new head lights

The easiest way to figure out if you need a relay or not is to compare the wattage of the halogen setup to the wattage of the sealed beam setup. Halogens are usually 55/60 Watts per bulb, although you can get more powerful ones. There's a useful reference section HERE. Rover seems to have had a halogen option, and as long as you don't go above the wattage specified on there you shouldn't need a relay.
 
In theory it's OK but the existing fuse box is a bit marginal , especially after 30+ years and I think I'd go for a relay
You are also passing the full current through the dipswitch and can get a bit of arcing at the contacts.
I think you need 2 relays , one for main beam ,and one for dipped
 
If you have an S1 or early S2 with the old style four fuse set up in the engine bay then you ought not to need to do too much rewiring. However, if you have an S2 with the big posh fuse box under the passenger glove box then even standard head lamps are a risk! You'd definitely need relays then.

Chris
 
chrisyork said:
If you have an S1 or early S2 with the old style four fuse set up in the engine bay then you ought not to need to do too much rewiring. However, if you have an S2 with the big posh fuse box under the passenger glove box then even standard head lamps are a risk! You'd definitely need relays then.

Chris
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I'd agree with Chris on this one. I have an S2 with a :LOL: "big posh fuse box" :LOL: and standard lucas sealed beams and I'm going to fit relays simply to improve the supply to the lights. Probably cost about £30 all in for relays, in-line fuses for the supply and cable but will be worth it to take the strain off the dip switch.

.....and Dave H is quite right, you need 2 relays, one for inner and one for outer lights.

Dave
 
hi thanks guys so do you think if i added some relays to the sealed beams would that make the lights better cause if thats the case i might try that first and if still no good i will end up going for those lights
Gareth
 
I seem to remember yours is an S1 Gareth? So relays aren't going to help the stndard lights. I drove Lucky, who is the same age as yours, in the dark for the first time the other day and decent lights shot straight to the top of my wish list too!

Chris
 
Hi chris yea she is a series 1 69 so if i went for those head lights i would have to have the relays would they be much better then the standard 1 so wot is the difference between the s1 and the s2

Gareth
 
Are you sure they're actually pointing in the right direction? The headlights on my 2000TC are bog standard, but seem pretty reasonable to me. Checking the alignment is a lot less work than swapping over to halogens.
 
OK. Difference between S1 and S2 is the fuse box. In the S2 it is a much grander affair and, on the face of it, much better engineered affair. Unfortunately There are two serious problems with it. First it is easy to fit the incorrect fuses which are slightly shorter than the originals. Then there isn't enough contact between the fuse and holder and everything overheats. Second the looms seem not to have been properly put together and the wire to fuse terminal crimp is frequently not tight enough. Overheating then ensues. Then the plastic of the fuse box base is extremely susceptible to heat and will even burn at very low temperatures. Net result is that S2 fuse boxes rarely deliver full voltage to their headlights!

The S1 and the first 18 months production of S2 has a dear old fashioned Lucas 4 fuse hangover from the fifties that is far more robust.

Will these lamps on Ebay improve your forward vision? Probably. Quality of forward vision is driven by three things - wattage/quality of the bulb; quality of the reflector/lense; adjustment of the lamps. The Ebay ones allow the required bulb upgrade but are an unknown quantity on quality of reflector and lens. Personally I'm a huge fan of Cibie, having been brought up on road rallying where they reigned supreme.

This time of year is a gift for making sure you have got your lamp adjustment right. Just go out and find a nice quiet spot on a fooggy night. You'll be able to see exactly where each lamp is pointing. Mask/unplug any that are confusing your analysis. Then you can set them up exactly right! Far more efective than all this laser rubbish they use in gagrages!

Chris
 
It's all relative .
Halogen headlamps seem excellent till you drive a car with Xenon bulbs ( factory install , not a mickey mouse conversion )
 
Dave3066 said:
.....and Dave H is quite right, you need 2 relays, one for inner and one for outer lights.

Dave
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For those more eagle eyed of you out there you will of course have spotted my mistake here in making this statement. If you want to put relays on all headlamps you will of course need 3 relays. 2 for the outer (1 main beam and 1 dip) and 1 for the inner :oops:

My headlamps are correctly aligned and sealed 55W standard lucas outers and 75W inners which light the road up great on main beam. Dip is another story though with light falling on the road being less than I would like. Of course this isn't helped by other people will poorly aligned Xenon headlamps that blind everyone else :evil:

Dave
 
hi so wot is the correct way to set up the head light then as i think my drivers head light is a bit to fare to the left they just dont seem to go further out and that wot i would like them to be more powerful
 
Now is the ideal time to set up headlights. Pick a nice foggy night and you'll be able to see where each beam is going. Start by setting all four on main beam to be dead straight ahead. Then switch to dip and it should still be ok, but you can make minor adjustments if required.

Chris
 
DaveHerns said:
poorly aligned Xenon headlamps that blind everyone else
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I wouldn't know how to align my Xenons - I suspect you have to plug the car into a computer ..
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Not really, just use the adjuster switch on the dashboard to lower the beam a little.

Simple enough, but most people just don't understand....
 
all four lights on main beam aint it 2 just the outer 1's then the dip are the inner lights yea thats wot i will do get them more else striaght
 
As standard the outer lamps are dip beam and main beam, the inner lamps main beam only. ie all four come on for main beam and the outer two only for dipped. There is no beam adjuster switch on a P6!

Chris
 
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