Let's talk small electrical upgrades

Posted By: MoparDonny

Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/08/08 08:01 AM

How about upgrading things like our 194 , 1157 and 1156 bulbs to LED. Or maybe there are newer style flashers that are more efficient and quieter. Are there things we should be changing in these oldies to help the weak electrical systems out a little. 9004 or HID headlights??

I'm gonna see about Changing my backup lamps to an 1156 LED and if I can find the right flasher I'd switch the 1157's in the car to LED too. I remember someone (GOODY maybe??) did an electric trunk latch conversion. That would be interesting to try.

Shoot some ideas here.

Don.

Posted By: 79powerwagon

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/08/08 08:40 AM

One of the best upgrades I've done on all of my old Mopars is to add separate grounding wiring harnesses to just about every light circuit on the cars/trucks. Ma didn't do a good job of grounding this stuff which usually causes much grief.

It's not factory, but at least it works!

Posted By: mkdart

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/08/08 12:43 PM

Headlighs running through a relay? Mike

Posted By: JimG

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/08/08 12:44 PM

Quote:

9004 or HID headlights??

Hi Don:

I've got Hella european-spec headlights in my car. They use the replaceable H4 and H1 bulbs. I've got 100 watt bulbs in the high beams, and 80/100s in the low beams. The lights have a pattern with a sharp cutoff, so as long as the low beams are aimed properly, oncoming cars don't get blinded.

Before I added the flamethrower headlights, I also added headlight relays to eliminate the voltage drop (and dim headlights) that our cars typically have. I remember I had a little over one volt of voltage drop between the positive terminal of my headlights and the positive terminal of the battery when the headlights were on. That's a lot, and that's bad! The relays fixed that, and are necessary if you add high power headlights.

I like your other ideas. I'd really like to get some brighter bulbs in my instrument cluster. I always find myself trying to turn the brightness up, even when it's maxed out.

Jim

Posted By: Supercuda

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/08/08 01:05 PM

I did the E-spec headlight and relay upgrade on my old Diplomat. But I used Bosch stuff. LED lights, in a retrofit application, aren't usually "legal" and don't work as good as far as a light distribution pattern goes, especially at an angle. If you want to up date the bulbs to a more powerful light output there are several incandescent bulbs that fit and work better. BUt I forget the numbers, sorry.

Just remember more powerful lights means more current needed, your alternator might need updating too.

Posted By: CR8CRSHR

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/08/08 04:38 PM

Biggest upgrade is the MAD Ammeter Bypass. Then adding relays for the Headlights...Does not get any better...

Posted By: MoparDonny

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/08/08 05:11 PM

Jim, how did you do that conversion with the headlights? was it a complete kit? Where does one find a kit like that?
I was thinking LED bulbs for other lights more for the lesser draw of power not the lighting output. I have seem a 12 LED 1156 bulb that put out plenty of light, figured an 1157 LED would be as good as a typical incandescent. I currently have typical 2057's in my car but I think they draw too much.

Posted By: In_The_Pink

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/08/08 07:32 PM

Quote:

Jim, how did you do that conversion with the headlights? was it a complete kit? Where does one find a kit like that?

www.rallylights.com

I second the suggestion to use Hella European spec H4 conversion headlamps. It will be one of the best upgrades you ever make.

Relays are definitely helpful if you're wiring isn't great or its condition is unknown, and they're not all that expensive- you can buy 'em from the same place you buy conversion headlamps.

Disconnecting the main electrical disconnect plugs and cleaning all of the terminals helps keep things in good shape. Corrosion = resistance and in turn, more heat, which eventually (if the terminals have heavy corrosion), results in the oft-seen melting where the alternator feed passes through the bulkhead.

