Headlights are rubbish

[Tartanclaret]

My lights are not that bright , bit like me. What's the easiest option to improve them ? It's a 1985 1.9 caravelle with round lights .

[clift_d]

It's always worth checking the Wiki (link at top left of the page):

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/VW ... headlights" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[CovKid]

Do this first. https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/VW ... ry_to_dash" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Plus most lucas-type 7" headlights will fit. Checkout mine. Standard bulbs at that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEIkGpC72GY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You can get new lucas-style ones here very cheap (as little as £29 for a pair):
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Powerful-UK-Lt ... d=59505161" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The reason your headlights are poor is the voltage drop on the barely sufficient supply to dash (be lucky if headlights see 10v) plus old-school Hella glass lenses that just don't cut it these days, even when new. Do the above and you'll have white, focused beams without the need for nightbreaker bulbs and the like.

[Tartanclaret]

Wonderful, thanks ever so much, brilliant YouTube vid too.

[CovKid]

What tends to happen is people fit higher wattage bulbs but that only makes the situation worse. You just get hot wires and the lights still aren't that bright. They can actually end up dimmer.

Lots fit Osram Silverstar bulbs (I did to start with) but its like sticking a plaster on the problem. Most v-dubs had tungsten bulbs fitted up to a certain date and the wiring was just enough for those. Halogen bulbs are certainly better but the voltage drop on a stock T25 is greater than you might imagine. It really robs the headlights something rotten, plus factor in old reflectors and vague lenses, you end up with something like yellow candle power. Even fitting silverstars won't really cure it and on a stock camper, the whole lot is going through the headlight switch and flasher stalk. This also applies to square headlights.

When I upgraded the dash cable and fitted the new headlights, I deliberately filmed it with standard bulbs for reference. You can see how good they are on dipped. Oddly I've found no need to fit anything brighter since the upgrade. On full at night they really ARE bright. The other great thing about the modern units is they don't stray too far from stock in terms of the look, but the cut-off point on dipped is really defined without all the stray light you get from Hella headlights. As well as being able to see better, and others able to see you, light pollution is much reduced. The site I linked to offer several styles including angel-eye units which are excellent. I opted for units with LED DRL lights which are now my sidelights.

If you watch the video carefully, when I'm on full, you'll see at some points that the beam pattern is a very clear wide rectangle in front of me - thats how focused they are. No stray light above at all. I've since added distance spots, but they really are fabulous headlights.

I've gone though three MOTs since. First guy merely said "I like those - where did you get them?" and the second asked if I'd made the change for safety reasons so I basically got a thumbs up - and my particular ones are not EU-marked. However, you can't fault the beam pattern - its so much better.

We can soon point you to a thread that goes into detail on how lucas units fit. Stateside headlights used the lucas style with a chrome bezel but it can cost a good deal of money if you just order online willy-nilly. The main thing is increase the power cable capacity, whack in a couple of relays (also covered in WIKI) to take the strain off the headlight switch, fit modern 7" round units and you'll attract moths for miles around on Jersey.

Setting them up is dead easy if you follow my WIKI on adjustment: https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/VW ... Adjustment" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

At some point (been asked numerous times), I'll do a video of the whole upgrade but its all there in print at least. The easy option and the right option are far removed from each other I'd say but despite the work, the results are incredible.

Same headlights without relays or dash cable upgrade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2X5GgKDOos" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - bit different eh? Still better than stock but new cables really make the difference. I can outdo square headlights with Silverstars fitted and my bulbs are cheaper to buy!

[syncroandy]

I have to disagree with Covkid's suggestion that you should modify your main power feed from battery to relay plate before doing anything else, particularly if you're not that technical ! There are a number potential causes of dim headlights, and several of these are quite easy, quick and low-cost to sort out.

Here's a few suggestions of thing to check/sort:

Dirt or damage on front glass lens, absorbing light or changing the beam
Damage to the silvered reflector
Corrosion on 3-pin plug causing excess resistance (best fix is to replace the terminals or the whole plug)
Excess resistance (due to wear/tarnishing) on the headlight switch or the dipper switch
Excess resistance at the earthing point on the A-pillar
Substandard bulbs

Fixing all the above should get the light working to factory spec, which for VW was good enough, and is for most owners too. However if you still want a bit more light, I would suggest adding two relays, one for dipped beam and one for high beam, between the dipper switch and the relay plate.

