[Floordford]

For the later Mustangs that dont run the power through the headlight switch, could an add on power source be installed to the headlights to get more power? As opposed to pulling out all the stock wiring. For example if a high quality fog light wiring kit were soldered in to turn on with the headlights and the positive output soldered to the positive of the headlight. My only worry is it may melt something somewhere. Not sure what though.

 

[Michael Yount]

"....more power...." I don't think you quite understand what the issue is. The bulbs will DRAW what they can from the system within their design limits. A 100W bulb is capable of pulling almost twice what a standard 55W bulb will. The issue is RESISTANCE to that draw from what are usually undersized factory wiring looms, connectors, etc. You don't necessarily need more power - that comes from installing a more 'powerful' bulb. You want to reduce RESISTANCE in the circuit so that there is virtually no loss between power source (alternator/battery) and where it's consumed (bulb). To do that - you have to UPGRADE the circuits between the two. So - you don't remove/replace all the factory wiring. You simply use the factory wiring as a 'trigger' for a new/added relay. And then run your replacement, heavier gauge (less resistant) wiring between the relays and the bulbs. I placed my relays close to my bulbs so the amount of wiring required was shorter --- which, by the way, also reduces resistance. It's exactly like reducing resistance to airflow through an engine by increasing the size of the maf, air inlet tube, throttle body, manifolds, head/ports/valves, etc. When you do that - the engine's output increases. When you reduce resistance to the flow of electrons through the wiring by increasing the size of the wiring -- the bulb's actual (not rated) output increases.

As mentioned earlier in the thread - get a digital volt meter. Measure and record the voltage (car at fully warm idle) between a good ground and the output of your alternator. Keeping the ground in the same place, now measure and record the voltage on the hot side of the headlight bulb (turn them on....). The bigger difference there is between the two, the more of a difference you'll see when you upgrade to relays/larger gauge wiring. The less difference there is - the less you need the upgrade.

 

[jmbaltz]

Michael, very well stated. It's all about volatge geting to the headlamps the more the brighter the lights wil be. Target is Alternator output voltage at the headlight.

 

[Lee8995]

To put it in simple terms for those not so up on ohms law or electricity in general.
Resistance equals heat and heat degrades circuits, Every conductor type and size has an AMP limit and this is again based off of heat. For instance a 2.0 #1 copper conductor has an amp rating of 190A at a temp of about 100* F, A loose connection causes the amp load to increase on that circuit and can melt the insulation or the conductor itself. Another thing that happens when a conductor is over loaded is that it expands and the physical act of expanding and contracting will compromise the connections over time.
I suggest that everyone go and buy UGLY'S electrical reference guide, I used these guides as quick reference when I worked on CNG and diesel EPG apps.
http://www.uglys.net/

 

[tireburner163]

Upgrading to HID's and a projector headlight housing is the best thing I've done as far as lighting.


I picked my HID's up from ddmtuning.com for about $30 bucks. I've had them about 6 months and they've given me zero issues.

Click the thumbnail for a larger image

 

[Michael Yount]

And for the average enthusiast --- careful about a wholesale swap to HID's and/or projector beams. Most were designed to work with a very specific 'lens' -- and many times simply fabricating a set to fit in existing housings with existing lenses doesn't focus the light as intended. Not to say it won't appear brighter. Just to say that it's easy to end up with a situation where they're not working near as well as intended, and they do, indeed, blind oncoming drivers. If I were switching to HID's I'd do so only if I could get a housing/lens that was designed with that HID in mind. And that's not an option for me - at least not an easy option.

Besides - I've owned OEM's with HID's. And the set up I have in the Volvo now is every bit as effective on low beam; when I hit high beams, where ever Keith Richards is in the world he sits up and says "I saw a bright light, I thought we were on."

 

[raceoholic330]

For those that don't want to take the time to make a headlight harness, SUV lights.com has aftermarket harnesses. I bought a 9004 harness when I did my first retrofit and it was very nicely made. I suggest a relay harness even for those with 55w halogen bulbs. You'll never have to worry about your lights dimming when the car is at idle or burning up headlight switches. I can guarantee that the original poster will have a melted headlight switch in a matter of weeks with daily headlight usage and the stock wiring.

http://suvlights.com/product_info.php?products_id=112

 

[Floordford]

Michael, i see what you are saying but i also dont see where the flaw in my thinking is either. Two cables delivering current have got to be better than one. In a sense. Two wires act like one larger wire and split the load.

