Arteb Brazil GMT400 headlight users thread

[1998_K1500_Sub]

Adjusters: Introduction and inner workings

I'm creating a couple of posts to acquaint owners with the adjusters and how they can be lubricated (find the later post here https://www.gmt400.com/threads/arteb-brazil-gmt400-headlight-users-thread.56596/post-1234731)

Attached is a set of annotated pictures which show the adjusters assembled and disassembled.

Each adjuster consists of

- a metal pinion gear with female T-15 head,
- a plastic (nylon?) ring gear with integral nut, the nut threaded upon...
- a leadscrew, the head of which is fitted into and restrained by a plastic fitting (pictured), and
- a housing for the ring and pinion, formed by a recess in the bracket, a cover plate and two Phillips screws.

In normal operation the leadscrew does not itself turn. As the pinion and ring gear / nut turn together, the nut drives the leadscrew (in / out) to effect adjustment of the reflector. Meanwhile, the adjustment forces are managed by the plastic fitting at the leadscrew head and the housing of the ring & pinion.

 

[Caman96]

Adjusters

I'm creating a couple of posts to acquaint owners with the adjusters and how they can be lubricated.

Attached is a set of annotated pictures which show the adjusters assembled and disassembled.

Gotta say those adjusters look much better than the ones on my Spyder Glass.

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

Adjusters: Lubrication "problem" and fix

Reference my prior post on the workings of the adjusters https://www.gmt400.com/threads/arteb-brazil-gmt400-headlight-users-thread.56596/post-1234706


Problem:

The adjusters on some of the Arteb reflectors [note 1] have been found to be insufficiently lubricated. Thus, the adjuster may either be difficult to turn and / or the ring gear / nut may simply spin its leadscrew (resulting in no IN / OUT motion, meaning no adjustment takes place). Too, lacking sufficient lubrication, the teeth on the nut may be damaged due to the greater forces applied.


Solution:

There are a number of ways to skin this cat. Below are some suggestions.

Teflon lubricates nicely as a dry lubricant, but silicone or graphite may work as well [note 2].


If an adjuster is simply difficult to turn but it does work (the leadscrew isn't spinning during adjustment), apply a dry lubricant liberally to the leadscrew and then turn the adjuster to work the lubricant onto the nut / leadscrew along its length. Repeat these steps as necessary.


If, however, the nut is spinning the leadscrew and no "adjustment" is taking place, consider the following:

- remove the Phillips screws and back cover of the housing to expose the ring gear / nut,
- apply a dry lubricant to the leadscrew,
- hold the leadscrew to keep it from turning (e.g., with pliers), then
- spin the nut by hand along the leadscrew's full length to work the lubricant onto the nut / leadscrew, and
- repeat the process until the nut spins easily
- (optionally) lubricate the back side of the ring gear with silicone grease, and elsewhere in the gearcase as needed. Arteb has done this on some of their reflectors I've seen.

Re-install the back cover and Phillips screws. Thread the screws with care so they find the original "threads" they cut into the plastic when first installed (twist the screw in and out with fingers until it finds the existing threads and doesn't cut new ones).


The pictures below, and the pictures in my prior post, should help one's understanding.

This topic was also covered in another thread, here https://www.gmt400.com/threads/acquiring-arteb-brazil-gmt400-headlight-reflectors.44133/post-1231119

NOTES:

[1] Reflectors dated late 2021 have demonstrated this problem, only some and not all. The date code can be found on the reflector on a sticker, in dd/mm/yy format.

[2] A Google search for "dry lube" turns up products available at Menard's, Home Depot, Amazon, etc.

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

Aiming the Arteb Reflectors: Early comments

While I intend to write a more detailed post on "aiming" these reflectors, complete with pictures of the headlight patterns upon-a-wall, I figured I would post part of a recent conversation I had with another owner


Owner:

Interesting light pattern, very wide on low beam and super concentrated in the center on high beam. Almost like a spot light.


Me:

I really like the Arteb’s broad low-beam pattern.

On high beam they’re quite directional. I found it useful to spread the two beams very slightly, e.g., the driver’s side pointing slightly to the left and the passenger’s slightly to the right. This gave me much better illumination on high.

