But why are the lights so dim?

[Green1]

Therefore if your lights we're pointed too low to begin with, then this sharp cut off would have a significant impact.

I can certainly attest to that! my lights were aimed too low and were completely useless, but now that they are aimed correctly (sharp cut-off just bellow the horizon) the lights are MUCH better (and I still have stock bulbs)

[JMK]

Thanks Todd, a good thought on that DRL unit. In that case, maybe I need to rethink my opposition to using the City Light socket. You could use a bulb that is brighter than 5W, maybe you could find an LED. Wire that into the DRL. However, because it is in the High Beam cavity, I wouldn't want it on alongside the low beams. Now if my logic is correct, at the moment the blue wire is connected to the park light position, and when it senses the Park Lights on, it shuts off doesn't it? So what if you moved the blue wire to your new low beam lead that you are fitting up. Then you move your old low beam wire, complete with the yellow DRL wire still attached to it, and wire it to the City Light socket. So now when you hop in and turn on the ignition your city light comes on from the old wiring. The new relay you just installed kicks on your new 12 guage wiring that you just connected to your low and high beams. Come to think of it I guess you'd need 2 relays, one for low and one for high beams. When you turn on the lights, the City Light goes out.

My other vehicles also had that cutoff pattern so I'm used to it, but somehow I get the sense that the lights are still dimmer anyway.

The other day I gave this guy that works for a friend $120.00 to grab me some Siverstar bulbs at Can Tire while he was there. I never saw him again but a few days later my friend hands me some bulbs I'd never seen before, and no receipt. I couldn;t find the bulbs listed anywhere on the Internet so had no idea if they were $4.00 or $40.00 bulbs. Well I chalked it up to a lesson learned. One set was 'Platinum Xenon' and the other were 'UltraXenon'. I placed them in on one side and left the stock lights on the other and went out to where it was completly dark. I walked a few hundred meters down the road and when I looked back I was alarmed to see that it appearred that the original low beam had burned out. Turned out the new beam was so bright it dwarfed the other one to the extent it looked like a parking light. I had my girlfriend walk to the outer limit of both lights and it was apparant the new ones could pick out her jeans better than the stock ones, so they do illuminate better. So then I'm left thinking, I wonder if these darn things are even legal?

I do remember seeing a similar pair at the Petro Can when I was getting my inspection done. The box had been opened and the bulbs looked used, and they had a sticker on it 'Special $59.00'. I figured one of their staff had bought them wholesale, and after installing them didn't like them so took them out again and was trying to get his money back.

[Green1]

I wonder if these darn things are even legal?

most of them seem to be, as long as they are no more than 55watts it doesn't appear to matter how that wattage is actually used.
some however are over 55 watts, and those are not legal.

[JMK]

Well what added to my confusion was one set said 100W as part of the part number. However very similar bulbs on eBay say something about 55W = 100W DOT or something. I don;t know what they are alluding to.

Anyway, here are some good resources about the bulb and wiring issues:
Sensible Wiring: http://www.rallylights.com/useful_info/ ... wiring.htm
Bulb Help: http://www.rallylights.com/hella/bulb_help.htm
How to wire a relay: http://www.rallylights.com/hella/Relays.asp
Upgrading Your Headlamp Wiring:http://www.rallylights.com/useful_info/ ... wiring.htm

[torchard]

1) Could a "normally closed" relay be used with the DRL module instead i.e. when the drl module is powered the low beams work as currently intended. But when the lights are switched on, the drl module turns off, this tells the relay to close, which allows power through from the new wiring harness?

2) Is the city light switched or constantly powered? If switched it could be used to power a relay for the new wiring harness i.e. turn on the lights, send power via the city light lead to the relay.

Edit: What I"m referring to here is an unused connector in my headlight wiring harness. I'm assuming this is the city light connection point.

[loki]

Mine are pointed way to high so most of the beam isn't on the ground at all, I think I also have bad bulbs and the wiring is likely a factor too. Would it not also work just to rerun the wires the same as stock only 12 gauge?

[torchard]

Well if you've got faulty wiring then replacing it should improve things compared to what you've currently got, but the aim is to get as much juice to the bulbs as possible and putting heavier wire in place at some midpoint won't help. It's like attaching a larger diameter water pipe midway though - it's only going to carry as much load as whatever came before it.

