Headlight help for improvement over stock.

[Frank Enstein]

The LED bulbs that I tried were horrible. When I run out of 9005 bulbs I will install HIR1 bulbs. my junk headlights work well for low beam buy the high beams are perfect for hunting squirrels. I am going to cut the housings apart so I can aim them properly.

 

[kennythewelder]

I am happy to replace 9006's once a year if it means that I have acceptable headlights.

Pulled off of candlepower forums:

The bulbs are rated for intensity at 12.8V, and for life at 14.0V btw

Vd = Design Voltage
Va = Applied Voltage
Bd = Design Intensity (B for 'brightness'; I didn't want to use I which could be confused with current)V
Ba = Actual Intensity

[(Vd/Va)^3.4)*Bd=Bm

Like I said before, I did this mod, IDK 6 or 7 years ago, well ok may be 5 or 6 years ago, and in all of that time, I have replaced 2 headlight bulbs. Keep in mind that I did not replace bulbs when I did the mod. So If I need to replace the bulbs every 5 years, so be it, and also the bulbs went out some time apart from one another. All of this while using #10 Ga wire, but hey Im just one single person. Forget the fact that I have been a mechanic at 2 new car dealers, and an automotive repair shop, I have some training as an electrician, a heavy equipment operator, a certified welder, training in multi facets of offshore oil well operations, and well the list goes on there schurky, just FYI.

 

[Schurkey]

I am happy to replace 9006's once a year if it means that I have acceptable headlights.

Pulled off of candlepower forums:

The bulbs are rated for intensity at 12.8V, and for life at 14.0V btw

Vd = Design Voltage
Va = Applied Voltage
Bd = Design Intensity (B for 'brightness'; I didn't want to use I which could be confused with current)V
Ba = Actual Intensity

[(Vd/Va)^3.4)*Bd=Bm

Service-life voltage ratings must vary by manufacturer. Please see below.

https://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html

Headlamp bulb light output is severely compromised with decreased voltage. The drop in light output is not linear, it is exponential to the power 3.4. For example, let's consider a bulb with a rated output of 1000 lumens at 12.8 Volts and look what happens when it is operated at different voltages:

10.5V : 510 lumens
11.0V : 597 lumens
11.5V : 695 lumens
12.0V : 803 lumens
12.5V : 923 lumens
12.8V : 1000 lumens ←Rated output voltage
13.0V : 1054 lumens
13.5V : 1198 lumens
14.0V : 1356 lumens ←Rated life voltage
14.5V : 1528 lumens
(Outside North America bulb output and lifespan are both rated at 13.2v, but the effect of voltage drop is the same).

When operating voltage drops to 95 percent (12.54v), headlamp bulbs produce only 83 percent of their rated light output. When voltage drops to 90 percent (11.88v), bulb output is only 67 percent of what it should be. And when voltage drops to 85 percent (11.22v), bulb output is a paltry 53 percent of normal!

Headlight BRIGHTNESS is absolutely dependent on voltage; and a little more voltage provides a lot more light.

Headlight SERVICE LIFE is also dependent on voltage, and a little more voltage causes service life to plummet like a paralyzed falcon.

Consider this "blog" entry on the Osram website:

https://www.carlightblog.com/2012/0...-volts-high-on-board-voltage-short-lamp-life/

"Headlight lamps therefore are designed for 13.2 volts. If you apply more, the lamp shines brighter, but it ages considerably faster, too. Five percent excess voltage costs you 50 percent in lamp life!"​

13.2 plus five percent is 13.2 x 1.05 = 13.9 volts. Less than the 14 volts you're saying is the service life rating.

There may be some manufacturers that use different voltage for service life. There may be some headlights that tolerate higher voltage. This is the info I've been using.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

I am happy to replace 9006's once a year if it means that I have acceptable headlights.

Pulled off of candlepower forums:

The bulbs are rated for intensity at 12.8V, and for life at 14.0V btw

Vd = Design Voltage
Va = Applied Voltage
Bd = Design Intensity (B for 'brightness'; I didn't want to use I which could be confused with current)V
Ba = Actual Intensity

[(Vd/Va)^3.4)*Bd=Bm

On my Dad's 06 Denali it would eat at least one 9005 bulb a year if we drove it a lot. All 4 are the same on the NBS and the bulb change requires no tools other than a flashlight if you're changing it at night. Literally takes 5 minutes. Wish our trucks were like that!

