Headlight Conversion Options

Bougsy

New Member
Hi all,

Had (another) sealed beam unit go the other day so ordered a halogen light kit. All fitted and working fine but realize that I should also upgrade the wiring to include relays to cope with the higher current loadings before I do any long night time stints. I presume the best place to take a live feed from (on a V8) will be from the starter solenoid to the relay - lights and the headlight wires will operate the relay 'switch'. Before I do this however has anyone fitted to H1 & H4 LED bulbs (approx. 10w current) that theoretically should do away with any need for new wiring, and what results they had?
 
My Series 1 V8 has halogen lights fitted without any relays. I use the '50% brighter' sort of bulbs from Halfords etc & they are better than standard sealed beams but not hugely.

I keep meaning to do a 'proper' upgrade but never seem to get round to it, which I should because I need something to challenge all the newer blinding lights I meet in my all-year-round driving :confused:
 
My S1 has a Halogen H4 conversion without relays. Halogen gives more light for the same current draw so you aren't adding to the stresses already on the lightswitch. It isn't the wiring, it's the arc burning of the switch contacts as you close them over time.
 
I bought lED light intending to upgrade my dip beam. Look at the thread I started here to see he abuse you will get for even thinking of this.

On a more practical note, the light I bought come with an 'electronics module that fits between the light and he existing 3 pin connector. No room inside the standard headlight cover to fit this , so some ingenuity needed to get this in place. I have not worked this out yet
 
I fitted halogens a few years back and like others have been meaning to add relays. And I'll have to as a fault has developed. Recently, after about 10mins of main beam, they flicker and go off - very scary! Dip still works so I have to switch to that quickly. Also flash works. I thought it must be the dip switch that's faulty so removed and examined it, cleaning the contacts and couldn't see anything wrong. Fault was still there so I tried a different switch and it still happens. Fuses all OK and fuse box not melting, besides the 2 main beams are on different ones.
So I'll fit relays to take the strain off whatever's unhappy and see if the problem persists.
 
I got the power from the wire that feeds the light switch, as this way it doesn't put a load of stress on a system that isn't designed for it. Ran two wires from this wire, to relays down by the headlights. Then used the original wiring to fire the relays.

All this does, is take the strain off of the original wiring, including the light switch, the fuse box and all the connections including the 40 year old bullet connectors.

I will say that I did have problems with my halogens not working (I believe the wiring wasn't giving sufficient power to run them), and I did have my chocolate fuse box melt because of a different problem so was very aware of its problems.

The wiring was in a very bad state when I bought him, hence the name "Sparky."

Richard
 
So one relay for main beam and another for dip? I had toyed with the idea of a relay for each lamp but perhaps that's going a bit far.
 
So one relay for main beam and another for dip? I had toyed with the idea of a relay for each lamp but perhaps that's going a bit far.

I have four relays, can't remember why, but I did make a wiring diagram so will have a look for it in the morning.
 
I thought about having a halogen conversation, have you noticed any different to the amps from old headlight to the new ones?
 
I have four relays, can't remember why, but I did make a wiring diagram so will have a look for it in the morning.

Oops I forgot :)

after.jpg

Looking at that, I think it may be slightly innacurate. I have one fused relay for each dipped beams, as I don't want to be with no lights if a fuse goes, then one for the inner full beams, and one for the outer full beams.
 
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Ban:
The Amps drawn by your headlights are dependent on the power rating (Watts) of the bulbs. Watts= Volts x Amps, so work it out for yourself.
One reason for changing bulbs is that modern lights, QI or LED, give more light output (lumens) for the power they consume. LEDs are said to be particularly efficient as most of the power is emitted as light and not heat.
Beware! many members here doubt the legality of LED headlights. Read the small print from any supplier you find on the Internet.
 
Beware! many members here doubt the legality of LED headlights. Read the small print from any supplier you find on the Internet.

Hi, This again, it's not just the legality of them it's also the physics, which I suspect you don't appreciate.

A conventional incandescent filament headlight has a reflector designed to project a pencil beam forward from the given size of light source (the filament). The glass at the front with it's refractive shapes then controls that beam into the required light patterns. HID and LED bulbs are bigger than the filament so is outside the focal point of the reflector and there is an amount of light scatter. Which is why you're blinded by some of the oncoming traffic, it may be better to see from behind the lights but gives no consideration to others coming the other way. Even putting 100w bulbs in does the same thing and is also illegal, which is why they always state for off road use only. Until they make 5¾" light units for use with HID or LED bulbs they will continue to be unsuitable.

Sorry if this appears to be having a go, it's meant as an explanation.

Colin
 
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Thank you Colin I did mention in a previous post about the beam, I did not think it would be correct, however I didn’t explain it as well as you did well done for the info, So am I right in saying that the Halogens headlight units is the way to forward? and can the p6 cope with these lights ie wires getting hot or the switch burning out or the old fuse box catching fire what I mean is do these Halogens lights put more strain on the system? That runs these dimmer lights...
 
Thank you Colin I did mention in a previous post about the beam, I did not think it would be correct, however I didn’t explain it as well as you did well done for the info, So am I right in saying that the Halogens headlight units is the way to forward? and can the p6 cope with these lights ie wires getting hot or the switch burning out or the old fuse box catching fire what I mean is do these Halogens lights put more strain on the system? That runs these dimmer lights...

Hi, Thank you.

Do they put more strain? No, because they're usually 55w and replace 60w or 75w. In the case of P6 sealed beam units which are 37w they could be. However it's advisable to fit relays with a decent power source, the original cables are more than OK for the relay signal feed. It's surprising the difference with new cables because 40+ year old cables do deteriorate. Especially when the originals go most of the way round the engine bay.

Colin
 
Colin,
I appreciate hat you are saying about LED in existing reflectors, but I have previously used QI bulbs in reflectors bought as a unit, (bulb+ reflector) I think originally from a Jaguar, as I was sold at a auto-jumble. So these ought to be legal and as good as I can get? I have been through several MOTs without any comment on beam pattern, nor do I get 'flashed' at night, so I assume that on-coming users are not dazzled.
I have noticed that I am most dazzled by approaching SUV with LED lights, or at least very white lights. I am told that these vehicles should have correct light/reflector combinations and also levelling to compensate for load in the back. When followed by such vehicles I have noticed that the shadow of my car suggests that the lights are set parallel to the road and no attempt to 'dip' I had assumed that this was the modern way for SUV's to be set up, since I doubted that many drivers would bother to re-adjust their lights.
This thread was started as I could nto see an easy way of fitting LED light in my existing reflector units, and as nobody ah offered any help, it looks as if I will be using QI for now.
 
When followed by such vehicles I have noticed that the shadow of my car suggests that the lights are set parallel to the road and no attempt to 'dip' I had assumed that this was the modern way for SUV's to be set up, since I doubted that many drivers would bother to re-adjust their lights.
.

Hi, This one area where the MOT's one size fits all falls down. The beam test is done directly in front of the headlight which is fair enough, however when the headlight is higher than the boot of the preceding car it will be a nuisance.

Colin
 
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