DRL wattage & technology

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I have reworked your modifications to the power consumption figures for the various DRL systems. The turn signal DRL system mentioned in the cited Federal Register entry is a 55w system (two 27w filaments plus module power consumption of approximately 1w), not a 42w system. It is likely Kstersn arrived at the 42w figure by calculating based on two standard European P21W or W21W bulbs, which have a nominal power rating of 21w at the European test voltage of 12.0. However, the rated wattage at 12.8v of these "21w" bulbs is very similar to the rated wattage of US "27w" bulbs at 12.8v, and the operational wattage elevation with voltage above the 12.0v test voltage likewise applies. The highest-power reasonably common system consists of two 65w headlamp filaments, two 8w parking lamps, four 8w tail lamps, four 5w sidemarker lamps, and between 0 and 15 watts' IP illumination, for a total of 198 to 213 total watts. And DRL systems in the 8- to 20-watt range may be implemented with LEDs or with high-efficacy, low-wattage filament bulbs. All wattage figures herein are nominal at the North American spec voltage of 12.8. Actual line voltage in operating vehicles tends to run significantly higher, between 13.5 and 14.5, which elevates actual operating wattage exponentially to the power 1.6.--Scheinwerfermann 03:49, 7 October 2007 (UTC)Reply

And once again I have cleaned up your modifications. The reference you added to the UK study within the EC report is good, but you seem to have misunderstood it. Turn signal DRLs are permitted only in the US and Canada, not elsewhere in the world; the UK study did evaluate a system of 42w nominal power consumption, and while the nominal vs. actual wattage discussion applies, the fact remains they did not test a turn signal DRL system. On Wikipedia, it is not appropriate to simply keep posting your pet text every time it is changed. Please do not continue to revert text without first discussing your intent and attaining consensus on the article's talk page. --Scheinwerfermann 01:12, 20 October 2007 (UTC)Reply