Hi people,

 

Is there any danger to the looms, relays, etc.... fitting higher wattage main headlight filaments, 130w.

 

Looking at these little puppies:

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330430265202&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

Cheerz guyz.....

 

Alz.

The extra current the higher wattage bulbs draw is above the cable rating, this in turn will cause overheating of the bulb and it connection and cause the bulb to fail, best to run a separate supply in via a relay.

 

Jeff

Hi Alan,

 

What Jeff said.....

 

....plus is it worth it? If you have HIDs for your dipped beam then ideally you'd hardly use main beam. But if you do, then why not consider some upgraded bulbs of standard wattage - like Osram Nightbreakers or Philips Extreme?

 

They have been tested by Auto Express and found to give a vastly superior light output, so would probably render higher wattage bulbs of lesser manufacturers largely irrelevant!

 

Richard:yes:

Hi Alan,

 

What Jeff said.....

 

....plus is it worth it? If you have HIDs for your dipped beam then ideally you'd hardly use main beam. But if you do, then why not consider some upgraded bulbs of standard wattage - like Osram Nightbreakers or Philips Extreme?

 

They have been tested by Auto Express and found to give a vastly superior light output, so would probably render higher wattage bulbs of lesser manufacturers largely irrelevant!

 

Richard:yes:

 

The extra current the higher wattage bulbs draw is above the cable rating, this in turn will cause overheating of the bulb and it connection and cause the bulb to fail, best to run a separate supply in via a relay.

 

Jeff

 

 

Excellent replies guyz, just what i thought.

 

Many thanks, and i will go down the safe road, as Richard stated.

 

Alz.

w = VxA 55w = VxA 55w = 12Vx XA normal wattage lamps current draw

55/12 =A = 4.5 amps

 

w = VxA 130w =VxA 130w= 12VxXA high wattage lamps current draw

130/12=A =10.83 amps

w = VxA 55w = VxA 55w = 12Vx XA normal wattage lamps current draw

55/12 =A = 4.5 amps

 

w = VxA 130w =VxA 130w= 12VxXA high wattage lamps current draw

130/12=A =10.83 amps

 

Excellent demonstration showing how the increase in current drawn by the larger bulb will compromise the small supply cables, however also you need to appreciate that the cable is actually too small to supply a constant 10 amps and so will act as a resisitive load itself which in turn draws more current and this is where the cable and bulb suffers from overheating especially at connection points not designed for the extra current, using relays and new power supplies would be ok though, using the existing cables to switch the low power relay coil circuit.

 

Jeff TT

spot on Jeff ....ive seen loads of electrical fires in cars where big spotlamps have been fitted to the main beam without a relay and the wire just gets so hot the insulation catched fire and melts off and the bare wires short out ....put into the mix a petrol leak and it gets realy nasty ......just not worth it unless the wiring is specificaly designed for high amp running with associated eletrical protection in place.