 

[Lee8995]

Michael, i see what you are saying but i also dont see where the flaw in my thinking is either. Two cables delivering current have got to be better than one. In a sense. Two wires act like one larger wire and split the load.

If both conductors are the same exact length, same ga. wire, same material, same number of strands then yes the wires can share the load more or less equally but if one conductor has more resistance than the other then one wire will carry more AMP load.
To test this and prove my theory take 2 different value resistors and test them is series and parallel.
You also have to realize that when using multiple smaller conductors that the point of termination is going to be a limiting factor, It's like putting a 1" valve at both ends of a 4" pipe. Who cares what the pipe can flow when it's choked at both ends, Solder the wires and the story gets better but in a world of right and wrong way's of doing things it's still ghetto.

 

[Lee8995]

Michael, i see what you are saying but i also dont see where the flaw in my thinking is either. Two cables delivering current have got to be better than one. In a sense. Two wires act like one larger wire and split the load.

You also need to be worrying about amperage and not so much on current, if electricity were water amps would be pressure. Amperage also is what dictates conductor size and type, If you want to lower amperage then change the entire system to 24vdc. The higher the voltage the lower the operating amperage for a given component but the higher amperage potential throughout the system.

 

[Michael Yount]

Floordford - it was this that made me wonder about your grounding (no pun) - "...could an add on power source..." More 'power' likely isn't needed. Less resistance usually is needed. And yes - you can double up on wiring from source to light bulb. But that's going to take a lot of wire as it has to be doubled up throughout the harness from hot source all the way to the bulb. AND that does nothing about the switches.

If you go back to the Daniel Stern article linked near the front of the thread, he does a great job of walking through all of this. Mounting relays near the headlights, using the stock harness as your relay 'trigger' source, and then building a new, heavy gauge short harness from relay to light bulbs does the trick.

 

[huesmann]

Your best bet is to just get an upgraded headlight harness with relays from someplace like SUV Lights. They're only like $30-40. It connects directly to your battery, so you don't need to worry about drawing "extra" power from somewhere.

 

[Floordford]

Ive been seeing cheap kits around. Ill test my voltage when i get some free time. I may do the upgrade and see if it helps any.

 

[Kevins89notch5.0]

One of these days I need to get off my ass, and yank my cobra bulbs to see what they are. They are some of the brighest lights I've seen on a fox. When I hit the brights, its like god turned the sun on.

 

[kd7cwg]

you might check the beam pattern with those eBay bulbs. had some in the fusion, because silver stars were not available at the time, and the whole beam pattern was screwed up and useless, because the bulb was too long
.

 

[Michael Yount]

LOTS of cases out there where folks have bulbs in housings with the reflection and refraction not designed for that type bulb...

 

[tehdixie]

Your best bet is to just get an upgraded headlight harness with relays from someplace like SUV Lights. They're only like $30-40. It connects directly to your battery, so you don't need to worry about drawing "extra" power from somewhere.

Maybe it's just me, but I just don't trust harnesses made by 11 year olds in sweat shops when it comes to something like the operation of my headlights while I'm driving on a mountain road. If they even are soldered, chances are they're sporting some nasty cold solder joints begging to crack.

Wiring everything up properly only takes a sunday afternoon and about $10-15 bucks if you don't have the relays/wire laying around.

 

[Floordford]

I couldnt solder if my families life depended on it and I had a whole day. It always seems to take forever to heat up then it gets too liquidy and drops away from where its needed. Otherwise id love to build my own harness.

 

[Jax Rhapsody]

I really don't understand why people buy blue tinted bulbs thinking they are gonna be brighter than white bulbs. Blue is brighter than purple or brown, yeah but not white or yellow.

 

[Floordford]

I really don't understand why people buy blue tinted bulbs thinking they are gonna be brighter than white bulbs. Blue is brighter than purple or brown, yeah but not white or yellow.

I think it may have started with halogen people wanting to look like the HID guys. Back in the early 2000s when HID swaps were $1000ish. Then it was just the rice upgrade. Then manufacturers ran with it and said it was a brighter bulb.