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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Getting the most out of my headlights

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Getting the most out of my headlights -- page: 1 2 3     LanceD 10-04-2011 @ 2:36 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 54 Joined: Sep 2011 So the headlights on my 39 De Luxe are very dim making it undrivable at night. The car is mostly original so it's still 6v positive ground. I plan on taking the light buckets apart and cleaning them and the lenses. After that I'm not sure what else to do. Are there brighter bulbs available? Is there anything I can do to the electrical system to help the bulbs out? Any help will be appreciated -I know I have an old car, that's where my knowledge ends, Lance alanwoodieman 10-04-2011 @ 7:20 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 868 Joined: Oct 2009 one of the causes for dim lights is bad grounds, connections to the bulb itself and the rotary switch for 39 and earlier cars. Clean all connections and use diaelectric grease to prevent further corrosion, check the voltage in the system to make sure with the engine running you have at least 7 volts, if not adjust the voltage regulator. There are higher watt lights available also, not sure if the aftermarket guys have them or not. TomO 10-04-2011 @ 7:33 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7253 Joined: Oct 2009 Make sure that you are getting full voltage to your bulbs by hooking up your voltmeter to the connector for the headlight and then turning on the head lights. Your meter should read within 0.5 volts of the battery voltage (5.5 V or more). If you have a lower reading, isolate the failing area by moving the grounded (+) lead of the meter to the NEG battery post. The meter should now read the voltage drop in the circuit (less than 1 volt). Move the COM lead of the meter to connections closer to the battery, when the reading becomes closer to 0, you will have found the source of resistance in the circuit. The reflectors in your head lights could also be causing the problem. They are silver plated and tarnish. Most silver polishes are too abrasive for the reflectors. There used to be a non abrasive polish available, maybe someone can recommend a current product to polish them. Tom ford38v8 10-04-2011 @ 8:07 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2762 Joined: Oct 2009 Lance, The previous advice given is accurate, as is tyour own thinking that the lenses are dirty. They always get clean on the outside, but almost never get the road grime off trhe inside of then lens. Your wife will scrub out the dish bucket after you blacken it with 72 years worth of exhaust deposits. There are brighter bulbs, and are available from the usual suspects. Your original bulbs are 32/32, you want 50/32. The following is a non-stock fix, but works well to bypass the resistance in the switching circuit: The power delivered at the bulbs for low and high beams can instead be delivered to a set of relays near the radiator. The headlights are then supplied from the relays, which in turn are supplied by a heavy gage wire direct from the solenoid. Alan LanceD 10-04-2011 @ 12:28 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 54 Joined: Sep 2011 Okay thanks for the help. I now have a list of things to do as well as a freshly placed order of new brighter bulbs. This place really is great i've learned a lot in the week i've been looking at this board! -I know I have an old car, that's where my knowledge ends, Lance LanceD 10-04-2011 @ 1:37 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 54 Joined: Sep 2011 Alright so I just did a little work and discovered some things which require further advice. First off I took off one of the lenses and it was really clean, the reflector was also very shiny and reflector like. So no troubles in the headlight itself. Then I turned the headlights on and noticed that they just don't burn bright. Which prompted me to check voltages, standing voltage on the battery with motor off was 6.53v. Voltage on the battery while the motor was on fluctuated between 4.75 and 5.0v. So I'm having a problem here obviously, maybe the motor isn't producing much power? I'm not 100% where to go from here since my service manual for the car isn't gonna be here for a while. So um can someone give me a starting off point? Something to look for to start narrowing the problem down? Thanks -I know I have an old car, that's where my knowledge ends, Lance supereal 10-04-2011 @ 3:49 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 More often than not, the loss of voltage at the headlights boils down to two places: the dimmer switch, which is placed below the floorboards where it gets all kinds of abuse, and the series of "bullet" commectors between the switch and the headight bulbs. I know you are all tired of hearing this, but place the leads of a voltmeter across all the connections. Any reading shows loss at that place. At six volts, very small losses add up. Think of your system as a garden hose. The more holes in the hose, the less water makes it to the nozzle, in this case, the headlights. Unless your charging system is producing at least seven volts above idle, your headlights will always be dim. ford38v8 10-04-2011 @ 9:37 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2762 Joined: Oct 2009 Lance, if I understand you, with headlights off engine running, you have 5v? I'd start under the assumption that you have a poor connection, possibly at the battery itself. Check for cables being hot to the touch after running for a while. Include in this inspection the wires under the dash. At the battery would indicate poor connection, under the dash would mean a short. Clean and tighten both battery terminal leads, the ground cables to the firewall and engine, and the hot lead to the solenoid, and all others at that location. Clean nand tighten the terminals at the regulator, and the one at the generator. A ground wire isn't provided at the generator in 1939, but go ahead and install one anyway. It's just not smart to depend on the generator mount to provide the ground. With these connections all freshened up, if you still have the problem, then I'm as lost as you are. Alan LanceD 10-04-2011 @ 11:47 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 54 Joined: Sep 2011 Yeah the reading is 5v at the battery when the motor is running. Makes me think the generator isn't working. Then again the ground strap on the battery isn't in the greatest shape. It should be replaced no matter what -I know I have an old car, that's where my knowledge ends, Lance This message was edited by LanceD on 10-5-11 @ 5:46 AM alanwoodieman 10-05-2011 @ 6:02 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 868 Joined: Oct 2009 remember not to put standard 12 volt cables on your car, it is 6 volt so the amp load is doubled. there is a ground from the battery to the firewall and another from the firewall to the engine make sure the post on the firewall is clean and so are the cable ends. I would have the generator and the voltage regulator tested together so you can find out what the problem with the low voltage while running is. Generators need RPMs to put out so the car must be above an idle to put out 7 volts

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