Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 20:39:26 -0500
Reply-To: Joel Walker <jwalker@URONRAMP.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Joel Walker <jwalker@URONRAMP.NET>
Subject: Re: Hella Driving Lights for a 1991 GL
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> I am looking into adding Hella (or a similar type) driving lights to the
> front of my 1991 GL. I love the idea of illumiating the road 20 miles
ahead
> of me!
ok, if you REALLY want lights, consider the Cibie Oscar+ driving and pencil
beam lights. :) the driving lights have a range of only 6000 feet, but the
pencil beam's range is over 9000 feet. :) yes, i really can see the next
mile marker as i drive past each marker.
downside: cost. Cibie's are hideously expensive right now, but there's a guy
(larry cohen) at http://www.seriousauto.com who was selling some at cheap
prices ... $180/pair of lights. no kit, not relay, just the lights. these
puppies are 7" in diameter and about 4" thick, front to back. if you had the
round headlights of the 1980-1985 vanagons, these are the same size as your
headlights. :)
i have four this size on my fibreglass bumper. if you go to the vanagon
photo page, and look at my name, you can see the front of my bus is the
small photo. the two outermost lights are fog lights ... they only go out to
700 feet. :) which is about the same as regular low beam headlights.
> I have seen a few 1991's with fiberglass bumpers that have lights on the
> front. I've wondered, are there any issues I need to be aware of in order
to
> be able to sucessfully install these kind of lights to by Van.
1. don't block any more of the radiator than you have to. i put mine over at
the outer edges of the radiator.
2. reinforce the bumper plastic, above and below, with large-diameter
washers. i even added some 1/8" thick sheet aluminum on the underside of the
top of the bumper (epoxied it on) to keep the lights from pulling through
the plastic of the bumper.
3. there are holes in the bumper support that are perfect for routing wires.
if you take the bumper off, you can see these.
4. each light needs a 10 amp fuse.
5. i used a separate relay for each light, but i think one relay can handle
both lights in a pair.
6. driving lights on the bumper aren't the best place. :( better would be
the south african headlight grill, with 7" round headlights and 5" round
driving lights, all up in the normal headlight grill. trouble is, if you
have the 86-91 rectangular headlights, you have to swap out all the
headlights for the old 80-85 round headlights. :( but the higher the driving
lights, the greater range and visibility you'll have with them.
7. i put one driving light and one pencil beam on my bus. the pencil beam is
on the passenger side and shines down the shoulder of the road. the driving
light is on the driver's side, and shines straight down the lane/road (not
over into the other oncoming lane, though ... well, not any more than i
could get it). this way, it REALLY lights up any reflective stuff like
bridges or signs or markers.
8. use big wire. like 12 gauge. and run a separate ground wire from each
light back to the battery negative terminal (where the battery ground strap
bolts to the bus's body). this will give you the most voltage at the light,
and make it as bright as it's gonna get.
9. never never never never touch the bulbs (inside the light) with your bare
fingers. not the glass part, anyway. the oil from your fingers will create a
hot spot and the bulb will break. :(
and while you are lighting up the road in front, don't forget to do the same
at the rear: a rectangular good-quality fog light makes a wonderful backup
light, when placed on the rear bumper on the passenger side, between the tag
and the taillight. you can actually SEE at night to back up in the woods!!
:) i didn't want mine coming on all the time in daylight, when i shifted
into reverse, so i just wired in a separate switch on the dash for it.
hope it helps. joel
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