Date:         Mon, 10 Mar 2003 10:49:24 -0500
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: headlight bulb question...
Comments: To: Bob Stevens <mtbiker62@HOTMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <BAY2-F54zafa6rbmNmg0001368a@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 10:28 PM 3/9/2003, Bob Stevens wrote:
>back. I think Jeff is talking about the low-beam headlight staying on while
>the brights are on if you hold the lever. I've noticed the difference this
>test makes while out on a dark road...fairly significant. The low beam is on
>along with the high beams and the area nearer the van is then lit up better.

However, this may actually reduce your ability to see down the road...

>If I remember, the regular headlight bulb has two filaments in it and
>normally only one is on at a time. The two are different size coils, the
>larger for "bright", the smaller for low beam.

And if you light them both at once you're putting a bigger heat load on the
bulb than the mfr intended.  May have little effect, may reduce filament
life, may conceivably cause catastrophic failure of the bulb capsule if the
temp gets high enough to soften the quartz envelope -- the bulbs contain
high pressure, so the envelope will bulge and blow out at the hot
spot.  I've seen this happen on 110vac halogens.

david


--
David Beierl - Providence RI USA -- http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"