Headlight conversion

[jblscooper]

Anyone have a idea on why no high beams, changed from sealed beams to halogen. All connections clean, tight. The sealed beams had highs a few night ago. Using Hella lights. Connector on light stalk sucure. FL60, 1996 version.

 

Thanks,

 

Jim

[MrSeas]

Correct bulbs?

[jblscooper]

H4 bulbs that came with kit, connector for sealed beams and terminals on H4 bulb is same config??

[Hot Rod]

We used to sell those conversions and all types of bulbs. The H4 bulb is plug and play for a hi/low sealed beam bulb, no problem there.

 

What wattage H4 bulbs did you use? If you used the 90/100 watt bulbs you could could be blowing a fuse as those draw a ton more amperage than the sealed beam or the standard 55/65 watt H4 bulbs. In an extreme case those higher wattage bulbs can melt the connector or wiring over extended use. Should not have melted anything right off the bat. If you are planning on keeping high wattage bulbs, I would suggest you use a relay harness which connects the headlights directly to the battery, and the oem harness and switch then only trigger the relays. This will also generally get better performance from those bulbs due to higher gauge wire and shorter run to the battery. Here is an example from Painless:

http://www.painlessperformance.com/webcat/30815

 

They are cheaper from dealers like Summit racing, and there are cheaper chinese versions available on the internet, google "h4 relay harness". But I'd recommend a high quality harness like the Painless.

 

I can't think of a reason why a standard wattage bulb would not work, I guess the first thing I would do would be check the harness with a test light and see if you are getting power to the plug. If not, check the fuse/breaker for the high beam circuit.

 

One thing to look out for if using a relay harness. I know we had issues on GM products as they used a ground switch arrangement on the headlights instead of a normal setup that switches the positive side. Just took a pin swap on the relay harness to get it to work. This would NOT be an issue unless you are using a relay harness and your truck is ground switch. I don't know if is on an FL, just brainstorming.

 

Good luck.

[Hot Rod]

oops. wrong link. this is painless:

http://www.painlessperformance.com/webcat/30815

[jblscooper]

Thanks Hot Rod, the bulb is 55 watt and just put in a 300 mile trip with the sealed beams and dim/high switch worked as usual.I have an inquiry into Summit but it will be Monday before I get a response. The catalog said the kit was Hella, but box has Rampage on it? puzzlement

[Hot Rod]

We are 45 min from Summit, and have learned all their tricks over the last 30+ years since they were a hole in the wall storefront. They have a habit of substituting name brand order for their own house brand or plain white box parts for most of that time. Sometimes it is the exact same part, as in they buy 1000 of them bulk and put them in their own package, sometimes not.

 

The standard wattage H4 bulbs don't draw significantly more than your sealed beams, should not have caused any issue in itself. Have you checked to see if you have power to the high beam plug?

[Grassy]

Jim,

 

After a disastrous conversion to LED with my DWs car, I pulled the stock lights out of my FL and put in sealed halogen lights as well. We don't drive much at night and the reg sealed beams were terrible.

 

I have auto on so my lights are on all the time. No probs with high beam.

 

My guess would be with the switch.

 

I would try the lights on another car if possible...

[jblscooper]

Problem solved!!! DW said "did you try it with the engine running?", no I answered, engine running shouldn't have anything to do with the lights. Wrong! cranked up, lights went to low beam/high beam. Still no clear on why, but meal out is in her future.

 

Thanks all,

 

Jim

[Sehc]

Voltage drop. The alternator raises the voltage above the battery. If you don't have a bad battery, the voltage drop could be a bad relay or corroded connection.

[dennis429]

Problem solved!!! DW said "did you try it with the engine running?", no I answered, engine running shouldn't have anything to do with the lights. Wrong! cranked up, lights went to low beam/high beam. Still no clear on why, but meal out is in her future.

 

Thanks all,

 

Jim

My 07 does the same thing the high beams will not come on unless the truck is running must be a Freightliner thing