Brighter bulbs on my 3.0

[MikeShepard505]

Hello again, is it unwise to place brighter bulbs in my head lights? I purchased 2 sets of bulbs, one that’s 50% brighter and the other pair 150% brighter. If I put either in should I be changing some fuses to higher amp fuses? I’m really only familiar with putting some new speakers in pertaining to electrical so I don’t know if something else needs to change as well

 

[Snoranger]

NO! Never change to higher amp fuses... ever. The fuse is there to protect the circuit. The circuit may or may not be able to handle the extra amperage. (Major emphasis on may not.) That’s how fires start.

 

[8thTon]

Exactly, the fuse is sized to protect the downstream wire. If you switch to a bulb that draws more current than the fuse was set for, and then change the fuse so it won't blow, then the wire can burn.

Run a new wire from the battery of appropriate size, with a new fuse and holder to the contacts of an appropriately sized relay, and use the old circuit to activate the relay coil. Place the fuse close to the originating end of the wire by the battery.

 

[Dirtman]

Light bulbs are resistors inside a sealed inert atmosphere that produce light as a byproduct of heat.

 

[1990RangerinSK]

Nobody's mentioned two other important considerations yet, so I thought I'd better.

1) Most places have a law that stipulates maximum wattage for headlight bulbs. They don't take too kindly to you exceeding that.
2) Reflectors in headlight housings are designed for the factory bulbs. Putting in a brighter bulb may have undesirable (to other drivers) effects.
3) Bulbs that are too bright will be hard on other drivers' eyes. Too bright, you will blind oncoming traffic.

 

[Snoranger]

Nobody's mentioned two other important considerations yet, so I thought I'd better.

1) Most places have a law that stipulates maximum wattage for headlight bulbs. They don't take too kindly to you exceeding that.
2) Reflectors in headlight housings are designed for the factory bulbs. Putting in a brighter bulb may have undesirable (to other drivers) effects.
3) Bulbs that are too bright will be hard on other drivers' eyes. Too bright, you will blind oncoming traffic.

But that’s three things!?!?

 

[1990RangerinSK]

But that’s three things!?!?

I never said I could count.

 

[adsm08]

Right, like Sno said, NEVER uprate a fuse. That often results in the wires the fuse was there to protect becoming the fuse. Then you have fire.

If you want brighter headlights I would look at moving the whole headlight system to relays off the battery. I put some Sylvania ZxE bulbs in my Ranger a few years ago because my old ones were starting to get dim and I was able to get a smoking deal on bulbs that were allegedly brighter without pulling more current.

Well that was a load of BS, since I have now burned out a dimmer switch about once a year since then. I moved my truck over to a floor switch for the high/low dimmer, so I was breaking the switch about once a year anyway, but the last few deaths have clearly been heat related rather than me just hitting it too hard and breaking it, which was what happened before I changed bulbs.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I never said I could count.

I'm throwing in the review flag... It appears it was technically only one consideration.

In either case... you are correct and can't count.

Has anyone mentioned that sometimes brighter bulbs blind oncoming traffic?

 

[Curious Hound]

All the above is true and good advice. The key is not the brightness of the bulb, but the power rating (wattage) which will tell you how much current (amps) the circuit will draw. The wiring, switch, relays, fuse, etc. are all rated By how many amps they can pass without damage.

Watts=Volts X Amps

So a 65 watt bulb will draw
65 / 12 = 5.4amps
Assuming 2 headlights, that is 10.8 amps for the circuit.

The next question is how many watts are your brighter bulbs rated for? Do the math. If the new bulbs draw less current than the OEM fuse in the circuit, then you should be ok. It is best to leave a safety factor in there and only load the circuit to 80% (roughly) of the fuse size.

When considering the wire size, the length of the wire in the circuit must be considered because wire has resistance and will reduce the voltage seen at the load (light bulb) thereby reducing the brightness. That is one reason why high current loads are best when wired through a relay. The relay can be close to the battery and the load, keeping the wires shorter for better performance. This also allows you to use smaller wire for the switch that controls the relay and greatly reduces the current flowing through the switch.

 

[Curious Hound]

Has anyone mentioned that sometimes brighter bulbs blind oncoming traffic?

Yes. 1990rangerinSK covered that

 

[8thTon]

Around here people are driving around with LED light bars on - apparently the cops don't care.

 

[Dirtman]

Other people are jerks anyway. Go nuts...

 

[adsm08]

Around here people are driving around with LED light bars on - apparently the cops don't care.

Geeze, down here you can and probably will get a ticket for having the light bar uncovered. If the cop is in a bad mood, or works for Northern York Regional you might get a ticket just for the light bar being there.

 

[Dirtman]

According to NJ law most new cars are illegal. 2 headlights, 2 auxiliary/fog lights, and one spotlight is the max. Spotlight not allowed on public roads.

DRLs, seperate high and low, fog, and other nonsense... my moms edge is technically illegal.