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AMBERS 101 - ATTENTION NEWBIES - EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AMBERS

OK, newbie here............... so i went out and picked up some amber's (I think). As per the original post i picked up a pack of Sylvania 3157 bulbs. Now my Question is, the bulbs themselves dont look to be amber in color. Did i get the wrong bulbs? or when I install them will they look amber when powered? ???

thanks,
Tom
 
NorthFaceKilla said:
OK, newbie here............... so i went out and picked up some amber's (I think). As per the original post i picked up a pack of Sylvania 3157 bulbs. Now my Question is, the bulbs themselves dont look to be amber in color. Did i get the wrong bulbs? or when I install them will they look amber when powered? ???

thanks,
Tom

wrong bulbs.... unless they are the silverstars...and they are $$$$ and look kinda funky reflective look....until lit up

3157NA is amber and look yellow
 
AAH HAA! I got it now :0: "Sylvania 3157/4157NALL". i dont have the NA part. (LL I know stands for Longer Life)

What is the difference between the 3157NA and the 4157NA then?

Back to P*P Boys I will go!!

Thanks again,
Tom
 
4157 is supposed to be a better bulb...not sure if it lasts longer or is more rugged....but have same base...
 
NorthFaceKilla said:
Now my Question is, the bulbs themselves dont look to be amber in color. Did i get the wrong bulbs?

Yep, wrong bulbs. Take a look at your turn signal bulbs, how the bulb itself looks amber or yellow when it is off. You want the exact same bulbs for your DRLs.

Some bigger stores have the amber bulbs out on the racks along with the clear bulbs. Other stores you have to ask at the parts counter for them.

If they give you a hard time that you really want the clear ones for the DRLs, just tell them you want the bulbs for the turn signals... and then put them in the DRLs.

NorthFaceKilla said:
What is the difference between the 3157NA and the 4157NA then?

Minor specifications change. For all practical purposes they are the same. In fact, many times you will see a bulb that has both numbers on the package.

More imporant than the first digit of 3 or 4 is to try to get them with LL as the last two letters. That means Long Life, and they should last longer than plain ones.

First choice: 3157NALL/4157NALL
Second choice: 3157NA/4157NA
Last choice 3157A/4157A

The difference between the A and NA is a matter of choice. A is a lighter yellow, NA is a darker orange. I think the NA or NALL looks better, and matches my turn signals. I had 3157A originally, and they looked pale compared to the turn signals, and didn't last very long.

-- SS
 
Is there any brighter alternative?

I bought two Titan AMbers from Stylin concpets - both blew out almost immediately and shattered in my hand when I went to swap the OEM whites back in.

They were supposed to be brighter . . . . didn't have them in and on long enough to tell.
 
Well I put my ambers in and they don't work.  :E: When I first got my truck last week only one side worked (with the white bulbs in) So I just thought it was a burnt bulb and thought great time for ambers.  Put them in no problem but now neither seem to work.

My truck went back to where I got it from yesterday to fix a few minor things and the DRL thing was brought up, they said they changed the bulbs (taking out my ambers) and cleaned the sockets.  Now I can't seem to get either to work once again.

Could there be a bigger problem or what?  It's an 02 Avy... My main DRL's work just not my small ones next to my fogs (closest to the toe hooks)

Any ideas?
 
Avalanche19 said:
Could there be a bigger problem or what?? It's an 02 Avy... My main DRL's work just not my small ones next to my fogs (closest to the toe hooks)

Any ideas?

Might just be operator error? ;)

First off, what do you mean by main DRLs? There is only one set of DRLs on the truck, which for a cladded Av is the small trapezoidal pair of lights inboard of the round foglights, closest to the recovery hooks. (You say you have a 2002, so by default you have a cladded Av since the naked version didn't exist yet in 2002.)

It is hard to test the proper functioning of the DRLs without a helper, or without looking at the reflection of the truck in a store window or the smooth sheet metal of a dark car in front of you.

For 2002, all of the following must be true for the DRLs to be on, some are more obvious than others:
  • It must be daylight
  • The light sensor on top of the dash must see sufficient light for a sufficent length of time (20-30 seconds) for the auto headlight system to think it is daytime.
  • The headlights and parking lights must be off. (Headlight switch in the auto position)
  • The ignition must be on
  • The transmission must be in gear (not in park)
  • The parking brake must be released
  • The auto headlight disable must not have been engaged by pressing the dome override button four times quickly.
If any of these conditions are not true, the DRLs will probably not be on. (Unless you did something like the full time DRL mod or otherwise changed the way they work.)

Odds are the problem is that the truck is in park, the parking brake is set, or the headlights or parking lights are on from some reason (auto headlights or manual switch.)