The electric trunk lid release is easy- find a Fifth Ave or similar luxury car from the '70s-'80s and remove the latch, wiring, and trunk release button from the glovebox. Run power from the fusebox to the trunk release switch (I suggest you wire it with hot power only when the ignition switch is not in the "RUN" position), then run a wire back to the trunk release. The electric release grounds to the body/trunklid through the mounting bolts. You can even add a trunk light at the same time if you grab the release from a Fifth Ave.

Posted By: BDW

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/08/08 07:57 PM

Quote:

Biggest upgrade is the MAD Ammeter Bypass. Then adding relays for the Headlights...Does not get any better...

This fixed my diming lights at idle problem. I can now idle with A/C,lights, etc and the stock alternator.

Simple mod made a world of difference.

Posted By: cataclysm80

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/08/08 08:38 PM

If you switch to a bigger alternator, do you also need to bypass the ammeter?

how about changing it to a voltmeter?

Tav

Posted By: Supercuda

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/08/08 08:45 PM

There is a better bulb than the 2057's you mention. The 2057 bulb has a lower light output on "low" than the 1157 and the same light output at "high" as the 1157.

What you want is a 3496, 8 more CP on high, same output on low as the 1157.

For an 1156 replacement try a 3497 bulb.

For the 194/168 style bulb try a 2886X, 6 CP versus the 2/3 CP of the 194/168 bulbs.

You fail to understand what I am telling you about the LED bulbs. Light OUTPUT isn't the issue. It's the light DISTRIBUTION that is the issue. Especially in a brake/tailight application where a view from an angle is important. LED bulbs do not spread light about like an incandescent bulb, they are more focused. IOW, the beam pattern is substantially different.

Posted By: JimG

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/08/08 09:33 PM

Quote:

Jim, how did you do that conversion with the headlights? was it a complete kit? Where does one find a kit like that?

In The Pink beat me to the source for the Europen-spec Hellas.

For the headlight relay box, I started with a Tupperware lidded container that holds one sandwich. I admit it sounds ghetto at first, but the relays fit perfectly and it's watertight. I mounted 3 generic automotive relays similar to this inside...

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/search.aspx?C=&K=automotive%20relay

...one for each high beam and one for both low beams. I made one hole in the side of the Tupperware container for the wires to come out, then I sealed the hole with RTV. The box fit perfectly behind the headlights on my '67 Coronet, and now that it's painted black, it's almost impossible to see it back there.

Remember to buy the matching wiring harness if you use relays like I used.

I didn't have to butcher my headlight wiring at all to connect this. I bought some 1/4" male Sta-Kon tabs, and they plug perfectly into the car's existing headlight plug. That's how I wired the coils of the relays - off the cars existing headlight wiring. Turn on the high beams, and the high beam relay's coil pulls in.

I powered the headlights from the stud on the starter relay. I put a 40-amp fuse in series, near the starter relay, and used appropriate-sized wire. I think it was #10 or #8 - I can't remember.

If you don't eliminate the ammeter, keep in mind that when you turn on the headlights after they're wired this way, the ammeter will indicate a charge of the same amount as the current draw of your headlights.

I hope that helps.

Jim

Posted By: GoodysGotaCuda

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/09/08 12:19 AM

Here is my H4 headlight conversion, including wiring relays
http://www.goodysgotacuda.com/Headlights.html

Electric trunk latch you mentioned
http://www.goodysgotacuda.com/Power_Latches.html

and a 90a denso alternator that used my stock non a/c small block brackets.
http://www.goodysgotacuda.com/DensoUpgrade.html

Posted By: JimG

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/09/08 01:51 PM

Let me elaborate on something I said earlier

Quote:

The lights have a pattern with a sharp cutoff, so as long as the low beams are aimed properly, oncoming cars don't get blinded.

The light pattern of every H4 headlight I've ever used (Hella, CIBIE) was rather wierd and definitely an acquired taste. I've heard the pattern described as "3/4 of a pie". Another way to describe the pattern is a clock with everything from 9 o'clock to midnight missing.

Some people actually prefer USA-legal halogen sealed beams to Euro-spec H4's.

