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John's headlight upgrade

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John
Your headlight booster kit arrived this am (with no sign of Irish
lick...)
I've only had time to open the box and look at the destructions, but it
looks to me as if it does exactly what you need:
- It's "plug and play", no cutting required, so it can be removed to
another vehicle.
- All the plugs, sockets & relays are there to connect to the existing
wiring.
- It takes its power feed direct from the battery, hence relieving you
poor headlight relays of load.
The bulbs he has supplied won't be any good: too high a wattage, wrong
base fitting and illegal filament pattern. But if you fit the Osram or
Philips "50% extra light" standard 60/55w ones you should be OK.
I won't have time to try it all out until the weekend, but I'm pretty
confident.
Out of interest how much did you pay? It seemed to be an Ebay auction,
but with no bids, and it's still on there. I'm curious because if I
like it I'd like to buy one.
Christopher Bell
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Hey Christopher
Sorry about that I left instructions for someone to lick the package and
stick a shamrock on it. Geese you cant get any thing done correctly these
days at all.
It cost ?46 but there was another bidder just I was faster off the mark.
I went down to the electric guy and he just had a quick look at the relay
and seems to think its fine. So ill have a look around and see what i can
see.
With this new booster box etc does that mean I will only be able to have
crappy 60watt bulbs again. If that is the case whats the point in buying
this thing in the first place.
John C
92HDJ 80 1HDT Ireland
 
Hey guys
Guess what, I bought a new relay from Toy today and just put it in for a
second just to see what would happen. My head beam worked fine, quickly took
it out just in case.
After the electric guy telling me my old relay was Ok , well its not.
Question time Sorry, Could it be that the old relay was just a bit tired and
wanted to go asleep or die.
If I put the new relay in what could happen to it, could it go the way of
the old one or should it be stronger and dependable.
I ask because you are all using some what the same 100 high beam bulbs and
have no problema with your relays.
John C
92HDJ 80 1HDT Ireland
 
On 11/17/05, John Byrne <[Email address removed]> wrote:
ook
and
d
John,
If you spool back this thread, and also a similar thread a few months
ago, you'll find my description explaining which relay fails and why.
In a nutshell - even with stock bulbs, when the relay contacts get
hot, they melt the plastic base in which they are set and start moving
apart, causing intermittent or permanent faiure. You can bend the
contacts slightly to make the spring action more positive, but with
higher wattage bulbs (i.e. current) it may fail again, only sooner
than later.
I recommend carrying a spare relay - when the lights go out next time
you will know why and will be able to fix the problem in a matter of
minutes.
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80
 
