LocostUSA.com

so i have been experimenting with headlight brightness, so far it has been a dismal failure.

because i usually have to drive home in the dark, on an unlighted road in the middle of knowhere that usually has cows wandering across it in hurds, and whose mommy's never taught them about crossing the road, i need to see them.

now if this was a short distance of say 5 miles then i could drive slowly when there but it is about 50 miles of open range and there are several sections where the road goes up and down further limiting your view ahead.

there are also many other types of wildlife crossing or even sitting in the road at night, i have see an eagle sitting right at the side of the blacktop as i drove by, it just sat there and watched me, once i saw what looked like a big bolder in the middle of the road, turned out to be a tortoise.

so i have tried to improove the headlights by continuosly fine adjustments, then fitting a system of relays for each individual filament and larger cable, then fitting different types of bulbs, then keeping the lowbeam on when the high beam comes on, this just resulted in bulb failure due to the heat being trapped in the headlamp bucket, when the bulds fail they spray a yellowish brown vapor inside the headlamp unit which renders it unusable.

i have considered using HID but i would need to put the ballasts inside the buckets along with any heat from the bulbs thus the problem would not be any different apart from price, or would it, does anyone have experience of HID lighting in an enclosed headlight bucket?

i am now considering the use of LED's but i note that they have a fan on the bulb itself which may work fine in a non bucket situation as in an average car but would it work in a bucket, again has anyone any experience?

iam also considering cutting a hole in the bottom of the bucket and installing a computer fan.

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this story shall the good man teach his son,
and chrispin chrispian shall ne'er go by,
from this day to the end of the world.
but we in it shall be remembered.

How are your lights wired? Relay? You may consider doing a voltage-drop test at the light socket. If you aren't getting very close to full voltage, your lights will be dim. 1V can make a big difference to headlights.
Failing that, I would tuck an LED bar under your nose, or a pair in your bumper (or hidden under your suspension). Make a little surround and I think you could make it look good in the bumper.

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Build log: viewtopic.php?t=9291

John,

Try some of the 4 or 6 LED Squares that they use in Off Road applications. On my buggy I bought a curved light bar that uses spot LED's in the middle and floods on both ends. Made more for high speed running of the back roads of BAJA, and might not be DOT legal, but DAYUM, are they ever bright. Got it from these guys: http://sinisterfabrication.com/custom-s ... -projects/

Tom

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Sometimes, I'm as confused as a baby in a topless bar.

My short term memory is absolutely horrible and so is my short term memory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG16m2e4O6I

John, my problem was a tad bit easier to identify. Age. Old age, to be more specific.

So I bit the bullet and bought a set of Trucklite LED's on Amazon. A 6 pack under $300, including shipping. But they do solve the problem.

High beam:


Low beam:


The road is about 40 feet wide. Camera is a Canon SLR set on auto exposure. Lens is 18mm.

The photos were taken from just outside the car. The lights are incredible with both distance and side fill and they are better than the photos indicate. Low beams are about the same effectiveness of conventional high beam. High beams make one think of landing lights. The only apt description when they are first turned on is WOW! And they are totally legal.

These are sold as replacements for Jeep lamps. You won't need the adaptor.

Bill

I live in a very rural part of Missouri and deer are a constant concern. With that in mind lighting has been a big concern of mine. My plan was to use LED bulbs similar to above for the main headlights, but also to use an LED light bar mounted to the roll bar. That will get the light up higher and thus light up the road better.

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Build on

Chris
Build: NA Miata based +221 Se7en

Probably should clarify a little . These units are one piece replacements for the stock Jeep light. Here is one installed on the Alpine.


The front of the light protrudes about 1/2" beyond the chrome trim ring.

Bill

i was looking at the jeep ones they are complete units but have no maker or turn indicators, if i could find some similar but with led turn and marker lights, that would fit the bill.

_________________
this story shall the good man teach his son,
and chrispin chrispian shall ne'er go by,
from this day to the end of the world.
but we in it shall be remembered.

John,

What do your headlight buckets look like? Could you machine some slots or rectangles in the sides and insert LEDs for turn and marker lights?

Tom

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Sometimes, I'm as confused as a baby in a topless bar.

My short term memory is absolutely horrible and so is my short term memory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG16m2e4O6I

well i seem to have found some lights like Bill used but with a white halo ring for the marker light that changes color for the turn signal on e-bay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/7-Inch-Round-LE ... 1819996319

if you look at the video you can see them in action as it were, now for a car with buckets like a locost, this puts all the front lights in one place with nothing else to purchase, i don't even think that you would need to use relays as these are only 45/60 wattts.

right now, i have two power feeds to each side of the car, one for high beam and one for low beam, the original supply wires from the switch, another power supply into the headlamp bowl where there is an additional relay to power the marker and turn lamps plus a power from the switch and a power from the flasher to make the relay work which change from power to ground when off, oh and grounds for the headlamp and relays as well.

so you can see how complicated it has become, this light unit could allow me to revert to something much simpler.

as you can see they are in a sealed aluminum case, i believe it is a sort of heat sink so i may drill a largish hole in the bottom of the bucket, we will see when i get them how hot they get, i will connect them up and leave them on for a couple of hours, of course it is not 110 degrees here at the moment.

strange how technology moves forward at the same pace as i find the old technology to be wanting in some way.

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this story shall the good man teach his son,
and chrispin chrispian shall ne'er go by,
from this day to the end of the world.
but we in it shall be remembered.

It's interesting technology, John. But, I'm wondering if it will be confusing to an on-coming vehicle if you had the low beams (or worse, high beams) on and then put the halo into turn signal mode. Will it be easy enough for the on-coming driver to "read" the situation? Just for myself, I'd like to see some distance between my headlights and turn signals, so it would be easy to read.

A second question in my mind is if they are legal under Federal and State laws. There are usually very specific requirements written into the vehicle codes regarding lights of various types.

I'm not trying to throw cold water on your choice, just thinking out loud and hoping it will be useful.

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886