DISCLAIMER: What follows is my opinion and nothing else, so take it for what it's worth.

Personally, if you run brighter bulbs, like 80/100's, I still prefer H4's to halogen sealed beams, because the extra brightness more than compensates for the wierd pattern. If you stick with 55/60 watt bulbs, I prefer halogen sealed beams.

If you're running a 4-light system, there is no disadvantage to adding the H1's in the high-beam side. The above refers to H4 lights only.

I'd be interested in hearing from others who've done the conversion to find out if their experience is similar to mine.

There seems to be a lot of interest in these headlights, and the last thing I want is someone running out and buying them strictly on my recommendation (they're not cheap) and being unhappy with them. Caveat emptor.

Jim

Posted By: In_The_Pink

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/09/08 02:04 PM

Quote:

Let me elaborate on something I said earlier

Quote:

The lights have a pattern with a sharp cutoff, so as long as the low beams are aimed properly, oncoming cars don't get blinded.

The light pattern of every H4 headlight I've ever used (Hella, CIBIE) was rather wierd and definitely an acquired taste. I've heard the pattern described as "3/4 of a pie". Another way to describe the pattern is a clock with everything from 9 o'clock to midnight missing.

I'd be interested in hearing from others who've done the conversion to find out if their experience is similar to mine.

I would't call the light pattern from Euro-spec H4s wierd, just different. They do have a sharp cutoff, and focus light in different areas, as detailed in this prargraph, taken from the rallylights.com 'site:

"E code low beam headlamps have a wide beam that lights the road from side to side. They are useful at 300-400 feet. There is a sharp horizontal transition from dark to light about in about 2" vertically at about 25 feet. A wedge of light on the right side lights up roadside signs. On low beam you can expect about four times as much light on the road as a standard sealed beam and twice as much on high beam. Because of the tight beam control, these lamps can be aimed very accurately which facilitates the use of upgraded bulbs without offending oncoming traffic. E-code high beam headlamps focus their light energy far down the road - little light is wasted lighting up the side of the road near the car. These lamps are not certified for use on public highways in the US and are sold for off road and racing purposes only."

I've run the 55/100W bulbs in Hella H4 lenses in all my vehicles for almost ten years now, and I was amazed how much better lit the road is with them on compared to halogen sleaed beams. I don't think $100 is crazy money to spend on an upgrade that makes driving at night much more enjoyable and safe...especially this time of year.

Posted By: MoparDonny

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/10/08 02:32 AM

The light upgrade is something I'd really like to do. My 4 headlight system works fine for what little night driving I do but if we all had engines in our cars that performed "just fine" that would suck. Everything has room for improvement and I am going to be making my car more street friendly from now on. Better light's, CHarging system and some other comfort items like the electric trunk latch and updated gauges are likely in my future.

Great ideas guys. Now for the sake of my ignorance, what is the difference from an H1 to an H4 bulb? Are the H4's an offroad style bulb that I could use in the high beam lights without killing any wires?

Don.

Posted By: Gavin

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/10/08 12:12 PM

H1 is a single hi-beam bulb, H4 has low and high beam filaments. So to replace the standard Challenger arrangement, H1's on the inside two headlights, H4 on the outside two.

Or.....do what I did and put H4's on all four, I liked the idea of having four lights on during normal driving as opposed to only on high beam.

Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/10/08 12:57 PM

just a word of caution. brighter taillight bulbs run hotter (talking about filament bulbs). going brighter can melt housings and lenses.

also, they take more power so theres a bigger drag on the battery

Posted By: Junky

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/10/08 02:43 PM

Quote:

just a word of caution. brighter taillight bulbs run hotter (talking about filament bulbs). going brighter can melt housings and lenses.

also, they take more power so theres a bigger drag on the battery

A 3496 bulb has 8 more CP on high, same output on low as the 1157. How much more heat is "8 more CP" relative to the 1157?

The 3497 can replace the 1156.