--Todd

Mine are pointed way to high so most of the beam isn't on the ground at all, I think I also have bad bulbs and the wiring is likely a factor too. Would it not also work just to rerun the wires the same as stock only 12 gauge?

[loki]

where would the pinch point be then? the wiring to the fuse block? changing it out too I can't think of anywhere else other than the fuse itself, and with the heavier gauge wire you could go with a bigger one I guess but not sure if that is a good idea or not.

[JMK]

Loki, did you have a look a some of those links that I posted above? I think one of them mentions that you connect directly to the battery. Just use a 30 amp inline ATC fuse assembly to make your connection.

Not Good:

Power current must travel from battery to headlamps - via the dashboard switch using a large gauge cable.
Result: voltage drop causing reduction in headlamp performance.
Possible overloading of switch.


Best:

The power current is routed over the shortest distance between battery and headlamp via the relay. A control current lead of only 0.75 sq. mm (current consumption for this lead less than 150 mA!) is required between dashboard switch and relay.



The importance of optimum operating current and the negative effect voltage drop can have, on the luminous intensity of a bulb, can be seen from the table above.

[JMK]

torchard,

I'm having trouble even following my own original logic when I go back and read it. Also having trouble wrapping my head around using a closed relay, but it also looks like it would work. Although both should work, I was wondering why I went with the city light socket in the first place? If you are re-running new wiring I suppose the DRL could just be re-installed onto you new harness couldn't it? It looks like the DRL feeds the bulb about 50% of normal power from what I can tell, so you'd simply be doing the same thing as the original setup but with new wire. So you connect 12 Guage wire via an ATC fuse to your battery source and run it to your relay. Connect your low beam wires to the relay. Downstream of that going to your headlights is your DRL module. When you ignition on it works as normal, and when you turn on your lights it should turn off. Guess you need to do the same again for the high beams sans the DRL. In my old Volvo and Land Cruiser they leave the low beams on as auxillary lights, so you could do it that way and just leave your low beams on when you turn high beams on. To do it that way I assume then on the second high beam circuit you'd run the high beam lead so that it powered both low and high beam bulbs when high beams are turned on.

On my new eCode lights I had to chuck out the harness that came with it. I had to cut off the City Light wires and reinsert the socket to maintain its waterproofness. So I have 2 wires that are easy to attach to if need be.

[JMK]

That (eCode) cut-off pattern has caused me to hit 2 ELk, and as one was with a motorcycle, it really hurt: me, the elk, and the motorcycle, of which it killed the latter 2. When an ELk is standing on the left shoulder or middle of the road, his skinney dark legs are the only thing illuminated within that pattern, his eyes are to high to reflect back to you.

I just had something pointed out to me. THe DRL module gives 6V to each of your beams when in DRL mode. That low voltage causes the inner envelope of the bulb to blacken and thus significantly diminish your illumination because the bulb is not designed to work on 6V. It is for that reason our Calgary mechanic friend says he hates the DRL modules. He suggests that using the City Light receptacle in the eCode lights is a better way to go than a DRL on your low beams. He also again strongly underlined that I probably don't appreciate what a significant difference changing the wiring is. He seems to think it is not something you just think about doing, but it is something that absolutely must be done, no ifs, ands, or buts.

So, I wonder if the DRL module is blackening he bulbs and can be one of the silent culprits also contributing to this low light problem. If you get a chance have a look at your low beam bulbs and see if they appear to be blackened.

[torchard]

Just a wee note of caution here - Glen at CCA tells me they don't use a 6v/12v DRL unit. It produces 12 volts regardless but turns off when the headlights are engaged. This is my reference point. Can't speak to the concept of blackening due to 6 volt output and so forth. Also, before any of us start building new wiring harnesses etc, I'd advise that we check the voltage at the bulbs. If there is a healthy amount of power at the bulbs this discussion is moot, correct? Having said that, one of the links in this thread leads to a simple chart which shows how light output is affected by low voltage and it is significant. This would back up what your mechanic friend is saying about the effects of low voltage on halogen output.

As for hitting the elk--ouch--sorry for both you and the animal!

