Don't like the adverts?  Click here to remove them

spots

Hi Guys
Thanks for the input.
I cant spend =A3300 for spots as I would only use the spots when high beam is on.
I like the idea of the spots with a low /high beam which seems to sadisfy the need for more light at low beam.
High beam on the 80 is fine when you concider there are four lights.
I did have to replace the main relay for the lights about two years ago , but I think this was due to age.
They are expensive and I said after that I would carry a spare but like some of the things we say we will do I forgot.
Is it possible to just fit LED bulbs because if they use less power then the power that is lost through the OME wiring will not matter, is that correct.
Ill check the stronger 100 watt bulbs and the 30/50% extra bulbs and see which is best and hope my relay stays working.
Then there is the LED bulbs if I can get ones to suit.
After that there is the wiring upgrade and or spots.
Cheers
john 92HDJ 80 1HDT
 
Hi Guys
Sorry but im off again.
Is it just the blue z bulbs that are crap because earlier I was told that z bulbs would be better.
Has anyone changed their lights on their 80 to the new lights similar to item no 320151709590 on ebay or would they look really silly.
I cant visualise what they would look like when fitted.
cheers
john 92HDJ 80 1HDT

----- Original Message -----
From: john byrne
To: [Email address removed]
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 11:14 PM
Subject: Re: [ELCO] spots
Hi Guys
Thanks for the input.
I cant spend =A3300 for spots as I would only use the spots when high beam is on.
I like the idea of the spots with a low /high beam which seems to sadisfy the need for more light at low beam.
High beam on the 80 is fine when you concider there are four lights.
I did have to replace the main relay for the lights about two years ago , but I think this was due to age.
They are expensive and I said after that I would carry a spare but like some of the things we say we will do I forgot.
Is it possible to just fit LED bulbs because if they use less power then the power that is lost through the OME wiring will not matter, is that correct.
Ill check the stronger 100 watt bulbs and the 30/50% extra bulbs and see which is best and hope my relay stays working.
Then there is the LED bulbs if I can get ones to suit.
After that there is the wiring upgrade and or spots.
Cheers
john 92HDJ 80 1HDT
 
hi john - i have some bulbar mounted ipf 930 rally lights. they come with
170/130w h4 bulbs, a full harness and a separate hi/lo switch - nice kit for
africa or lonely country roads. on the roof are ipf 800 series spots: 130w -
these are brilliant for night driving and for retaliating against truckers
who don't dip. i picked them up off ebay a while back and so am unsure of
their cost.
jeremy "--" --
self-drive safaris in east and southern africa
www.--
uk mobile: +44 (0)
uk landline: +44 (0)
skype: Fred
 
hi lubo, Fred
i am slowly getting it together.
it would seem that led bulbs are for day driving but no good at night, what
crap.
i can get a hid kit for about ?50 including postage but its from china but
labelled bosch on the ballasts.
so now i need to know what is the best k rating for lights and what are
the current cruiser bulbs rated at in k.
how do the ballasts work or what can go wrong with them.
it would seem the hid kits use less power so no need to touch the wiring.
so what is saved on the wiring you get better lighting and looking better
too, i think.
cheers
john 92hdj 80 1hdt
 
