ggdad1951 Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 (edited) Diggin' to find the elusive "modify an old bulls-eye headlight to use a replaceable bulb" theme, I found the article below. Once you read the short article, it mentions a Bosch headlight w/ a metal reflector as a donor for the reflector/bulb reciever. Anyone of you long termers have any I could purchase/have an idea WHICH Bosch PN might work, since this newbie has no clue? http://www.allpar.com/old/headlights.html thanks Edited December 20, 2011 by ggdad1951 Quote
TodFitch Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 I hadn't seen that article. Sounds like an interesting upgrade/repair. Based on the wattage of the H4 bulb, I'd recommend installing a headlight relay and maybe upgrading the generator. Quote
ggdad1951 Posted October 21, 2011 Author Report Posted October 21, 2011 I'll take all the info I can get from anyone. I've "heard" this was around before (maybe car side?) but was not lucky enough in my search parameters to find any threads. If a relay is needed that'd be good to know. Altho the halogen wattage will be a bit more easy on the geni than the equivalent incandescent? This might be a longer term project for me to make sure it is done right. I've got a mess of 6V headlights, but only the original set of bulls eye that I want to end up with. Please MORE input/thouhts! Quote
TodFitch Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 I... If a relay is needed that'd be good to know. Altho the halogen wattage will be a bit more easy on the geni than the equivalent incandescent? ...! Watts is watts. Matters not if the resistive load is incandescent or quartz-halogen. My worry was that according to that web page the H4 is rated at 60 watts on high beam and 55 watts on low. Your original headlights were 40 watts on high and 30 watts on low. So you'll be pushing alot more power than the wiring, switches and maybe generator were designed for. Even the currently available 6006 headlights are only 40 watts. For the same wattage a quartz-halogen bulb typically puts out 40% more light than an incandescent. To between the higher wattage and higher efficiency (more light per watt) you'd be getting about twice the light out as stock. So it could well be a great modification if you do any driving at night. You just don't want to overload any other part of your 60 year old electrical system. Quote
ggdad1951 Posted October 21, 2011 Author Report Posted October 21, 2011 are there are any non halogen bulbs that could be donors instead of a halogen? Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted October 22, 2011 Report Posted October 22, 2011 for simplicity and ease of replacement the H4 series will be your best bet...metal backing with good mirror relectors are excellent candidates..but one can also get the composite lamps rather cheap and affix the bullseyes here..do not just think Bosch here...actually the names Hella, (German) the (English) Lucas Pl series and (French) Cibie are the first to my mind when think of replacement parts...at swap meets you can sometimes find a set of decent donors where a out lens is cracked due to some heavy handed tightening or worse folks not properly affixing brows over the top fo the lens..these can be had fairly reasonable..I have lucked upon a set like this for the rehost of my Lucas PL7's and I have a set of bulls eyes in the wings to go 12 volt should I take my 54 that direction someday. The composite elements are real cheap..easy to work with and should well suit your build..again..these are rather inexpensive and if you find the correct shape (non angled) relectors..you be in like Flynn..if nothing else they are great to experiment with...sealing..some use RTV..there is a nice two part body adhesive use in glueing metal to metal (door braces to door skins) that 3M makes that is excellent for assembly of the units.. Quote
ggdad1951 Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Posted October 23, 2011 for simplicity and ease of replacement the H4 series will be your best bet...metal backing with good mirror relectors are excellent candidates..but one can also get the composite lamps rather cheap and affix the bullseyes here..do not just think Bosch here...actually the names Hella, (German) the (English) Lucas Pl series and (French) Cibie are the first to my mind when think of replacement parts...at swap meets you can sometimes find a set of decent donors where a out lens is cracked due to some heavy handed tightening or worse folks not properly affixing brows over the top fo the lens..these can be had fairly reasonable..I have lucked upon a set like this for the rehost of my Lucas PL7's and I have a set of bulls eyes in the wings to go 12 volt should I take my 54 that direction someday. The composite elements are real cheap..easy to work with and should well suit your build..again..these are rather inexpensive and if you find the correct shape (non angled) relectors..you be in like Flynn..if nothing else they are great to experiment with...sealing..some use RTV..there