
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Default Re: 32 cowl light question

That's an interesting comment. Here in the UK cowl lights or "sidelights" as we refer to them are always on with the headlights. I wonder why old American cars were designed in such a manner that when the headlights were turned on that the sidelights went out? Does that feature apply to ALL old American cars ?

Does anyone have a clear explanation for that? My 32 B Cabriolet does not have cowl lights in the true sense of the word; i.e.mounted on the "cowl" but sidelights mounted on the wings (fenders).

Being a UK car they stay on when the headlights are on.
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Old 09-08-2014, 05:37 AM   #4
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Default Re: 32 cowl light question

Quote:
Originally Posted by tiger.1000 View Post
I wonder why old American cars were designed in such a manner that when the headlights were turned on that the sidelights went out? Does that feature apply to ALL old American cars ?
YES! As a child, the parking lights always went out when the headlights came on. They didn't start staying on until the mid sixties when safety became the rage. I don't know the exact year that that happened, but my '63 Ch___ has the parking lights to out when the headlights go on.
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Old 09-08-2014, 07:16 AM   #5
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Default Re: 32 cowl light question

Thanks now I have to figure out why .
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Old 09-08-2014, 08:30 AM   #6
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Default Re: 32 cowl light question

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Pete,

With respect, I believe that your '63 brand X was not unique with regard to the parking lights going out when the head lamps are turned on. Today's running lights confuse the issue somewhat, but generally speaking parking lamps are only just that, for minimal illumination when the vehicle is parked and are not used in conjunction with the headlamps, both now and yesteryear.

As an sidelight to this thread, it was the general practice in Argentina and Brazil until the late 1970s to use only the parking lamps when driving in cities and suburbs. This led to lots of unfortunate accidents and pedestrian casualties and to a certain amount of road rage if you drove with your head lights on (like I did). It explains why even the "standard" models came equipped with cowl lamps (and fender lamps after the '34 model year) on vehicles sold in those countries (and perhaps others), including trucks. It was in Brazil that I first encountered '32 cowl lamps with painted steel bodies instead of stainless steel bodies; they were on trucks.
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Old 09-08-2014, 12:59 PM   #7
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Default Re: 32 cowl light question

With the arrival of LEDs, many new cars now look like a theatre marquee with strings of them, front & back. I don't know if they enhance safety. I have a bright LED bar on the back of my '47, and some clown rear ended me, anyway.
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Old 09-08-2014, 05:40 PM   #8
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Default Re: 32 cowl light question

I guess my wiring switch is wrong. My cowl lights come on when the switch is in park, low and high beam. I like it that way.
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Old 09-08-2014, 05:58 PM   #9
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Default Re: 32 cowl light question

On all my Model A's with Cowl Lights (2), I purposely wired them to stay on with the headlights. My Fordor was in the '50's, the Pickup is current.
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Old 09-08-2014, 06:23 PM   #10
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Default Re: 32 cowl light question

The change (in USA, anyway) to have the parking lights stay on when the head lights came on was to enable to better see a car if one of the headlights was out. Previously, if say the left headlight was burned out, a driver approaching might assume that the one lighted vehicle was a motorcycle and misjudge his position, resulting in a possible crash. If the parking lights stayed on with the headlights, an oncoming driver would realize that it was a car with a headlight out and drive appropriately, avoiding a collision. IMHO.

David: I wasn't implying that my '63 was unique. All American cars up to at least that time were wired that way.

PS: What gets my goat today is that turn signals are so close to the headlights that under certain conditions, they can't be seen clearly if the headlights are on. If they were separated from the headlights by a foot or so, they are much more visible. Once again, IMHO.
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Old 09-09-2014, 01:15 AM   #11
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Default Re: 32 cowl light question

Pete, I'm with you on the turn signal so close to the headlights, oftentimes you can't see it till it's on top of you! Damn irritating,
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