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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Dim Headlights

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Dim Headlights -- page: 1 2     tonys1950 09-27-2017 @ 7:55 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 16 Joined: Sep 2016 "Shoe Box central "make a simple to install wire and relay for $26.95 it powers the headlamps with direct battery power, put one in my 50 with halogen seal beams, there as good as any 12 v seal beams 39Fordfan 08-15-2017 @ 6:19 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 191 Joined: Oct 2009 I live on the outskirts of a metro area so lots of patches of dark roads with lots of traffic. I did all of the above and never felt safe with 6 volt incandescent bulbs. If an SUV was following me, their bright modern headlights would blaze around me causing a shadow effect which was disconcerting and unsafe. My only solution was to stop gabbing at carshows early and get home before the sun went down. I found some 6 Volt LEDS. Doesn't matter whether you have positive or negative ground. You can buy just the "Bulbs" and install them into your current reflectors, or you can buy them already fitted to the reflector. Or you can buy an entire assembly which is sealed and has turn signals. I think you can buy them for sealed beams too. The first two look very original under my glass lenses. I can't attest to the originality of the full assembly. Once fitted and aligned these are brighter than my 20 year old 12 volt Honda headlights. If interested, I can look up where I got them. sarahcecelia 08-14-2017 @ 8:23 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1183 Joined: Mar 2013 Bad dimmer switch, dirty connections, bad ground (dirty connection), bad headlight relay. (if there is one in the system) weak battery.That's about it. Regards, Steve Lee sarahcecelia 08-14-2017 @ 6:34 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1183 Joined: Mar 2013 I got brighter tail/stop light bulbs (6 volt) for my 1950 Crestliner. I don't remember where got them, but the're out there. Do a google search for them. I'm sure I got them from one of the top suppliers, Mac's, Carpenter,etc. Regards, Steve Lee 51f1 08-14-2017 @ 6:13 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 573 Joined: Oct 2009 They do sell new dimmer switches. Richard mgeewhiz 08-13-2017 @ 11:17 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 11 Joined: Feb 2017 Thanks to everyone for the advice. I found a loose ground wire, and reconnecting it did not solve the problem. Next I tried pumping the dimmer switch about 60 times, and that solved the problem. I suspect that the contacts within the switch were the problem since the car's headlights had not been used in a long time. If the problem comes back, then I will replace the switch. mgeewhiz 08-13-2017 @ 11:13 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 11 Joined: Feb 2017 Thanks to everyone for the advice. I found a loose ground wire, and reconnecting it did not solve the problem. Next I tried pumping the dimmer switch about 60 times, and that solved the problem. I suspect that the contacts within the switch were the problem since the car's headlights had not been used in a long time. If the problem comes back, then I will replace the switch. supereal 08-07-2017 @ 2:09 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 I made up a relay panel that attached to the left front inner fender. It is operated by the stock circuitry. I have halogen headlights and without the relays, they were dimmer than the old sealed beams. Between the headlight and dimmer switches, and lots of bullet connectors, half of the power was lost. Now they are as bright as new. len47merc 08-06-2017 @ 11:16 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 56MarkII - have a read on the links below from our Forum. The dimmer switch is a quick check - get it out of the way following TomO's advice here and on the links below. After that, it has been proven to me time and time again - grounds - Grounds - GROUNDS. When faced with your dilemma I have removed EVERY exterior light and all associated components and freshened ALL connections - especially the grounds. When the exercises were complete the 6V pos ground headlights were every bit as bright as 12V alternatives. My wife would not drive at night in the '47 before the grounds were addressed - afterwards no concerns and oncoming traffic started flashing me when the brights were left on (were not doing so prior). Additionally, replacing your current headlights with halogen or LEDs before ensuring all connections and grounds are rock solid sound and your current headlights are as bright as they possibly can be may lead to other issues down the line. Ensure your fundamentals are addressed here before taking any next steps. Btw - prior to addressing the lights on my '47 ALL grounds from the body to the frame, frame to the engine, firewall to engine, etc., had been addressed and the headlights were still dim, one more than the other, and the tail lights also were inconsistent in brightness. Afterwards all were balanced and bright. For me, after going through all my connections and grounds I've never found the need to change out the 6V bulbs - they are more than adequately bright. Here are some good links - there are many others if you perform a search: https://www.earlyfordv8.org/forum/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=16&Topic=8888&keywords=dim%20headlights and, https://www.earlyfordv8.org/forum/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=18&Topic=9904&keywords=dim%20headlights Good luck! Steve TomO 08-06-2017 @ 8:18 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7250 Joined: Oct 2009 56MarkII, there are halogen tail light bulbs available, but I would noy use them as they draw 2 much current. There are 6 Volt Pos Ground LED bulbs available for replacing the 1154 bulb. I have not tried ant of them, so if you decide to try them, please let us know your results. Google "1154 bulb 6 volt positive ground led replacement" for some of the replacements. This bulb is advertised as the brightess: http://www.flipflopled.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=94&product_id=492 Tom

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