single to double/square headlights

[jake1953]

Hi guys,
has anybody converted single headlights to either double or square lights? 1st- is it possible? and 2ndly does it cost a bomb?
thanks
Jake

[R0B]

1.yes its possible
2.you will pay £250+ for a set of square rhd lights

some on ebay at the mo. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/volkswagen-t25-ca ... 0312571786

[jason k]

yes

and


yes!!


expect to pay around 200 to 250 for a rhd set up.

its an easy conversion tho

[jake1953]

hey guys you're talking to a scotsman here ah well it won't be long til christmas

[Davy MacLean]

Ha another jock from Preston I'm ex Bamber Bridge! save yourself the hassle just buy a van with it already done gtills seem to go for £150+ alone never mind adding in the lights I got mines with the van

[andisnewsyncro]

I was going to do it, but with the South African type round grille preferably, but the cost was still high. JK do a grille which is about £160 and then you still have to buy a pair of spot/driving lamps to fill the holes and the wiring, relays, fuses etc. Looked at the square grilles and again lots of money (born in Yorkshire, raised in Scotland )

Eventually I got a pair of big auxilliary lights off ebay for £15 brand new in the box (search Land Rover lights) and spent some money taking the van to the local auto electrics place to have the headlamp wiring mod done - as discussed in the wiki - along with a few other "little jobs" I'd shyed away from doing myself, cost me under £100 in total and I now have extremely good lights and don't mind driving at night anymore.

[jake1953]

It was the improved lighting that I had this in mind.
Any views on keeping standard single lights and buying the halogen kits as per ebay £40.00 the pair?

[andisnewsyncro]

It was the improved lighting that I had this in mind.
Any views on keeping standard single lights and buying the halogen kits as per ebay £40.00 the pair?

If you've not seen it yet, look here https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/VW ... dlight_kit for more info. There's links at the bottom of the page to simple wiring diagrams etc. ( I think Brickwerks sell, or used to sell, a kit with all the parts if you're unsure)

The relays and new cables make a huge difference to the standard lights, even noticeable in daylight. From reading on here, it seems the weak point is the wiring and switch gear, so might as well replace it as suggested which takes the load off your switch, & then think about up-rating your lights.
Like I mentioned before, this mod with a pair of additional driving lamps on high beam makes a good combination and a lot cheaper than a new grille etc. Did it last week and wish I'd done it sooner.

[eatcustard]

some on ebay at the mo. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/volkswagen-t25-ca ... 0312571786

not there anymore

This listing (170312571786) has been removed or is no longer available. Please make sure you entered the right item number.

[Red Westie]

I would agree that minimizing voltage drop by fitting a relay with reasonably heavy wiring will definately improve things.
Although..the cheapest and simplest initial investment would be to replace your existing bulbs for modern high output types such as Osram Night Breakers or Philips X-treme:
For example, See:
http://www.click-parts.co.uk/files/details.php?id=276" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
They are the same wattage but by employing newer production technologies give off substantially more light.

Martin

[andisnewsyncro]

Good point about the bulbs Martin, Nightbreakers are great I had them in the old Disco.

Personally, I still think it's worth doing the relay mod first though, I was absolutely amazed at the visisble difference, with my old bulbs, once it was done; I know I keep banging on about it but Iam really impressed by it.

CumbrianKeith's voltage drop graph gives a good representation of what was happening; in my case I was getting 10.1 v max at the bulbs with the engine running before fitting the relays. On the graph, this represents the bulbs giving out much less than 50% of the light that they are capable of, so even new Nightbreakers would have been running well below their potential.

This was backed up by the guy at the auto electricians where I went, once we'd been through the wiring conversion diagram, he said do that to start and then, if more is needed, stick in some new Osrams or something similar. I'm guessing that the new technology incorporated also banks on a more stable, less loss power feed than seems to come from these old trucks as standard

Good luck, whichever method you choose, I'll be interested in how things go
Andi