Dim headlights. |
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dieseldog
Groupie Joined: 30 Aug 11 Location: West Wales Status: Offline Points: 117 |
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Posted: 25 Sep 11 at 19:30 |
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Qur 1989 LT28D has the whitest headlight bulbs in my village, but the dimmest lights - can anyone shed any light on this, 't would be brilliant if someone could (multi-puns aside).......
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keep on truckin';
LT28 2.4D Florida, 1989; |
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volition82
Yardie Joined: 06 Jan 10 Location: somerset Status: Offline Points: 972 |
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I think the van lights are a bit rubbish, mine has 100w bulbs (which I think are illegal) and the lights still aren't that bright. Other than that check your battery and alternator output. |
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1989 LT35 - 2.4 Lpg/Petrol - Converted To Camper
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dieseldog
Groupie Joined: 30 Aug 11 Location: West Wales Status: Offline Points: 117 |
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Ta Groupie. The fog and reversing lights are excellent, just dim headlights, dipped n main beam. On my T3 the Same bulbs were like daylight thru the small round lights. 100 watters are legal with glass lights.
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keep on truckin';
LT28 2.4D Florida, 1989; |
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GT500
Groupie Joined: 02 Jul 09 Location: leeds Status: Offline Points: 145 |
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100 watts will burn out your light switch. been there....
HIDs hi los in mine. gone from candles to the brightest on the road! |
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Rob... The only LT on 18" wheels.
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ELVIS
Moderator Group Silence is golden, gaffa tape is silver Joined: 04 Nov 06 Location: Promised Land Status: Offline Points: 9982 |
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fit a pair of relays?
Have done it to all me T3s now as have plenty of others.
Pair of boggo standard relays from motor factors, splice into main and dipped beam wiring AFTER the switch (one relay for main and one for dipped beams). Wire fused relays straight to live terminals on back of fusebox.
Make sure you put relays in AFTER switch to avoid burning it out. You now have a full on ,chubby giving, 13v ish at the bulbs instead of the 3.2V that vw gave you.
I use 80/100w bulbs aswell - i know they are technically not *ahem* 'fully compliant. But a 80w bulb in a well adjusted light dazzles less than a 40w bulb not adjusted, you dig?
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Www.justgiving.com/ELVIS-SUMMERS
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AndyT
Moderator Group Joined: 16 May 08 Location: Ammanford Status: Offline Points: 2274 |
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I'd check the earth and voltage to each light before I spent any dosh.
Upgrading the bulbs and adding relays should give you brighter lights but be very careful with the wiring as you are doubling the amount of current going through. The extra heat inside each light unit may also be an issue long term. |
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LT28 1979 2.0 Pampas Nevada Camper LPG 93K, 1980 T3 A/C Camper 98K,1994 RRC 3.9 LPG 120k , 1998 Audi A6 Est 2.5 V6 diesel 127k
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mat_the_cat
Vanorak Joined: 06 May 09 Location: North Wales Status: Offline Points: 1862 |
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Fitting relays won't overload existing wiring - they will reduce load on it. Just make sure that where you connect to on the fuse box can take the extra current.
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Mid engined, 6 cylinder, turbocharged 2 seater - it can only be a VW LT!
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GT500
Groupie Joined: 02 Jul 09 Location: leeds Status: Offline Points: 145 |
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HIDs are 35 watts.
Full kit was £45. |
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Rob... The only LT on 18" wheels.
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Canada LT28
Vanorak Joined: 03 Jan 10 Location: Toronto Status: Offline Points: 1632 |
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What is the most wattage we can use without mucking up the relay? My right side is dimmer than the left and the left sucks.
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94 LT28 Doka 2.4D
Slow and built to stay that way 87 T3 soon to be a camper |
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mat_the_cat
Vanorak Joined: 06 May 09 Location: North Wales Status: Offline Points: 1862 |
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Depends what relay you fit - typically 40A for a standard 4 or 5 pin automotive relay with spade connections. Which, at a nominal voltage of 12V should be enough for 480 watts of light. 160/100w H4 bulbs are the largest I've seen, but 130/90w more common. Don't know about availability over there. There's no law AFAIK specifically stating higher wattage bulbs are illegal, but for UK use they have to be E marked. I've never found a higher wattage bulb that is E marked, although I use 55/100w bulbs in one of my vehicles, on the basis that if someone is coming towards me I will have dipped my lights anyway. (And if they don't dip, they get it full force!)
Or HIDs. I use them on the LT and are great, although the beam pattern is a little strange. No evidence of extra dazzle to other road users but these are also not legal for road use unless self levelling and with headlight washers. New MOT changes planned from Jan 2012 specifically check for compliance so we've been getting away with it for now, not for much longer. The fact that one is dimmer than the other says you've got a wiring problem, high(er) resistance in one than the other. Re-wiring it via the switch as it was when new would likely give 90% of the improvement that a relay would, but is easier just to fit a relay and use the existing high resistance path simply to switch the low current of the relay coil. |
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Mid engined, 6 cylinder, turbocharged 2 seater - it can only be a VW LT!
