elan headlight upgrade

[nodbe]

Thinking about upgrading headlighs on my S4.

Anyone advise me about this please?

[Tahoe]

Do you want to upgrade to H4 headlights? I did this on my Jeep CJ. Pretty easy to do as long as you wire them in with relays. It's a big improvement on my Jeep, but not sure if there are any unexpected problems doing it to an Elan. I wouldn't think so, but maybe someone who has done it to an Elan can chime in.

[69S4]

Physically there isn't much of a problem fitting H4 lights. I've done it twice, once fitting a set of Cibie "Z beams" (remember them - state of the art in the '80's) and then fitting some cheapy ones. Once you've levered the rims off (and taken the paint off at the same time!) the units go in easily, although I do have some vague memories of having to deal with a minor fit problem. I did wonder about extra heat causing meltdown but it wasn't an issue.

It's electrically where I had problems. The halogen bulbs need a voltage supply somewhere around 13.5v to optimise the way they work and with a combination of dynamo power and iffy wiring connections I wasn't getting that. The result was dim lights (much the same as the sealed beams) and a succession of blown bulbs. Eventually I went back to the sealed beams as they seemed to cope with the environment better (and years later they're still in there).

Last year I upgraded everything - alternator, relays, replaced / renewed all the connections. The difference was amazing. Now even the sealed beams work well. Under these conditions I'm sure an H4 system will work as it's supposed to.

[bast0n]

NODBE

I have installed Phillips Extreme Power H4 bulbs - Auto Express Accessory of the year and they are fantastic! So good in fact that I have put them in my ordinary cars and the difference is staggering. My S3 has an alternator and relays and good cables of course. Good Luck!

D

[gerrym]

Stuart's post is spot on. The original wiring has way too high a resistance across switches and possibly the connectors depending on state of maintenance. If in doubt, check the voltage drop across the switches with a multimeter.

Regards
Gerry

[billwill]

Stuart's post is spot on. The original wiring has way too high a resistance across switches and possibly the connectors depending on state of maintenance. If in doubt, check the voltage drop across the switches with a multimeter.

Regards
Gerry

But if you wanted a quick enhancement to the wiring you would only need to:
1) use the original wiring to operate a headlamp relay or two if your dipped lights also need high current
2) bring a nice thick wire around from the starter solenoid to carry the current that the new relay switches through to the headlamp bulbs.
3) fit a suitable inline fuse in that wire near the starter solenoid.
4) use a nice fat wire to Earth the headlamps.

[69S4]

But if you wanted a quick enhancement to the wiring you would only need to:
1) use the original wiring to operate a headlamp relay or two if your dipped lights also need high current
2) bring a nice thick wire around from the starter solenoid to carry the current that the new relay switches through to the headlamp bulbs.
3) fit a suitable inline fuse in that wire near the starter solenoid.
4) use a nice fat wire to Earth the headlamps.

That should make the most of the volts you've got, but if they're coming from a dynamo I'm not sure there will be enough of them. QH bulbs need 13.5V to work as they should and the very act of switching them on will reduce the line voltage below that (or so my voltmeter has been telling me for years). How far below will depend on what else is running - heater blower, fan etc. You'll be adding lightness but it won't be as light as it could be! (apologies to whoever came up with that joke originally)

[elj221c]

I used these with a dynamo. No problems whatsever.

Roy
'65 S2

[andyelan]

Hi Everyone

Has anyone here thought of trying one of the high energy discharge conversion kits (HID). On the face of it these would seem ideal, much brighter lights but with much lower current consumption. Only problem was that they were very very expensive, although recently there seems to be some more reasonably price kits available.

Regards
andy

[elj221c]

Alledgedly not legal in the UK (and I believe Europe) unless you have self leveling lights or suspension.

Ro'65 S2

[billwill]

I wouldn't bother fitting higher power lights on a dynamoed car, you are sure to get more flat battery syndromes.

Change to an Alternator first.

[RedS4]

I used these with a dynamo. No problems whatsever.

Roy
'65 S2


Attachments:

Roy, did you just simply swap your old lights for the Cibie's or did you need to make other mods (relays etc)??

[69S4]

I wouldn't bother fitting higher power lights on a dynamoed car, you are sure to get more flat battery syndromes.

Change to an Alternator first.

I don't think the std H4 bulbs in QH lights (like the Cibies) take more current than the sealed beams, they just give more light for the same 55watts. In my experience though you only get the extra light if the electrical system can maintain 13.5 volts at the bulb. If it's much below that (eg with a dynamo and resistance points in the wiring) then the QH advantage is lost and the light output is much the same as the sealed beams. Nothing much has changed other than your wallet being lighter from buying the new lights.

If your higher powered lights involve 110watt bulbs or such then good luck. The one time I tried them (in a Honda motorcycle) the light output was better but not pro rata better and the different size of the bulb affected the beam pattern. In an Elan with a dynamo you really would be pushing the electrical system beyond it's limits and be running on battery power.

[mikealdren]

Stuart.
You're absolutely right, 55 watt bulbs use 55 watts of power and since light bulbs are largely resistive loads, they draw the same current as incandescent bulbs, about 4.5 amps.

The other interesting factor is the heat generated, the power is all converted to heat and light so halogen bulbs being more efficient at generating light, generate less heat. They do run at a higher temperature but that doesn't necessarily equate to more heat.

As others have pointed out however, voltage however is an important factor, too low a voltage will result in halogen lights running cooler and generating far less light.

Mike

[stugilmour]

nodbe:

The site below has a lot of info I found useful; how to configure the new wiring, effect of excessive voltage drop etc. Has been mentioned here before, but didn't see it in this thread.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech ... elays.html

IIRC, I used Hella halogens, and happy with them. New relays, new heavy gauge wire, new connectors to the headlight buckets, and new adequate bayonet fuses. Used Lucas wire colours (BS-AU7a 1983 Colour Code for Vehicle Wiring).

If you are new to the stock Lotus lighting circuit, it can be a bit quirky to figure out and varies somewhat by model.

HTH