headlight harness upgrade question

Joined: 04 Feb 2005 Location: Brisbane

The lights in my 80 Series are really dim, mrs wont drive it at night anymore. I unplugged the H4 plug and put a voltmeter across them and they are getting 11.5 volts for each high and low.

Is this normal or would I benefit from a headlight wiring upgrade?

What about upping the bulbs as well? i have heard of some 85w low beam and 145w high beam replacements...

Joined: 11 Jan 2004 Location: Adelaide

With 11.5V at the plug you have a problem in the existing wiring. A loom upgrade should bypass the problem, but fixing the problem will probably be cheaper.

With 11.5V at the plug high wattage bulbs won't help much.

Joined: 04 Feb 2005 Location: Brisbane

What voltage should be at the plug?

Joined: 07 Aug 2003 Location: Townsville

whiteknight wrote:

What voltage should be at the plug?

Near as dammit to the voltage at the battery. Acceptable voltage drop along wiring would be about 0.3 volt max.

Joined: 04 Feb 2005 Location: Brisbane

Battery is just over 12 volt so 11.5 doesnt seem that bad?

How much brighter would the extra 1/2 volt make the lights?

Joined: 07 Aug 2003 Location: Townsville

whiteknight wrote:

Battery is just over 12 volt so 11.5 doesnt seem that bad?

How much brighter would the extra 1/2 volt make the lights?

About 20% or so. Depends a lot on several factors but generally the bulbs get about 50-70% of their light output from the last 2 volts (ie 11.2 Volts to 13.2 volts).

Battery should be about 12.8-13.2 volts with engine off after running for about 1/2 hr+, so my guess is that you have issues with your battery/alternator/charging that may be affecting you headlights. You are looking at a symptom, not a cause.

Get the alternator checked/fixed by an autoelectrician, along with the battery capacity tested etc,, then get him to do a loom for you for the lights if you still want to go that way.

Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Location: Victoria

Don't muck around with trying to fix it, just put a Piranha superloom in it and the difference will be immediate.
I have done this to three 80series now in the family and two previously owned 60's and it is money well spent Exclamation

All the commercial toyota's suffer from poor voltage through the standard wiring looms.

Joined: 11 Jan 2004 Location: Adelaide

coights 40th wrote:

Don't muck around with trying to fix it

Just over 12V at the battery isn't healthy. That, he should fix.

Then he can superloom it.

Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Location: Victoria

I should have wrote my post a little better, Yes I agree that just over 12volts at the battery is poor and should be looked at and fixed first.
My point was more directed towards trying to get more power through the standard wiring loom which will never be as good as a superloom with direct feed from the battery.

Joined: 04 Feb 2005 Location: Brisbane

Bought myself a mutlimeter yesterday and checked the charge at each battery 12.7 and 12.8 so no charging problems thank god. And with only 11.5 at the lights I might go to a sparky and get him to upgrade the lights.

I made a few phone calls yesterday and its cheaper to get the auto electrician to do it all drive in drive out than it is for me to buy a loom kit.

Joined: 07 Aug 2003 Location: Townsville

whiteknight wrote:

Bought myself a mutlimeter yesterday and checked the charge at each battery 12.7 and 12.8 so no charging problems thank god. And with only 11.5 at the lights I might go to a sparky and get him to upgrade the lights.

I made a few phone calls yesterday and its cheaper to get the auto electrician to do it all drive in drive out than it is for me to buy a loom kit.

If it's only charging at 12.8 volts then you still have a problem. Should be 13.8-14.2 volts. Battery voltage after a run should be in the order of 13.2 volts or more. 12.8 volts still indicates a very suss charging circuit, which will NOT be helped by the additional load of spotties etc. Be prepared for lots of "flat batteries".

Joined: 11 Jan 2004 Location: Adelaide

Depends on how long after the engine was switched off. After an hour or so I'd say anything above 12.6V is good.

