MTV10

Just had my sidemarkers color matched. Love how it looks during the day, but not a huge fan of what they look like at night now that the light is dim.

If I pull the bulbs out, will it throw a warning on the dash?

Jasonoff

Yes

SuckaGDog

100% throw a warning

jptaylor

YES YOU CAN PULL THE BULBS WITHOUT THROWING A WARNING ON THE DASH.....

The SAM just needs to THINK there is a bulb consuming power from that circuit....

Just grab a pair of these, plug the male end into your sidemarker socket, cut the female connector off the other end and butt those two wires together to complete the circuit.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.com/PartsSquare-Resistor-Decoder-Flashing-Canceller/dp/B014STAW42&ved=0ahUKEwiPzp-Cz4DXAhXBNSYKHVk2DG8QFghpMAo&usg=AOvVaw2b9R3BYjR8V UwwAM7XtmQK

Alex.currie44

Are they required under Quebec law and if so will the cops enforce it?

Jasonoff

No you can't. If you pull out the bulb and fire up your car it will pop up with a message.

This is NOT removing the bulb which is what the OP asked. This is replacing it with something else...

.

roadkillrob

You can also by the Phillips 5w load resistors

https://m.ebay.com/itm/Philips-LED-L...-/161714906435

jptaylor

Touché

Mort

You can pull the bulb and socket out of the side marker and tie it up out of the way in the engine bay. That way there will be no glow through the painted side marker and no warning on the dash.

MTV10

That was exactly my plan

NotABaller

Just buy some resistors

JimGnitecki

Note that if you make the side marker lights inoperative,and your car is hit at night, a lawyer representing the other car's owner or insurance company may successfully argue that your removal of the lights contributed to the accident and assess a portion of the blame and cost to you. After all, you are deliberately removing a safety feature,required by law, whose very purpose is to be visible. Not a good place to be after a night accident.

I am personally aware of a situation years ago where the owner of a special Oldsmobile model (a "Trofeo" I think) that was pretty "blacked out"i n its trim to be begin with, had modded the car to be even more blacked out. He was hit in a restaurant parking lot by a senior with limited night vision who backed into him, claiming he could not see the car because it was so blacked out. Exactly this kind of blame apportionment argument occurred.

I did not hear how it ultimately turned out,but the owner was pretty pissed regardless because his cherry condition car would never be the same.

Think about whether it is worth it to you.

Jim G

Jasonoff

If you do that it will eventually rust and short out and your side marker will fill up with water since that part of the engine bay is exposed to some elements.

Do it right and get the resister "pretend" bulb.

MTV10

Went another route....

Found myself some high temp electrical tape (good for 500 degrees fahrenheit) at Home Depot. Wrapped it around each light bulb and plugged them back into their respective sockets. Light does not come through and don't have to worry about the bulbs being exposed to the elements.

Ambystom01

I think that's unlikely. Not impossible, but you'd have to be dealing with quite peculiar facts if you could reasonably argue that if the small lights were there, the accident wouldn't have happened, or would have been less severe.

Jasonoff

In before HB350...

Ambystom01

Well he's already told me he's a consumer protection lawyer so maybe he's also an expert on negligence claims too.

Alex.currie44

I just realized nobody asked the key question. Why did you want to do this anyway? It is not as if they disappear. You still have these little 2 x 3 rectangles of plastic in the hold that is a bump in the fender flare that is visible in the day. IF you don't like the amber why not go clear with amber bulbs and still be legal?
Not sure I concur with Jim G. After all if the difference between liability is going to be based on a side marker when we have all this fire power in our headlights the other guy would have to be walking around with a white cane when he isn't driving.
That reminds me of an old joke.
Three guys were on the T with the last of them to T off when a blind guy strolled across the fairway just about in the landing zone of the shot.
They yelled at him and he turned and walked up to the T.
There was an exchange of words and the blind guy says to them "look you guys, you might think you are pretty hot shots playing golf but I can whup your butts!"
This of course enraged these guys. After all how could a blind guy beat them at golf. The dialogue continued for a few minutes before the subject of a bet came up.
The blind guy suggested they put their money where their mouths were. He would give them 10 to 1 as long as he got to pick the time and his bet was $10000 against each of them.
They of course jumped on an opportunity to win $10000 for a $1000 bet so they agreed.
"When do you want to play?" they said.
The blind guy said "Midnight".

JimGnitecki

Those sidelights are also,by law,reflective even when not powered up. They are there to ALSO protect your vehicle from other vehicles at night. The guy with the Oldsmobile (see above) was parked at the time,but had deleted his side reflectors. So the driver of the offending car claimed there was no way to see the blacked out Olds in the dark.

On some cars and on all motorcycles, both the front and rear of the vehicles have unpowered REFLECTORS, not lights, which apparently satisfy the law, but look just like the sidelights, and while they do not proactively light up, they do reflect very well, even when lit up by only the backup lights of a car backing towards them. And they are awesome at reflecting headlights.

Jim G

MTV10

ANYWAYS....

For anybody not wanting the light 'glowing' through at night. Go buy yourselves some self bonding silicone wrap (high heat) and wrap the bulbs. Worked perfect for me.

Ambystom01

​​​​​​
Non-compliance with a regulation or bylaw is not proof of negligence.

In your example, I think the old man hit the blacked out car because he's old as **** and shouldn't be driving anymore. Claiming you hit a parked car because you couldn't see it is ballsy.

JimGnitecki

Maybe,but the Olds owner told methe opposing insurance companies were engaged in heavy discussion about it,because the damage to the Olds and the other car was not trivial!

As a matter of legal interest, I am told by older friends that here in British Columbia, once you hit a certain age, you must submit to annual driving vision (and other) testing, and if you fail,they strip youofyour license. I know several people who can no longer drive because of the testing. One of them now "drives" a snazzied up but speed limited electric 4-wheeler that the local laws permit driving on sidewalks. Perhaps something similar for older C63 owners will someday be announced by Mercedes!

At a very fancy RV resort near Orlando Florida built around a gold course, back in 2001-2002, there was a brief "escalating horsepower race" in which the old codgers one-upped each other with faster and faster souped-up golf carts,until the Resort Management brought in a radar gun borrowed from The Orlando PD, and shut down the festivities.

Old hotrodders never really retire. They just change vehicles.

Jim G

Ambystom01

That's pretty normal, especially when the amount of money at issue is big. It's part of negotiating, and shouldn't be taken to mean anything more.

I think the OP can turn off his side markers if he wants to. He might get a ticket though depending on his local state requirements.

xEryx

You can code the sidemarker Nein/No under SAMF_172 if you have STAR+Vediamo and they will never turn on.

MTV10

Wish I had STAR