Halogen upgrade -- worth it?

[Jim_PA]

I still have the factory harness -- is it worth it to buy the halogen headlights? It's an extra $20 to go with the halogen lights, will there be a big worthwile difference?

[sneakysnake]

Imo, they will put out better light. They say the way to go is to add a relay sys to eliminate any voltage drop from wire resistance.

[Jim_PA]

Originally Posted by sneakysnake

Imo, they will put out better light. They say the way to go is to add a relay sys to eliminate any voltage drop from wire resistance.

I plan on doing the relay upgrade sometime -- thanks, sounds like the halogens should offer some improvement. I better save that diagram! --

[tom71]

i have the halogen up grade in my blazer and it is much better than the regular lites , just make sure you run the wiring harness or you will have problems

[Jim_PA]

Originally Posted by tom71

i have the halogen up grade in my blazer and it is much better than the regular lites , just make sure you run the wiring harness or you will have problems

What will I have problems with? Can't the factory harness handle the halogen beams?

[crazy longhorn]

Dunno about the problems.....as far as I can see , the factory harness does handle the halogens in my Longhorn L

[Longhorn Man]

since they don't even make non halogens anymore... I guess there's a bunch of ppl that are lookin at trouble.

The relays make a pretty good improvement over harness power.
The lights alone are an improvement over the 35 year old lights

[Jim_PA]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

since they don't even make non halogens anymore... I guess there's a bunch of ppl that are lookin at trouble.

The relays make a pretty good improvement over harness power.
The lights alone are an improvement over the 35 year old lights

When I went to napa, I was offered:

6014 $3.99 (I was assuming this one was non-halogen)
H6024 (halogen) $9.99
H6024BL (halogen blue) 13.99

I ended up going with H6024....

[A.P.]

I had halogen lights since the 90s and I been using the original harness. Its never given me a problem. The lights did improve when I switched over but when I upgraded the aternator to internal regulator. The brightness improve 5 times better. I have not done the relay upgrade, I just don't think I need it.

[Already Gone]

I put a set of Tri-Bar lites with relay upgrade at the the same time on my 72. I would say between both, my lights are 40/50% brighter. I live on the Prairies and I would be paranoid driving of hitting a deer or somthing else with the old lights. Now I feel much better night driving with my high beams and being able to see ( I figure about a 1/4 mile down the road ) and have time to react to a critter or something coming out of the ditch or happening up the road ahead.

[Longhorn Man]

Jim, very interesting, I haven't seen a (new) non-halogen in many years.

[724wdcopper]

perhaps there is some confusion as to sealed beam halogens and replaceable bulb halogens... not sure, just an idea. i have Hella headlights with H4 bulbs (5 low/100 high) and they are FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC! and that is with the facotry harness...

[tom71]

i thought you guy s were talking about the replaceable bulb halogens, they put off alot of heat and the factory plugs will melt over time

[shorty72]

I had hologen bulbs for a little while then i rearended a guy, and now im back to the factory ones. i had no problems, i plan on buying them again. they are so bright compaired to the factory headlights, its worth the money.
Robert

[409biscayne]

I run the Bosch conversions in the 68 , and Hella in my Jeep , stock wiring no problems so far . Got'em cheap at the auto wrecker .

[mrein3]

Originally Posted by Jim_PA

I plan on doing the relay upgrade sometime -- thanks, sounds like the halogens should offer some improvement. I better save that diagram! --

Yes! Save that diagram AND go to NAPA and order some Type 56 connectors. You know that little brass colored tab in your headlight socket? That is a type 56 connector. At NAPA they won't know what you are talking about so just tell them you want 20 or so pieces of part number 725147. The male side of that connector is 725145. You may as well grab some of those too. (You don't need them for this upgrade but they are elsewhere on your truck. I keep a handfull of both around my shop).

Figure out what each of the three wires (on a two headlight Chevy) are on each connector. High, low, and ground. Mark them.

Pull the high and low. A small flat bladed screwdriver is all you need to depress the tab and remove the wire from the back of the connector.

Crimp one of your new female Type 56 connectors to a 12 or 10 gauge piece of wire. Push it back into the connector. Connect the other end to the relay connector marked 87.

Near the battery I marked one relay high and one low. Connect the highbeam headlight wire you removed from the headlight near the battery to the high relay connector 86. Low from factory to lowbeam relay connector 86. These wires are the wires from the switch in the cab that will switch the relay on. Now all you have to do is hook a ground wire to 85. You also need to get a 10 or 12 gauge FUSED wire from the battey to connector 30 on the relays. DON'T FORGET TO PUT A FUSE IN-LINE ON THIS WIRE.

The factory headlight wires on the drivers side carry 12 volts to the relay so make sure those connectors are taped off and secured where they won't rub the tape off.

To really make an anal upgrade replace the short ground wire in your headlight connector with a short 10 or 12 gauge piece of wire. That will get the most current across the bulb which will give you the brightest light.

This is REALLY one of the cheapest and easiest upgrades you can do to an old car or truck.

Then put a pair of halogens in. You'll wonder how people used to drive at night.

[Jim_PA]

Thanks for the tips!!

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by Jim_PA

What will I have problems with? Can't the factory harness handle the halogen beams?

I know that on my truck, if I have been driving at night and the lights have been on for quite some time, if I switch from Low to High beam my lights will cut out for a few seconds, but go back to working if I click them back to low beam. I hardly ever drove the truck at night, but I do plan on doing the wiring upgrade.

It did this a few times. Scared the crap outta me

[sneakysnake]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

I know that on my truck, if I have been driving at night and the lights have been on for quite some time, if I switch from Low to High beam my lights will cut out for a few seconds, but go back to working if I click them back to low beam. I hardly ever drove the truck at night, but I do plan on doing the wiring upgrade.

It did this a few times. Scared the crap outta me

You just need to replace the floor dimmer switch.

[mrein3]

Originally Posted by sneakysnake

You just need to replace the floor dimmer switch.

Or the connectors at the floor switch. Up here where they dump salt on the roads in the winter all that gunk on your boots makes those connections pretty furry.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Thanks fellas, I'll have to try that. The reason I thought it was the headlights was because it never happened until I installed halogens a couple years ago. I think it needs a new switch anyways.... it's on "the list"

My truck has NEVER been driven on a salted road. (unless the previous texas and SC owners took it out that one time of the year )

[1933 Gasser]

Originally Posted by 724wdcopper

perhaps there is some confusion as to sealed beam halogens and replaceable bulb halogens... not sure, just an idea. i have Hella headlights with H4 bulbs and they are FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC! and that is with the facotry harness...

Do you have pictures of these lights? I bought a conversion setup from Ebay and am going to have to modify the buckets to make them fit. The indexing tabs are in the wrong places and there is no clearanc for the built in "city lights".

This is the setup I bought:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...RK%3AMEWN%3AIT

[Aarons72s]

Yes I love them. I have ran them in both of my trucks for years without relays without any problems. And I do alot of night driving.
Aaron

[LUV2XCLR8]

I saw in my trusty LMC picture reference catalog that they now offer a
tri-bar type halogen beam with your choice of white or blue bulbs, I was
kinda digging them and was going to ask a vendor here about them, so I
gather from what I'm reading it may or may not melt my factory harness?

[SOON2BLAZE]

I put a new wiring harness from Classic Enterprises day before yesterday and the difference is huge. Running lights off the battery is the only way to go. $22. and 15 minutes I still may upgrade to some Hellas for more light