Posted By: challenger70

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/20/08 08:51 PM

Quote:

H1 is a single hi-beam bulb, H4 has low and high beam filaments. So to replace the standard Challenger arrangement, H1's on the inside two headlights, H4 on the outside two.

Or.....do what I did and put H4's on all four, I liked the idea of having four lights on during normal driving as opposed to only on high beam.

So what is the difference between the Xenon bulbs and the H1/H4's? I am really interested in this conversion but want to sort through what is what first.

do you have to modify the car at all, other than wiring?

Posted By: JimG

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/20/08 09:15 PM

Quote:

do you have to modify the car at all, other than wiring?

No, the headlights will physically bolt in with no mods needed.

Jim

Posted By: HealthServices

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/20/08 09:39 PM

Real Xenon is something you may and may not want to try. Real xenon is a HID or High Intensity discharge lighting.

Quote:

Discharge (HID) lighting technology replaces the filament of the light bulb with a capsule of gas. The light is emitted from an arc discharge between two closely spaced electrodes hermetically sealed inside a small quartz glass tubular envelope capsule. To operate, they require ballasts, which supply proper voltage and control current. The amount of light produced is greater than a standard halogen bulb, while consuming less power, and more closely approximating the color temperature of natural daylight

The problem with HID is they were made for projection headlight with light sharp cut off. Most people when first using this, dislike it because it would not shine on street signs, but because it is so bright aiming it any higher would blind oncoming traffic.

Many of the late model cars use this type of lighting now. That's why sometimes when you are heading toward a BMW with correctly aim HID lights they appear to have only the parking lights on. But on closer inspection you see the light pattern on the ground ahead of them.

Recently in the last few years aftermarket companies made a bulb that would fit h1,h4, as well as many other sockets where replacement bulbs could be replaced.

There are two major problems with this setup.

1. is that the bulb is not position correctly (too long) and the resultant the light pattern is incorrect.

2. The light is scattered (housing optics cannot control the light correctly) causing oncoming traffic to be blinded

Posted By: challenger70

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/20/08 09:49 PM

So if I understand this the H1/H4 is a upgrade but basically the same as the stock halogens as far as fit and function, they just work better.

The HID's are the Xenon and funtion differently, ie the sharp light/dark cutoff and don't they also require a ballast?

Posted By: HealthServices

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/20/08 09:55 PM

Quote:

The HID's are the Xenon and funtion differently, ie the sharp light/dark cutoff and don't they also require a ballast?

Sharp cut off if you use the proper 'lens'

Posted By: HealthServices

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/20/08 09:58 PM

The 'want-a-be' color bulbs

Posted By: HealthServices

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/20/08 10:04 PM

The 'Xenon' came to be when HID surfaced and many of the replacement 'bulbs' called themselves 'xexon' to copy the look of the HID.

Ba careful when shopping bulbs. Many say they have 12V 100/90W 6000K color temperature when they are actually colored 55/60 watt bulbs that have the 'color' of a 12V 100/90W 6000K color temperature bulb.

Posted By: mkdart

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/21/08 02:57 AM

I also did the MAD amp gauge bypass mod, and the
relays for the headlights.Now nothing slows down
or gets dim at idel. 65 amp mopar alternator. Check out madelectrical.com
lots of good reading there. Mike

Posted By: GregGarner

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/21/08 03:16 AM

Here are some suggestions:

1) replace points style mechanical limiter on back of the dash with a solid state limiter. (available from us for $50 at www.rt-eng.com)

2) Have the ammeter rebuilt so it has much lower resistance. (www.rt-eng.com rebuilds any mopar ammeter for $60). We are able to lower the restiance of a good standard ammeter about 10 times after we get done rebuilding it. Our rebuilt ammeters average .001 Ohms resistance.

3) Switch to Solid state blinkers.

4) Bead blast all connectors on the wiring harnesses, then use dialectric grease when you put them back together.