--T

[JMK]

I've noticed the Grote that I have been using is dimmer on DRL mode. The various DRL's are all probably different, but I understand the Grote is pretty common. I'll have to go measure the voltage on it and see what it reports. I understand that the light is dimmer for lower voltage, I just had no idea that the bulbs would blacken if the halogen gas. I did find this quickly using a google search:
http://www.teklight.com/faq_s.html

Will dimming my halogen bulb extend it's life?
The halogen cycle can be interrupted if the voltage and temperature of the lamp is operated too low. The result is lamp blackening. Lamp blackening and the consequent loss of lumens are standard for incandescent lamps, but halogen lamps are designed not to blacken as they age. Halogen lamps maintain their lumen output throughout their lifetime due to the key mechanism of the halogen cycle which binds with the tungsten that is vaporized off of the lamp filament itself. Thus keeping the bulb walls clean. If lamp engineers could figure a way to get the tungsten to redeposit evenly back on the lamp filament, we could have a lamp that lasts forever. But, this is not the case, as the tungsten is redeposited on the coolest part of the filament (usually the ends of the filament), and consequently over time, the middle portion of the filament eventually thins, forming a weak spot, and eventually the filament breaks.
The standard operating temperature of the bulb wall to maintain a halogen cycle is 250C. When the temperature falls below this level the halogen cycle fails, and the lamp starts to act like a standard incandescent. It is estimated that the cycle fails when a lamp is operated below 70-80% of its rated power.

Will dimming switches work with a halogen light bulb?
Yes, conventional incandescent dimmers will work to dim halogen lamps. However, the effectiveness of the halogen cycle to keep the lamp walls clean and give longer life may well be affected. This cycle depends upon correct lamp operating temperatures, which of course will be changed when the lamp is dimmed. Therefore, using a dimmer may not extend the life of your halogen lamp as much as a dimmer typically extends the life of a standard incandescent lamp.
The halogen lamp is designed to prevent the tungsten from depositing on the inside of the bulb wall and darkening it. Because the halogen action stops working when the bulb wall temperature falls below 260 degrees Centigrade, which may happen when the dimmer lowers the voltage, the halogen lamp blackens and its life is not prolonged as much as an incandescent lamp on a dimmer. Eventually a severely dimmed halogen lamp can become blackened and fail.
The wall blackening can be partially reversed if the halogen lamp is operated at full power, non-dimmed, periodically to allow the halogen cycle to remove some of the deposited tungsten.

[JMK]

Spent the day rewiring the headlights with 10 guage wire. Have got one side done, finishing off the other side should take about another hour. Most of the time was spent making up a new headlight harness using both the old and new wiring harnesses from the old headlights and the new eCode lights, as well as some old headlight connectors I salvaged from our old junked Volvo. I connected an inline 30 amp ATC Fuse assembly to the alternator jct at the batteries and then ran 10 guage through to the front passenger side headlight cavity. In there are 2 relays, one for low and the other for high beams, and then 2 X 12 guage wire going over to the driver's side for low and high beams and another 14 guage for the DRL. I snipped the DRL yellow wire off the low beam wire where it was, and moved it over to the City Light socket where I installed a 5W 194 bulb (That's all I had, hopefully it they make a higher wattage in this type of bulb?). Now I don't have partial power from the DRL module blackening my Low Beam Halogen bulbs. If you were starting from scratch you would just use a normal relay instead of a DRL module, but as it was already wired in I just re-used it to make it simpler.

Although I have not driven in the dark yet, if you stand and look at the lights you can see a noticable difference between the two sides where the side that is wired with 10 guage is brighter. The biggest difference seems to be when it is on bright. For anyone contemplating this here is the pin configuration if you use two separate relays, which I did because I had some kicking around already. Of course you could also use a double relay instead.

Relay Pins:
86: Wire from Headlight switch (one relay for Low beam, another for high)
85: Ground
30: TO +12V
87: Out to Bulb

Also, before any of us start building new wiring harnesses etc, I'd advise that we check the voltage at the bulbs. If there is a healthy amount of power at the bulbs this discussion is moot, correct?

You probably have to measure the voltage under load, not just by disconnecting your leads and then measuring it I would think.

I ended up buying some LED Modules for the City Lights here:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... 0187812761

Also I just glanced at the Grote DRL instruction sheet. It says 'provides full power' to the low beams, so I guess that it doesn't blacken your bulbs, just wears them out quicker.