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 4/08 |
Before I start messin with the wires, I tested my d.c. volts at the battery at 14.4. with the low beams on I get 12.3 at the bulb. with the high beams on I get 10.4 at both the high beam bulb and the low beam bulb. This does not make much sense to me because I can see fine with the high beams on. Can anyone explain this? | ||
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| 1st month member |
Has anyone installed plug & play HID lights? 1999 Airstream Safari 25' 2007 Toyota Tundra 1987 Yamaha YSR toads | |||
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 2/16Captain Doom  |
You can see fine, but you're not getting all the output. There have been a couple of threads on fixes. Rusty  "StaRV II"'94 28' Breakaway: MilSpec AMG 6.5L TD 230HP Nelson and Chester, not-spoiled Golden Retrievers Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering. - Arthur C. Clarke It was a woman who drove me to drink, and I've been searching thirty years to find her and thank her - W. C. Fields | |||
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| 4/08 |
"Has anyone installed plug & play HID lights?" I don't even know what those are. I put some syvania Silverstars in because the lights were too dim and they still are. (for conversation sake, they are aligned properly) "You can see fine, but you're not getting all the output. There have been a couple of threads on fixes." Slight correction Rusty, Can't see fine and not getting all the output. My question is: any reason why the voltage drops when I switch to high beams but visability improves? Perhapps it is just because the beam points higher up. Any idea where I can get one of those tools to measure lumens or lux? | |||
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| 2/16 Captain Doom |
With the high beams, you've got four lights, and as you suspect, aiming, especially with the SilverStars, makes a difference. I'm still futzing with the aim of mine two years after installation... However, the voltage drop you're getting at the lights isn't up to snuff. The first thing to check is the headlamp grounds, and has been suggested, running an extra ground isn't a bad idea. You should see at least 12.5V on high beam HID is "high intensity discharge" (xenon) lights, which give a bluish tint (although ones more toward yellow are available). The output is produced by an arc, and requires a ballast to operate. They're brighter and more efficient than tungsten-based lamps, and considerably more expensive. Rusty "StaRV II"'94 28' Breakaway: MilSpec AMG 6.5L TD 230HP Nelson and Chester, not-spoiled Golden Retrievers Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering. - Arthur C. Clarke It was a woman who drove me to drink, and I've been searching thirty years to find her and thank her - W. C. Fields | |||
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| 4/08 |
Thanks Rusty! I will check on that ground right now. | |||
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| 03/22 |
BTDT, Although checking grounds are a good idea, I think you will find what I and others have found. In the construction of the Barth, to make it somewhat modularized, Barth used a LOT of connectors, splices to get from various switches to the load. Headlights are notoriously dim on Breakaways and it because of the voltage drop along the electrical path from the battery buss to the headlights. Increasing the size of the lights only makes matters worse. It seems that all Barths are somewhat different so this may or may not apply to your case. I added an extra relay, the high beams were already controlled thru a relay and not directly from the switch so I just duplicated the high beam circuit for the low beams. I now have full battery voltage at the headlights when all are on. Night riving is no longer stressful or dangerous. Here is a link to writeup of what I did. Breakaway headlight brightness improvement Ed 94 30' Breakaway #3864 30-BS-6B side entry New Cummins 5.9L, 375+ HP Allison 6 speed Spartan chassis K9DVC Tankless water heater | |||
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| First Month Member 11/13 |
I have never owned a vehicle that did not benefit from Bosch relays. Don't forget the tail/clearance lights. A relay takes the load off the light switch and makes it live longer, in addition to making things brighter. . 84 30T PeeThirty-Something, 502 powered | |||
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| 1st month member |
HID: is High Intensity Discharge lighting (plasma arc) found on a lot sports/luxury cars. HID can provide 3-6 times the amount of light as a normal halogen at a lower amperage. This lighting used to be very expensive but prices for HID kits have dropped drastically some as low as $80. They are plug & play. If you have sealed beam 4" x 6" rectangular (early '80's Cadillac), you will need to buy the projector beam housings which range from $40-$50. FYI the low beam housing is H4656 and high beam is H4651. Look for kits made in Japan or Europe with a lifetime warranty. 1999 Airstream Safari 25' 2007 Toyota Tundra 1987 Yamaha YSR toads | |||
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