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Oct 11, 2012 10:42:08 GMT
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Hello folks, I do hope all is well in your worlds...?! I purchased these tasty little 70's Raydyot spot-lamps the other day for my Triumph Toledo...    ...and wondered the following thing. Do these lamps have to be wired in so they only come on when I flick to full beam or can they be used on normal, dipped beam (which is what I want to really improve my current night time lighting situation)...? I just wanted to know before everything gets wired in and finalised as I'd hate to drop a major clanger  Any advice would be hugely appreciated so thanks a million in advance |
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***GARAGE CURRENTLY EMPTY***
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Oct 11, 2012 11:05:21 GMT
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Main beam only I'm afraid, in the UK its illegal to have more than two dip beams as far as i'm aware.
Depending on what you're driving there are other ways to improve your dipped beam lighting, if its an old car then running fresh wiring from the battery switched through a relay by your old lighting supply wires can make a huge difference, old woring sucks lots of power out of your lights.
Its east to test, temporarily wire up one of your lights direct from the battery using new wire and see if its brighter than the one on the stock wiring, if it is you're old wiring needs bypassing/replacing.
Replacing the whole loom on something 30 years old can have a massive effect on how reliable it is and how well everything works.
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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Oct 11, 2012 12:13:47 GMT
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I'm sure you've already upgraded the standard lamps to halogens? Sealed beams are the absolute pits in comparison...
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Oct 11, 2012 13:12:19 GMT
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relays made a massive differance to my golfs ...and its safer as youve taken the load off the switch
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91 golf g60, 89 golf 16v , 88 polo breadvan
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Oct 11, 2012 13:34:26 GMT
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Main beam only I'm afraid, in the UK its illegal to have more than two dip beams as far as i'm aware. Yup. I bought a Mini with three spots that all came on as dipped headlights. The police were unhappy about the odd number as well as the fact that they couldn't be switched off. In fairness, they didn't write me up because they both liked Minis but said they'd be keeping their eyes open for the car so I had better get it fixed. |
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,840
Club RR Member Number: 174
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Oct 11, 2012 13:39:19 GMT
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As above, fit a Haolgen headlight conversion wired through relays to the battery, then a set of decent bulbs. For spotlights you need to tee into the main beam feed and run that to a relay that switches them on with main beam. You can also run a wire directly from the battery to a dash mounted switch so you can manually override them. It is illegal to have the spots on with dipped beam though.
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Oct 11, 2012 14:51:30 GMT
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If you're electrically minded, measure the voltage at the bulb. Ive known it to be as low as 9 volts! As mentioned, the ancient electrics won't be up to much and a new fuse and relay would probably help.
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I've got Rovers.
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RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
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Oct 11, 2012 15:16:54 GMT
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Yeah, the best bet's to uprate the headlights with decent halogen bulbs and fresh relayed wiring, then use the spots with the main beams.
As said, you're only allowed 2 dipped beams, but besides that the spots wouldn't have the correct beam pattern to be used as dipped beams. Also remember the dipped beams aren't actually meant to be that bright, and when they are overly bright it can be really quite dangerous for other road users. This is something that gets to me, as it's all to easy for overly bright headlights to make a cyclist, pedestrian, wide trailer or other dimly lit hazard completely invisible in contrast to them. If you can't see where you're going with sensible dipped beams, slow down or get your eyes checked, well set-up decent halogens should be more than enough.
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Last Edit: Oct 11, 2012 15:18:02 GMT by RobinJI
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