is a nice two part body adhesive use in glueing metal to metal (door braces to door skins) that 3M makes that is excellent for assembly of the units.. Watts is watts. Matters not if the resistive load is incandescent or quartz-halogen.My worry was that according to that web page the H4 is rated at 60 watts on high beam and 55 watts on low. Your original headlights were 40 watts on high and 30 watts on low. So you'll be pushing alot more power than the wiring, switches and maybe generator were designed for. Even the currently available 6006 headlights are only 40 watts. For the same wattage a quartz-halogen bulb typically puts out 40% more light than an incandescent. To between the higher wattage and higher efficiency (more light per watt) you'd be getting about twice the light out as stock. So it could well be a great modification if you do any driving at night. You just don't want to overload any other part of your 60 year old electrical system. I didn't know if they were quoting "equivalent watts" or true wattage, some halogens have done that to compare to incandescent. So thoughts if I do this eventually, I'd need to do some upgrades on the geni and add relays? Not an EE here (I'm an ME and hated circuits class) so please explain. My wiring is all NEW from RIwire... Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted October 23, 2011 Report Posted October 23, 2011 now when speaking of power as Todd said watts is watts...and it is the expression of resistance times voltage...now if we are speaking lumens or candlepower..based on the filiment material and the inert gas of its enviorment.....then one can see the distint effect of lighting..betwee hars and soft and yellow to white and on to a blue tint.. Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted October 23, 2011 Report Posted October 23, 2011 be it six volts or be it 12 volts..a 55 watt bulb pulls the same equivalent power as rated in consumption.....as I said above it is expressed in resistance and voltage...so lets use round numbers just for sake of clarity..55 watts divided by 6 volts equals 9.1 amps (single bulb now keep in mind) now a 55 watt bulb on 12 volts is 4.58..as you can see the amperage is less..thus the wire size can be less, power consuption is less but effective you have the same lighting..that is, if the bulb's construction is equal in filiment and gas...but the 6 volt filiment will have to be just a tad heavier to handle the current.. as for light thrown..many way to rate this and as said above can lead to some confusing terms and explanations.... Halogen is about the better all around bulb out there for my money...the later HID lamps are specific in design and can only be run in an exclosure specifically designed and constructed for that style lamp. Retro fitting these no matter what the kit or seller says is illegal in the US ..all states.. Quote
TodFitch Posted October 23, 2011 Report Posted October 23, 2011 (edited) I didn't know if they were quoting "equivalent watts" or true wattage, some halogens have done that to compare to incandescent. So thoughts if I do this eventually, I'd need to do some upgrades on the geni and add relays? Not an EE here (I'm an ME and hated circuits class) so please explain. My wiring is all NEW from RIwire... If the wiring is new then it should address some of the issues. You should check with RIwire and find out if they used the stock gauge (highly likely). If so then it is still limited to the original design. But in addition to your wires you should look at the switches (off/park/light switch and the high/low beam switch). I know the one in my 1930s Plymouth was only rated for 10 amps or so, about 60 watts total. Your newer vehicle is probably a bit beefier but maybe not much. By the way, my degree is also ME. But for simple stuff like this there is really only two equations E=IR and P=IE (where E is voltage, I is current and R is resistance). Actually I guess there is another couple: Resistance in series is simple addition Rtotal = R1 + R1. But resistance added in parallel is an inversion 1/Rtotal = 1/R1 + 1/R2. That, and looking at the power or current ratings on each component, are just about all you have to know for all the electrical on our old vehicles. Edited October 23, 2011 by TodFitch Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted October 23, 2011 Report Posted October 23, 2011 long long ago I listed a chart based on wire size, voltage and the length of the run...basic needs to know when building your own harness..especially upgrading or adding a few accessories to the same circuit..I would not even try to find this..but easily found on the internet using the key word in the opening sentence.. Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted October 23, 2011 Report Posted October 23, 2011 quick link to just one of many sites you can reference on AWG data...this one is decnet as you can type in you amp load, wire run length etc... http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm Quote
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