[travelvanvan]

Am wondering what the purpose of the marker lights on top of the roof are for? Just appearances sake?

The holes might come in handy for running wiring for a light bar. (Since my van isn't here yet, I'm enjoying fantasizing about many things I could add to it!)

 

[poundsand]

Fed requirement for vehicles of a certain size

 

[phil]

Your Canadian so regs may differ.

The outer 2 are clearance lights they are place high and to the corner as possible and the center 3 are identification lights, they indicate a vehicle over 80" wide.

https://one.nhtsa.gov/Vehicle-Safety/Other-Equipment/Trucks,-Buses,-MPVs:-Federal-Lighting-Equipment-Location-Requirements

I think I read that they may become an option.

 

[travelvanvan]

Your Canadian so regs may differ.

The outer 2 are clearance lights they are place high and to the corner as possible and the center 3 are identification lights, they indicate a vehicle over 80" wide.

https://one.nhtsa.gov/Vehicle-Safety/Other-Equipment/Trucks,-Buses,-MPVs:-Federal-Lighting-Equipment-Location-Requirements

I think I read that they may become an option.

Interesting. But curiously, similarly sized Ford Transits and Sprinters don't have them. (Maybe they just squeak in less than 80-inches wide.)

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

That is right.

 

[thebassoutlaw]

On my 2014 model they were put up there to leak:laugh::laugh::laugh:

 

[Chance]

....cut.....

The outer 2 are clearance lights they are place high and to the corner as possible and the center 3 are identification lights, they indicate a vehicle over 80" wide.

https://one.nhtsa.gov/Vehicle-Safety/Other-Equipment/Trucks,-Buses,-MPVs:-Federal-Lighting-Equipment-Location-Requirements

I think I read that they may become an option.

Ford specs show SRW Transit at we'll over 80-inches in width and it doesn't have clearance lights. Only the DRW Transit which is even wider has them. According to specs the Transit is wider than Ducato. I'm not sure how the rules apply, but there must be more to them than just saying any vehicle over 80".


I hope you're right about these clearance lights becoming an option on ProMaster. While I know that many on this forum like them, I much prefer the cleaner automotive look of the Ducato to the "commercial" look of the PM. If they were actually an option, I wonder how many would pay extra for them? I'd guess very few buyers would spend extra money to make their vans look like a commercial truck if not required.

 

[phil]

I show Ford at 81.3, PM at 82.7

My understanding is mirrors, door handles, flexible parts don't count towards the >80" reg.

I don't know if manufactures count those items in their advertised width?

It all could be a marketing ploy, the "commercial look".

The clearance light option only on the CC and CA models, but it contradicts itself. It's from the 2018 feature availability sheet, the same one with the 2018 diesel.

Who knows.

If your bored read this, https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?node=se49.6.571_1108

 

[Zoomyn]

Remember these are hold-over regulations from the days of 6V & 12V vehicles and old technology bulbs & lenses, batteries & DC generators AND before interstate highways - a great number of losses & injury occurred & the lighting scheme we see* now is the result. Imagine commercial rigs going coast-to-coast on Rt 66 at all hours in all weather.. in 1939. If registered as a private vehicle I'd think deleting them may make resale more difficult, I'm liking them more and more each time I drive through pulling an all-nighter...

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

Style? Styles change. As teenagers we put “West Coast” mirrors on our pickups with lights attached so it looked like you were meeting a big wide truck on our 2 lanes back then. They were so cool girls chose to ride with us. Attracting the opposite sex is a strong motivator and we were in Musth. Now, a certain sort of mature lady is entranced by the van. The Ms. is dumbfounded when she comes out of the store and I am enraptured in conversation with a lady van looker. It may be these lights?

 

[SteveSS]

https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/motorvehiclesafety/tp-tp14116-menu-175.htm
Required by Transport Canada, too. #2 + #3 (=5!) for vehicles over 2032mm (80in) wide or wider.
You wanna sleep sideways, you gotta have lights!

 

[GapRunr]

I've always been confused by this. The Ford web site lists the overall width of the Transit, without mirrors, as 81.3 inches. RAM lists the Promaster width at 80.7 without mirrors. Why doesn't the Transit have these? The Transit Dually has three marker lights, since the body in the dually is a little wider at the wheel well trim, but the same law that requires the 3 center lights for vehicles over 80 inches also requires the two lights on the forward edges, yet the Transit dually doesn't have those.

I suspect that this rule in the US and Canada only applies to vehicles with a GVWR over 10,000 pounds which would explain the Transit dually. It still doesn't explain why the Promaster has them, unless as mentioned above RAM was going for more of a tough and rugged commercial look.

 

[phil]

From the CFR,

S3 Application. This standard applies to:

S3.1 Passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, buses, trailers (except pole trailers and trailer converter dollies), and motorcycles;

Vans are not exempt, is it a mpv or truck?

Has nothing to do with weight.

What is Ford measuring from for width? what do they report to the FEDs.

Def:
Overall width means the nominal design dimension of the widest part of the vehicle, exclusive of signal lamps, marker lamps, outside rearview mirrors, flexible fender extensions, mud flaps, and outside door handles determined with doors and windows closed, and the wheels in the straight-ahead position. Running boards may also be excluded from the determination of overall width if they do not extend beyond the width as determined by the other items excluded by this definition.

 

[Chance]

I show Ford at 81.3, PM at 82.7

......cut.....

I was referring to Ducato, listed at 2050 mm or 80.7 inches in width. I think the PM is listed at 82.7 inches because it has side plastic trim to work as bumpers.

 

[MsNomer]

Except for leak potential, I'm glad we have them. The bigger we look, the safer we are.

 

[SteveSS]

Leak potential ... One of ours was filling up with water until I put white nylon washers under the screws. Did that to all of them. Also put a thin film of plumber's silicone sealant on the plastic gaskets. Was careful not to crank them down too tight for fear of cracking them.

 

[MsNomer]

How did you get to the ones front center?

 

[jimmbomb]

my dealer fixed my leaking lights under warranty. 2014

 

[phil]

I use a ladder to get to the middle lights.

The EU has their own lighting regs, they have high mounted center brake lights on the Ducato.
US and CAN pretty much the same.
Mexico doesn't care? their Ducato follow the EU and their Promasters follow the US/CAN. It's the same vehicle go figure.

 

[proeddie]

How did you get to the ones front center?

I had the same issue changing the radio antenna to shorten it.... no easy way. I thought about pulling up to something about the same height, like the deck on our house, and extending a plank out across to the roof.

One of those Little Giant ladders that turn into a scaffold might be better!