I tapped the existing high and low beam wires shortly after they leave the bulkhead connector, by cutting off about 1/2 inch of insulation Mid wire, and splitting the stranding with a sharp smooth thin awl and inserting stripped 10 awg through the hole splitting it in half, and wrapping it tightly around the stripped portion of wire.
Then Q tips soaked in rubbing alcohol to clean all the stranding and once dry a lot of solder paste Flux. Then with the 140/100 watt weller soldering gun, with a clean tip suspending a blob of molten solder with a stick of solder more to feed at the ready, I touch it at the joint and and wait until the stranding sucks it inside, and around the general area, but not too far and wide, just both sides of the joint
Once hardened and cooled slightly, I quickly wipe with rubbing alcohol on a paper towell/napkin to remove flux residue from wire insulation and adjacent solder and copper stranding, it gets harder to do so the longer one waits.
Once cool, I paint it with a thin layer of liquid E tape. Multiple thin layers is Much much better than one fat layer. Walk well away and do something else in between thin coats, leave it undisturbed before the next thin coat.
Regular electrical tape bonds like super glue to 95%+ cured liquid e tape. It's impressive. Dont go crazy with the amount, just stiffen up the ends of the stranding where the solder ends to prevent it from flexing there.
The self fusing silicone tape is also good here. One can take it a step further and then use small Zip ties over the electrical tape to keep it from ever unravelling.
The relayed harness Bypasses the original hedlamp circuit.
Originally in my Dodge, The POwer to feed the headlights
first goes from battery through a fusible link, then into bulkhead connector, a known issue with early dodges duw to water running down firewall in a rain.
From bulkhead connector to fuse block.
From fuse block to headlamp switch
From headlamp switch to HI/Low Dimmer switch
From dimmer switch back to bulkhead connector
from bulkhead connector to drivers side low beam
from drivers side low beam to passenger side low beam.
Each connector at headlamps was then grounded to inner fenderwell nearby.
Every single connection causes extra resistance and voltage drop.
The wiring Gauge is never more than 12 SAE gauge anywhere along this Long circuit with multitudes of connectors and getting thinner gauge after almost each connection/connector.
Once this circuit is only triggering relays and powering the amper front signal lighs and bvrake lighte and marker lights and interior dashboard lights, the circuit is not passing 55 watts x 2, just for the low beam headlights, but only the parking lights, and the electromagnet in the relays.
Much higher voltage then reaches these other bulbs, making them brighter, heating the wiring to them slightly less.
One can easily get better results than 0.3v of drop at the headlamp connector with even thicker wire feeding relays and from relays to headlamps themselves but it minimal gains occur with thicker than 12awg..
When the headlamps connector and dimmer switch do not have to pass 110 or 130 watts of current, they do not heat up, and last much longer and are much more reliable.
So the relayed harness is beneficial not only in brighter headlamps, and signal lamps, but reduces wear and tear on the headlamps and dimmer switches. Either of which when they do need replacing, could be a Pain in the Buttocks depending on when and where one was when the problem, cropped up.
It also takes load off the main firewall feed through that goes to the interior fuse block at night with headlmaps on, and as a result everything there gets higher voltage, and simply works better and more reliably when it gets higher voltage.
I might potentially have received counterfeit Phillips xtreme +130 bulbs, apparently these counterfeits are pretty good. Not sure I will ever know for sure.
I saw on Daniel stern's site that he lists Flosser, Narva Vosla and Phillips as his h4 bulb offerings.
Flosser is German Designed, made in the EU, and No blue banding ahead of the low beam filament or over the high beam.
They have a version with 100 watt high beams/55 watt lows. So the Lows will still be legal output, and high beams....well I want Light cannons, the big guns, the punishers for those on the opposite side of the road, who have installed leds in halogen housings and think they are cool and wise.
I have to admit looking at some of the H4 LED offerings though, and wondering whether the basic symmetrical design of the 7 inch hella reflector, would produce an acceptable beam pattern with minimal glare for oncoming drivers.
I have tested the three H4 bulbs I own, for wattage drawn at different voltages.
I also did the same for the Sylvania silverstar h6054.
So the Bulbs in the chart below are
GE 50440U 60/55w ( these came with the Hella Housings, made in Hungary)
PHILLIPS 12342 XV+ 60/55w (these might be counterfeit, Made in Poland)
Sylvania Silverstar h6054 (these likely have 200+ hours on them, made in China)
FLOSSER 525543 100/55W Designed in Germany, Made in EU.
My opinion on these bulbs, is the Phillips is obviously the 'whitest' light, closest to fashionable led style light. One can actually look at the light whether it is on or off, and see the turquoise blue banding in front of the low beam and obscuring the high beam filaments, a reflection off of the reflector, the bulb itself is actually shielded from frontal view inside the housing.