john
i don't know about the roi but in the uk (and i think it's also an eu rule):
- you are only allowed one set of low beam headlights
- you can have as many high beam lights as you like
- on vehicles registered after 1985 (or sometime mid 80s) the legal limit for dipped beam is 55w max, and main beam is 60w max. you'll find higher wattage bulbs are sold "for off road use only".
as far as the 80 series goes:
- the 80 series wiring and relays will not take more than the standard 60/55w h4 outer, 55w h1 inner. the voltage drop in the standard toyota wiring is horrendous: i've measured it!
- you can get 130w/100w h4 bulbs for the outer, and 100w h1 for the inner, but you must upgrade the wiring and relays. this is what i have done, and the results are "ok" for dipped beam.
i would hold fire on hid until julian reports back on the kit he is installing. if it works well it will:
- beat the pants off any halogen bulbs you can buy (hid is usually quoted as being the same as 150w halogen)
- not require a wiring upgrade, since it actually draws around 35w per "bulb" - ie just over half the current of the standard halogen fit.
i have no experience of led bulbs in cars, but from what i've read they are really difficult to focus so i doubt they would make effective headlights.
my advice would be to forget "blue" bulbs. they may look brighter to oncoming traffic but they actually give you less light to see by, and if the gardae are anything like our cops they are more likely to attract attention from a pedantic copper.
if you do go hid i would suggest getting the lowest colour temperature you can find - preferably 5000 kelvin or less. and you'll get what you pay for: my inclination would be to pay a bit more from a supplier that i could trust rather than =a350 from china.
also beware that many cheap hid kits for h4 bulbs only give you low beam. in the uk at least that would be an mot failure.
christopher bell
|
| hi lubo, Fred
| i am slowly getting it together.
| it would seem that led bulbs are for day driving but no good at night, what
| crap.
| i can get a hid kit for about =a350 including postage but its from china but
| labelled bosch on the ballasts.
| so now i need to know what is the best k rating for lights and what are
| the current cruiser bulbs rated at in k.
| how do the ballasts work or what can go wrong with them.
| it would seem the hid kits use less power so no need to touch the wiring.
| so what is saved on the wiring you get better lighting and looking better
| too, i think.
| cheers
| john 92hdj 80 1hdt
____________________________________________________________
electronic mail messages entering and leaving arup business
systems are scanned for acceptability of content and viruses
 
hi christopher
if that is the case , why do a lot of cars etc have two headlights and two
spots/ lights just under the bumper.
are they not low beam headlights cause they are on all the time the low
beam headlights are on.
john 92hdj 80 1hdt
snip
- you are only allowed one set of low beam headlights
- you can have as many high beam lights as you like
- on vehicles registered after 1985 (or sometime mid 80s) the legal limit
for dipped beam is 55w max, and main beam is 60w max. you'll find higher
wattage bulbs are sold "for off road use only".
as far as the 80 series goes:
- the 80 series wiring and relays will not take more than the standard
60/55w h4 outer, 55w h1 inner. the voltage drop in the standard toyota
wiring is horrendous: i've measured it!
- you can get 130w/100w h4 bulbs for the outer, and 100w h1 for the inner,
but you must upgrade the wiring and relays. this is what i have done, and
the results are "ok" for dipped beam.
i would hold fire on hid until julian reports back on the kit he is
installing. if it works well it will:
- beat the pants off any halogen bulbs you can buy (hid is usually quoted as
being the same as 150w halogen)
- not require a wiring upgrade, since it actually draws around 35w per
"bulb" - ie just over half the current of the standard halogen fit.
i have no experience of led bulbs in cars, but from what i've read they are
really difficult to focus so i doubt they would make effective headlights.
my advice would be to forget "blue" bulbs. they may look brighter to
oncoming traffic but they actually give you less light to see by, and if the
gardae are anything like our cops they are more likely to attract attention
from a pedantic copper.
if you do go hid i would suggest getting the lowest colour temperature you
can find - preferably 5000 kelvin or less. and you'll get what you pay for:
my inclination would be to pay a bit more from a supplier that i could trust
rather than ?50 from china.
also beware that many cheap hid kits for h4 bulbs only give you low beam.
in the uk at least that would be an mot failure.
christopher bell
|
| hi lubo, Fred
| i am slowly getting it together.
| it would seem that led bulbs are for day driving but no good at night,
what
| crap.
| i can get a hid kit for about ?50 including postage but its from china
but
| labelled bosch on the ballasts.
| so now i need to know what is the best k rating for lights and what are
| the current cruiser bulbs rated at in k.
| how do the ballasts work or what can go wrong with them.
| it would seem the hid kits use less power so no need to touch the wiring.
| so what is saved on the wiring you get better lighting and looking
better
| too, i think.
| cheers
| john 92hdj 80 1hdt
____________________________________________________________
electronic mail messages entering and leaving arup business
systems are scanned for acceptability of content and viruses
 