Joined: 04 Feb 2005 Location: Brisbane

Voltage reading was taken first thing in the morning - car had been sitting since yesterday lunch time.

Will try it again after a run home from work tomorrow.

Joined: 11 Dec 2004 Location: Queensland

Hi whitenight, all globes are rated at 12v but are designed to give their best results at 14v so take your readings while the motor is running and preferably after a drive, so the battery is fully charged and everything is at operating temps.

Cheers.

Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 11:11 am

2nded drivesafe, measure ur batteries after a short drive, then with the motor still running test the voltage at the plugs, then you will be able to figure out if a super loom will help you or if its another problem

Joined: 08 Jun 2004 Location: Seymour

IMO, headlight "upgrade" looms are a waste of time and money (i've fitted four).

Your better off fixing the problem yourself. Check connectors, wiring, battery, battery terminals, charging system (alternator & brushes).

The best band for your buck lighting mods IMO are:

- Upgrade your stock H4's to "Arctic Blue", or a "whiter" type globe. This will obviously emmit a white/blueish light rather than a "yellow" light.

- Check your sealed beams/lighting case (the glass lens bit) for tinting/scum. Clean it up if you can, replace it if you cant. If the actual lens isn't clean, then you'll be pushing p00 uphill to get any good results.

- If your relay is a bit old, replace it with a new one. Go for a higher amperage if you want. Put a dab of grease on each of the pins too - this will help conductivity and reduce chances of corrosion/poor contact.

- If you have headlight protectors - check that they are clean and free of cracks/blemishes. Replae if necessary.

All of these are cheap/free, and will give you 100% of your existing system, without handing over money to Mr ARB for something that you DO NOT NEED!!

Coxy

Joined: 11 Dec 2004 Location: Queensland

coxy321 wrote:

IMO, headlight "upgrade" looms are a waste of time and money (i've fitted four).

Coxy

Sorry coxy321, I make and supply headlight upgrade kits and have been doing so for about two years and so far every single customer has found the kits made an improvement to the existing lights.

The problem is that most vehicle headlight wiring is only just adequate and the problem is exacerbated in many 4x4s ( old and new ) and fitting thicker cable and relays is the only way to fix the problem.

In some vehicles, fitting higher wattage globes not only does not improve the light but can result in burning out the headlight switch. Here again, a headlight wiring kit not only improves the light but it also protects the headlight switch.

Cheers.

Joined: 05 Jan 2003 Location: Newcastle

coxy321 wrote:

IMO, headlight "upgrade" looms are a waste of time and money (i've fitted four).

IMO, headlight loom upgrade is fantastic. I made my own and it dramatically increased light output.

coxy321 wrote:

The best band for your buck lighting mods IMO are:

- Upgrade your stock H4's to "Arctic Blue", or a "whiter" type globe. This will obviously emmit a white/blueish light rather than a "yellow" light.

Tried them. What a joke!

coxy321 wrote:

- Check your sealed beams/lighting case (the glass lens bit) for tinting/scum. Clean it up if you can, replace it if you cant. If the actual lens isn't clean, then you'll be pushing p00 uphill to get any good results.

- If your relay is a bit old, replace it with a new one. Go for a higher amperage if you want. Put a dab of grease on each of the pins too - this will help conductivity and reduce chances of corrosion/poor contact.

- If you have headlight protectors - check that they are clean and free of cracks/blemishes. Replae if necessary.

All of these are cheap/free, and will give you 100% of your existing system, without handing over money to Mr ARB for something that you DO NOT NEED!!

Agree

Joined: 08 Jun 2004 Location: Seymour

I'm not saying that they're completely worthless, sure if you have an older car with a not-so-good factory harness, or a harness that been butchered by the last ten owners, they'd be great. In my situation, the customer has been sold the headlight upgrade kit to put into cars that simply did NOT need them. I'm talking 5 year old, stock as a rock un-molostered cars. ALL of those ARB dealers have also sold the customer rediculously large globes (super high wattage).

