Better lighting

[Island Moose]

Hi guys,

Correct me if I'm wrong but my headlights, though in a 24 volt vehicle, are actually 12 volt?~ 1 running off each battery? If this is the case, can someone recommend a really bright replacemnet bulb ? I'm headed up to Prince George tomorrow and I'm worried about driving at night with the stock lights.

Also, when you guys add driving lights, I see from various threads that you install 24 volt lights, using a 24v relay. Is this because you don;t want to increase that individual load on each battery? It would seem easier/cheaper to just do as the factory did and run one driving light per battery as well?

For now though, bulbs and possible sources would be great.

 

[crushers]

nope yours should be 24V...

 

[Stone]

I think Wayne's right...only the Canadian BJ70s got that weird 12v headlight arrangement in a 24v truck because of some kind of DOT requirement (probably because there are no 24v H4 bulbs available lower than 70/75W).

If you haven't done so already, you need to buy a set of H4 lenses that are made for Canada (NA or anywhere else they drive on the right lane), because your Japanese lenses are made for driving on the left lane and will be throwing light in the worng direction here and will cause glare to oncoming traffic. There are many kits available from Bosch, Hella, and IPF. I picked up my Hella kit from Lordco for under $100.

I also swapped out my stock 24v 70/75W H4 bulbs for the highly illegal 90/100W 24v H4, also available in Lordco in the Hella brand, and have been extremely pleased with the results. Way more light, and no one has complained about glare so far because I tok the time to aim them properly. I know what you mean about the headlight output...I wasn't impressed with my stock ones either.

The increase in wattage should be no problem for the 24v system as the amperage only goes up by a little bit...the beauty of 24v. The Hella 24v H4 90/100W bulb part number is #78146. ($9.86/ea my cost at Lordco.) Cheers.

 

[burger]

I thought that running the higher wattage 24 volt lights is not very good for the factory wiring(overloading the curcuit to the point of the wiring insulation melting)?

 

[Stone]

I thought that running the higher wattage 24 volt lights is not very good for the factory wiring(overloading the curcuit to the point of the wiring insulation melting)?

Only for 12v system because the Amperage demand skyrockets as you increase wattage. It's very different with a 24v system.

For example, a 12v 55W bulb requires approx. 4.58A, but increasing that to 12v 100W would require 8.33A, almost doubling the amperage demand.

A stock 24v 70W bulb requires approx. 2.92A, and increasing that to a 24v 100W bulb only increases the amperage demand to 4.17A. This is what's great about a 24v system.

 

[burger]

looks like new bulbs this week then.Thanks stone.

 

[Island Moose]

Thanks Stone, will make a stop at Lordco. When you say you replaced your lenses, are your talking about the silver/mirrored back of the headlight nacelle? Why wouln't aiming the headlights back into the right lane solve this?

For $100...I might just have to keep on pissing off oncoming traffic...or ask them to pony up for the part.

 

[waaz]

Hello
My BJ42 has 12 volt head lights. Everything else is 24 volt. Take a volt meter and measure the voltage to be sure.
waaz

 

[mot]

Let me take a stab at it here.

I think he means replacing the whole lens/reflector set-up with a North American (LHD) aftermarket unit.

Unless it's a multi-reflector design with clear lense, your headlight lense/glass should be textured (have "cuts") which is designed for driving on the left side of the road.

I'm not sure if your headlights are sealed or you can just replace bulbs, but you can get good lense/reflector combos from companies like Cibie, Hella, etc.. like Stone mentioned and you would be very pleased. So I hear.

Anyway, HTH and happy (night) driving.

Mot

 

[Stone]

Yes, Moose...exactly what Mot said. I replaced the whole lens/reflector assembly (it's one unit with a hole in the back to hold in an H4 bulb). You can't aim your headlights properly no matter how hard you try because of the way the beam comes out of them. There's usually light refracted by the lens to be thrown towards the shoulder of the road to help illuminate hazards. If the shoulder is on the wrong side of the road, then you are refracting light towards oncoming traffic. I find that aiming these lights takes a few tries before you get it right.

Why would you drop $100 into the proper lenses that do not cause glare problems to oncoming traffic? One good reason is to avoid having the boys in blue scrutinize you. All it would take is one upset officer who was blinded in the oncoming lane. He pulls you over then asks why your headlights aren't aimed properly. He then looks at your headlights and notices that there are no DOT markings on them, and that your bulb exceeds the 50/55W limit for our roads. He writes you a ticket and asks to see your VI...you get the picture.

 

[Stone]

Hello
My BJ42 has 12 volt head lights. Everything else is 24 volt. Take a volt meter and measure the voltage to be sure.
waaz

Your BJ42 is a Canadian truck...his BJ70 is a Japanese Domestic Market imported to Canada.

 

[Island Moose]

Stone, could you jot down the numbers/letters on your headlights lens/nacelle for me next time you're out? I'm having trouble finding them through Lordco or anyone else for that matter. Thanks!

 

[Stone]

I have lost my receipt, but I'm fairly certain that my round H4 kit was the Hella 7" H4 Twin Kit, Part #70472. The kit will come with 12v bulbs, so you just replace those with either the 24v H4 bulbs that came with your BJ70, or replace them with higher wattage ones if you like (although make sure you aim them properly to avoid being hassled). I replaced mine with the Hella 100/90W 24v H4s part #78146, and have been fairly happy with the improvement. I've run them for a month now with no problems. Take those part #s to Lordco and they should be able to order them up. HTH.

 

[Island Moose]

Stone et al,
I found a pair of Bosch 7" headlights at the local BMW wrecking yard, they fit nice and have the right facets in the glass.
I called Lordco in Victoria and got what has to be the biggest a-hole that works for their company. He must really hate his job because I immediately felt like he wanted to hang up. I gave him the Hella part # for the 100w 24v bulbs and he said "nope...none in inventory anywhere...." I asked him if that meant they come from the states and he said "yup". I finally convinced him to tell me that this means a 4-6 week wait. Then I did the hanging up.
I found some online for $12.50ea, but I'm paying another $15 for shipping. Any idea of Canadian suppliers online?

 

[Stone]

You can try local trucking supply stores, Moose. There's some here that sell 24v bulbs cheap, but they are offshore no-name brands. I traditionally haven't had great luck with no-name bulbs. I bought some from 4wheelauto last year that lasted about 3 months, then both of them burned out. Funny thing was that I kept the original ones that came with the truck (Bosch) and those ones still work while the new ones burned out.

 

[burger]

Phone a different lordco and have them ship the right bulbs to your nearest store and forget about the a-hole.