Is it me, YelloJAC's reverse lights seem Useless. The License Plate light I brighter!

 

For light output at night or what?

 

For sure at night! I carry a CDL Class B and have driven both bus and truck. I don't turn around to see what's behind my due to training in the are of Mirror alignment and use. Put a truck or bus in reverse and the light is bright enough to see what you are backing towards. On my SS, the reverse lights light up the housing and that's about it. I know I can get better bulbs but the stock lenses defuse the light so much I would have to put H1 bulbs in to make a significant difference. Is there a lenses setup that allows the reverse lights to be useful?

 

One of my reverse light lenses allowed a small amount of water to get inside the housing when I'd wash the car. When I took it off to run a bead of silicone around it I noticed that the bulb and reflector had a coating of dirt/dust on them. I cleaned both and used a non-abrasive rubbing compound on the lense. I have no problem at all seeing behind the car at night. Maybe yours are dirty and need cleaning?

 

That was my first thought actually. Also, Sylvania makes a SilverStar bulb for the reverse lights that would possibly help a little bit with light output.

 

Mine are dull too, I have about 25% tint, which is not dark at all, but you will sometimes find me hanging out of the window just to see what's behind me.

 

Now that I think about it Mike, the last owner had the bulbs and sockets stuck up into the rear bumper. I don't know what planet that makes sense on! Lol I had to crawl under the car and move the bumper cover to get them out. I put new bulbs in, Silvania Xtra Brights. But when I looked into the lenses to check for dirt, I saw no reflective surface inside. That might be the problem. I'll have to check them out after work!

 

I have 18% tint AND smoked reverse lights so I don't rely on any light output. Let's just say I'm very careful at night, when I need to be, and have learned to work with it.

 

I swapped my bulbs out for GE Nighthawk ones and they work pretty well

Although my LED tails light up the night too

 

- Pop in some LED 921s. eBay or superbrightLEDs.com