Weak lights

[dgrinnan]

I rarley drive my truck after dark. I took it out early this morning and notice my headlights are not very bright.  My parking lights are dim also.  Just a pail yellow glow.  The truck has been re-wired and I know the first response to going to be check the ground.  That is first on my list but if I have a good ground is this just normal for these light bulbs (specificailly the parking lights).  Next option would be upgrade to LED, if they are avaiable in 6v.  

 

The front parking lights where converted to a dual filiment base.  I wired my turn signal to them.

[Robert Harrison]

Its such a general question.  By todays standards the old lamps often do seem dimmer.  One thing you can try is to run a ground wire (its actually your positive lead in our trucks if you have a positive ground) to the engine and cab to tie it all together.   Generators dont charge well at idle so if you get out of the truck and take a look at the lamps at idle they probably are dimmer.  To check this you can have someone rev the engine up to say 2000+ and see if it gets measurably brighter.  The industry solved this issue with Alternators that charge at the lower levels as well.  The standard generator on a 39-47 truck was 32 to 35 amps but there is an optional generator that is rated at 40 amps.  It bolts right up using the same bracket. These were mostly found after 47.  Probably won't make a difference at idle but could help with wipers or heater motor.  

Some guys go to aftermarket converted Delco alternators and I think they can do up to 8V and use modern sealed battery types but of course this doesn't look original.  There are youtubes where they actually show you how to build your own converted alternator if you are curious.

You could try taking a jumper cable and getting on good metal on the engine and clamp it to bare metal on the dash and chassis just as a test to see if things light up better.

Of course the old battery cable connection thing is the first to suspect.  I like to take a digital voltmeter post to post for a measurement and then battery lead end to battery lead end for measurements and compare to see if there is a voltage drop between the two measurements.

6V systems require much heavier battery cables also--lower voltage requires higher current draw.  So you could have and that is all you can find it seems today at an autoparts store the smaller 12v rated cables.  Probably wont make a difference with headlights but will with starter.

I'm also thinking of going Led 7 inch sealed bean headlights if I can find some that look original.  Bob Harrison