Tail light indicators 230 SL

[loic]

Hello
On a Pagoda from 1966/06, are the tail light indicators red or orange? There are 2 variants. Thank you

[Mike Hughes]

For most markets, all red with clear (white) reverse lamp inserts.  French market rear lenses were different, with amber reverse lamp inserts, as I recall.

[dirkbalter]

I have a 66, sold first in Germany and they are red.

[loic]

A quoi correspond ces 3 feux de 230 SL et lequel pour la France ?

[Peter van Es]

https://www.sl113.org/wiki/Electrical/TailLights

Tells you all

[Merc_Girl]

I wonder why the French variants had amber reversing lenses? Surely that would significantly reduce light imminence hence make reversing far more difficult in the dark?

[FGN59]

Being French is not easy! 

At that time, we also had yellow headlights upfront (so as not to blind drivers coming from the opposite direction). Maybe some official felt that the same should apply to reversing lights? Part of being French has to do with applying fairly strict logic and a lot of theory, not necessarily being practical (luckily for our poor country, there are exceptions, but too few and far between).

[Merc_Girl]

Being French is not easy! 

At that time, we also had yellow headlights upfront (so as not to blind drivers coming from the opposite direction). Maybe some official felt that the same should apply to reversing lights? Part of being French has to do with applying fairly strict logic and a lot of theory, not necessarily being practical (luckily for our poor country, there are exceptions, but too few and far between).

Thanks François

I was aware of the yellow headlamps as think they were around for a while?

Good to see the French bureaucrats where being consistent, ie can’t see where you are going either forwards or backwards 😂. Maybe designed to abate night time robberies as robbers wouldn’t be able to see where they were going?

[Bconley759]

This is off my 67 230sl

[Bconley759]

Meant to send this one

[MikeSimon]

The yellow headlights did cut better through poor visibility conditions, e.g. fog. In Germany, we had "Natriumdampflampen" - Sodium Vapor lamps at intersections, emitting yellow light for improved visibility.

[66andBlue]

Interesting how the myth that yellow light cuts fog better continues despite having no scientific basis:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/lights/light_color/light_color.html
The problem is how humans perceive glare.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glare_(vision)

[MikeSimon]

Whatever. There must be one scientific reason for their use.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium-vapor_lamp

And if the human eye "perceives" them to do better with glare, isn't that what counts?

[FGN59]

Since there seems to be a thirst for knowledge (or at least for information), a few minutes of digging around on the web has produced this (in French):

https://www.defense.gouv.fr/actualites/articles/le-saviez-vous-des-phares-jaunes-dans-la-nuit

The salient points (in foreign accented English, with some personal comments  ):

- the source is a publication on the (French) Ministry of Defence website (given our record in our most recent wars, not sure one should really give them too much credit)

- the true origin of the (past) yellow colour on French headlights is unknown (today)

- one theory is that this was decided shortly before WWII to help identify German vehicles at night; either some already knew the probability of having German vehicles on French soil was higher than the reverse, or this is one more nail in the coffin of superior French strategic thinking (Maginot line, cavalry to counter  tanks, etc.): it would have worked just as well to identify French vehicles on German Lebensraum

- another explanation, which is given a little more credit, is a paper or talk given in 1934 by or to the French Academy of Science (an official body or collection of high-minded older guys with some scientific credits to their name who -collectively- don’t seem produce anything worthy of news lately, ie as long as one can remember, while their distinguished colleagues from the French Academy -note the absence of any other qualifier- at least produce a dictionary of acceptable French terms), that ‘observations by users (does not say drivers!), and more specifically by those with a scientific education (!!!), shows that yellow light produces less glare (than white), and that the (human) eye readjusts faster to the dark after an encounter with yellow lights than white; yellow light also produces less glare from reflections on fog and/or raindrops, seeming to produce higher contrast and to reduce eye strain’

(not published in this priceless article):
- I have a scientific education, I am an older guy without any scientific credits attached to my name, I am French (nobody’s perfect), and I agree with the second statement (and therefore will seriously consider applying to become a member of the French Academy of Science)

No information on rear yellow parking lights. A subject worthy of examination for my future life as a member of the Academy…   

[Pawel66]

... cavalry to counter  tanks, etc.

Sidetracking this scientific topic a bit... Cavalry against the tanks - I could swear it was a Polish specialty/peculiarity and strategic thinking...

[FGN59]

Great minds think alike… 

[Benz Dr.]

Great minds think alike… 

and fools seldom differ.

[FGN59]

That too…

I wasn’t thinking of myself or Pawel by the way (although I have the highest regard for him since he singlehandedly solved my rear differential issue by remarking it probably was the tachometer which needed to be recalibrated - still to be verified by the way as I haven’t done anything yet), but of the great generals of our respective countries