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Discussion Topic:
Ammeter discharge w/halogen lights
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Tracker |
09-19-2015 @ 4:57 PM
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Recently I installed a set of Wagner halogen lights on my 6 volt system stock 51 Merc. They seem to work fine and make a huge difference in lighting the road ahead. The only thing I'm concerned about they seem to create a larger than normal discharge on the ammeter as compared to the incandescent lights. When driving at speed, the needle barely comes back to normal but then drops off to 1/2 indication at idle. Do I need to do something to correct this...if so, what ? The generator is freshly re-built ...is there an adjustment I need to consider at the voltage regulator ? What about fuses ? Thanks for your help. Tracker
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ford38v8 |
09-20-2015 @ 8:22 AM
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Tracker, I wouldn't be concerned unless you take a trip or drive at night often. You don't want to overcharge your battery while driving daylight hours, and you say it does come back to zero at speed, so I'd say leave your regulator the way it is, and monitor your battery condition for under-charge after driving at night as opposed to driving in daylight.
Alan
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Tracker |
09-20-2015 @ 10:41 AM
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Thanks for your reply Alan...I don't drive at night that much but just occasionally. The incandescent lights were too dim and marginal at best.were The Halogen addition came after much research on others who had done the same thing w/6 volt system but I never read where anyone had a significant ammeter drop. The lights are really bright and 100 % better than my old incandescent lights. I never considered the additional gen draw or the effect on the voltage regulator.
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TomO |
09-20-2015 @ 4:19 PM
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Unlike Alan, I am concerned with your ammeter reading. It is telling you that halogen bulbs are drawing much more current than the incandescent bulbs. This could be a problem if the wiring is not capable of handling the extra current. A fire could start. Turn on your lights for a while and feel the wires going to the headlights. If they are warm they are undersized for the halogen bulbs. If they are hot, they are in danger of starting a fire. Supereal installed halogens on his convertible, but he added heavier wires too power the lights. He also added relays to distribute the current more efficiently.
Tom
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ford38v8 |
09-20-2015 @ 6:30 PM
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Good point, Tom.
Alan
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Tracker |
09-21-2015 @ 11:16 AM
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Thanks Tom for another reference point. I will check the wiring as you suggest. If its warm or getting hot, what is the recommended procedure to make it safe ? I would like to make the necessary corrections to retain the halogen lights if possible...if not I will go back to the incandescent. As earlier stated, I do not use the car much at night but its only because of the poor light quality of the incandescent bulbs.
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carcrazy |
09-21-2015 @ 3:02 PM
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One thing you can do is use a headlight relay in the lighting circuit. You can purchase one from Randy at www.fifthaveinternetgarage.com. They come with wiring instructions to make the installation simple. You can also reach Randy at 785-632-3450. He is very knowledgeable on automotive electrical issues.
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Tracker |
09-21-2015 @ 6:33 PM
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Thanks for your reply. I will check this out with Randy & good suggestion. I checked the wiring schematic supplied by Rhode Island wiring on my car to find that the light switch has a 14 ga high beam and a 12 ga low beam wire which should be adequate but I'm still getting a lo reading on my amp guage. If a new relay will not relieve the low amps problem, I'm not going to take any further chances on creating a fire and will switch back to incandescent bad as I hate to do that. Tom has jolted me back to reality and Halogen just may not be good for this situation. I will decide after talking to Randy whom I know pretty well. Thanks again.
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TomO |
09-22-2015 @ 6:34 AM
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Tracker are these the headlights sold by NAPA? My understanding was that they draw the same amperage as the stock bulbs. Adding relays and using 12ga wire to power the headlights will give you the safety factor that you need. Your ammeter will still show a discharge while idling due to the current draw of the lights. Typically you would use the current headlight wiring to power the relay and string new 12 ga wire to the relay points to power the headlights.
Tom
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Tracker |
09-22-2015 @ 8:17 AM
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Tom...I bought the Wagner 6 volt halogen lights o n line from Amazon. I can find nothing on specs. Spoke to Randy Rundle ...said Halogens not only will burn out my light switch but regardless they pull about 30% more draw. Recommended going back to incandescent and installing in line headlight relay in 6 volt. Said this would not only brighten incandescent lighting to current norms but will prevent lighting switch and dimmer switch failures on 6 volt systems. This has been a costly mistake on my part...next time I will seek advice from you & the rest of the guys who contributed to my request for help. Thanks again everyone. Hope this has been a help service to those running stock 6 volt systems. Tracker
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