John
<snip>
| With this new booster box etc does that mean I will only be
| able to have crappy 60watt bulbs again. If that is the case
| whats the point in buying this thing in the first place.
</snip>
Because it increases the voltage to (I don't know exactly but I'll find
out) around 15 volts, which "over-runs" the bulb making it brighter. So
take a "50% brighter" 60/55w bulb, up the voltage, and you probably have
the equivalent of 120watts or so; but the actual current consumption is
- apparently - only about 6 watts more. It will be whiter too.
What I'll do is rig it up and use my camera's light-meter to see the
difference between before & after.
Is there a downside? Yes: the bulb life will be shorter so you will need
to carry spares.
How much shorter? I don't know. My 100/90 bulbs only last about 9
months, so probably something of that order.
<snip>
| Question time Sorry, Could it be that the old relay was just a bit
| tired and wanted to go asleep or die. If I put the new relay in what
| could happen to it, could it go the way of the old one or should it
| be stronger and dependable. I ask because you are all using some what
| the same 100 high beam bulbs and have no problema with your relays.
</snip>
Either the contacts on the old one were burned out, or the activating
coil was "tired" (or dead), or the extra heat distorted it (as Roman
explains in his reply).
I recall that Roman had to replace his a while back, and I suspect that
anyone else using higher wattage bulbs is living on borrowed time. This
is one half of the reason why the wiring upgrade is virtually standard
for these vehicles.
As for "what will happen to yours?" It'll probably be fine for a good
few years: your last one did 14 years or so didn't it?
I aim to have a go with this booster thingy on Saturday evening, and
I'll let you know what the results are then.
Christopher
____________________________________________________________
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Hey Roman
I have just returned from the electric guy, and this time I saw the boss
man.
I went with the intentions of getting him to fix the old relay to carry as a
spare.
But just like you said he said the old one is knackered and the last time he
did adjust the thingy and that the relay was now crap.
He also said that the higher wattage bulbs will create more heat in the
relay and will burn it out again. Just that the new relay will last longer
than the old one.
He also said that the extra heat created by using the higher bulbs was not
part of the Toyota plan.
So it seems that if I want better light there is a trade off , either
replace the relays every now and again or replace the bulbs sooner than
normal.
I think ill change the bulbs back to the normal ones with the new relay.
What about when Christopher is finished playing with the booster thing if I
use that and the higher bulbs which will take the pressure off the relay.
Ill then have brighter lights and only need to replace the bulbs every now
and again.
Ill then get some spots as a back up if anything goes wrong with that set
up.
Now all sorted.?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
John C
92HDJ 80 1HDT Ireland
----- Original Message -----
From: "Roman" <[Email address removed]>
To: <[Email address removed]>
Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2005 2:11 PM
Subject: Re: [ELCO] John's headlight upgrade
On 11/17/05, John Byrne <[Email address removed]> wrote:
John,
If you spool back this thread, and also a similar thread a few months
ago, you'll find my description explaining which relay fails and why.
In a nutshell - even with stock bulbs, when the relay contacts get
hot, they melt the plastic base in which they are set and start moving
apart, causing intermittent or permanent faiure. You can bend the
contacts slightly to make the spring action more positive, but with
higher wattage bulbs (i.e. current) it may fail again, only sooner
than later.
I recommend carrying a spare relay - when the lights go out next time
you will know why and will be able to fix the problem in a matter of
minutes.
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80

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Hey Roman
When you say spool back this thread, what or how can you do that. I just get
individual e-mails and if they are cut I only get the one message.
John C
92HDJ 80 1HDT Ireland
 
Hi Christopher
When you say
SNIP
. So
take a "50% brighter" 60/55w bulb, up the voltage, and you probably have
the equivalent of 120watts or so; but the actual current consumption is
- apparently - only about 6 watts more. It will be whiter too.
Do you mean 120 watts per bulb or per pair.
John C
92HDJ 80 1HDT Ireland
 
Hi John,
Look back at the previous messages.
If you can work it out, move all ELCO messages into their own folder using a
Message Rule (under the tools menu in Outlook Express) and keep them - that way
you can always go back to previous messages to check the wonderful advice youi
have been given.
Being an anal IT bod, I have every message from this list since it started, and
every message on other lists like the 80s list going back to early 2002!
--
Regards,
Julian Voelcker
Mobile: 07971 540362
Cirencester, United Kingdom
1994 HDJ80, 2.5" OME Lift
 
Hi John,
Look back at the previous messages.
If you can work it out, move all ELCO messages into their own folder using a
Message Rule (under the tools menu in Outlook Express) and keep them - that way
you can always go back to previous messages to check the wonderful advice youi
have been given.
Being an anal IT bod, I have every message from this list since it started, and
every message on other lists like the 80s list going back to early 2002!
--
Regards,
Julian Voelcker
Mobile: 07971 540362
Cirencester, United Kingdom
1994 HDJ80, 2.5" OME Lift
 
John
| Hi Christopher
| When you say
| SNIP
| . So
| take a "50% brighter" 60/55w bulb, up the voltage, and you
| probably have the equivalent of 120watts or so; but the
| actual current consumption is
| - apparently - only about 6 watts more. It will be whiter too.
|
| Do you mean 120 watts per bulb or per pair.
| John C
Osram (silverstar) & Philips (vision plus) both sell "50% brighter"
bulbs in the standard H4 60/55w fitting. So if they are to be believed,
and independent tests seem to say that they are, then these are
equivalent to 90/82w bulbs @ 1.5x their actual rating.
See http://www.powerbulbs.co.uk/ for both test & to buy them if you
want.)
Now add this booster which ups the voltage and they will become brighter
still, my guess - and it is only a guess - is to around the equivalent
of 120w on main beam, and somewhere in the range 100 to 120 dipped.
And yes, that will be each side. So make sure your headlights are
adjusted properly or you'll be going around blinding people!
Fitting the booster will also make life much easier for your nice new
relay because:
Dipped beam: it will only be carrying a minimal current to switch the
booster & slave relay on/off
Main beam: it will be carrying ditto, plus the ordinary current to
run your inner pair of spots.
So on dipped beam it will be doing b****r-all, and on main carrying half
what it is designed for. On that basis it will probably outlive both you
and me!
Christopher
____________________________________________________________
Electronic mail messages entering and leaving Arup business
systems are scanned for acceptability of content and viruses
 