Don't like the adverts?  Click here to remove them
John
|
| Hi Christopher
| If that is the case , why do a lot of cars etc have two headlights
and two
| spots/ lights just under the bumper.
| Are they not low beam headlights cause they are on all the time the
low
| beam headlights are on.
Technically they are "fog" lights.
They are required to be switched separately, and should only be used in
fog, but - as we all know - lots of people just use them all the time as
extra driving lights. As far as I can see here the cops don't bother so
long as they are well adjusted and don't blind people.
If you fit some make sure you have that separate switch, otherwise it
will be MoT failure time again ...
CB
By the way good luck with the brakes. I have to confess that,
committed father though I am, I would not trust my 9 year old son with
supplying the brake reservoir with fluid, as I'd worry about his
attention wandering!
____________________________________________________________
Electronic mail messages entering and leaving Arup business
systems are scanned for acceptability of content and viruses
 
Hi Christopher
Thanks, the issue of the relay not being able to take the 100w bulbs got me
thinking and possibly coming up with a sulution and god knows thats rare.
So fitted the 100w bulbs and powered one side through that thingy box we
bought a while ago and powered the other side through the relay so should
be Ok as its only 1 100w now going through the relay.
So when it gets dark ill see if it works literally.
If they are fog lights why are they the same colour as the headlights.
cheers
john 92HDJ 80 1HDT
SNIP
Technically they are "fog" lights.
They are required to be switched separately, and should only be used in
fog, but - as we all know - lots of people just use them all the time as
extra driving lights. As far as I can see here the cops don't bother so
long as they are well adjusted and don't blind people.
If you fit some make sure you have that separate switch, otherwise it
will be MoT failure time again ...
CB
By the way good luck with the brakes. I have to confess that,
committed father though I am, I would not trust my 9 year old son with
supplying the brake reservoir with fluid, as I'd worry about his
attention wandering!
____________________________________________________________
Electronic mail messages entering and leaving Arup business
systems are scanned for acceptability of content and viruses
 
John,
On Nov 8, 2005 10:21 PM
Subject [ELCO] little things
You wrote:
"My head beams decided to stop working again all of a sudden in the middle of
somewhere in France ... The last time this happened it was the relay
which was fixed by a guy. That time I lost my dipped and head beams
where as this time I only lost
head beams.
Remember why that happened? Now, you may see the problem come back
because you are playing with your lights again, you nauhty boy! Do not
power anything through "that thingy box" unless you know what it's for
and how it works.
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80 (auto)
On 10/29/07, john byrne <[Email address removed]> wrote:
 
Hi Roman
Geese you do keep records, you have all of what I have said for years O GOD
I think ill go hide under a rock.
The thingy box is fine I have used it for spots, its just I dont know the
name of it ( so whats new) but it will only take 120w max so 100w should be
fine.
Regarding the relay, is it the amount of times you switch on and off your
lights or/and the wattage of the bulbs and the age of the relay that will
cause it to fail.
cheers
john 92HDJ 80 1HDT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Roman" <[Email address removed]>
To: <[Email address removed]>
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2007 1:06 PM
Subject: Re: [ELCO] spots
 
It is either or both, the number of operations will be the constraint IF the
relay load is at or below the rated current, if it is operating above the
rated load the extra heat generated will age the relay prematurely and the
coil, pcb connections etc might fail.
Malcolm Bagley
Stafford UK
FJ45 '75 & FJ45 '76
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.12/1097 - Release Date: 28/10/2007
13:58
 
On 10/29/07, john byrne <[Email address removed]> wrote:
John,
First, no way to hide! You are a celebrity here, so we follow your
every post and right it down in our little notebooks.
Your 120W "thingy" seems to have enough capacity to switch currents up
to 10A but without more info it is hard to guess for how long.
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80 (auto)
 
Fitted a pair of tiny Hella Micro Xenon (HID) spots. Great for the long,
straight, lonely country roads. So small that they fit inside the grille,
but big in output. For the more important low-beams, I first tried some
+30% blue Phillips bulbs which I think were better than stock. Then I
fitted a pair of Toyota OptiBright, which are good. As good as it gets I
suppose, without going xenon/hid.
Btw, the light on the 100 series is far from good. In fact I think it was
better on my 80 with the small dual lamps. I thought that the 100's
design with separate reflectors and bulbs had a good reason, that the
light would be better, but no. I really think that my 1966 Volvo, with
standard H4, has better lights. I've seen original HID low-beam
headlights for the 100 in the parts-catalogue, but they are not cheap....
If you fit thicker cables, with or without a relay solution, i.e. get a
higher voltage to the bulbs, you will get more light. In fact, if the
voltage increases 10 %, the output will increase much more, maybe 20 %
(the ratio is not linear, the light increase goes up more than the volt
the higher on the voltage scale you are, until the bulb bursts). Only
problem is that you will have to change the bulb more often, but that's
better than bad lighting. (Aha, maybe that's why bulbs last longer on
Toyotas, the wiring is always on the thin side)
--
Ugo Hu, Oslo, Norway
HDJ100, Auto, AHC, 2001; ex HZJ80
 