 

[TheAutumnWind]

On my Dad's 06 Denali it would eat at least one 9005 bulb a year if we drove it a lot. All 4 are the same on the NBS and the bulb change requires no tools other than a flashlight if you're changing it at night. Literally takes 5 minutes. Wish our trucks were like that!

Yeah I had 9011s in my denali. I do like the ease of access to the headlights on the nbs trucks. It was better than my stock 05 escalade d1r HID setup.

 

[Eveready]

If Kenny can get 5 to 7 years out of his lights with the big wire, obviously the bulbs are within limits for the larger wire and have enough tolerance built in that the higher current is not a big issue. Also remember that a GM bean counter will spend a week submerged in a creek to save one nickel per vehicle because if you multiply that out by several million in the production run you have saved a ton of money, part of which can be a bonus for the bean counter.

As far as the lights go, 1. Does the light turn on ? YES Is it OK for AVERAGE use, YES. Good enough now lets save some money by using the smallest gauge wire possible to meet requirements 1 and 2 above. Who cares if the light are a little dimmer, we saved some money!

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

There was a certain min/max candlepower the lights had to provide at a certain distance. If they fell into that category, they didn't need any bigger wires or wattage.

On my 88 I've only had to change one sealed beam bulb in 18 years - I just don't drive it at night much more than once a year, ha ha.

 

[Schurkey]

Folks are missing the point.

The headlights are ADEQUATELY SUPPLIED with power using 16-gauge wire (high beams) and perhaps as small as 18-gauge (low beams) as soon as you eliminate twenty feet of OEM wiring and six or eight thirty-year-old contact points and splices in that section of the harness.

Adding relays triggered by the OEM harness, but having the headlights actually supplied with power from fresh wire directly from a power source such as the battery, alternator, or under-hood accessory junction block/buss bar removes about 3/4 of the resistance in the OEM circuit which winds it's way through the passenger compartment, through the fuse box, through the ignition switch, through the light switch, through the bulkhead connector two times (in, and back out)...you get the idea.

BEFORE I added aftermarket relays and the 4-headlight diode, my headlights were getting the usual and common 11.x volts when the alternator was supplying 14 + volts. Approximately 3 volts of voltage drop. Lights were predictably dim. NO SURPRISE.

AFTER I added aftermarket relays and the diode, my headlights get 13.8 volts when the alternator is supplying 14+ volts, and I used 14-gauge wire to tie into the relay system. I'd prefer 13.2 volts, which means I could have used 16 or maybe even a combination of 16 and 18 gauge--and still have gotten every bit of light the headlights were designed to provide.

Using 12-gauge or 10-gauge wiring for headlights is TOTALLY un-needed. It's not like the 14-, 16-, or perhaps even 18-gauge wire won't brighten the headlights to their specified luminosity when the relays are directly-fed instead of fed via the passenger compartment harness.

In other words, bypassing the passenger-compartment wiring by adding relays does more for headlight brightness than the increase in wire gauge to the relays. In fact, the relays work so well, that it's useful to drop the voltage to the headlights by a CONTROLLED AMOUNT so as to preserve headlight life.

If you are prepared to sacrifice headlight life by increasing brightness beyond what the headlight is specified for...fine (as long as you know what you're giving up; so that you're aware of the consequences.) In my case, I'm perfectly happy at 13.2; mildly concerned at 13.8; and by keeping the headlights AIMED, and making sure the reflectors on the headlights are in good condition I have more than enough light on low- or on high-beam.

 

[df2x4]

I don't think we're all missing the point... I just think some of us would prefer to sacrifice a little bulb longevity (and pay a little more for larger gauge copper wire) in favor of a little extra output.

Every car stereo I've ever installed in one of my vehicles has had 0ga main power and ground wires. Maybe one of them actually needed it. I'm in the "overkill is the best kill" club when it comes to wiring.

Nothing wrong with your line of thinking considering the goals you had in mind, I just don't think bulb life is all that important to everyone.

 

[Eveready]

There was a certain min/max candlepower the lights had to provide at a certain distance. If they fell into that category, they didn't need any bigger wires or wattage.

On my 88 I've only had to change one sealed beam bulb in 18 years - I just don't drive it at night much more than once a year, ha ha.

You confirm my point above, e.g. "If it falls into the category" it meets minimum standards and they used the cheapest possible wire that would meet that goal. Bean counter wins.

I don't drive mine a lot at night either but when I do I want the max amount of light possibly available including enough to flash the oncoming floating brothel truck coming at me with 1000 watts of light. I also want to see far enough down the road to see the uninsured deer that is waiting to trash my truck. We really need to extend the compulsory insurance law to include deer!