[Schurkey]

Originally Posted by Lemans64

Before changing lights you should try putting n a really kit, it puts direct 12 volts to light instead of about 10.5 after going thru switch etc.
I just have cheapy non halogen lamps and the relay made a lot of difference. Either build your really kit yourself or by a kit either on eBay or Amazon.

No. With the alternator charging, relays would put 14-ish volts to the headlights. VERY recommended.

Originally Posted by Joe-Touring

I’ve put headlight relays on 3 different vehicles, all showed a big improvement even with old bulbs. I believe sealed beam bulbs get dimmer the older they get, perhaps just changing out the bulbs will get you what you want. Multiple companies make higher output halogen sealed beams, i have Sylvania Silverstars on my LeMans. I really like the light output and prefer halogen to HID because of the warmer color. I find the white light of an HID to be harsh.

Another thing you can do is disassemble the light switch, if I remember right it’s just a sliding brass bar that hits other contacts, just clean off the contacts and bar and lube it with dielectric grease.

I completely agree about the color temperature of halogen vs. HID lights. Blue headlights make me crazy. Blue is not a good color for headlights. Years ago, the French mandated yellow headlights because the eye is more sensitive to yellowish light than blueish light.

Once the relays are in place, the headlight switch controls the low-amperage draw of the relay, not the higher load of the headlights. The switch should be just fine as-is.

Originally Posted by Half-Inch Stud

Those Sealed Beams are quite fine, just need to run the Headlamp Ground wires to the alternator case.

The LAST thing I'd do is to install bottom-feeder, Made-in-Communist China aftermarket headlights. Aside from the fact that they're illegal, they're a glare-causing disaster that may be "bright", but often cannot focus properly, depending on how they're made. There's nothing wrong with sealed-beam headlights provided they're in good condition, supplied with enough power, and aimed properly.

Sealed-beam headlights absolutely get dimmer with age. Some of this is due to corrosion on the reflector. The headlights I took off my '88 K1500 truck had reflectors that corroded so badly that lots of light was escaping out the rear of sealed-beam unit.



Start the engine. Verify alternator voltage at 14+ volts.

Then check voltage TO the headlights, at the headlight connector, with the headlights ON. First Guess: 11+ volts. About 3 volts of voltage drop in that circuit.

Check voltage on the ground wire, at the headlight connector. Anywhere from 0 to 1 volt is common, but anything over "0" is too much. Over 1 volt is terrible. Any voltage on the ground side is SUBTRACTED from the voltage on the positive side. So if you have 11.5 volts on the positive side, and 1 volt on the ground, the headlights are operating on 10.5 volts.

Headlights are rated for brightness at 12.8 volts. If you don't have 12.8 volts across the headlights, they're more-dim than they're supposed to be.

Headlights are rated for service life at 13.2, or 14 volts, depending on the source you use. Higher voltage reduces service life, and 5% over-voltage reduces service life by 20%.

Headlights operating on 14 volts are WAY brighter than headlights operating on 12.8 volts...which are way brighter than headlights operating on 10.5 or 11 volts.

The only thing I don't like about the "relay kits" is that they generally use fuses to protect the circuit, and the wire gauge is excessively large.

The low-beam headlights should be protected with a 10-amp SELF-RESETTING circuit breaker, while the high-beams would use a 15-amp SELF-RESETTING circuit breaker.

16 gauge wire is acceptable in this application. Stock wiring would be much longer, with additional connection points, low beam at 18 gauge, and high beam at 16 gauge. With relays, the wire length is shorter, there's fewer connections to corrode, and the wire isn't fifty years old. 16-gauge is perfectly adequate.

Clean or replace the ground wire/ground connections as needed. The closer you can get to "0" voltage on the ground wire, the better.

AND THEN AIM THE HEADLIGHTS according to state or manufacturer's specs.

Guys lower their cars, or they raise the back end for tire clearance, or they lift their trucks, and never give a second thought to how ride-height affects headlight aim.