If you're considering fitting new lights, I would urge you to avoid illegal chinese Ebay tat, and fit E-coded lights from a reputable manufacturer, eg. Hella.

PS. Check you do actually have H4 lamp units fitted, older lamps can be made to fit, possibly a previous owner fitted 'wrong' units.

My lights are not that bright , bit like me. What's the easiest option to improve them ? It's a 1985 1.9 caravelle with round lights .

[a1winchester]

Plus most lucas-type 7" headlights will fit. Checkout mine. Standard bulbs at that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEIkGpC72GY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What did you hit at 2min 16sec? It was probably dazzled by your headlights!

[CovKid]

Well, proof is in the pudding as they say. Particularly when you consider I did two videos, one without uprated power cable, and one with. It doesn't take much viewing to see the vast difference between the two. Try putting your meter up front and you'll be lucky if you see 10 volts on a stock system. I wouldn't undertake such an upgrade without having done the maths, plus Hella headlights are old-school, barely more than a 1970s torch in terms of design and don't compare to computer-designed modern reflectors. Those that have actually seen mine will agree.

You could undertake various cleanup/repair actions on headlights but in the end it amounts to tinkering just to get close to original spec which was lets face it, poor although probably acceptable in the 1980s. Any real impact means actually spending money on them, either new reflectors or new headlight units and given the price of new Hella ones, it makes little sense unless you're obsessively purist. If you want better lights, you have to rethink them.

I spent a year testing various headlight bulbs (including LED one) in stock headlight units both on the road and in the workshop and frankly, the light is terrible. Even with a unit mounted in a workbench, and using halogens, the losses through original glass lenses, plus stray light, was evident. Factor in voltage drop and extra loads like the dash fan, the voltage drop gets even worse. Its just a fact. I simply gave up trying and ran a brand new cable.

Whats left in my main fusebox is all low-draw stuff now. The heavy items get the biggest slice of the pie on the new feed. In all I made eight 'on the road' videos on headlights but just kept those two as they seemed the most pertinent. Nowt wrong with working with stock by cleaning up connections etc but the improvements will be slight. Relays are a no-brainer for starters.

Fox towards end of video - missed it thankfully.

[syncroandy]

Perhaps I should have emphasised the 'before'..

[CovKid]

Probably Andy To be fair there ARE a few things you can do but I guess I'm not a fan of Hella lenses after trying to wrestle with them for so long - they put me in mind of South Stack lighthouse. Their saving grace is their longevity though. The main thing is not to go down the route of fitting 100 watt bulbs and suchlike. Changing headlights is a compromise too. I'm not exactly a concours man but by the same token I'm not sure I'd want to fit this kind of thing, no matter how well designed:

[kit]

Why are the relays not a good idea?

[weegaz22]

Why are the relays not a good idea?

They are, its just there is a few things you can/should check first to help improve the stock lighting before saying sod it and upgrading

[Tartanclaret]

OK. Rewiring and relays nearly done . been looking at headlights civ kid mentioned and fancy the DRL ones . on eBay they come as landrover etc . will any 7 inch round height fit ?

[CovKid]

If you look carefully at a headlight frame with headlight removed, there are three recesses behind. These will accept a lucas-type headlight. I'll try and find the relevant thread but there are three ways to secure them - clips, zip ties or a bezel as used in the US (more elusive unless Brickwerks now sell them). I opted for zip ties as it was the simplest. I won't go over old ground here but I'll happily go hunt for the thread you need as CJH and myself looked at this in depth. Hold fire.

[CovKid]

Hmm, thread seems buried. However, I did this write up about using cheaper Euro Carp Parts lucas units which shows the rececesses/lugs - principle similar:

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/VW ... ht_Upgrade" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I started with clips but swapped over to zip ties last year. When you've got the headlight frame and unit together, it tends to make sense anyway.

With bezel (ideal if you can find a reasonably priced source for them: https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=147701" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

More: https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=147750" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In any event, you end up with a modern headlight as used on virtually all cars now - ie clear lens and computer-designed reflector. Whether they last 30 odd years like a Hella remains to be seen but at £30 a pair for pin-sharp headlights, I don't care

Try it with standard halogen bulbs and you'll see why you don't need Osram Silverstars