Since the ignition needs to be on, the truck needs to be out of park, and the parking brake needs to be off, the only safe way you are going to see them on yourself is if you have a helper in the truck holding the brake pedal down so the truck doesn't roll, or by looking at a reflection of the lights while you are in the truck keeping it under control.

Most of the time when someone says their DRLs don't work at all, they are either looking at the wrong bulbs, or they have the truck in park which will force them to be off.

I hope this helps. If they still don't work after checking all of the steps above, then we have some diagnosing to do.

-- SS
 
Wow, thanks for all the typing.  I thought the headlights that auto come on are also considered DRL's.  With both my Blazer and now my Avy I never turn on my manual lights cause the auto ones come on, I thought those were DRL...guess not!

Anyhoot, I going to have someone check those lights because today I thought I caught a glance of my reflection with them on.  So I'm sure it's just an operator error.

Thanks and I'll keep ya posted.

:D
 
Avalanche19 said:
Wow, thanks for all the typing.? I thought the headlights that auto come on are also considered DRL's.? With both my Blazer and now my Avy I never turn on my manual lights cause the auto ones come on, I thought those were DRL...guess not!

Interesting coincidence... I also had a Blazer before the Av, and I also haven't had to turn on my headlights in something like 7 years. On the rare occasion that I drive the wife's car, I sometimes drive at night without the lights on because I forget that you have to actually turn the knob to get light! :2:

While they are both controlled by the computer, and the light sensor plays into it, what you are thinking of are the automatic headlights. The DRLs and the auto headlights are basically opposites of each other. If the light sensor sees light, it turns on the DRLs and turns off the headlights. If the sensor sees dark, it does the opposite.

So, in theory, the DRLs should be on whenever the headlights are off, but there are a few additional requirements for the DRLs, as I stated above. The most common mistake, which bites a lot of people, is to put the transmission in park, hop out to check the lights, and they are not on. :E:

Have a helper sit in the truck and keep the regular brake pedal pressed while shifting out of park. Then revel in the resulting amber glow. :cool:

-- SS
 
Far anybody that cares, well even if you don't care  :D , the "NA", which I always thought was "New Amber" stands for "Natural Amber". I ran across this in my '96 Explorer Owner's Manual recently. Yep, it has 3157NA for front turn and parking lights. Almost 10yrs old, that's pretty "LL" even if they aren't. ;)
 
ShapeShifter said:
Interesting coincidence... I also had a Blazer before the Av, and I also haven't had to turn on my headlights in something like 7 years. On the rare occasion that I drive the wife's car, I sometimes drive at night without the lights on because I forget that you have to actually turn the knob to get light! :2:

While they are both controlled by the computer, and the light sensor plays into it, what you are thinking of are the automatic headlights. The DRLs and the auto headlights are basically opposites of each other. If the light sensor sees light, it turns on the DRLs and turns off the headlights. If the sensor sees dark, it does the opposite.

So, in theory, the DRLs should be on whenever the headlights are off, but there are a few additional requirements for the DRLs, as I stated above. The most common mistake, which bites a lot of people, is to put the transmission in park, hop out to check the lights, and they are not on. :E:

Have a helper sit in the truck and keep the regular brake pedal pressed while shifting out of park. Then revel in the resulting amber glow. :cool:

-- SS

Alright, it was just new Avy owner operator error, they work and look great.  Thanks everyone for the replies.  :wave:
 
Avalanche19 said:
Alright, it was just new Avy owner operator error, they work and look great.? Thanks everyone for the replies.? :wave:

You're welcome. I'm glad to hear it wasn't a bigger problem. You'd be surprised how many people get tripped up on that and think they aren't working, when in reality all is good.

-- SS
 
I am a newbe with an 05 anvalanche.? I would like to see a picture of the amber DL's if anyone could post a picture with them.? Thanks.
 
Tweek said:
I am a newbe with an 05 anvalanche.? I would like to see a picture of the amber DL's if anyone could post a picture with them.? Thanks.

both WBH and cladded ambers

ambers002.jpg
 
Been browsing here for a couple weeks now. My first mod were the ambers of course  :D

I keep seeing postings where people tell you how see them, from getting behind a car to going to a store and seeing them in the glass.

I noticed that if I just hit the unlock on my remote in the dark, the ambers come on then as well.

Just FYI
 
cybercoaster said:
I noticed that if I just hit the unlock on my remote in the dark, the ambers come on then as well.

That didn't work on my '02, works on '03+
 
cybercoaster said:
Works on '03 since thats what I have? :D

That didn't work on my '02, works on '04+, I'm unsure about '03

That's what I thought, I knew someone would correct me :D
and I should have read your sig. as it says '03
 
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