Supplementary lighting

[beaubeau]

Hi. I have a 2008 Allegro Open Road. The headlights are kinda weak. The lenses were yellowed so I, at great cost, replaced the whole units with new ones from Tiffin.

Not much improvement.

They are _almost_ okay on a straight, flat interstate.

But the last few miles to my house are twisty switchbacks up narrow mountain roads.

I'd like to supplement the lighting with something to get me up those last miles.

I don't care if they are road legal -- no one else is on the road at night and I'd rather get a ticket than a tow truck.

Any ideas?

I was thinking maybe something that could me mounted on the mirrors? Or on the mirror mounts?

Thanks.
Chip

[DFord]

When I measured the voltage at my headlights by pulling the connector off the headlight, I got 10-1/2 volts. I then measured the voltage across the chassis battery. I got closer to 12-1/2 volts. The relays are the way to go:



There's lots of good information at the link provided by fyrflie. Be sure to read through it!
Why and How to Upgrade Your Headlamp Circuit

By Daniel Stern

[wa8yxm]

One thing (And I see it suggested above so I will second and shorten my post)

IT can be a long long way from the battery to the light switch and back to lamp And that means VOLTAGE DROP

So it may help to put a relay near the headlights (or 2) and run heavy wire from a proper fused spot (Or use an inline breaker) to the relay to the headlight and to ground.. You need two relays for each side (High/Low) one breaker can feed both sides or one breaker per side (There is a good reason for using 2 breakers)

The existing leads power the relays.... NOTE this may mess up some DRL systems however.. like the GM system used on my Workhorse.

[beaubeau]

These voltage ideas are super! Thank you !
(77rollalong, I replaced the lights with new clear ones)

[77rollalong]

have you tried to polish the headlights?

[Executive45]

beaubeau wrote:


I don't care if they are road legal -- no one else is on the road at night and I'd rather get a ticket than a tow truck.


Thanks.
Chip

Welcome to the Village....Dennis

[wolfe10]

Before spending $$, check voltage at the lights with the engine running.

Compare that with voltage at the battery.

If more than .5 VDC different, spend $15 and wire the lights through a RELAY.

Said another way, a one volt higher voltage at the lights makes a HUGE difference in light output.

[fyrflie]

Here’s another website to help understand what your issue may be.
https://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html

Also, check out www.nilight.com
Inexpensive well built auxiliary lighting.

[oldave]

Take a look at the light bars at WalMart .
I bought one for my golf cart and the brightness is beyond all my expectations .
I think it was only $59 , cheap compared to most others .
You could try one and if that's not enough add another .
I think one should do and will probably blind any on coming traffic , you may
need to turn it off momentarily .
They had larger and smaller units too .

[punomatic]

I used to buy lots of stuff from Moss Motors, when I owned an MG TD. Their products are reliable and reasonably priced.

Clicky for Moss Motors

[MountainAir05]

https://mossmotors.com/media/instructions/117-515_inst_web.pdf


https://mossmotors.com/media/instructions/117-515_inst_web.pdf


This is the best way to make what you have work. Cost , no much and you will have full voltage to the bulbs and in turn you will have full light. I did this mod many years ago on the first RV and then our last RV. Difference is night and day. Two relays and a fuse and some wire. Every thing stays the same inside.

[Lwiddis]

No bandaids. Fix the headlight issue.