Cibie Hesdlights? Options

[Jameel]

My headlights are pretty dim. I try not to drive at night. So I'm thinking of ordering a set of H4s. But I noticed that current lights look like Cibie's with replacable bulbs. I'm going to pop them open today to get a close look. Does anyone recognize what I've got here?

[arne]

A poor ground is far more likely than insufficient current.
If they're both dim I'd install new bulbs after cleaning the lens and reflector by sloshing denatured alcohol inside.
I had good luck with this method on my Vanagon headlamps.
Go for 100 / 55 bulbs

Sloshing with alcohol won't work on those if the inner globe is still intact. The point of those lights was that the lens/reflector was sealed, and so it would not tarnish or corrode.

I'm not a fan of 100 watt bulbs with stock wiring, they pull a lot of current through some rather small wires.

[rgalla9146]

A poor ground is far more likely than insufficient current.
If they're both dim I'd install new bulbs after cleaning the lens and reflector by sloshing denatured alcohol inside.
I had good luck with this method on my Vanagon headlamps.
Go for 100 / 55 bulbs

Sloshing with alcohol won't work on those if the inner globe is still intact. The point of those lights was that the lens/reflector was sealed, and so it would not tarnish or corrode.

I'm not a fan of 100 watt bulbs with stock wiring, they pull a lot of current through some rather small wires.

correct about current draw....add relays

[anderssj]

correct about current draw....add relays

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) Also check out Daniel Stern's site as recommended above. Here's a link:

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

An excerpt:

"Headlamp bulb light output is severely compromised with decreased voltage . . . ." If bulb output is 100% at 13.2v, then ". . . 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! It is much more common than you might think for factory headlamp wiring/switch setups to produce this kind of voltage drop, especially once they're no longer brand new and the connections have accumulated some corrosion and dirt."

Using his info and your operating voltage (11.7 volts), you're only seeing around 60% of your spec'd light output (55 watt low beam x 0.60 = 33 watts).

He has lots of good info there, including a discussion on the relationship between "resistance" (like in dirty/old/bad connections) and heat (fried switches/wiring/relays).

Hope this helps!

Steve A-

BTW, those are GREAT headlights (nice car too)! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)