Christopher,
I have to disagree about the standard wiring. As I said, all four
lights have their own fuse, this fuse is 15A. The wiring has to be up
to 15A or the fuse would offer no protection from a burnt out harness.
I cannot comment on the relays.
There is, as far as I can determine, no legal limit for headlamp
power. I have asked this question on several vehicle forums and been
told there is no limit, I have also searched the construction and use
regs, which is where most of this stuff is detailed, and cannot find
it. The only thing I can find is a requirement not to dazzle.
Regards,
Clive Marks
Home: +44 1293 514600
Mobile: +44 7821 491897
Crawley, West Sussex, UK.
 
Clive
| I have to disagree about the standard wiring. As I said, all four
| lights have their own fuse, this fuse is 15A. The wiring has to be up
| to 15A or the fuse would offer no protection from a burnt out harness.
| I cannot comment on the relays.
I agree with you about the fuse, but there is more to it than that.
At least two members on this list have experienced burned out headlight
relays, and that was with standard bulbs. The relay contacts over-heat,
the whole thing deforms, and suddenly you have no light.
The 80s-Cool list has also had incidences of steering column switch
failure, but bear in mind that is on US spec vehicles which seem to have
radically different wiring for the lights with main current going
through the switch.
On my machine (1996 Euro spec) I put a voltmeter between battery +ve
terminal and the base of the dipped beam bulb, and measured a drop of
just over 2.5 volts in the standard Toyota wiring.
So I rewired them with relief relays and heavy duty wiring, and the drop
is now < 0.1 volts. That alone made a major difference to the
brightness.
|
| There is, as far as I can determine, no legal limit for headlamp
| power. I have asked this question on several vehicle forums and been
| told there is no limit, I have also searched the construction and use
| regs, which is where most of this stuff is detailed, and cannot find
| it. The only thing I can find is a requirement not to dazzle.
You are right, I have just had a look at the regs and they don't quote a
specific wattage. Or maybe they do and it is buried away in Brussels
somewhere - but I'm sure I've seen it specified somewhere.
However the bulb and light manufacturers who have to get the "E" mark
for their products will not sell you anything more powerful than 55w
dipped and 60w main as being road-legal. And the vehicle itself will
have type approval based on this.
Incidentally the after-market fitting of HID lights is a(nother) grey
area, and opinions are divided about the legality thereof. Here is the
Department of Transport on the subject:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadlamps
Essentially they are saying that you are likely to dazzle with them
because the reflectors aren't designed for them, and therefore they do
not meet the regs.
CB
____________________________________________________________
Electronic mail messages entering and leaving Arup business
systems are scanned for acceptability of content and viruses
 
