Headlight Advice

[shortbox9]

I have a 71 shortbox C10 essentially restored into original condition. Have tried to keep it as stock as I could. Had the original SPID so felt obligated to do so. Now my question or really seeking advice. One of my headlights burnt out. It has the standard Sylvania light (71's have total of two headlights, one each side). Before I just go out and simply replace it with another Sylvania bulb, any advice on how to get brighter lights without sacrificing the original look?

[jimijam00]

Relay harness upgrade. Hella's are all glass and not as fugly as other aftermarket "upgrades".

[Steeveedee]

You can also get halogen headlights that are a bit brighter. The relays are a great upgrade.

Here's the difference, just with the relay upgrade-

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=782071

[Ziegelsteinfaust]

Halogens and adding a relay to the low and high beams make a nice difference.

Power runs through the switch which after years can lower the voltage to the lights. Where if you use it to turn on a relay. You get a solid 14V to the lights. As most alternators run at 14V when the engine is on.

[truckster]

If you want to stay original your only option is going to be something like Sylvania SilverStars. I put it relays and Hellas and from just looking at it you probably wouldn't know the difference. But driving it at night you would certainly notice the difference.

[Stocker]

Best bang for the buck is to add relays, no matter which headlights you buy. Depending on your budget, halogens are not expensive and are a nice upgrade. Better yet, but more $$, is Hella H4 E-Codes. Or spend more for Cibie H4 E-codes, harder to find but better lighting than Hellas IMO, especially on high beam.

[Steeveedee]

A friend of mine had a '67 Malibu that he put aircraft landing lights in for high beams. He used a F**d starter solenoid for a relay, and put much bigger wires on it. You can see a long way along the road, with those. Illegal, of course.

[Stocker]

I had a pair of aircraft landing lights on a couple different vehicles decades ago. Wired 'em to come on with the high beams (which were E-code halogens) with a switch & relay. Illegal, yes. Super bright, hell yes!

[palallin]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

Illegal, of course.

For very good reason. Most people have no need of very bright lighting. Too many people care nothing about what that lighting does to other drivers on the road. Headlights can be more dangerous than speed.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by palallin

For very good reason. Most people have no need of very bright lighting. Too many people care nothing about what that lighting does to other drivers on the road. Headlights can be more dangerous than speed.

No doubt there are plenty of thoughtless drivers out there. I will say that in 56 years of driving, I have always done my best to be considerate of others. That includes having my headlights properly aimed, and switching to low beams whenever I can see headlights coming towards me and when I can see taillights ahead of me, no matter how far away they are.

[mrein3]

Do the relay upgrade. Use the lights you got, of course after you replace the burnt out one. The difference with more voltage going to the lights is all you really need in my humble opinion.

What people fail to mention that with using relays to drive current to the lights instead of the stock wiring, you no longer have to replace your headlight switch every 10-20 years. That switch is now a relay controller where before the current from the battery to the switch to the dimmer switch then to the headlights generated a ton of heat that toasted the headlight switch. All that voltage had to go somewhere. It was converted to heat through resistance in all that wire.

[shortbox9]

Thank you all for some great guidance. Appreciate all of the thoughts. Definitely going to do the relays and probably just stay go with Sylvania SilverStars. I drive my truck at night maybe twice a year.

[Grumpy old man]

[jimijam00]

Originally Posted by shortbox9

I drive my truck at night maybe twice a year.

That wouldn't be enough for me to "upgrade". I'd just throw in a replacement bulb and spend the time and money savings on beer.

[RichardJ]

The fnord relay is a poor choice.

A relay has two sections or circuits. The two circuits are only connected mechanically.
Headlights typically draw about 20 Amps combined with Hi and Low beams on. Quad headlights still draw roughly the same, because each of the four Hi filaments are smaller than in the dual headlamps.

Most Bosch relays can handle 30 Amps in the switch circuit. Using two Bosch relays to handle the slightly unequal 20 Amp split is no problem.
The fnord relay, if sold as a replacement Starter relay can handle 200 Amps or more. There are many sold with much lower ratings that were never intended to be used to power a engine starter motor.

The control side of the Bosch relay typically needs about 40 milliamps to control the mechanical aspect of the relay and close the relay switch contacts.
40 milliamps is 0.04 Amps.

A Fnord Starter relay can draw as much as 8 Amps on order to close the switch contacts. That's 16 Amps for two fnord relays in addition to the current the lights need. You might have to increase the size of the headlight fuse just to handle the extra load of the relay(s).

[CWW]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

This is how I feel at 3 am every morning