Modern Headlamps on Old Mopar

has anyone upgraded to a more modern headlamp for better visibility?
Are there any direct replacements out there that you can just swap out and maintain original wiring on a 69 road runner?

I upgraded the high beams on my regular driver Magnums, not had any issues wiring or fuse-wise. It has helped some but not earth shattering.

This is a bulb housing (resembled the original sealed beam) and an H1 bulb.

I put a set of GE Night Hawks in my 51 Plymouth, world of difference, but they do stick outside the bezel about 3/4".

https://catalog.gecurrent.com/catalog/p/69821

Has anyone used the Hella lights on a 4 lamp system?

Back whenI had my M body I ran a set of Hella H4's for the outer lights. They were a great improvement over the stock square Halogens.

When I had my 57 and my kid had his 62 Chryslers we just used good Halogen replacents.Lite upthe road great.My 65 with single lights I used std halogens then upgraded to the ones that take capsules.I went to 55/100 watt bulbs and they work good.Many will say rewire etc.But halogens draw less than the old sealed beams.I might up grade to the relay setup though.Rocky

Fastest way to get "better" output is to use a relay to feed the headlights - I think it's 1 volt drop, reduces light output by 10 lumens ??? . . . at any rate, you wire the relay to be "turned" on when you turn on the headlights, and then have a feed from the battery, thru a CIRCUIT BREAKER (don't use a fuse, because when it operates, you won't have ANY headlight until you replace it. The circuit breaker will trip, cool down and come back on . . .), to one side of relay contact and then other side of contact to the headlights . . . really makes a difference ! And, you have virtually NO current draw through the headlight switch.

Thanks for the heads up on the relays!!!
Question> how do I tell if I have halogen lights?
I bought these about 20-25 years ago from a parts store and have no idea how to tell apart.
The current ones are a sealed beam design, But I know they make a sealed beam halogen

thanks

Light output drops exponentially with reductions in voltage. It is not linear.

You DO NOT want to draw power for the headlights at the battery on a OEM wired muscle era mopar.

I never use circuit breakers on the kits I sell. It's all in the design of the system. The bad side of auto reset circuit breakers, they will continue to turn back on and cook things.

Relays and a set of halogens bulbs makes a HUGE difference in performance. Here's an example with the same halogen lights. Notice the dash light improvement as well.

Crackedback, you mention not grabbing power directly from the battery to feed the relay(s), why? and where would be better?

With the engine running all electrical loads should be running off the alternator output directly. In the muscle era mopars tapping off the battery put's that load thru the ammeter and the associated wiring everyone seems to think is bad. the only load that should be going thru the ammeter with the engine running is the battery charge. Anything else renders the ammeter's reading useless.

Tap it off the alternator stud, that's what I do when I run relays.

So you ran all the lights through a relay?

Just the headlights are run through relays. However, once the relays are used, you are taking a huge load off of the headlight switch. The power for the dash lights goes through the switch as well. So my guess is that if the switch only has to turn on the relays, there is more current available to the dash lights...which makes them brighter.

Aircraft landing lights for the high beam in my 62 wagon,you don't want to look straight it into them !

and if those are like the ones i have in my charger, you don't want to stand in front of them for very long, as they throw a little heat as well.

And we have a winner. The headlight load no longer passes through the bulkhead as either. Less load on the cabin wire means greater efficiency of that sized wire to carry a reduced load, higher voltage levels at the instrument bulbs.

Battery is a storage device. The alternator powers the car with engine running. Anything that is running primarily when engine is running should be tapped off the alternator. Things like electric fans which can run with engine off create a decision point and the OEM wiring doesn't provide a good solution. If you read instructions and they say that you want "direct battery power", they were likely written by someone that didn't have a basic background regarding how automotive electrical works.

so the MSD ignitions should be hooked to the starter relay with a jumper from the alternator to the starter relay ?
their instructions say to hook direct to the battery.

They are likely wanting it hooked there as the battery will buffer the charge cycles. The problem is voltage drop across the line from alternator to battery. Sometimes it can be significant and MSD's are known to not like voltages below a certain level.

The OEM path is not set up to draw power there and if you run a wire around, you defeat the beloved ammeter...