Hey everyone I have a 48 Ford 5 window coupe with new wiring and new light switch. When I drive at night I wish my headlights were brighter. I have old style halogen 7 " bulbs that are not bright. I took the bulb out and it has a 3 prong connection. I have only on or off, I mean no dimmer switch. I don't mind on or off if they were brighter. I don't want a headlight that looks like it has 3 or 4 telescopes in it or halos just plain whiter LED ? Any help would be great.
Those should have High and Low beams if they have 3 prongs on the back of the bulb. When looking at the back of the bulb with the center prong at the top, the left prong is ground, the right prong is high beam , and the center prong is low beam.
Besides what the other guys said: I do believe that if the headlights' ground is a bit poor, you will also get dim/yellowish light. I will assume your gen/alt is working correctly? AFAIK, if you use a relay for just the headlights, using the switch to activate the relay, which has direct (fused) battery power to (& through it when activated), you get the brightest version of your particular bulb. Steve had/has a thread on "elektrickery" that is very well worth reading. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/wiring-101.843579/ Marcus...
Are they sealed beam Halogens or H-4 halogens with removable bulbs? I ran Cibie H-4 lights in my 48 for a long time and when I got them they were bright as all get out and on high I could not outrun the light ahead of me as they would show down a straight road for at least a mile or more. Great light on low beam that didn't annoy anyone coming at me. After I had them for a number of years I got pulled over because a state patrolman said my lights were too dim. The reflectors had aged until they didn't reflect a hell of a lot. I'd say that may be your problem, the reflective quality of the lights themselves has deteriorated. If the reflectors look good and shiny and clear I'd agree with the grounds being high on the list though.
On the subject of grounding; typically the ground wire from that 3 prong connector is screwed to the fender panel somewhere near the light. Be sure they removed the paint at the ground point and/or use star lock washers. Also be sure that there is a clean, tight, low resistance connection between the fender panel and the frame and battery ground. (You may have seen those little braided copper cables in various places in old cars). Paint and rubber anti-squeak insulators may prevent a good ground. Usually that good old method works fine but sometimes it helps to have a dedicated ground wire from the battery to the front lights. If you end up re-wiring the lights add a relay as mentioned above - works great.
I run relays, and dedicated grounds to either the battery, or the alternator case, when the the battery is in the trunk, always with quality wire, in the properly gauge
First, check that the filaments are wired correctly, should be a ground wire on the ground, and a +12v supply on the lo-beam filament. (Just in case someone has connected both filaments in series, I have seen it done ). Next do a voltage measurement at the terminals with the lights on. You should have 12v or thereabouts. If your voltage is low, your problems are before the socket
Voltage, voltage, voltage! Light bulbs loose about 20% light if the voltage drops as little as 5%, so if you want good light you need to make sure the lamps get as close to full battery voltage as possible. Measure the diffrence with a volt meter to confirm, but you are probably loosing alot through the wiring etc. The simplest and best solution is to feed the lamps with heavy wires straight from the battery (with fuse ofcourse) through a relay controlled by the original headlight wiring. You may want to upgrade so you can use both low and high beams, since your headlights have both - I assume your car does not have the switch/wiring for it now.
Speedway has a light switch with the hi -lo beam switch built rite in,(in=off, out one click =park/tail, out one more click- headlites,...out one more click= high beams) easier wiring than a floor dimmer
Speedway Part # 91080154 I've used it and it's pretty cool. American Auto wire has one with a built in circuit breaker. Headlight Switch - 4 Position Push-Pull $34.00 Item Number: 500358
Well @BJR I was researching dim Headlights on the Hamb to troubleshoot my connections as well as swap out my huge vintage lamps that did have halogen bulbs installed... I always ran Hi beam only for the last 4 years as the Lo was dim as hell...I think what I see on this image below may have explained why Lo was so dim...the high and ground were incorrect... I also checked power to the Hi and Lo using the ground on both sides and both were even at around 11.7 or so volts ignition off...which told me power was good for both positions... I installed my new lights correcting the orientation based on your description of the Bulb terminals and presto, Hi and Lo work fine...I'm excited to see the improvement as the old lights while casting a cool orangey yellow glow were pathetic for night vision...these are cheap buckets and around 7.5 in dia...man do they look small......anyhow thanks to you and all the others offering advise within this Thread as it was very helpful...
Connect the brighter of the two to the headlight line. Connect the dimmer of the two to the turn signal, parking lights or make them running lights like the new cars have, it's your choice.. Another neat trick is to buy a relay, connect the LINE to the battery and then the LOAD to the head lights. Use the existing switched wire to the relays switched terminal.. I've done this to several cars with excellent results.. Change the way they have the head lights grounded. Run ground wires to each head light. Best to ground to the cars frame or engine block..
I believe the OP solved his problem due to the info provided by our expert Membership... That was mentioned however and is absolutely important...
I'm not sure if you're addressing my situation but with my limited knowledge I have a floor mount dimmer switch and it seems both high and low send the same voltage...I did turn the lights on and work the switch and saw the beam rise so I suspect its working as it should... On high are both elements lit? I'm thinking not...
Disconnect the wires to both lights and run a piece of #12 or #14 stranded from the battery's positive to the head lights two terminals and the same size wire to the negative to see how dim it is. Check voltage and current draw, then compare it to the old days..
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