Simple Headlight Upgrades

[K98AL]

I'm going to add the relay harness this weekend - been looking at replacement bulbs that take the H4 bulbs, any recommendations? I'm running a '60 grill, so I've got four 5.75" headlights.

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by K98AL

I'm going to add the relay harness this weekend - been looking at replacement bulbs that take the H4 bulbs, any recommendations? I'm running a '60 grill, so I've got four 5.75" headlights.

Cibie or Hella are the best lights available. I just put a pair of Cibie's in my '87 Conquest and they're definitely worth paying extra over the cost of Hella lights. We have Hella's in our S10 and they're good too. Don't go with the cheap eBay lights; the light pattern isn't nearly as good and they put off more glare. I would do two H4's and two H1 high beam bulbs.

Daniel Stern has Cibie's here:

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/p.../products.html


Hella's from rallylights.com

http://www.rallylights.com/all/light...eter_width=765

[markeb01]

I used Hella H5006A low beam bulbs on my 1960 GMC with 4 headlights. I bought them through Amazon. The installation can be seen on post #855 (page 35) of my build thread.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...444502&page=35

I don't use the high beams enough to justify the expense of an upgrade, so I'm still running halogen sealed beams on the high beam circuit.

The Hella lights are super easy to align as the cutoff is so clear and sharp on a garage door, and the light output is incredible compared to sealed beams.

[K98AL]

Ordered the Hellas. Thanks for the info - I can hardly wait to see the difference.

[Pappyx3!]

Markeb01,

Thanks for the detailed info, I plan to do this on my 62 when I have a chance. I spent hours in your build page this week. Thanks for all the effort to document the progress. It's like reading a biography on you and the truck.

Great Work!

Pappyx3!

[Ronw435]

Great idea, thanks for the post.

[LuckyLightning]

Hey Markeb01 and TX Firefighter: what "path" did you guys use to run the relay wires? On my '62, there's not a whole lot of room to slide the connectors through to the headlights. I'm concerned I may have to do more dismantling than I planned. I'm just wondering what you guys did that worked for you? I'm thinking I'm overlooking an easy solution, and have the hopes I don't have to do more than is necessary.

[Garagisti]

I did this and added HIDs. No dip in the voltage, just nice bright headlights. Lights up the road better than my Mercedes.

[LuckyLightning]

Nevermind, I got it done. What a pain though.

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by markeb01

...clip...
The second improvement is a jumper harness that redirects the source of low beam power from the dimmer switch to the headlight switch. Under high beam conditions, the normal low beam filament goes out, and a dim filament in the bulb illuminates along with the high beam lamps. The jumper keeps the normal low beam filament illuminated anytime the headlight switch is on, regardless of the dimmer switch setting.

You can buy this jumper from Ron Francis Wiring for about $15.00:

http://www.ronfrancis.com/prodinfo.asp?number=BJ%2D2

Or - if you have the spare parts available in your electrical stash, a free version can be assembled using the following diagram:

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As far as I can tell, this is just simply splicing the dim lead to the power in from headlight switch.
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So when you pull the headlight switch it powers the low beams without going through the dimmer.
All the dimmer switch does is switch the high beams. Low beams stay on controlled by headlight switch.
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