5) Switch over from points style distributor to solid state.

6) Use a higher amperage alternator to stop headlight dimming at idle. If you go over about 70 Amps, switch from ammeter to voltmeter, and wire from alternator output to starter terminal.
(www.rt-eng.com sells voltmeter kits for $150 for most mopars)

7) If you dimmer switch for the dash lights is flaky, have it rebuilt (we can do this, prices vary).

8) Change tachometer circuit board over to new design. Makes your tach more accurate and will make it work with MSD ignition, makes it more reliable as well. ($75 from www.rt-eng.com)

9) Change clock mechanism to quartz movement ($75 from www.rt-eng.com)

Posted By: MoparDonny

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/21/08 03:59 AM

Good tips, Greg!!

Don.

Posted By: challenger70

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/21/08 03:52 PM

Quote:

The 'Xenon' came to be when HID surfaced and many of the replacement 'bulbs' called themselves 'xexon' to copy the look of the HID.

Ba careful when shopping bulbs. Many say they have 12V 100/90W 6000K color temperature when they are actually colored 55/60 watt bulbs that have the 'color' of a 12V 100/90W 6000K color temperature bulb.

O.k. So in summation

1)Xenon is just a wannabe HID rip off.

2)HID is probably the best but requires a ballast

3)H1/H4 is an upgrade to the factory sealed beams, but not as "good" as HID.

am I on the right trail here?

Posted By: GoodysGotaCuda

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/21/08 04:11 PM

Quote:

Quote:

The 'Xenon' came to be when HID surfaced and many of the replacement 'bulbs' called themselves 'xexon' to copy the look of the HID.

Ba careful when shopping bulbs. Many say they have 12V 100/90W 6000K color temperature when they are actually colored 55/60 watt bulbs that have the 'color' of a 12V 100/90W 6000K color temperature bulb.

O.k. So in summation

1)Xenon is just a wannabe HID rip off.

2)HID is probably the best but requires a ballast

3)H1/H4 is an upgrade to the factory sealed beams, but not as "good" as HID.

am I on the right trail here?

1) HID's are Xenon bulbs. What is a rip off is anything that says Xenon, but doesn't include a ballast and such.

2) HID is the best, does need a ballast, but is a huge upgrade over even H4s. Downside is it may cause some on-coming traffic to be bothered. I don't have much of an issue in my Ranger with oncoming traffic complaining (flashing lights).

3)H4 upgrade over sealed beam is definitely worth doing. Which I have. Still not really a comparison to the lighting HID gives you. I will be losing my H4's to HIDs asap since I upgraded my truck lights..I am sold on them, I will be doing the Barracuda.

Posted By: GoodysGotaCuda

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/21/08 04:14 PM

Quote:

7) If you dimmer switch for the dash lights is flaky, have it rebuilt (we can do this, prices vary).

I never dim my lights, I went ahead and just jumped out the rheostat (dimmier switch) and gained better lighting. Others have soldered up the resistor for bone stock wiring with the same results.

Posted By: Ludington1

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/21/08 04:22 PM

Quote:

Quote:

7) If you dimmer switch for the dash lights is flaky, have it rebuilt (we can do this, prices vary).

I never dim my lights, I went ahead and just jumped out the rheostat (dimmier switch) and gained better lighting. Others have soldered up the resistor for bone stock wiring with the same results.

Got any more details on that Goody? I never dim mine either, but I do have to play with the dimmer sometimes to get them to brighten up.

Darren

Posted By: GoodysGotaCuda

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/21/08 04:32 PM

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

7) If you dimmer switch for the dash lights is flaky, have it rebuilt (we can do this, prices vary).

I never dim my lights, I went ahead and just jumped out the rheostat (dimmier switch) and gained better lighting. Others have soldered up the resistor for bone stock wiring with the same results.

Got any more details on that Goody? I never dim mine either, but I do have to play with the dimmer sometimes to get them to brighten up.