Be carefull you don't get confused with these lights. A 60w bulb is
just that, 60w. You get 60w of power and no more. When they say
'brighter' they are talking about the colour of the beam, not the
power. If a light is 'whiter' then it looks better but is not more
powerful.
The other piece of information I can recall from my engineering days
is that any 12v incandesent bulb is best run at 11.8v for a balance
between light and life. If you increase the voltage you will decrease
the life of the bulb, quite dramatically.
Given that the standard lights are OK for normal use then fitting
extra driving lamps for that bit extra seems the sensible option, then
you have a good circuit that you have installed.
Regards, Clive.
 
Isn't this the problem though
The standard lights are not OK, they are terrible on dipped beam. Yes
use extra lamps for main beam but this doesn't help with the dipped.
Pete
 
I know lots of people on here seem to think there's a problem with
headlights on 80's being dim but both of ours have very good lights and
only normal bulbs fitted and standard wiring. There must be something
that goes wrong on some 80's is all I can conclude!
Maybe a typical characteristic of an 80 driver is to have poor night
vision and it's the driver not the car that's the problem :)
Cheers,
Jon.
-----Original Message-----
From: [Email address removed] [mailto:[Email address removed]]
On Behalf Of Peter Browning
Sent: 17 November 2005 17:04
To: [Email address removed]
Subject: Re: [ELCO] John's headlight upgrade
Isn't this the problem though
The standard lights are not OK, they are terrible on dipped beam. Yes
use extra lamps for main beam but this doesn't help with the dipped.
Pete
 
On 11/17/05, Jon Wildsmith <[Email address removed]> wrote:
... or beam height setting. I guess most LCs have a rotary switch for
changing the dipped beam depending how high the nose goes under load.
When set to top position they throw a long light pattern (though other
drivers may complaing about being blinded). So, before filing a
complaint it's also useful to check how the lamps are set.
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80
 
Hi Peter
I totally agree the dipped are crap. Maybe now, just maybe it has to do
with age aswell. I have noticed that since I turned shall we say over the
fortyish ish age that I have to wear the specs more and more , that reading
is getting more difficult and that I need more light to see small print etc
etc. So yea, better light to drive is all in that process. I read in an
article in the paper today that most accidents at caused by poor visability.
Personally I think they are caused by that plus drink driving and speeding.
Another article stated that from a certain date here all windows in cars
cannot be tinted at all or will fail the cumpulsory two year test. They say
its to curb the boy racers because it will also ban the loude exhausts.
I think it will only work with banning the tint on cars, dont know if that
applies to 4x4s or other vehicles, geese I hope not.and sure what happens to
windows that have tinted glass as opposed to the tinted film.
Julian how did you get that tint off those windows.
I can see them putting the big exhausts back on after the test is finished
like they do at the moment with their customised reg plates, off for the
test on after the test.
John C
92HDJ 80 1HDT Ireland
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Browning" <[Email address removed]>
To: <[Email address removed]>
Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2005 5:03 PM
Subject: Re: [ELCO] John's headlight upgrade
 
Mine does not have adjustable beam setting and I have to agree that the
lights are poor, on dipped and main. I have factory fitted front fogs and
the car came with yellow bulbs but I now have monster IPF spots on the front
and believe me they were more than usefuk both in N Africa and Spain/France
on the way home.
Mine is a 93 car. Before this I had a modern Subaru and the dipped beam was
also poor. Maybe a Japanese trait...
Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones
--
 
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