The Phillips does seem to have the smallest most focused hotspot, but compared to GE and Flosser in the other headlamp, the amount of light hitting the road seems the same, just different color.
The Philips does not seem significantly better on low beam, I'm really having a hard time seeing it as a big improvement over with the GE or Flosser, if ANY improvement.
The FLosser is drawing the most wattage on low beam through the full voltage range. HIgh Beam too.
On teh High BEAM, the Flosser smokes the other two, in total light but it also has a more pronounced hotspot, which is down and to the left of the Phillips, whose high beam is perhaps 75% as bright as the Flosser and more diffuse, and of course much more blue. Shining on a wall of green bushes the Flossers yellow halogen was making the bushes much more visible than the Phillips.
I think I am going to go with the Flossers, and keep the Phillips XV+130's as backups, and the GE's as secondary backups/ Gift bulbs.
The Phillips could be counterfeit, but they might not be. i really expected them to be a significant improvement over the GE and the Flossers, and perhaps to a precicesly placed Goniophotometer, they are, but to my eyes there is little difference other than light color.
The Blue bulbs like to claim more contrast and less eye strain.
I don't know if those particular marketing claims hold water, or just appeal to those seeking fashionable 'modern look' Like OMG!...you know??!! yellow headlights, Ewwwwwwwww!
Daniel Stern Says his favorite goto H4 bulb is the Tungsram +120 as it has the more precisely located filament, and no blue banding.
There's a chance I buy a pair of those too
The FLossers high beams are the light cannons I was seeking, and the high beam hotspot down and to the left would certainly be most punishing for LED in halogen housing offenders in opposite lane, but perhaps at the cost of seeing the deer down and to the right.
Getting the Low beam aimed correctly is on my list. I moved both beams a bit down and to the right tonight.
The Light Nazia love to say that nobody can correctly Aim a headlamp without a wall and a perfectly level area facing it,, and more preferably is a mechanically Aiming device.
I don;t know if I will go that far, as I think the Lighting Nazis have to assume the average person aiming their headlights is a knuckle dragging halfwit incapable of precision.
These Hellas have enough of an obvious cut off and hot spot that I feel I can far exceed the average idiot's ability to aim headlamps accurately and precisely.
The Hellas are such a significant improvement on both low beam and high beam, and the High beam is easily the best high beam I've ever driven behind, and the Flossers getting 14.4v on high beam are consuming 98 watts and are the Light cannons I hoped for.
H4 bulbs have a shield on the low beam filament, to prevent the light from hitting the bottom of the reflector, It is allowed to the sides and to hit the top of the reflector. The high beam filament is not shielded, just attenuated by the blue banding on the Phillips, and the imperfectly clear glass on the Flosser.
The GE bulb's glass is perfectly clear, the Phillips is too, but for the blue banded portions, the Flosser looks a bit burnt and more so closer to the base.
One can see the Philips filament is more perfectly straight, and a bit shorter than the Flosser's filaments.
This makes me think the Phillips are perhaps not counterfeit.
Perhaps both are just E bay seconds.
The following 1 user says Thank You to sternwake for this post:1 user says Thank You to sternwake for this post • rvpopeye (11-13-2020)
The Flosser bulb pictured, when installed on the passenger side, has a poorer output and pattern than the one installed on the driver's side. Its not a huge amount, but it is noticeable.
The high beam of the passenger side seems to move the hot spot of the high beam even harder to the left, at the expense of light to the right . Its almost like a dark spot exactly where one would rather not have one.
No good.
So the Phillips bulbs are going back in. I decided to take a razor blade and see if the blue coating can be scraped off.
It can, though it is time consuming.
The blue band knocks off 20% of the light output. Though the blue band does not completely cover the low beam filament, i scraped it off in front of it as well.
My light wont be fashionably white, but it will be among the best halogen headlamps out there.
The following 1 user says Thank You to sternwake for this post:1 user says Thank You to sternwake for this post • Texjbird (12-25-2020)
I awoke in a dark room, and stumbling about, I kicked something.
it was one of the old orange 2 D cell incandescent flashlights from the 1980's.
I push the clunky switch forward and am relieved to see that the batteries are not dead, but everywhere I shine the light little detail is revealed and I am as confused as ever as to where I am, how I got there, and what I am looking for.
If only I had a more powerful flashlight, I could see into those shadows. I take a step to the left and hear what sounds like hard plastic sliding on concrete, I shine the light down and see it is a perfectly round blue transparent disc the same diameter as the flashlight aperture.
I snap it into place, and it as if the flashlight got 2x as powerful. The new invigorated beam of white light, illuminated naked supermodels rushing from the shadows to fellate me.
They were just too scared of the yellow halogen light, but when they saw the white LED looking light when i added the blue filter to the flashlight they came running, squealing with delight.