I also wasnt saying "stick in the biggest globes you can get your hands on" (i know you weren't implying this drivesafe), but i have had a 100% strikerate with the better quality globes, ie. blue/white. The only thing high wattage globes offer is another sale for the retailers when they melt the surround or harness.

Remeber, this is JUST my opinion not gospel, and what i've done/seen over the last 11 or so years.

Coxy

Joined: 11 Dec 2004 Location: Queensland

Hi Coxy, Although I’ll agree to disagree on wiring upgrades, I totally agree with you regarding the uselessness of high wattage globes.

I changed over to Philips Crystal Vision 55w globes about 5 years ago, first replacing my low and high beam globes and these were so good, I replacing all my ( 6 ) diving light 130w globes and I have never regretted it, the 55w give much better WHITE light.

This is what they look like.

Joined: 11 Jan 2004 Location: Adelaide

drivesafe wrote:

replacing all my ( 6 ) diving light

Diving lights? Cool! Got any underwater pics? Razz

Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Location: Melbourne Australia

-Scott- wrote:

drivesafe wrote:

replacing all my ( 6 ) diving light

Diving lights? Cool! Got any underwater pics? Razz

They were underwater pics until the lights boiled all the water off. That shipwreck was 50 feet below sea level. You can still see the last bit of puddle in one of the photos.

Joined: 02 May 2003 Location: Visiting my house

On a slightly more serious note, if you measure the voltage with the lead OFF the headlight, it should read about 13.5

If it doesnt, and your battery is not 13+ volts with the engine at high idle, you have alternator probs.

Orange headlights are caused by low voltage BUT if it's a wiring size issue, it only shows low voltage at the bulb UNDER LOAD. With no load it will look just fine.

1) Get 13.5 V to your battery
2) Once step 1 is complete check the bulb voltage with the bulb running and see if it's over 12.5 at least.

Out of interest, HID's don't care about the input voltage, they'll run off near anything and still give white light. That's a cop out solution.
I would fix the alternator before it leaves you stuck somewhere.

Paul

Joined: 31 May 2006 Location: Bellarine, Brackistan

Hi,

I went HID's about 6 months ago. One of the best investments.......less than $200. Just feel so much safer driving around the sticks at night because I can see what I am about to hit or what is about to hit me from the left.

Got used to the slightly bluish light and NOT ONE car has flashed their lights at me in all that time. I do have them aimed lower than stock, but low beam is just sensational.

cheers, DL

Joined: 04 Feb 2005 Location: Brisbane

Got it booked in this morning to get the headlight wiring upgraded. I have 13.8 at both batteries after the car has had a good run. but only 11.4 volts at the H4 plug.

Joined: 13 May 2003 Location: Melbourne

whiteknight wrote:

Got it booked in this morning to get the headlight wiring upgraded. I have 13.8 at both batteries after the car has had a good run. but only 11.4 volts at the H4 plug.

Hi mate, just wonder what problems they found/fixed and the difference it made.
I have just replaced the sealed beams with h4 headlights, and narva +50 globes.
The difference wasnt as good as I expected, but it may be caused by the wiring as well.
I will give the car a run later and check the voltage and all to see if that comes up with anything out of the ordinary.

Joined: 21 Sep 2007 Location: rowville

hey mate i put an upgrade kit in my 80 and would never go back also put 100/130watt globes can drive around on just low beam with great vision

Joined: 26 Apr 2006 Location: darwin

i used this link to create my own loom and it work very well

http://www.lcool.org/technical/80_series/lights/80wiring.html

Joined: 06 Mar 2005 Location: Sunshine Coast Queensland

The reason that you have trouble with voltage drop, and poor light is because the power has to go from the battery all the way up through the switch and back down to your lights, with less than adequate wire. Upgrading the bulb wattage causes problems because it is pulling to much through the switch.
By wiring in a relay or two you are taking your power straight from the battery to your lights. The switch is now just used as a triger to switch on and off the relay.