Darren

Thought I took a couple pictures when I did it. I will have to look when I get home. I didn't really want to hack into the stock dash harness too much (since I didn't when I converted to autometer gauges either). So it's easily reversible, nothing that can't be undone with no harm.

Basically the dimmer on my Barracuda has three spade connectors on it. One I believe (middle?) gives ground (i think) to the dome whenever it's fully turned. The other two are for the dash lights, one will have 12v into the rheostat (dimmer/resistor), the other will be the output over to the dash lights. So what I did was unhooked the wiring harness from the rheostat. (to I had a connector with three female spades in it). I made a short jumper wire out of 14ga wire with two male spades and connected it into the two outer wires in the connector. So I basically took the rheostat/resistor out of the circuit over to the dash lights.

To make the dimmer still work the dome light when switched over I took another small jumper, with one male and one female spade and hooked it from the connector to the dimmer switch. Like I mentioned, it's not overly complicated or beautiful back there, but it does work fine and doesn't harm anything, soldered the spades in the jumper wires so they are nice and solid.

Works for me

Posted By: HealthServices

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/21/08 04:46 PM

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

The 'Xenon' came to be when HID surfaced and many of the replacement 'bulbs' called themselves 'xexon' to copy the look of the HID.

Ba careful when shopping bulbs. Many say they have 12V 100/90W 6000K color temperature when they are actually colored 55/60 watt bulbs that have the 'color' of a 12V 100/90W 6000K color temperature bulb.

O.k. So in summation

1)Xenon is just a wannabe HID rip off.

2)HID is probably the best but requires a ballast

3)H1/H4 is an upgrade to the factory sealed beams, but not as "good" as HID.

am I on the right trail here?

1) HID's are Xenon bulbs. What is a rip off is anything that says Xenon, but doesn't include a ballast and such.

2) HID is the best, does need a ballast, but is a huge upgrade over even H4s. Downside is it may cause some on-coming traffic to be bothered. I don't have much of an issue in my Ranger with oncoming traffic complaining (flashing lights).

In order for us to use HIDs in our cars we must use the H1/H4 housings and put the HID h1/h4 bulbs in there.

Quote:

3)H4 upgrade over sealed beam is definitely worth doing. Which I have. Still not really a comparison to the lighting HID gives you. I will be losing my H4's to HIDs asap since I upgraded my truck lights..I am sold on them, I will be doing the Barracuda.

Posted By: challenger70

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/21/08 05:45 PM

Quote:

In order for us to use HIDs in our cars we must use the H1/H4 housings and put the HID h1/h4 bulbs in there.

Wouldn't the H4 housing "scatter" the nice focused beam of the HID? I thought HID's had a clear/non-refracting lens?

Posted By: HealthServices

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/21/08 07:05 PM

You are correct.

As mention before correct HID systems use a projector light.

There are some systems that will put a HIDs bulbs in the h1/h4 retofit housing. This is just about (there is an projector someone sells that fits in the standard headlight case but looks a little hokey) the only way to install HID in a early model car. The other alternative is to use a HID fog light from some of the aftermarket suppliers.

Yes the light will scatter and may not have the desired effect when installed in a h1/h4 set up.

People still do it though.

Posted By: challenger70

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/21/08 07:42 PM

Quote:

You are correct.

As mention before correct HID systems use a projector light.

There are some systems that will put a HIDs bulbs in the h1/h4 retofit housing. This is just about (there is an projector someone sells that fits in the standard headlight case but looks a little hokey) the only way to install HID in a early model car. The other alternative is to use a HID fog light from some of the aftermarket suppliers.

Yes the light will scatter and may not have the desired effect when installed in a h1/h4 set up.

People still do it though.

Does anyone know what setup "Mr. Angry" runs, it looks like he has a true HID setup on his '68 Charger.

Posted By: HealthServices

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/21/08 07:52 PM

advantange with the chargers is you can hide the light behind the doors...

