Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2000 08:07:59 -0800
Reply-To: Max/Joyce Wellhouse <maxjoyce@IPA.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Max/Joyce Wellhouse <maxjoyce@IPA.NET>
Subject: Re: Vanagon grilles and lights
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
I agree with Dick on the moly bolt issue. That kit costs more money anyway.
I added large stainless steel fender washers under the bumper to spread the
load on the fiberglass(90GL) bumper. I too took a couple days on my
installation. Only screw up was getting the lights slightly off center on
the bumper. I'm not that anal about it. The wire I tapped into for the low
beam only worked fine. The hellas won't turn on with out the headlight
switch being on, but you can turn the hellas on and off with their switch.
I mounted the hella switch in upper left hand corner of dash gauge module
and it does well there. Yes, the stone shields are worth the extra bucks
and I too have never been flashed by oncoming traffic.
Dimwitted Moose and Flying Squirrel
-----Original Message-----
From: Dick Taylor <hetchins@MONTANA.COM>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Date: Saturday, January 22, 2000 1:29 PM
Subject: Re: Vanagon grilles and lights
>I just installed a pair of the Hella XL low beam driving lights on my
Syncro
>and I love them. However, if you are as old and slow as me, plan on six
>hours or so to do the job.
>
>If I had been thinking, before I dove into the instrument cluster, and the
>fuse panel, to get at the headlight switch and its wiring, it would have
>gone a lot faster.
>
>The thing I wasn't thinking about is this: The light kit is designed to be
>connected to the low beam wiring so that the XLs can be turned on only when
>the low beams are on, and they will be off automatically when the high
beams
>come on and the low beams go off. I know, I know...the part I wasn't
>thinking about is the fact that the low beams stay on all the time, even
>when the high beams are on, so it's not possible to wire them the way the
>kit specifies. (Insert big DUH! here)
>
>If I had been thinking, it would have been a lot quicker just to find a
wire
>that is hot all the time and hook up to it, which is what I ended up doing.
>I won't tell you how much time and energy I wasted before the light dawned
>(pun intended).
>
>And, this is the really dumb part, if I had stopped to think for a second I
>would have realized that I wouldn't want the lights hooked up the way the
>kit says anyway, even if it was possible to do it that way. I really like
>being able to turn the XLs on all by themselves for fog/snow driving,
>without having the headlights on at all. Plus, with the high beams (and the
>low beams) on, when I turn on the XLs it really lights up the winter
>landscape. It gives me a fighting chance against all those deer. So far,
>when I've had them on with the low beams on, nobody has flashed their
lights
>at me so I guess they don't bother folks. It's not a good idea to bother
>folks unduly in Montana.
>
>If you install these lights, I recommend pulling the bumper (just two bolts
>to remove, plus the screws on the plastic bumper ends), rather than using
>the molly kit. If you use the mollys you have to make sure your lateral
>alingment is perfect because you won't be able to swivel the lights from
>left to right once they are installed. With the single bolt installation
>(have to remove the bumper) you will be able to swivel the XLs left/right
>for perfect alignment.
>
>Also it is a good idea to order the clear acrylic stone shields at the same
>time you order the lights.
>
>If I am missing some really obvious thing about this whole deal, I don't
>want to hear about it.
>
>Dick Taylor
>hetchins@montana.com
>
>>Ken and Listees: the solution is a $95 pr. of hella XL low beam driving
>>lights mounted on the front bumper. Susquehanna Motor Sports and others
>>sell them and it's the best modification I've made to my vanagon besides
th
>>roof rack for my boats and the CD Changer!
| 
