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Old 11-08-2019, 11:52 PM   #20
Bill G
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Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Walla Walla, WA
Posts: 1,045
Default Re: 12 volt headlight options

My car had sealed beams that just did not look right. They looked like bug-eyes and just not original looking. I am running a 6-volt pos. ground alternator and the headlights were halogen. They put out plenty of light, but as I said, they did not look original from the front. I might add that with an alternator and the right lights, a person can get just as much brightness out of 6-volts as 12.

Anyway, I bought the new (correct) reflectors and 6-volt 32/50 candle power bulbs. With the reflectors and proper focusing, I get just about the same amount of brightness as I did from the halogen sealed beam lamps.

To add to the saga, I tried out the new Logo Light LED bulbs and was pretty disappointed with the results. To be fair, the LED bulbs were plenty bright. I would say extremely bright. The problem being that they would not focus in the reflectors. The results were bright and diffuse light that was probably blinding oncoming traffic, even on dim. When I switched to bright, the aim did not change, but rather the diffuse light just got even brighter. I could not see any better with the diffuse light than I could with the focused 32/50 bulbs.

Lastly, the sockets they sell these days are an issue and do need to be modified to avoid shorting out. The tips of the contacts that connect to the base of the bulbs are too fat and can either short against each other or even worse, they can short against the socket itself and result in a short to ground which would blow a fuse.

If you do get sealed beam headlights or the super-duper halogen that need their own reflectors, those will probably come with a socket that does not have the problem described.

I have also heard that the super-duper halogen bulbs with their own reflectors are not the best reflectors and you would probably not get any more light than the 32/50's in a proper reflector.

Lastly, the vendors do sell a 12-volt 32/50 bulb. Here is a link as an example (Bert's Model A Store)

https://modelastore.com/head-lights?product_id=4259
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