There was a ebay listing a while back that sold a projector in a 5 3/4" housing format but I cannot seem to find it anymore. They look something like the later model porsches.

but take a lot of space and not too pretty.

Posted By: MoparMarq

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/21/08 10:45 PM

Is this what we're talking about?

Classic Garage Hella lights

But the question is, which one to get?
I'd like something that provides some better visibility, but without the moronic ricer blue color...

Posted By: HealthServices

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/21/08 10:50 PM

Quote:

Is this what we're talking about?

Classic Garage Hella lights

But the question is, which one to get?
I'd like something that provides some better visibility, but without the moronic ricer blue color...

Yes. No blue lights with these

very good standard replacement for 4 headlight system

http://www.classicgarage.com/53hehekit.html

Posted By: goldduster318

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/22/08 12:59 AM

I have the amp gauge bypass, relayed headlights, and the electric trunk release. The car seems a lot more electrically sound now. The headlights are actually reasonable now as well (they are stock replacements).

Posted By: dtedler

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/25/08 08:49 PM

Here is an alternative to the 1157 bulb replacements that I did to my Challenger.

The are LED boards that have 94 LED's versus about 68 that the others have. These are bright and the LED's are red not white. Here is a video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjgaCjJcmGQ

Link corrected - 12/01/08

Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 11/25/08 09:29 PM

These CIBIE lights look nice...

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html

The Bright Six idiot lights might work well for a custom dash.

http://www.lightninglooms.co.uk/

Here are some individual idiot lights that look nice.

http://www.nfauto.co.uk/all_switches.htm

I have been thinking about making my own harness and here are some of the things I'm considering...

http://www.bussman.com/pdf/e0a886ba-753c-4271-b3fe-d7af1a8b8fc1.pdf

http://www.keefeperformance.com/weatherpack_connectors.html

That 22 pin bulkhead connector may be just the ticket for some firewall connections.

This last link is to a large pdf. Worth the wait to save a copy IMHO. The bulkhead connectors at page 150 or so would be really nice when doing an EFI project.

http://www.powerandsignal.com/docs/DCS%20Global%20Catalog.pdf

I had lots of links to LED stuff but I can't find them at the moment.

Posted By: dtedler

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 12/01/08 06:22 PM

So with these headlight upgrades.....What exactly is needed for the connections. Do the H1 and H4's use the same connects or do I need a pigtail of some kind? The kits listed are not as expensive as I thought when considering the price of resto bulbs.

Posted By: SamB

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 12/01/08 06:37 PM

I just upgraded my headlights on my 71 Charger RT.I went with HID upgrades from Pilot.This setup that I have is the same that is on the 71 Serpent that Gary and Pam Bieneki built.Gary was very pleasent to converse with and was open to what was done and were he got this setup.I have not installed them yet.But can't wait to see how they look.The kit came with ballast and new housing and instructions are pretty straight forward.
Sam

Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Let's talk small electrical upgrades - 12/02/08 10:35 AM

OK folk's...before everyone start's chopping things...here's a little wisdom.
No cheap and easy way to do it, you just have to do it right to make it work well.

#1 Nothing wrong with the Ammeter. No need to bypass. The problem is all the "connector's" between the alternator and ammeter connection.
Corrosion and bad connections heat up all wiring down the line. Best to wire direct to ammeter.
If you are a perfectionist, you can use the same alternator connector, with a new wire, and wire through bulkhead connector straight through. No slop in between.

#2 I ditto the same on the other side...right to the starter relay. Yes, I use fusible links.

#3 I picked up 2.1 volts at my headlights.
I'm running halogen headlights at 13.8 volts full blast at idle. (Do you see the light ?).

#4 On 4 headlight system try this.
Sylvania XTra Vision H5001XV and H5006XV.
Hard to find, but they can be ordered. For some reason the 5 1/4" DOT bulbs are regulated (except for certain BMW's)...don't get me started on how that system works.