Headlight Conversion

-
ramhemi

ramhemi

Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2007
Messages
87
Reaction score
0
Location
Coral Springs Florida
I am looking to get a little more light out of my headlights.I found a site that sells a round halogen conversion kit.Part number 5089925.http://www.rampageproducts.net/
Have any of you used this product or any other product?I am willing to upgrade my wiring and charging at the same time. Thanks a lot guys.
 
Do an eBay search for "H4" and get a pair of 7" H4 replacement headlights. That alone will make a substantial improvement. Get a normal set of lamps, none of that silly "diamond cut" crap. Next step would be a set of relays so you can run you headlamps off the back of the alternator. This will make your dash connector and switch last a heckuva lot longer. I run 80/100 watt bulbs available at NAPA and consider them to be about the max due to back dazzle from road signs. I think there are relays and harnessed available here www.madelectrical.com and this website is a good read www.danielsternlighting.com (Dan Stern is a Mopar guy).
 
If your planning on a Halogen headlight upgrade, you NEED to do this. I installed a set of Halogen H-4's I bought off of e-Bay and I doubled my lighting output with increased visibility. Go to a well stocked auto supply store and buy a pair of 30 amp relays and solder and shrink-wrap your connections.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VW-Bug-Beetle-Buggy-H-4-Replacement-headlight-Bulbs-Pr_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33710QQihZ008QQitemZ180204132217QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
Just double check with the seller that the auction is for the bulbs AND housings.... some of these guys are sharks.

This is another must-do upgrade I strongly recommend. Good lighting, brakes, and suspension is just as important as pavement buckling horsepower.


headlightrelays-vi.gif
 
Nice diagram. You can buy the materials to do this as a kit from any one of a number of sources, or just get the stuff at your local NAPA.

The diagram shows a fuse, but I prefer to use circuit breakers for safety. Also the wire feeding the relays should be a 10 AWG wire connected directly to the binding post on the alternator. The H4 bulb will plug into your stock headlight connector, but if you go nuts on the wattage you may need to upsize the conductors.

Try a basic H4 swap and a set of relays before you go nuts with the bulbs, you will be quite impressed.
 
I used 12 gauge on the Dart and I haven't had any issues. I also wired it directly off of the battery. I'm also running a sensible wattage since where I live we have fairly well-lit highways. If I was in a rural area I'd probably go with air-craft landing lights and the 10 gauge wiring with direct-spliced connetions at the bulbs.

Either way, the improvement is dramatic.
 
I just upgraded to Sylvania Silverstar headlites and they are 1000 times brighter than the stock yellowish ones. $50.00 for a pair of headlites but it was worth it and they just plug right in.
 
360scamp said:
I just upgraded to Sylvania Silverstar headlites and they are 1000 times brighter than the stock yellowish ones. $50.00 for a pair of headlites but it was worth it and they just plug right in.
Click to expand...


The H-4's plug right in too, but it's recommended to wire in relays so you don't have a high amperage draw running inside the car and through the headlight switch. I wondered how much those Sylvania bulbs pull? But they throw some nice light, huh?

They might be a viable alternative to cutting into my new harness to add relays.... :-k
 
They put out that white light (the same one that I used to hate and swore never to get them). I had one headlight go out on me at night and the only place open was Auto zone and they were out of the stock headlights so I got the Silverstars. WOW they are WAY better and I can acually see things at nite now. I thought about doing the relay install but I wanted to keep the 73 dart stock, it's too original to mess with.
 
my suggestion is don't kill yourself. Just order these like I did and they throw about 4 times the light of original headlamps, fit properly and have a flat front making for a very cool look.

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=HLA-002395301&N=700+0&autoview=sku

Hella Vision Plus Conversion Headlamps

Dump those dumpy old headlights.
Hella's Vision Plus conversion headlights adapt European technology to US lighting standards and driving conditions, to produce superior headlight units that replace your dumpy, ineffective old 7 in. round or 200mm rectangular headlights. They produce the brightest, most powerful light possible--right at the legal limit--without increasing glare. More importantly, their precise optics produce a much longer, wider, larger, better illuminated pool of light in front of your vehicle. You'll love the improvement. In addition, they have replaceable bulbs, so you don't have to buy a whole new unit if one burns out.

hella.jpg
 
very nice piece here i will be using this for my HID light upgrade
 
headlightrelays-vi.gif






so you run new 12 or 10 g wire to the headlight sockets? how did you install the bigget wire into the socket? i definatley want to do this upgrade.
 
i believe you use the old socket that connects to the blub and use the wires from there
 
I run the 7" hella housings which were about $100.00 for the pair with 55/65watt H4 bulbs which are alot better than originals without any mods.I then installed PIAA super plasma gt H4 bulbs which was the next improvment.I will be doing the relay upgrade next.
 
74Burntorange said:
i believe you use the old socket that connects to the blub and use the wires from there
Click to expand...

i thought that was what guys were doing but if your running 10-12 g wire out to them then dropping down to whatever the stock stuff is it doesn't seem to be right to me.
 
huh? haha
you take the the light and plug it into the old socket... leaving just enough stock wiring like 2 inches then you sodder the new stuff on.. thats how i would do it, becasue i dont see any other way of really doing it directly to the bulb....
 
74Burntorange said:
huh? haha
you take the the light and plug it into the old socket... leaving just enough stock wiring like 2 inches then you sodder the new stuff on.. thats how i would do it, becasue i dont see any other way of really doing it directly to the bulb....
Click to expand...

so you are taking a bigger 12 or 10 guage wire and attaching it to the smaller stock wires at the socket. see thats there it just doesn't make sence to me. everyone says think of electric like plumbing. well if i go from say 3/4" pipe to 1/2" or 3/8" pipe then its gonna back up right? so whats gonna happen if you run 12 guage wire from the relay then drop down to 14 or 18 guage whatever the stock stuff is? just doesn't seem right to me. thats why i'm asking about it. my thoughts are if its only got 14 or 18 G wire at the sockets then thats all that should be run from the relay, correct??
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top