Headlight upgrade 940

[Thejdizzler]

What are the options for headlight upgrades on a 940. Can I refurbish the existing ones as they look a bit dull or are there any options for upgraded ones?

[griston64]

Originally Posted by Thejdizzler

What are the options for headlight upgrades on a 940. Can I refurbish the existing ones as they look a bit dull or are there any options for upgraded ones?

Mine were pretty dull when I first got the car. I just bought new Phillips bulbs which made a big difference

All bright.JPG

[aardvarkash10]

1 - check the reflectors. They are able to be cleaned but WITH CARE!!!! If they are tarnished its a bit of a lost cause doing much else - the entire headlamp will need to be replaced.

2 - clean the lenses. Its a good thing the headlights can be fully dismantled, but take care while doing it and when reassembling make sure the seals etc are intact or its all for nothing.

3 - fit a real headlight relay. The one in the 940 is not a real useful bit of kit imho. A dual relay (one circuit low beam, the other high beam) mounted near the battery with a main B+ feed taken from the back of the alternator will reduce voltage drop to the headlights by about 0.7 to 1 volt. That doesn't sound a lot, but every volt lost results in about a 15% loss of light efficiency.

4 - Once the headlight relay is in place, your switchgear is safe and you can whack in some high-wattage H4 bulbs. Not sure what the regs are over your way, but I can fit 130/100W H4 bulbs and still be legal. Possums and hedgehogs have no chance.

5 -Correctly align the headlights. There is no excuse for poorly aligned lights that either dazzle oncoming traffic on low beam or light up worm casts in the verge. Its not hard to do yourself, or get your local people to sort it.

6 - Brighter bulbs and correct alignment however do not extend the range of the light. That is a design outcome of the lens. If you need more distance, get some quality spotlights. Again, relay, switch them with high beam, and fit a separate isolation switch so you can turn them off and still have high beam available.

7 - Clean the windscreen.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by aardvarkash10

1 - check the reflectors. They are able to be cleaned but WITH CARE!!!! If they are tarnished its a bit of a lost cause doing much else - the entire headlamp will need to be replaced.

2 - clean the lenses. Its a good thing the headlights can be fully dismantled, but take care while doing it and when reassembling make sure the seals etc are intact or its all for nothing.

3 - fit a real headlight relay. The one in the 940 is not a real useful bit of kit imho. A dual relay (one circuit low beam, the other high beam) mounted near the battery with a main B+ feed taken from the back of the alternator will reduce voltage drop to the headlights by about 0.7 to 1 volt. That doesn't sound a lot, but every volt lost results in about a 15% loss of light efficiency.

4 - Once the headlight relay is in place, your switchgear is safe and you can whack in some high-wattage H4 bulbs. Not sure what the regs are over your way, but I can fit 130/100W H4 bulbs and still be legal. Possums and hedgehogs have no chance.

5 -Correctly align the headlights. There is no excuse for poorly aligned lights that either dazzle oncoming traffic on low beam or light up worm casts in the verge. Its not hard to do yourself, or get your local people to sort it.

6 - Brighter bulbs and correct alignment however do not extend the range of the light. That is a design outcome of the lens. If you need more distance, get some quality spotlights. Again, relay, switch them with high beam, and fit a separate isolation switch so you can turn them off and still have high beam available.

7 - Clean the windscreen.

Couple of points Ash - 130/100W bulbs aren't legal for road use here.

People do still use them on the road and i've never known of a prosecution, even for someone who was caught using a custom made MOSFET switch so while on dipped beam, the 4 main beams wig-wagged in a similar manner to what the Police use.

That said the crafty sod had set it up to be triggered by an unmarked switch which needed to be held for several seconds to trigger it and he (somehow) convinced them they "must have been mistaken officer!"

People often forget the lenses have an inside as well as an outside - dishwashers are good for a thorough, all-over clean once the lights are dismantled.

Correct headlamp aim is important, as you say, plane-spotting or worm-blinding does you no favours in terms of seeing where you're going!

Often forgotten on this is the rear suspension, when cars go for MoT with Nivos and they've sunk through sitting, the headlamp aim gets adjusted to suit. Once back out on the road, the poor worms are blinded again.

Spotlights are also only legal for off-road use and have been for decades. Driving lamps that perform a similar function with a slightly wider (but still long-range) beam are perfectly legal as long as they extinguish when main beam does. The isolation switch is optional here.



That pretty picture shows the difference between spot, driving, fog and flood beams so that people can see the difference. It's not just another name for driving lights, spotlights do exist in their own right.

Cleaning the windscreen is also a good one, again it has an inside as well as an outside! Also if worn for driving, lenses of glasses - guilty of this one myself and also forgetting the inside of the sreeen! Oops!

[aardvarkash10]

"Couple of points Ash - 130/100W bulbs aren't legal for road use here.

People do still use them on the road and i've never known of a prosecution, even for someone who was caught using a custom made MOSFET switch so while on dipped beam, the 4 main beams wig-wagged in a similar manner to what the Police use."

I went through my auto-electrical training with a guy who was working at Air New Zealand. He had a couple of aircraft landing lights wired into his four-headlight Mitsubishi GTO! Some interesting battery charging and switching to get the required voltage (48VDC iirc) but SPECTACULAR illumination on black nights!

A bugger when you had to go to dip beam however.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by aardvarkash10

A bugger when you had to go to dip beam however.

Who turned out the lights?

[rwdkev]

Originally Posted by griston64

Mine were pretty dull when I first got the car. I just bought new Phillips bulbs which made a big difference

Which particular type Mark?

[Chooch84]

Any chance of seeing the LED headlights on at night compared to some bog standard H4's?

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Chooch84

Any chance of seeing the LED headlights on at night compared to some bog standard H4's?

If i could find that photo of the "light-out" then yes, still hunting though.

*** EDIT ***

Remembered an old flash-drive so had a look :


Left, Chinabay Xenon-look Halogens, Middle, these LED bulbs, right a few month old Nightbreakers


From above the rear lights so the real difference can be seen!

All 3 cars used the same headlamps, all headlamps in excellent condition and earlier aligned on the same Beamsetter. Closest real-world comparison you're likely to get.

[aardvarkash10]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

If i could find that photo of the "light-out" then yes, still hunting though.

*** EDIT ***

Remembered an old flash-drive so had a look :


Left, Chinabay Xenon-look Halogens, Middle, these LED bulbs, right a few month old Nightbreakers


From above the rear lights so the real difference can be seen!

All 3 cars used the same headlamps, all headlamps in excellent condition and earlier aligned on the same Beamsetter. Closest real-world comparison you're likely to get.

Now edit the photo in Dave!!!