Headlights Wiring Upgrade

[NachaLuva]

Have you seen an improvement in lighting?

A little with the 60W/55W bulbs i had in but more of a difference with the 130W/90W i put in after the upgrade. Not as much as i wanted tho...they're just a cheap eBay job & i think I'll get much better results when i get some decent high power bulbs.

Does anyone know where i can get some quality 100/90 or 130/90 H4's?
Not sure if Phillips make em but would be awesome if they did

[NachaLuva]

Just found the thread Natchaluva,

looks good, well done, esp the switch- better install than mine! Any pics of the lights or is that to come yet?

thx, was lucky the forester has the cutouts all ready to go

Have some photos but doesnt really show much change...see previous post.

arent all cars besides early british positive switched ?

Haha well i'm glad you asked!!!

Thats what i would've said...most cars have the switching on the POSITIVE side of the lights, Subaru has it on the NEGATIVE earth side, so why isnt it called ''negative switching"?

Positively confusing lol

[Smash1911]

Negative switching is where the lights get a constant 12v feed, with the earth side being switched on and off to complete the circuit. The current Toyota Hilux has the same setup.

[apg39]

So how does it wire up differently? I have a 2 prong switch, the supply is to the relay, load is from the high beams & ground is ground. Do I switch the ground & one of the others around?

[sven '2']

A little with the 60W/55W bulbs i had in but more of a difference with the 130W/90W i put in after the upgrade. Not as much as i wanted tho...they're just a cheap eBay job & i think I'll get much better results when i get some decent high power bulbs.

Does anyone know where i can get some quality 100/90 or 130/90 H4's?
Not sure if Phillips make em but would be awesome if they did

Having done this upgrade, will share a few lessons.

Phase 1 saw 160/100s (I think i tried 190/130s at one point bought when I was in the states) installed. Fantastic, save the fact they would overheat and blow.

Phase 2. 130/90s - cheap 'Roca Brothers' (showing my age now) no-name brand - again, very short life.

Phase 3. Navara 100/90 - good light, but was losing sight of the objective of better light output

Phase 4. 130/90s (Philips). These were the best globe, seemed to run a bit cooler (using the highly objective hand on the glass assessment tool).

I'm sure there is a law of physics about diminishing returns by trying to push too power through 20yo lenses, but starting with better wiring is absolutely the place to start.

Interestingly, I ran 130w globes in my old Hella 100s (best value for money lamp on the market) without any issue - obviously a different operating environment, but still have the same globes in them years on.

[NachaLuva]

Negative switching is where the lights get a constant 12v feed, with the earth side being switched on and off to complete the circuit. The current Toyota Hilux has the same setup.

So why is it called "positive" switching when the switching is actually on the NEGATIVE side?

So how does it wire up differently? I have a 2 prong switch, the supply is to the relay, load is from the high beams & ground is ground. Do I switch the ground & one of the others around?

Have a look earlier in the thread...I have both a wiring diagram & a wiring layout diagram i used when it came to actually cutting wires.

Phase 4. 130/90s (Philips). These were the best globe, seemed to run a bit cooler (using the highly objective hand on the glass assessment tool).

So where did you get the Philips? Thats exactly what i want & the reason i did the upgrade in the 1st place!

[Smash1911]

[quote="nachaluva"]So why is it called "positive" switching when the switching is actually on the NEGATIVE side?

I don't think I have ever heard someone call a negatively switched circuit a positively switched circuit. Maybe someone somewhere got confused?

[purp]

Afternoon all. I am looking to make a similar wiring upgrade for Izzy, and am wondering what ya'll have to say about size/rating of wire to use. Obviously, I am looking for the balance point between nice and heavy duty, without spending a fortune on copper...

[alang]

Anyone installed the hid head light kits available on the market. they only put out 35 watt or 50 watt sizes but are saying brighter then h4 bulbs. their running this type of lighting on the comp trucks less watts more lights. some come with 2 - 3 years warranty on the ballast

[thunder039]

also wondering about the HID bulbs as even most of the new driving lights use tese now

[Davidov]

HID kits with absolutely chew up and spit out any halogen bulbs you can throw at them. The light output is INSANE.