hi guys
what does ''hid'' stays for?
rgrds
lubo
i don't know about the roi but in the uk (and i think it's also an eu rule):
- you are only allowed one set of low beam headlights
- you can have as many high beam lights as you like
- on vehicles registered after 1985 (or sometime mid 80s) the legal limit
for dipped beam is 55w max, and main beam is 60w max. you'll find higher
wattage bulbs are sold "for off road use only".
as far as the 80 series goes:
- the 80 series wiring and relays will not take more than the standard
60/55w h4 outer, 55w h1 inner. the voltage drop in the standard toyota
wiring is horrendous: i've measured it!
- you can get 130w/100w h4 bulbs for the outer, and 100w h1 for the inner,
but you must upgrade the wiring and relays. this is what i have done, and
the results are "ok" for dipped beam.
i would hold fire on hid until julian reports back on the kit he is
installing. if it works well it will:
- beat the pants off any halogen bulbs you can buy (hid is usually quoted as
being the same as 150w halogen)
- not require a wiring upgrade, since it actually draws around 35w per
"bulb" - ie just over half the current of the standard halogen fit.
i have no experience of led bulbs in cars, but from what i've read they are
really difficult to focus so i doubt they would make effective headlights.
my advice would be to forget "blue" bulbs. they may look brighter to
oncoming traffic but they actually give you less light to see by, and if the
gardae are anything like our cops they are more likely to attract attention
from a pedantic copper.
if you do go hid i would suggest getting the lowest colour temperature you
can find - preferably 5000 kelvin or less. and you'll get what you pay for:
my inclination would be to pay a bit more from a supplier that i could trust
rather than ?50 from china.
also beware that many cheap hid kits for h4 bulbs only give you low beam.
in the uk at least that would be an mot failure.
christopher bell
|
| hi lubo, Fred
| i am slowly getting it together.
| it would seem that led bulbs are for day driving but no good at night,
what
| crap.
| i can get a hid kit for about ?50 including postage but its from china
but
| labelled bosch on the ballasts.
| so now i need to know what is the best k rating for lights and what are
| the current cruiser bulbs rated at in k.
| how do the ballasts work or what can go wrong with them.
| it would seem the hid kits use less power so no need to touch the wiring.
| so what is saved on the wiring you get better lighting and looking
better
| too, i think.
| cheers
| john 92hdj 80 1hdt
____________________________________________________________
electronic mail messages entering and leaving arup business
systems are scanned for acceptability of content and viruses
 
Hi Guys
I had a few replies from guys selling the HID kits.
The kits do vary a bit in quality, but all said the light produced is
instant even if you were to use seperate units for hi/low.
I dont know why you would want to do that because most are hi/low anyway.
They all said they produce light with less heat and are much better for you
vehicles electricts.
One guy even said that he will guarantee his kit for life, which as he says
is as long as you have it.
They all said its plug and play and some will deliver from the US or Canada.
So now I have loads of choice but what to do next.
You can even buy new front lights for the 80 series with angle eyes.
cheers
john 92HDJ 80 1HDT
 
Well John
| I had a few replies from guys selling the HID kits.
| The kits do vary a bit in quality, but all said the light produced is
| instant even if you were to use seperate units for hi/low.
| I dont know why you would want to do that because most are hi/low
anyway.
Up to you. However if you know anyone who has these already fitted (eg
BMW X5, Lexus, etc) ask to have a look when they turn them on: you will
see that while they do light up instantly, they continue to brighten for
a couple of seconds.
*Every* OEM HID installation I've seen leaves low beam running when main
beam is on, and this is also a point the DfT made in that article
discussing retrofits.
Of course this isn't an issue if the hi/lo effect is achieved by using
the same capsule and physically moving it, although I would worry about
the long term reliability of that system.
As for the "few minutes to fit" ... well, ask Julian when he has fitted
the kit, but from what I've seen the issues are:
- The base of a typical HID unit, especially H4 ones, is larger in
diameter than a standard H4 bulb. Therefore one would either have to
stretch or cut the rubber seal on the back of the lights. I would hate
to cut it and lose the waterproofing.
- If the wires on the light unit stick out a long way, and are fairly
rigid, they *might* foul the radiator expansion tank on the RHS.
Hopefully this would not be a problem.
- You have to locate the base unit (ballast) somewhere close to the
lights. Probably not a problem, although I'd like to get it somewhere
reasonably protected from water sloshing in from the front. Depending
on how robust the ballast unit was I might make some sort of housing for
it.
Nothing insuperable, but I suspect it would take me a few hours rather
than a few minutes to get it done right.
So far I've chickened out for a combination of the reasons above + cost,
but I'd be delighted to see what happens when someone tries it!
CB
____________________________________________________________
Electronic mail messages entering and leaving Arup business
systems are scanned for acceptability of content and viruses
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

O
Howdy
Replies
0
Views
93
oceanman
O
Y
Possible alternator upgrade?
Replies
3
Views
333
Davet
Davet
D
No movement in 2wd only grinding noise but movement in 4wd 2019 76 series
Replies
5
Views
211
HDJ79R
H
gregdawg89
An easy drain & refill of auto transmission fluid and now it won't upshift to overdrive.
Replies
5
Views
302
gregdawg89
gregdawg89
stuzbot
Axle / Diff Breather and Hub Seals
Replies
8
Views
346
Towpack
Towpack
Back
Top