Date: Sun, 22 May 2016 17:28:36 -0400
Reply-To: Larry Alofs <lalofs@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Larry Alofs <lalofs@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Brighter headlights - 91 Westy
In-Reply-To: <35d8c313-f4f9-ed96-b6cc-204435ee8e20@williamsitconsulting.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Yes, dielectric grease is a "good thing" there and in many other places
where there are electrical connections. Sand the paint away where you
drill into the body. You want shiny metal to metal and grease to keep away
moisture and oxygen.
With headlite bulbs as with incandescent household bulbs there is always a
trade-off. You can get more light with a thinner filament, but it will wear
out sooner. Long life or heavy duty household bulbs give fewer lumens
because of their thicker filaments.
To get the most light from your existing headlights you need to minimize
the voltage drops on the ground and the 12V volt supply side. The way I
did it is like this: I started with a 30A in-line fuse holder at the
positive connector at the battery. Then a hefty wire from the battery box
under the carpet and thru the "firewall" to the headlite area. I mounted
the 2 relays right there near the headlites and protected them somewhat
from the weather. The original 12V wires to the high and low beams now
just operate the relays for the high and low beams. As I recall, this
approach improved the voltage at the headlites by about 1 V and it gave me
a noticeable increase in brightness. Of course it should also prolong the
life of the headlite switch.
Larry A.
On Sun, May 22, 2016 at 5:02 PM, Steve Williams <
steve@williamsitconsulting.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> When you set up your local ground points, did you use di-electric grease
> to reduce risk of rusting?
>
> Thanks,
> Steve W.
>
> On 22/05/2016 12:17 PM, John Rodgers wrote:
>
>>
>> I nstalled a SA Grille on my '88 Volksiebus and changed the grounds
>> from the ground stars to local grounding for each side. Just grounded
>> them with new ground screws anchored in the vehicle sheet mrtal. Made
>> sure I had a good clean contact surface. Never had any problems and I
>> think it made some difference. This was recommened by Jay Brown who
>> supplied my relays and new light connectors.
>>
>> John
>>
>> On May 22, 2016 12:37, "Steve Williams"
>> <steve@williamsitconsulting.com
>> <mailto:steve@williamsitconsulting.com>> wrote:
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>>
>> I posted this on Facebook as well...
>>
>> I have a 91 Westfalia and am trying to get the headlights brighter. I
>> have installed relays which did help but they are still not as
>> bright as
>> I'd like.
>>
>> I have read that doing a ground local to the headlights will help
>> also.
>> Is there a "preferred" ground close to the headlights or do I just
>> drill
>> into the metal someplace appropriate? Should I leave the existing
>> ground
>> in place and supplement it with a new one, or should I snip the
>> existing
>> ground wire and just use a new ground? Is this a case where "more is
>> better"?
>>
>> I want to wash the inside of the headlight unit and try to get the
>> reflectors as bright and shiny as possible. I don't want to make
>> anything worse, so am looking for how other people might have done
>> this.
>>
>> Finally, I've bought new higher powered bulbs, so I am hoping a
>> combination of these things will make my van safer to drive in heavy
>> rain at night on a 2 line highway... which is pretty scary right now.
>> High beams are OK, but when I have to go low beams in heavy rain
>> on a 2
>> lane road, it's outright dangerous.
>>
>> Thanks for any information!
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Steve
>>
>>
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