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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Grounding Headlamps

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Discussion Topic: Grounding Headlamps

Sporty40

08-09-2012 @ 2:47 PM

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This has been discussed previously on the Forum, but I would appreciate a little more help. On a recent night ride I noticed the headlamps seemed dimmer than normal, & it was really difficult to see. Both the battery & generator are up to snuff. What guage wire would I run from each headlamp to the starter ground & where is the best attachment point on the headlamps? Thanks in advance for your comments.

Alan

Stroker

08-09-2012 @ 3:03 PM

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The best location for a light ground is the socket itself. With a little creative
engineering, you can solder the ground lead to the outside of the socket, which eliminates the possibility of any of the poor connections between the socket and the
grounding point. As for wire size, it should be the same as the high-beam feed, since
it has to carry the same amps.

supereal

08-09-2012 @ 5:46 PM

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Headlights have several grounding problems. The buckets are insulated by gaskets, and the fenders are separated from the body by welting, paint and rust. They draw a lot of current, and need a secure ground. We run separate ground wires all the way back to a known good grounding point, such as the place the battery ground strap is fastened to the body.

Sporty40

08-10-2012 @ 7:07 AM

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Thanks Stroker & Super for your comments. This is a great site!

Alan

TomO

08-10-2012 @ 9:00 AM

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Alan, before you spend a lot of time installing an auxiliary ground, do a simple check with a digital volt meter to see if that is your problem. A 14 gauge wire will carry the

Connect the voltmeter COM lead to the headlight bucket and the POS or + lead to the POS terminal of the battery.

Turn on the head lights and read the meter. A reading above .1 volts indicates grounding problems. This can be isolated by moving the COM lead to points closer to the battery ground connection and reading the meter. When the reading is .1 or less, repair the point where the reading was higher.

A more common problem with dim lights is due to voltage drop from the battery to the head lights. The bulbs need at least 6 volts to reach the stated brightness.

A check for this condition can be made by connecting the meter COM lead to the NEG terminal of the battery and the POS lead of the meter to a point as close to the bulb as you can get. The bulb has to be in its socket and working for these tests.

Any drop of more than .3 should be repaired. Look for poor connections in the bullet connectors and corrosion on the headlight switch contacts.

Tom

Sporty40

08-11-2012 @ 4:46 AM

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TomO: Thanks for the info! I can see the problem may be quite perplexing. I'll have to pick up a new meter since it died after the first test.

Alan

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