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dieseldog
Groupie Joined: 30 Aug 11 Location: West Wales Status: Offline Points: 117 |
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Elvis, could you please explain how / why VW only give us 3.2 volts at the headlight? What are HID hilo's?
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keep on truckin';
LT28 2.4D Florida, 1989; |
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Canada LT28
Vanorak Joined: 03 Jan 10 Location: Toronto Status: Offline Points: 1632 |
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I figured there was probably either a ground issue or corroded connectors somewhere. I will check it out. In canada and the US there is no national testing like your MOT. Here most provinces only make you do a safety when you sell the truck/car and as long as the lights work they are OK. I'm going to look for a supplier for the HIDs here. I assume it is the same connection as normal halogens. Just a note, other than a MB 240D I used to have this is the only vehicle I have seen with movable headlights (aside from the french filth of course) |
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94 LT28 Doka 2.4D
Slow and built to stay that way 87 T3 soon to be a camper |
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mat_the_cat
Vanorak Joined: 06 May 09 Location: North Wales Status: Offline Points: 1862 |
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They will plug into one of the old headlamp connectors, and also have a 12V feed from the battery or fusebox. You also have to mount a couple of little boxes (ballasts) to step up the 12V to about 20,000V to start up the HID bulbs.
I think he means that VW designed the current to flow all the way from the battery through the ignition switch then back to the headlights, rather than through a relay with a shorter path. Fine when new but now they're old there is a lot of potential for voltage drop, so you won't get full battery voltage at the headlights. HID hi/lo bulbs have one arc which is the illumination source. This is moved by a solenoid between dipped and main beam positions. Edited by mat_the_cat - 29 Sep 11 at 09:47 |
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Mid engined, 6 cylinder, turbocharged 2 seater - it can only be a VW LT!
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dieseldog
Groupie Joined: 30 Aug 11 Location: West Wales Status: Offline Points: 117 |
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Thanks for all that guys. I now rely on supplementary light from fogs n spots, really "brilliant";
I rock,therefore I am. |
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keep on truckin';
LT28 2.4D Florida, 1989; |
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volition82
Yardie Joined: 06 Jan 10 Location: somerset Status: Offline Points: 972 |
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As i've got 100w bulbs and GT500 mentioned that it burns out the light switch I thought i'd better fit relays as per Elvis's post. If anybody decides to do the same, when you put the sidelights on if the dipped main beams come on as well you have dim dip wiring on your van which needs to be disconnected. For those of you that don't know (as I didn't until I started this job), dim dip is an extra wiring circuit which puts the dipped main beams on at around 30% when the sidelights are on (only with the ignition on).To disconnect it you'll find a small coil with two yellow wires attached to it on the rear side of the front passenger wheel arch. Just disconnect the multi-plug and your lights will work as they should. Edited by volition82 - 29 Oct 11 at 18:58 |
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1989 LT35 - 2.4 Lpg/Petrol - Converted To Camper
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max and caddy
Vanorak Joined: 12 Dec 09 Location: Lancaster..uk Status: Offline Points: 4866 |
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standard round lamps can give a decent amount of light output even with standard bulbs...on my old MK1 golf i had crap lights so i measured the voltage at the bulb with the bulb lit...9,5 volts! a pair off relays and it was like...................wait for it............NIGHT AND DAY!
i am like SO funny!
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pete wotton
Groupie Joined: 08 Dec 08 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 91 |
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Hi all
I used to rely on fog lights for a bit of extra light then went the HID route and could'nt believe the difference, they really are BRILLIANT !!!!!!
Pete
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GT500
Groupie Joined: 02 Jul 09 Location: leeds Status: Offline Points: 145 |
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Good man Pete!
Night and day difference... |
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Rob... The only LT on 18" wheels.
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funky_monkey
Groupie Joined: 29 Jul 09 Location: River Ouse Status: Offline Points: 61 |
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the quickest method of testing faults with dim heads is "the wander lead method"
1 attach a long cable from your positive battery terminal
2 turn your lights on,
3 test a the lamp to see which is positive
4 touch your cable (wander lead) to that terminal and see the brightness change,
if there is a big difference in brightness then you know your ground is fine so that rules that out, then it will most likely be dirty switch terminals (try bridging the switch) or as others have mentioned the relay terminals try bridging the relay terminals, bigger wattage lamps are fine if the circuit is fused correctly but whos to say someone hasnt put a larger fuse on the circuit in the past, as that is what protects the cable from overload,
hope this helps
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Louishudson1
Newbie Joined: 20 Jan 20 Location: Wales Status: Offline Points: 1 |
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hey, do you have a link the hid's you bought? Thanks
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