Home
> Spitfire > Electrical Equipment > Halogen Head Light
Conversion
Anything and everything Spitfire.
Section : Electrical Equipment
Alternators, dynamos, lights, wipers, etc.
Posted By : Steve Bullock, 15-Mar-2006, 01:10pm
Hi Guys
If I upgrade my head lights to Halogen on my Spit 1500 do I need to uprate any other part of the electrics, or will they run on the original setup???
Recently done the same conversion on my land rover (no mods required) and the difference was startling!!
Cheers for your help
Steve
-
Posted By : Colin Wake, 15-Mar-2006,
03:22pm
No Mods required if you stick with 60/55 bulbs.
Colin
-
Posted By : Steve Bullock, 15-Mar-2006,
04:05pm
Cheers Colin Â…. Looks like I can look forward to a brighter future!!
-
Posted By : Mark Astley,
15-Mar-2006, 07:01pm
Hi,
Can I just add that it isn't necessary but it might be wise to do a few other changes.
I fitted a halogen set onto my Spitfire and yes the difference is amazing, however the new lights put a greater load on the existing very old
wiring.
I wasn't aware of this until the halogens had been fitted for a few months and I stopped at some lights at night and smelt a burny smell coming
from under the dash. Exploring revealed that the headlight wiring was very very hot, also the lights were dimmer than they should have been.
Old wiring degrades and develops resistance which causes excess heat. It also reduces the voltage at the bulbs and hence less light output. You
may find that the copper cores on the existing wiring have blackening on them, if so I would definately put relays and fuses in.
Following this I did the following,
Buy two relays (one for main, one for dip) and some colour coded cable and some in-line fuses and various connectors and some black sleeving
for making it all tidy afterwards.
Strip back the existing wiring loom for the headlights from the multi connector where the wires split to each headlight towards the bulkhead to
release the main/dip feeds.
Mounted the two relays onto the radiator side mounting plate.
Used the stripped back wiring as the control for the two relays.
Took two direct feeds from the battery via fuses, then the relays and then onto the connector at the front.
This means all the wiring inside the car, the headlight switch and main/dip stalk only passes low current to operate the relays. No more burny
smells. Lovely bright lights as well.
Not advertising but Vehicle Wiring Products can sell you all the stuff, they do the right colour combinations for the various cable functions,
and will sell you whatever length you require.
yours
Mark
-
Posted By : Nigel Gibbins,
15-Mar-2006, 07:12pm
When I had Halogens on my GT6 MK1 (alterator conversion) the battery kept running down every two months or so. I though it was a duff
battery until I replaced the alternator with an uprated one... after that I had no more problems.