Robbie Wilson

First off I know what most of you are thinking. Ricer! Lol, I have a thing for fancy lights. I don’t know what it is but I LOVE lights. So I’ll get a good laugh out of your comments xD. Personally I don’t care about ricer vs. non-ricer etc etc. I just LOVE LIGHTS. Also in my defense my car is not a v6.
Ok now that’s out of the way let us begin. I am in California so this write up regards California law so this is really just for people that live in CA but I recommend reading for anyone amused by my silly idea or just interested in neon under glow.
Ca law reads:

V C Section 25400 Lighting Requirements
Lighting Requirements
25400. (a) Any vehicle may be equipped with a lamp or device on the exterior of the vehicle that emits a diffused nonglaring light of not more than 0.05 candela per square inch of area.

(b) Any diffused nonglaring light shall not display red to the front, but may display other colors. A diffused nonglaring light shall not resemble nor be installed within 12 inches or in such position as to interfere with the visibility or effectiveness of any required lamp, reflector, or other device upon the vehicle.

(c) A diffused nonglaring lamp or device, other than a display sign authorized by subdivision

(d), shall be limited in size to an area of 720 square inches and where any lease, rental, or donation is involved the installation of the lamp or device shall be limited to those vehicles operated either primarily within business or residential districts or municipalities, or between business districts, residential districts, and municipalities in close proximity.

(d) An internally illuminated sign emitting not more than 0.25 candela per square inch and possessing copy which does not contain a white background may be displayed on each side, but not on the front or rear, of a trolley coach or of a bus being operated in urban or suburban service as described in Section 35107 of this code.

Ok. So first of all the questions we need to ask ourselves are:

What does diffused non glaring light mean?

A diffused non glaring light defined by the state of CA is just a light/lamp positioned so that you cannot see the bulbs. Period. The bulbs absolutely may not be visible no matter what from EVERY ANGLE. This is extremely important because otherwise you may be cited as impersonating an emergency vehicle and then you will be SOL. So it is of utmost importance that you may not see the bulbs! I repeat, if you do nothing else right at all make sure that you can’t see the bulbs no matter what, and besides it looks a lot tackier if you can see the bulbs anyways so to make it look clean they have to be hidden anyway.

Where can I mount lights that aren’t 12 inches from any required lamp, reflector, or other device upon the vehicle?

This is a very tough situation as you may have to mount the bulbs within 12 inches of a lamp or reflector in order to comply with the diffused lighting requirement. This may be difficult as required “reflectors” are not clearly defined anywhere in California vehicle codes. I would suggest going under the car with a tape measure and just “do your best”.

WTH is 0.05 Candela per square inch and how can I measure that to make sure I am legal?

OK so by far this is the most challenging aspect here because this is the kicker. Pay attention here:

Lux vs. Candela per square meter vs. candela per square inch

First of all, I chose to measure the light output in the unit of Lux because Lux meters are the cheapest widely available meter you can buy on amazon for around $30. Other forms of light meters are pricier.

Given:
One lux = one candela per square meter

In order to convert candela per square meter to candela per square inch, you must divide candela per square meter by 1550.0031000062 or just 1550.0031, should be about the same.

Because 1 candela per square meter(lux) = 0.00064516 candela per square inch.

Therefore 1550.0031000062 x 0.00064516 = 1.

So now back to our $30 lux meter.

We measure the light from the underglow buy putting the lux meter on the ground directly below the neon underglow.

Let’s assume that we get a reading of 30 lux (just for example purposes).

Ok so now let’s convert that to candela per square inch.

First step is to realize that 30 lux = 30 candela per square meter squared. Ok.

Second step is to realize that in order to convert candela per square meter to candela per square inch we must divide our lux value of 30 by 1550.0031, so…

30/1550.0031=0.01935. Ok, 0.02 candela is comfortably below the ca law requirement of 0.05 candela per square inch.

Alternatively you could always make the same conversion by multiplying your lux value by = 0.00064516. The answer will be the same every time!

However if you decide to do it just make sure your notes and your work is clear and concise and ready to be explained in a non-confusing way to the next police officer to stop you.

Also be prepared to get a ticket for any and everything else slightly illegal on your car because chances are you will argue with the officer and he will start writing tickets like it’s no one’s business. It may be better to just gather up all your evidence and take it to court and be very polite to the officer as he is trying to do his job. This should also hopefully prevent any other unnecessary tickets that you may or may not receive.

So as my disclaimer: do at your own risk. I am not responsible for anything that may or may not happen to you while driving on public roads for any reason. You all might be thinking well why not just turn it off on the street? Ehh… good point but I have an addiction to adrenaline and I need to be a little rebellious in everything I do. Neon under glow is a statement and something of a melodramatic lifestyle, LOL like sticking it to the man.

On another note, a simple list of things you may get ticketed for because of under glow that I can think of off the top of my head:

Window tint, front license plate, rear license plate lighting, interior foot well lighting, no front airbags, smoked taillights, illegal headlights(ebay halo’s etc.) Hid headlights, wheels/tires that extend past the fenders (17x11 zr1 guys), headers that are not CARB approved, no cats, non carb approved CAI, non carb approved intake elbow, non carb approved supercharger, a non carb approved lope-y cam.

If you don’t live in CA then just disregard this post entirely!

Step 3:
Enjoy your new under glow!

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

The whole thing is way too "fast and furious" for my taste but I certainly admire the way you've researched it and taken the time to do it right. So many people install things like cheap HID kits that blind everyone on the road but they couldn't care less.

I do have a question though... what is illegal about interior foot well lighting? My Mustang comes with it from the factory. In fact, I can set it to two intensities and any one of 125 different custom colors using buttons on the dash. It lights up both front and rear foot wells, cup holders, gauges, door accent lighting and the lettering in the door sill panels.

bill12690

iTrader: (4)

Cali seems pretty gay about vehicle laws, just sayin. lol

Robbie Wilson

I am not entirely sure because your mustang's stock lights would probably fall in to the "legal" category in the state of CA under vc section 24300(a) and 24300(b) However this is only CA law. I have no idea about other states. vc section 25250 makes all flashing lights illegal no matter what, so interior lights that flash are out of the question, and vc section 25105(a) allows for door mounted or running board lights with a limit of output and color to green/white. However all of these have restrictions about being visible to the outside of the car. So if none of these are visible outside I think you are ok. And if they are, they might fall into the "diffused lighting category" meaning that as long as they are not visible and the light emitted is 0.05 candela etc. etc. you might also be OK. But again this is only for CA. So I suppose you are right... I think it is up to the Officer that pulls you over though.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc24003.htm

the big question being do the interior lights function as dash/dome lights or diffused lights etc, or are they just plain "unlawful"

but being that they are factory. I think that they are perfectly fine. The law has a way with attacking things that aren't stock even if a newer car has the same equipment stock.

*EDIT* vc sectoin 25400(a) in CA permits diffused lighting on the exterior of the vehicle, not the interior. So that is where it is illegal. Now unless you can prove that it is part of the instrument/dash/dome lighting serving the purpose to light the interior of the car then I can see where the infraction might come from.