Date:         Thu, 9 Dec 1999 22:14:30 -0500
Reply-To:     "Anthony L. Mourkas" <frankenstein@TELPLUS.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "Anthony L. Mourkas" <frankenstein@TELPLUS.NET>
Subject:      Re: higher power low beams
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

>        I finally got around to doing this mod, unfortunately it took a
>headlight switch melt down to motivate me. I do not now if the round
>headlight vans have the switch failure problem, but you WILL achieve a
>voltage (and current) gain at the lights.

I recently finished installing a South African Grill with Auxilliary
Driving Lights on a fellow listmember's Vanagon (you know who you are).
:-)  After fabricating and installing a wiring harness for the new lights
using 10 and 12 gauge wire straight from the battery (through a fuse and
a relay), I measured the following voltages:

Stock Lights, measured at the lamp connectors, ignition on:

R-Hi    11.49
L-Hi    11.50
R-Lo    11.81
L-Lo    11.82

South African Driving Lights, measured at the lamp connectors, ignition
on:

R-      12.13
L-      12.13

Battery, measured at the battery terminals, ignition on:

Batt:   12.24

It is easy to see from the above data that an improved wiring harness
will provide significant gains in voltage supplied to the lights.  The
new wiring harness for the SA lights showed a voltage drop of .11 volts
vs. a voltage drop of .42 - .75 volts for the stock Vanagon wiring.  This
has convinced me to also upgrade the stock wiring when I replace my 7"
sealed beams with the Euro H4's.

Tony

Anthony L. Mourkas
Hampden, Maine, USA
1984 Vanagon Westfalia
1987 Vanagon GL Syncro
1991 Jetta Eco Diesel