Or maybe that's "head lamp" wars, for those who may have been in the auto parts biz at one time.
At one time, back when most cars had what were called sealed beams for head lights, there were federal DOT standards for illumination that were followed by manufacturers and after-market suppliers. Said another way, the sealed beams or "bulbs" had to be no weaker and no stronger than a given amount of illumination. For the same reason that it was illegal to drive around the city with your high beams on, safety; excess illumination blinded on-coming drivers.
Whatever happened to those DOT standards? There seems to be no limit on the amount of illumination that head lights put out now. No longer does "the other guy" count, only maximum illumination for the driver seems to be the object.
It seems like lots of the newer vehicles have very bright head lights, blinding bright white. Those $60K pickups that are now so common (72 month payment books comes with). Or many fancy SUV's, etc. These days, about 80% or more of new cars are financed, so you can imagine that most of those fancy new outfits you see on the road aren't paid for. But that's another story.
Okay, two can play at this game. For years when sealed beams were in use, the wiring to those was designed to carry a certain current load. If you bought some halogen replacements, sometimes you were required to re-wire them or at least put in a relay that supplied greater current.
Then the car manufacturers started making vehicles with head lights that had reflectors with separate, removable bulbs. Kind of a retro design, in a way. Before sealed beams came onto the scene about 1940, most cars had bulb and reflector head lamps. My dad had a 1937 Lincoln, it had those but the silvering on the reflectors was old and tarnished, the illumination wasn't worth a hoot. My dad said, "We may as well have a couple of candles out there on the front fenders."
But now the modern reflectors as made are an improved design out of better materials. The separate bulb lends itself to being changed. Everything is all about LED lights now, so I decided to look into these for my two cars. LED's don't have a heavy current demand so the existing wiring will easily support them.
I have two Ford Panther platform cars, specifically a 2004 Ford Crown Victoria and a 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis. I Googled LED head light bulbs, you can spend $100 or more on a set via auto supply sites. Then I looked at Ebay, you can buy sets of them there for $20 and up. First I bought a set to try out on the Crown Vic, they came right away. No instructions. The Crown Vic has a lock ring that holds the original bulb in the back of the reflector. The LED replacement bulb has a big heat sink on the back, the ring won't fit over it. I looked at this situation, decided I'd cut a split in the lock ring, pull it over the LED bulb and then lock it in place. It worked but it would've been nice if there'd been instructions. The lights worked out fine in that car, so I sent away for another set for the 06 Merc.
The Merc, only two years newer, has a different bulb design. Actually better, because Ford did away with the lock ring and the bulb is self-locking into the reflector. Only thing is, there are three positions the new bulb will lock in, you have to find the correct one out of three to get the LED arranged so it reflects properly off both sides of the reflector.
In both cases, the LED replacement bulbs come with a wiring pig tail adapter that plugs right into the original wiring of your car. Big improvement in illumination for me, the driver. Now I'm prepared to do proper battle in the head light wars.
Funny thing, before I changed my bulbs to LED's, a few nights I drove around with my high beams on, just to see the reaction of other drivers. Not one flashed their head lights at me; seems like everyone is used to overly-bright head lights now.
I don't have a pickup, instead I have an old Ford Ranch Wagon for hauling. It's a 1972 model, ex-USAF, I put up a few pictures of it elsewhere on this site. It has sealed beams. It's not wired for halogen replacements. I'd like to find some kind of LED replacements for it but I haven't figured out a solution for that yet.
At one time, back when most cars had what were called sealed beams for head lights, there were federal DOT standards for illumination that were followed by manufacturers and after-market suppliers. Said another way, the sealed beams or "bulbs" had to be no weaker and no stronger than a given amount of illumination. For the same reason that it was illegal to drive around the city with your high beams on, safety; excess illumination blinded on-coming drivers.
Whatever happened to those DOT standards? There seems to be no limit on the amount of illumination that head lights put out now. No longer does "the other guy" count, only maximum illumination for the driver seems to be the object.
It seems like lots of the newer vehicles have very bright head lights, blinding bright white. Those $60K pickups that are now so common (72 month payment books comes with). Or many fancy SUV's, etc. These days, about 80% or more of new cars are financed, so you can imagine that most of those fancy new outfits you see on the road aren't paid for. But that's another story.
Okay, two can play at this game. For years when sealed beams were in use, the wiring to those was designed to carry a certain current load. If you bought some halogen replacements, sometimes you were required to re-wire them or at least put in a relay that supplied greater current.
Then the car manufacturers started making vehicles with head lights that had reflectors with separate, removable bulbs. Kind of a retro design, in a way. Before sealed beams came onto the scene about 1940, most cars had bulb and reflector head lamps. My dad had a 1937 Lincoln, it had those but the silvering on the reflectors was old and tarnished, the illumination wasn't worth a hoot. My dad said, "We may as well have a couple of candles out there on the front fenders."
But now the modern reflectors as made are an improved design out of better materials. The separate bulb lends itself to being changed. Everything is all about LED lights now, so I decided to look into these for my two cars. LED's don't have a heavy current demand so the existing wiring will easily support them.
I have two Ford Panther platform cars, specifically a 2004 Ford Crown Victoria and a 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis. I Googled LED head light bulbs, you can spend $100 or more on a set via auto supply sites. Then I looked at Ebay, you can buy sets of them there for $20 and up. First I bought a set to try out on the Crown Vic, they came right away. No instructions. The Crown Vic has a lock ring that holds the original bulb in the back of the reflector. The LED replacement bulb has a big heat sink on the back, the ring won't fit over it. I looked at this situation, decided I'd cut a split in the lock ring, pull it over the LED bulb and then lock it in place. It worked but it would've been nice if there'd been instructions. The lights worked out fine in that car, so I sent away for another set for the 06 Merc.
The Merc, only two years newer, has a different bulb design. Actually better, because Ford did away with the lock ring and the bulb is self-locking into the reflector. Only thing is, there are three positions the new bulb will lock in, you have to find the correct one out of three to get the LED arranged so it reflects properly off both sides of the reflector.
In both cases, the LED replacement bulbs come with a wiring pig tail adapter that plugs right into the original wiring of your car. Big improvement in illumination for me, the driver. Now I'm prepared to do proper battle in the head light wars.
Funny thing, before I changed my bulbs to LED's, a few nights I drove around with my high beams on, just to see the reaction of other drivers. Not one flashed their head lights at me; seems like everyone is used to overly-bright head lights now.
I don't have a pickup, instead I have an old Ford Ranch Wagon for hauling. It's a 1972 model, ex-USAF, I put up a few pictures of it elsewhere on this site. It has sealed beams. It's not wired for halogen replacements. I'd like to find some kind of LED replacements for it but I haven't figured out a solution for that yet.
