VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Electrical - 6 volt bright 6v lights ..

Just done the exercise.. soldered wire to the bulb terminals..soldered earth close to bulb grounding point..ran independant earth back to the battery and voila...bright park/brake/turn signals to rival any 12v application...
Now for a solution to the yellow headlights...

Replating of your reflectors is the cure for the yellow headlight's.

Sealed beams... any thoughts on 6v halogen ??

There were some sealed beam headlights that had a metal backing on the reflector , and some that were made from 100 % glass.

Maybe yours are the metal back type. You could also buy some genuine reflectors and headlight glass lenses. I love the look of the original lenses.

original glass is very cool but may have to wait in line with more important things... compliance / roadworthy / rego ..long list but getting closer

What bulbs are you using? If you still have the prefocus base sockets and you can find some try using the 2530 bulb. I use them and they make quite a difference.

Style:

My 48 Fleetmaster is equipped with 6 volt H4 conversions. A PO did the swap, but, the car appears to running its original wiring harness, there's no headlight relays, and it still has a generator. The H4's work great, and, so far, the wiring in the car hasn't made smoke.

Regards:
Oldengineer

My 38 has sealed beams but they look old... and it has the original relay close to the left headlight case... might try some earthling solutions first... always a good place to start

Hi there,
I read an interesting article that stated that a generator cannot keep up the power to supply halogen type light bulbs and that a 6 / 12 volt alternator is needed to facilitate the running of these aftermarket additions? It is on the filling stations home page links. i think that the article refers to headlights generally.

https://www.fillingstation.com/articles/alternators.htm

My car is 6 volt and I have L.E.D. rear stop and running lights, but 6 volt blubs in the indicators....

Peter

The following is from a GE website http://pressroom.gelighting.com/facts/cfl-vs-halogen-vs-led-232394
While it is aimed at indoor lighting is still valid for comparing automotive lighting. CFLs are compact fluorescent indoor bulbs that are all the rage today.

Halogen
Halogen bulbs have a tungsten filament just like incandescent bulbs, but halogen bulbs also are
filled with halogen gas. When the bulb is lit, tungsten from the filament is evaporated into the
bulb’s gas, providing illumination. The halogen gas then carries the evaporated tungsten particles
back to the filament and re-deposits them. This creates lower energy use for the bulb.

Best Applications
High-intensity reading lamps, office lamps and display lighting where users want to spotlight
artwork or photos and outdoor applications where bright light is needed.

Key Features

Many are 10-20 percent more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs.
Instant start. Halogens do not experience the delayed warm-up associated with CFLs.
Fully dimmable.
Produces a bright, crisp light.


LED
LEDs are small light sources or thin chips that become illuminated by the movement of electrons through a semiconductor material.

Best Applications
Outdoor lighting where fixtures are left on for extended periods and changing bulbs is not easily done. LEDs also are fitting in linear applications, such as under cabinet lighting, where bulbs/light sources with thin profiles are needed.

Key Features

LEDs can use up to 75 percent less energy than incandescents.
Lasts up to 25 times longer than incandescent and halogen light sources, and up to three times longer than most CFLs.
Instant start. LEDs do not experience the delayed warm-up associated with CFL bulbs.
Small LED chips allow for more compact, design-forward fixtures, as well as the illumination in tight areas.
Cooler to the touch.
Robust … no filament to break.
Most emit light in a specific direction, versus in all directions, but GE’s traditionally shaped LED bulbs are omnidirectional. That is, they are designed to emit light all around, just like a standard incandescent light bulb.

The above is assumed to be a comparison on equal light output. For automotive applications halogen bulbs generally put out more light (lumens) then the incandescents they replace. That is the reason most use halogen lights.

There are plenty more sites to compare different lamp options.

Say, I could use brighter tail lights, too, but I can't understand what you did. What do you mean when you say "soldered earth close to bulb grounding point..ran independant earth back to the battery."

Hi Peter,
The Filling Station's replacement 6 Volt Halogen bulbs are 60/55 Watts. That gives a current of 10 Amperes at high beam and 9.2 A at low beam. The two headlights will draw a current of up to 20 A at 6 V. The capacity of the Model 643 generator of my 1930 Chevy is 18 A at cold generator, some amperes less when hot. Tail and cowl lights, ignition also take some amperes, and total demand will exceed the generator capacity, drawing the balance from the battery and eventually leaving you with a discharged battery.

The original bulbs are 35 W, slightly more than half the Halogen lamps.

A generator can keep up the power to supply the halogen bulbs, provided your car has one with sufficient capacity. Or you can change to an alternator. Available alternators have a considerably higher capacity, the F S catalogue 6 V alternator gives a 55-60 A output current.

Available voltage at the light bulb terminals will be lower than the generator/battery voltage due to voltage drops in the circuit caused by the resistance of wiring and, in particular, of joints and terminals. The voltage drop across any resistance is proportional to the current, which makes the 6 V system sensitive to corroded contact points and thin wires. So keep the cable shoes and teminations clean, also the ground part of the circuit. Then you may find that the light from your original lamps is good enough.

If you measure the voltage at the light bulb terminals and compare it to the battery voltage, you will know the voltage drop of the circuit.

Einar

I believe he attached a ground wire to the socket that the bulb fits into and ran it back to the battery.

Thanks. Kyle

Yep... ground wire (decent size gauge) as close to the point where the bulb metal casing (ground ) meets the socket it's clipped into. The logic is to reduce the number of metal to metal contact points the earth travels through to complete the return journey to the battery.

Thanks, Style. It's that word "earth" that throws me.

Kind of like looking in the "boot" or under the "bonnet".

Bingo.

Haha...tomayto tomato. Potayto potato....lets call the whole thing off... the black one not the red one (or the green one sometimes ). funny thing is it don't do either with the car on rubber tires... ollie

re wired headlights .. proper earths.. all terminals replaced with Ollies tried and true soldered loops..(hate clamp on terminals) and lights are not too bad at all .. sorry to the purists but elliminated the 3 point joining blocks each side in favour of continuous wire. blocks are still there..can run wire under the clamps but retain the unbroken feed..

happy..happy..happy ... also fitted mechanical brake light switch which hides quite nicely down on the firewall in the enginebay..

end of post...I hope

Ollie

Hopefully it will never come to that but if you ever have to remove either of the headlights you'll likely rue that decision.

Sealed beams ... 3 pin plugs... plus I don't mind the pain of cut and solder or resolder somewhere inconspicuous for the sake of no clamp joins.

Understood. As long as you're prepared to pay the piper when/if the time comes to snip and reconnect the wire. In the long run it's yours so do with it what you wish. The only person you have to please is you.

Thanks Tiny
I'm happy (the benifit of being a simple man )

Ollie

where can i find the brighter bulbs on the westcoast?
i still run 6v but over here it`s better to as sfe as you can with lighting