In anticipation of physical delights I aimed the flashlight down, the blue filter fell off and I heard it roll away. I Aimed the yellow beam desperately trying to find it, to no Avail, and I heard receding footsteps and cried as the Nymphomanicial supermodels ran back into the shadows.
No white light, no joy, apparently.
The following 1 user says Thank You to sternwake for this post:1 user says Thank You to sternwake for this post • rvpopeye (11-25-2020)
I was about 250 miles west/northwest of San Antonio, well past midnight with dead deer on the side of the road every few miles, recalling Tx2Sturgis said this area was a hotspot for deer collisions. I'd slowed a bit, and with such light traffic on my side of the road, and the other this time of night, was getting to leave my high beams on for extended periods,. They indeed they were showing deer on the side of the road far ahead when my low beams would, only when much closer to them. Over and over again I was impressed by the throw of both the low beams and the high beams once again these are easily the best high beams I've ever driven behind..
I was just doing 55 to 60mph and hyper vigilant for deer when a set of overly bright glaring lights starts frying my rear view mirrors, and I slow down even further so they would pass me sooner and I could stop leaning forward to get the lights out of my eyes and keep my enhanced night vision.
But the vehicle behind me got about 150 feet back and refused to budge from there, until I slowed to about 40, and then 35mph. When they pulled upto pass me I saw it was some sort of newer eurovan, and of course it had LED bulbs in the halogen housings.
There was simply no light on the road ahead of them. They could not see shit. One of the worst so far led 'upgrades' I have ever seen.
How anybody can consider a diffuse white light ahead of them to be an 'upgrade' is a bit mind boggling, but then I have to remember how incredibly stupid, and selfish, and inconsiderate and proudly ignorant, the average person is these days.
The eurovan got in front of me and then only accellerated to 45mph, as they could not see shit but the occasional dead deer on the side of the road. The lines on side of the road and in the middle were lit up by my lights, not theirs.
I refused to pass them just to have those obnoxious and totally ineffecitive headlights in my mirrors again, and was saved by a Picnic/ parking area, and abruptly pulled off into it after the eurovan had already passed its entrance, and threw the ball for Fiona, until she said enough. She is scared, rightfully so, of burrs in her footies in this region, and often refuses to go outside even when i know her bladder must be near bursting..
Once back on the road again I was driving 60mph, and seeing not only dead deer on the side of the road, but live ones feeding as well, and very glad I had the Hella's and Phillips extreme +130 bulbs, and little enough traffic I could keep the high beams on for extended periods.
Rounding one bend, I see hazard lights on the side of the road.
When I got closer I saw hazard lights and steam.
When I got to the level with it I saw it was the Eurovan with a crumpled hood and a near dead panting deer on the side of the road, and two people standing there, obviously physically unhurt.
I checked my phone, saw 4 bars of reception, and accelerated back upto 55mph.
I see you're on the trip now..
I was hoping you weren't going to be the one with the deer crunch !
Looks like you chose wisely. Them,,,not so much.
Besides the obvious one , another lesson here is ...don't overdrive your headlights range.
Some lessons dogs learn real quickly....they really don't like their paws being messed with.
I remember when my dog had her first experience with fire ants. So did she !!!!
Even stopped playing with the carpenter ants after that....something she loved to do before .
Some people could learn from their dogs but that's another subject........skuh kuh kuh kuh
Happy Trails
One rest area just east of El Paso, last year, she got a burr in her footie just off the sidewalk. This year same rest stop she refused to leave the sidewalk. I threw the ball for her on the asphalt and she chased it down, but missed it and thought it went off the asphalt, and immediately jumped into a patch of burrs. She took one step and lifted two paws balancing impressively on just two, and looked at me refusing to move further, tail between her legs.
She nipped at me when i went to pull the one huge deeply et and reading glasses, and pulled more than one burr from each footie. One was pretty deep and was obviously sore for a few days after, but not so sore she did not want to play ball.
Made it the 2500+ miles in 4 days.
no major mechanical issues, but a professional Saginaw steering pump rebuilder/resealer, I am apparently not.
Good thing I did not return the Lucas power steering stop leak I had bought, just in case.
Got some new window seals on order. and disabling that blend door for sucking hot air from the manifold, knocked no less than 1.5mpg off, and returned when i propped the door open 5/8 to 3/4 inches with a short length of fuel hose.
The TBI engine computer is expecting that air cleaner temp sensor to regulate the valve to allow incoming air charge to ~100f, and the colder it got the faster my gas gauge dropped. It is NOT just for improved drivability when the engine is still cold.
So I'll be returning that to full function relatively soon, as 16.5mpg is so much more acceptable than 14, and its just a low compression 318, not something needing the coldest possible charge to make the most power to run the 1/4 mile. I don't know if carb'd 318's are as finicky about the intake air charge with regards to economy/efficiency but the TBI most certainly is
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