I want to try the “4-high” mod sometime, I think it would work great given the high and low patterns of the reflectors, but I want to first determine if the reflector housings can sustain the heat from two operating incandescent bulbs. Carlos is sending me a junk Arteb reflector that he picked up for cheap. I’ll experiment with it and report my findings if someone else doesn’t beat me to it.

What I don’t know is if, on the GM Brazil GMT400, GM actually wired the headlights the same as in the US (high or low beam, exclusively) or they wired the headlights to be “4-high”. If the latter, then my question is already answered.

 

[Wildblue19]

Owner note: Just got mine in, all are now operating as designed - 3 of the 4 adjusters exhibited the issue outlined above. Followed the above instructions and they're working great! Awesome lens pattern, looks even better in person.

Build date - 10 June 2021; this seems to align with some of the 'newer' housings having that issue. Mine were bone dry inside when initially disassembled.

I believe I found the real issue though... I noticed that the square black 'spring' blocks that hold the lead screw head and snap into the metal brackets are labeled as a Ford part ...

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

I seem to recall a picture that someone posted here recently of a set of factory US composite headlight housings with a Sylvania stamp or sticker on them.

Here's a couple photos of a Sylvania OE headlamp from my 1998 Suburban, from the RIGHT side.

On the LEFT side, there was an OE replacement headlamp (the original got damaged). It's marked Guide, like @454cid mentioned in an earlier post. See the pics.

Both units have identical marks in the plastic housing from their molds, and I'm convinced they're from the same mfgr.


What's interesting is that "12V" (12 volt I assume) is specifically noted.

The Arteb units are similarly noted, but instead of saying "12V" they have a "24" on them with an "X" across it.

Why the voltage rating might be important I have no idea, that's entirely a function of the bulb AFAIK. Or maybe I'm entirely wrong.

 

[962500HD]

I need to go back and check the adjuster lube situation on mine, I did not do that. I also have not tried to aim them yet. I basically just bolted them on with the original bulbs and harness to see how they fit and look.

I'm trying to figure out how to make the 'city lights' my DRLs, without having the low beams illuminated as well. I am not sure if the circuit can be separated like that, but I'll have the opportunity as I am planning to re-wire the headlights with a relay and "4-high" parts kit from Daniel Stern. The bulbs he included are interesting, I have 9011 "HIR1" bulbs for the high beam and German made Vosla HIR2 bulbs for the lows. They may require minor modification to the mounting holes to install. I'll try to post some photos of the process.

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

I'm trying to figure out how to make the 'city lights' my DRLs

How about simply wiring the city lights to switched B+, so they’re illuminated whenever the ignition is on?

If you want the city lights to be off when the lights are on, that’s doable in similar fashion. (edit) See my post following this one.

 

[df2x4]

If you want them to be off when the lights are on, that’s doable in similar fashion, details if you want them, possibly w/o adding a relay.

Well I'm curious... Especially about that last part.

I think leaving them on when the headlights are on would be fine though. I doubt they'd give off enough heat to accelerate wear on anything, or enough light to even really be visible (assuming you use regular clear 194 bulbs) when the headlights are on.

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

Well I'm curious... Especially about that last part.

Adding a "city light", w/o any additional relay so that it turns off when the lights are on, could be done by connecting the "city light" through the low-beam bulb, the latter having a fraction of the resistance of the former. See this figure and the assumptions, which is based on @962500HD's mention of using a "4-high" kit.

@962500HD, give this consideration in the context of your "4-high" kit, based on what you learn about its control method and whether it jibes with my assumptions. What I've drawn could be easily modified if you find the "4-high" kit differs from my assumptions.

I don't know how Daniel Stern's "4-high" setup operates but, as for me, I always use two relays, each w/ its own fused B+ circuit, to individually power the (a) "high" filaments wired in parallel and the (b) "low" wired in parallel. I may or may not ground the bulbs separately (with 4-high yes, otherwise no).

If I'm using high wattage bulbs (e.g., 130/100W H4s) I will use three relays instead of two, one relay for each bulb's 130W filament and one relay for the two 100W filaments in parallel. This helps keep each individual relay's current well below their 30A spec and provide more margin for the high current spike which occurs at filament turn-on.

(edit) The 1N1004 diode in the figure is available at DigiKey and elsewhere for cheap. Any diode with a 1A rating is likely sufficient.