1969 C 10 headlights
 

Drove my truck this morning before daylight . Leave my headlights on hi-beam and nobody notices . Would LED headlights be brighter and are they 'plug n play'? Thanks

Re: 1969 C 10 headlights
 

They may need to be adjusted/aimed
Also the current for the headlights goes through the headlight switch and the dimmer switch, this causes a slight drop in voltage that results in a dimmer light.
One solution is to wire the headlights directly to battery/alternator through a pair of relays. This will allow the lights to operate at a higher voltage (usually 14.3 depending on the condition and output of the alternator)
There are some threads on here that address this upgrade and the pre-made harness is available from several sources if you aren't comfortable wiring yourself.
Here's one
https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...adlight+relays

Re: 1969 C 10 headlights
 

LED headlights are plug-and-play and outperform the OE style sealed beams as well as other headlight upgrades such as H4 with Relays.

1.LED headlights are plug-and-play
2.They reduce voltage load on headlight switch
3.LED life span outlasts sealed and H4
4.Provide a cleaner brighter light pattern than sealed/H4

Initial cost/investment for LED is a bit high but considering all the above (no need for relay harness, modifying stock wiring, replacing H4 bulbs or sealed beams, etc), it's a sound investment in performance and safety. Do your research and comparisons as there are quite a few different LED vendors/brands to choose from. I recently started using some of the Holley Retrobright LED's, performance and quality are very high but it's the OE look that got me to try these in the first place.

Re: 1969 C 10 headlights
 

I hadn't seen those, most all the ones I've seen don't have the old school look like those do.
I'm not a fan of the funky halo style or some of the other LED ones. They just dont look right on a C10...(IMO)

Re: 1969 C 10 headlights
 

For what it is worth, I ran some "un-scientific" tests of my own on three different vehicles over the years (67 C-10, two different 66 Suburbans) using three different style LED headlights (Retrobrights, LMC and Summit). Only one of the vehicles had the relay harness/H4 upgrade. While this upgrade is highly recommended for OE sealed beam and H4 style lights, I never saw any difference in brightness when using any of the LED headlights with it. I equate this to LED technology, requires less amp draw, uses less energy, run cooler, etc.

Re: 1969 C 10 headlights
 

Without the relay, and with the relay. Notice that even the park lamp is brighter.

Re: 1969 C 10 headlights
 

Do yourself a favor and buy a set of Hella H4 and the relay’s necessary to remove the load on the headlight switch. You will be impressed by the difference. The instillation is not very difficult.

Re: 1969 C 10 headlights
 

Sub'd for future reference.

Re: 1969 C 10 headlights
 

Thanks everyone , good info !

Re: 1969 C 10 headlights
 

.

I cruise my H4, relay harnessed lights on bright all the time too. I've never had anybody flash me or otherwise seem annoyed. If I aligned them properly, I suspect this wouldn't be the case. These are plenty bright for me and my purposes.

Those Holley RetroBright LED units look real nice and would likely be a worthy upgrade but the entry price is very steep. Even if I use the 100 dollar Summit Racing gift card I won at the GoodGuys event, I would still have to cough up too much cash.

-klb

Re: 1969 C 10 headlights
 

Here is a site with good information on lighting. I have the Hella H4s in my Burban. When I bright people who driving around with illegal and or unaimed obnoxious lights they notice.


https://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/tech.html