I deffinitely do not reccomend installing HIDs on low beam, but if you have separate high beam and also for driving lights, HID's are deffinitely the way to go. They are brilliant.

Only downside is that they take roughly 10-15 seconds to warm up to their brightest once you switch them on.

[thunder039]

HID kits with absolutely chew up and spit out any halogen bulbs you can throw at them. The light output is INSANE.

I deffinitely do not reccomend installing HIDs on low beam, but if you have separate high beam and also for driving lights, HID's are deffinitely the way to go. They are brilliant.

Only downside is that they take roughly 10-15 seconds to warm up to their brightest once you switch them on.

why would you siggest not going HID for low beam?
what are some options to improve the low beam?

[woody.t]

hid low beam is almost equivalent to halogen high beam if they're not adjusted right you wont make any friends while driving at night.

[Davidov]

Exactly what woody said, even when adjusted i believe they are simply too bright and blind the hell out of oncoming traffic.

[thunder039]

so whats the best way to improve the low beam on a brumby?

[El_Freddo]

so whats the best way to improve the low beam on a brumby?

Relays. What you need to do is get a set of new horn relays and create a wiring loom that feeds as much voltage to the globes as possible with new, larger wiring that reduces resistance and also the distance the voltage has to travel from the battery and the lights themselves.

Currently the voltage is going from the battery to the cab THEN to the lights. You should be able to hook up a system (a removable one if you ever need it gone) that keeps all the relay and power wires at the front of the vehicle for the best light out put possible.

The same can be done for the high beams too. This is something I've been wanting to do on Ruby Scoo for some time now!

Cheers

Bennie

[thunder039]

Relays. What you need to do is get a set of new horn relays and create a wiring loom that feeds as much voltage to the globes as possible with new, larger wiring that reduces resistance and also the distance the voltage has to travel from the battery and the lights themselves.

Currently the voltage is going from the battery to the cab THEN to the lights. You should be able to hook up a system (a removable one if you ever need it gone) that keeps all the relay and power wires at the front of the vehicle for the best light out put possible.

The same can be done for the high beams too. This is something I've been wanting to do on Ruby Scoo for some time now!

Cheers

Bennie

thanks bennie i think i willl have to look in to it

[purp]

thanks bennie i think i willl have to look in to it

This thread starts with a description of exactly what Elfredo is talking about.

[Gannon]

I know I have said this before, as have others. It is illegal to retrofit HID globes into a low beam or high/low H4 headlight. The optics for HID are quite different to those of halogen globes and thus create quite a bit of glare. If you want brighter low beam and you have H4 lights, get a set of Phillips +100 Xtreme vision globes, I have them in both our Foz and my Outback

[pitrack_1]

For those wanting some good quality bulbs without breaking the bank, I've found some good ones locally hunting around for one or two spares for my old Pulsar. They're standard rated bulbs, but from reputable manufacturers.

1) Narva "+30%" H4 60/55W $13.50. If you ask, Repco will have Narva bulbs 'behind the desk'. These are quite reasonably priced and I think are actually cheaper than the Repco ones on the flashy stands. I got one 60/55W H4 "+30%" for $13.50 including NRMA discount. Made in Germany, it comes in a little cardboard box that, except for the web address printed on it, took me straight back to my childhood in the 70's. See pic.

2) Calibre (Osram) H1 55W $15.99. Super Cheap Auto stock real Osram Germany bulbs in their "Calibre" range. Very reasonable at ~$16 for one H1. The cheaper SCA and more expensive "Calibra Extra vision/Ultra Blue/etc" ranges both use some cheap anonymous Chinese-produced brand. Look for the branding on the holder base of the bulb.

I've also ordered some of the "Osram Night Breaker Plus" +90% bulbs from the UK based on the Auto Express UK tests. Performancebulbs on Ebay ship free to Oz and they're much cheaper than here (if you can find them). Since the bulbs meet ECE regs they should meet ours (I believe) as we piggy-back off those.