Defective cornering light: Recognising symptoms and checking them properly

The bend lighting extends the visual range on curved roads or when cornering. The course of the road and obstacles can be identified earlier and more easily in darkness. In addition to background information on how the bend lighting works, on this page you can find out about the differences between dynamic and static bend lighting. We also provide practical tips for checking this light function.

The following technical information and practical tips have been compiled by HELLA in order to provide professional support to vehicle workshops in their day-to-day work. The information provided on this website is intended for suitably qualified personnel only.

Dynamic bend lighting

The dynamic bend lighting is achieved by swiveling the low beam depending on the curve radius being negotiated. The projection headlamp is installed in a frame that rotates around the vertical axis. The swivel angle in the range of +/– 15 degrees is designed for curve radii up to approx. 200 m. When entering a curve with a radius of 190 m, if the area illuminated by the low beam is usually around 30 m, this is extended by another 25 m through the new headlamp technology.

Since the Light distribution corresponds to the respective steering angle, the driver can recognise the course of the curve early when driving into it and adapt his driving style accordingly. Active bend lighting works with both the low beam and high beam functions and continually adapts to the respective driving speed. While the headlamps follow the steering wheel movement within seconds at high vehicle speeds, the swiveling mechanism works more slowly at lower vehicle speeds in order to distribute the light as required by the driver.

Static bend lighting or cornering lights combined with dynamic bend lighting

Static bend lighting or cornering light: Function — Static bend lighting

For larger (such as on motorways) or smaller curve radii (such as those down country roads), it is sensible to supplement the dynamic bend lighting with additional static bend lighting or cornering light. This is switched on automatically in addition to the low beam and dependent on the vehicle speed, whenever the driver switches on the direction indicator to make a turn or drives through narrow bends. To achieve this, a control unit evaluates the parameters speed, steering angle, and indicator signal. To increase the comfort of this lighting function, the light system is not switched on and off abruptly but rather dimmed up and down gently according to special time-related parameters.